Diet and cycling

Finegan

Hi I am fairly new to Road Cycling, about 14 weeks in now. I have recently joined a cycling club and enjoy going out on a club run. I came to cycling as I had recently lost 2 stone on a diet and wanted to return to sensible eating but still keep the weight off so new I need to find my sport.
Well this sunday we did a club run which was very hilly and with the ride to the meeting point and back it was 50 miles. This is the most distance I have done in one day. The two weeks before I had only managed 10 miles due to holiday and sickness and the night before I had been at a friends party and not eaten well (cake for lunch!). Anyway I really struggled at the end of the ride and at a junction I clipped in and my leg refused to move causing me to fall off. Once home I was very shaking as I think my blood sugar had dropped. This shocked me as I have never had anything like this and never struggled on other rides, though they have been shorter.
So I am in need of some advise. I am kind of guessing I need to start carrying gel packs and look at my nutrition. Anyone know of a site with good information on diet (general not weight loss) and cycling. Do people Carb up even before a short ride?

I have to admit I feel very stupid about what happened and part of me wants to run and hide in shame and the other wants to prove I can do more than 50!

pinarellokid

50 miles is a long way to ride and people usually work their way upto that distance more slowly.

id say you need to have a good meal before a long ride and take gels too,

i usually have porridge about an hour before the ride, then have a banana in my pocket for around the 35mile mark

then gels as a back up. you did really well but were just not prepared

you wont forget your first BONK, and will avoud it like the plague next time

well done on your first 50

rickeverett

I find a good bowl of porridge (with full fat milk and trimmings) gets you through a morning ride or big day ride really well. Make sure you have about 20-25min between finishing and setting off mind.

Energy gels are good for a boots but they are also basically a sugar rush - you hit a low after where you need another one 20min later.

When you start out anything over 20-30miles will hurt. I wouldn't worry. To do 50miles after only a few 10 mile rides is good going.

I always used to get a drain after about 35miles on 50mile rides where I needed a boost. Just a short breather (on or off the bike) a good drink and boost bar or something got me back on track.

I think the vast majority of riders on here would still class a 50-70 mile hilly ride as tough (unless you live in the south where they are "mounds" not hills )

Monty Dog

Generally, your body only stores 1-2 hours of immediately accessible fuel, so if going beyond that and you fail to top-up then you will run-out at some stage, known as the dreaded bonk or knock and you aren't a 'real' cyclist until you've run-out miles from the end of your ride; cold ,hungry and crawling at a snail's pace to reach home! I once laughingly ran-out 3 miles from home after 5 hours and insisted I stop at the village shop, much to the amusement of my ride buddies. The trick is to start refuelling almost immediately - using an energy drink or high-energy foods like banana, flapjack every 20-30 minutes. I only generally use gels for races / emergencies as the hypo-kick isn't helpful as you really want to train your body for 'economy' and use fuel efficiently / sparingly. Bear in mind that in winter you use more fuel to keep you warm, propel a heavier bike and work against restrictive clothing.

drlodge

As others above have said:
a) fuel up well before hand, porridge is good, I have an apple, banana and raisins added too (good supply of natural sugars)
b) eat well on longer rides, little and often since the porridge will take you a couple of hours or so, and you want to be refueling before you get hungry. You don't need expensive gels though. I use a combination of fig rolls, granola bars (£1.49 in Sainsburys for 4 large ones), flap jack (home made) and jelly babies (tesco brand is very cheap).
c) Drink plenty too. High5 isotonic drink provies a combination of carbs and electrolyte replacement.

Finegan

Thank you all. Before this ride I was doing about 50-55 miles in a week so 50 miles in one go I guess was an achievement. I did only have Weetabix for breakfast so I will take the porridge tip for sure. I did have a flapjack about 30 miles into ride when we stopped at a cafe (had a mug of tea too). Think I do need more to eat though just very aware it is more calories in when I am trying to get calories out!
I didn't consider that you would be burning more energy to keep you warm in winter either.

