Stomach cramps

secretsam

I've done a couple of 'longer' rides recently (40 & 55 miles), and on both was plagued by stomach cramps and (**SLIGHT GROSSNESS ALERT**) trapped wind also.

Could this be a reaction to all the sweet energy drinks, gels, etc???? At the end of today's 40, I craved something savoury - a free pack of salted pistachios really hit the spot!

marcusjb

Yes.

Over reliance on sweet foods can easily lead to that. As can dehydration.

Assuming you are not racing, ditch the gels and energy drinks. Something's like flapjacks, naked bars etc. are much easier to digest. Drink water with NUUN in 1 of your bottles. You can carry savouries on the road as well (I often do on long rides) - cheese is nice, cocktail sausages, even a mini pork pie.

Keep food real as much as you can. Unless you are competing at a high level, the reliance on sugary energy food makes your body less and less efficient at burning things it should be burning well (real food).

DavidJB

Yeah man no gels unless you're racing. For the first few races of the gear my stomachs like a war zone after a race until I get used to them again. Natural food all the way!

g00se

Hi,

You're not really going to need energy supplements on a 40 or 50 mile ride. Gels for races or long rides in groups where stopping is not easy (saying that, I always have one on me just in case of emergency bonk). Similar with carb drinks, they're not really necessary unless you're doing something over a few hours and strenuous. Something like zero tabs are good as it's just salts for dehydration.

Just eat well before you head off and take a snack with you.

secretsam

OK, cool, thanks for the advice

Anyone want a lorry load of energy products???

ai_1

Also make sure you don't over-eat.
If you're pushing hard there's a big demand on your blood supply. It's required to keep oxygen going to your muscles and to remove lactate etc. When you then start eating during hard efforts, thre's an additional load on your cardiovascular system since you needed to look after digestion. I've always assumed that's why my stomach doesn't always feel the best on long rides when I'm trying to get some food in. Insufficient capacity to support both the athletic effort plus digestion. I'd suggest cereal bars eaten throughout the ride (eating just a few bites at a time may help too) and stay away from gels except for emergencies or inside the last hour of a long (4hrs+) event.

navrig2

I tend to get the bloating and gas either the next day or even the day after. I've stopped using carb drinks and gels for anything other than a real need/emergency.

I'll rely on bananas, cereal bars, bacon rolls and a hearty muesli breakfast.

Savoury everytime for me - ham sandwich and quiche over a cake.

secretsam

Ok - so, cereal bars, rice cakes, flapjack, sarnies (assume white bread?), fruit (esp nananananannanas), malt loaf and fig rolls would all be decent alternatives (obviously, not all together...)

ai_1

SecretSam wrote:

....sarnies (assume white bread?)....

I'd probably use brown, but you could do either

drlodge

I got trapped wind on the EPIC 160+ miler weekend before last, first felt it around the 40 mile mark and it was really quite painful for a while. Then the pain started to go away and I, shall we say, let the wind out of my sails whenever I could. I was still bloated at the end and when I got home discovered it was indeed a load of wind (I can't tell you how relieved I was to be in the sanctity of my own bathroom!)

I have no idea what caused it, just had the usual mix of Isotonic drink, jelly babies and fairly "normal" food through out. I like flapjack and fig rolls but a cheese/ham sandwich is really nice, as was the chicken pie and chips I had for lunch ;-)

marcusjb

Trapped wind is common on longer rides for sure. Can lead to the fun game known as 'gas or solid?' In audax world.

Lots of food, stomach being asked to work hard etc. all add to the problem.

I've never been able to pinpoint the issue really - I sometimes suffer badly, sometimes less so. Too much info alert - sometimes it is simply needing to go for a really big dump.

fat_cat

Agree with all of the above, but also have a serious problem with any gels containing caffeine. Not so much wind as an urgent need to lose body weight :oops:

secretsam

Fat Cat wrote:

Agree with all of the above, but also have a serious problem with any gels containing caffeine. Not so much wind as an urgent need to lose body weight :oops:

Well, there is that as well :oops: