pre and during nutrition on a night ride

johnpercival80

I'm doing the manchester to blackpool night ride in september, has anyone done this and got any advice about pre nutrition the weird thing is gotta be there for 11.30 and set offs are between 12 and 1.30 am so i would prob need to eat at 10.30, also with the during snacks how many carbs should i be eating an hour, the reason i ask is I've don't a couple of 40 milers preparing and bonked on both of them so I'm doing it wrong

meanredspider

I don't think there's anything you'd do differently. The advantage that you have with a night ride is that you have all day to eat. What concerns me a bit is that you believe you've bonked on 40 milers - I'd expect most people to do 40 miles without needing to eat. If you really think you bonked, you might want to check that you're fine medically (diabetes etc). I did the London to Cambridge night ride (leaving at around 11.30 and finishing around 3am) and finished almost an hour ahead of the next fastest person - I didn't eat much on the ride. I had a muffin and coffee (my secret weapon for riding) on the train down and very little at one of the feed stops.

sloppyschleckonds

probably stick a couple of caffeine tabs in my bidons

johnpercival80

thanks for getting back to me, if you was eating on the train on the way down, maybe I'm eating my pre meal to early, ill give it a go next time I'm out i may try a muffin instead of my porridge see if it helps, think the stops sell flap jacks etc, so if i won't need too much i may just buy one at a couple of them when i fill water up

vorsprung

I've done a few events with night starts

I'd get a little bit of sleep before the off. Even 15 minutes lying down and trying to relax helps

Eating wise, just take on lots of carbs in the 24 hours before. Rice, Potatoes, Pasta, sugar, anything is fine. I tend to avoid alcohol too. During the event, eat stuff regularly. When you've been going an hour eat an energy bar or have a gel or a banana. After 2 hours do the same. If you feel like a snack, have a snack. The bulk of food you'd have to carry for a 6 hour ride (I assume this is 100 miles+) might be a minor issue of note but it's better to have stupid looking bulging pockets at the start than feel terrible 4 hours in as you've run out of things to eat.

For drinking, personally I find that things like Nuun tablets with almost no calories and lots of electrolytes suit me best