Finegan

rickeverett wrote:

I think the vast majority of riders on here would still class a 50-70 mile hilly ride as tough (unless you live in the south where they are "mounds" not hills )

I live in Hampshire so I guess the ride was moundy rather than hilly - climbed 6 Cat 4 hills according to Strava :shock:

drlodge

Finegan wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

I think the vast majority of riders on here would still class a 50-70 mile hilly ride as tough (unless you live in the south where they are "mounds" not hills )

I live in Hampshire so I guess the ride was moundy rather than hilly - climbed 6 Cat 4 hills according to Strava :shock:

How many feet ascending was it? to give an idea, 1,000ft ascent for each 10 miles is very good going and more than most would do.. 100 miles and 10,000ft of climbing is quite an achievement!

Finegan

drlodge wrote:

Finegan wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

I think the vast majority of riders on here would still class a 50-70 mile hilly ride as tough (unless you live in the south where they are "mounds" not hills )

I live in Hampshire so I guess the ride was moundy rather than hilly - climbed 6 Cat 4 hills according to Strava :shock:

How many feet ascending was it? to give an idea, 1,000ft ascent for each 10 miles is very good going and more than most would do.. 100 miles and 10,000ft of climbing is quite an achievement!

Total ascent was 1603 ft for the whole ride of 50 miles according to Endomondo

Strava says Elevation was 2,275ft for whole ride

OverTheHillAt21

My last long ride on Sat I had cereal about half an hour before starting instead of my usual hour and after a while I started getting some minor stomach pain I think caused by riding in the tucked position putting too pressure on my stomach. I've made a note to not do that again, even though I'd made up part of the bowl with a banana with the idea that would digest quicker.

mozzer2906

If your not used to Gels I'd stay away and use them for emergencies as they can do weird things to your system when you start using them.

Personally I find a big bowl of porridge, then malt loaf and flapjacks on the bike works brilliantly. I have a bit of a penchant for malt loaf with a bit of peanut butter, for the sugar high/slow release combination but appreciate this may be an acquired taste!

Sprool

My fitness level and weight loss had levelled out over the summer, I took some advice from a work colleague who used to be a trainer/physio for athletes (Scottish olympic team). He advised low carb diet - cut out all processed bread, as much starchy veg as possible (mainly potatoes) and white pasta. I found after 4 weeks I had lost another 6 lb but had improved energy as the body weans itself off burning the easy quick sugars from carbs and starts to burn the fat reserves instead. What I found was this promoted more weight loss and gave me more sustained energy through long climbs - in a couple of weeks my strava climb times had outstripped those of the guys i normally ride with and struggle to keep up with. It was interesting as I am a big cynic on diets and nutrition, but it certainly has made me feel a lot better and have a lot more energy for rides. Now I have abandoned the instant sugar hit of energy drinks and gels as I have not had that awful shakey blood sugar depletion feeling for ages now , I just take water with me and eat an omelette and a banana for breakfast before a ride.

pinarellokid

so what things do you eat now instead ??

would be interested myself as a lot of others would id say

Sprool

a bit of wheat free gluten free pasta. Sweet potatoes mashed and baked. Spinach, lots of protein - bacon, beef, chicken, prawns, fish, salad, more spinach, a lot of lentil-based curries with a little rice.
Omelettes, lots of omelettes

Initialised

Finegan wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Finegan wrote:

rickeverett wrote:

I think the vast majority of riders on here would still class a 50-70 mile hilly ride as tough (unless you live in the south where they are "mounds" not hills )

I live in Hampshire so I guess the ride was moundy rather than hilly - climbed 6 Cat 4 hills according to Strava :shock:

How many feet ascending was it? to give an idea, 1,000ft ascent for each 10 miles is very good going and more than most would do.. 100 miles and 10,000ft of climbing is quite an achievement!

Total ascent was 1603 ft for the whole ride of 50 miles according to Endomondo

Strava says Elevation was 2,275ft for whole ride

100 miles, 10000ft? http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events ... -sportive/

Yes it's bloody hard!

Yes I did it this year.

Yes I've signed up for next year, bring the pain (and hopefully a quicker time).