Fueling on a long ride

paul e w sanders

hi,
Quite new to this but been building up my hours in the saddle, i now spend three hours in the saddle doing a 55mile ride, having problems because my energy levels are running low by the end of the ride,so i have decided that i need to eat in the saddle, what kind of foods do you guys take and what rate?
for example, how many grams of carbs per hour and do you need to take protein and fats on a longer ride?
i like to eat fig rolls, they don't seem to mess with my stomach, so how many would i have to eat per hour to keep me at an optimum performance level and how regularly do you need to drink?
btw im 85kg carrying a bit of muscle due to my bodybuilding background.

regards and thank you to anyone in advance for replying,
Paul

bflk

Paul, I found that after a few months I could ride for 3h without any fuel at all just water but I don't go at 18.333mph which might explain it. What drink are you taking as maybe for that kind of duration having something like Gatorade in a second bottle is worth a try? I usually only eat solids on longer (>3h) rides now. Eat Natural darker chocolate with brazils and apricots OR dark chocolate with cranberries and macadamias.
There's a bit of a theme there if you look closely ;-)

drlodge

Fig rolls are good, jelly babies, flap jack. Oaty stuff is good. Lots of threads on here about it. Oh and the granola bar from Sainsburys sold with the cookies. Also jam sandwiches.

I use High5 Isotonic in my drink as it provides a decent balance of carbs and electroytes

But you are going wrong in one major area. You are not stopping mid way at a cafe for coffee and cake. So what is the point of your ride???

imatfaal

Jam sandwiches, dates, and skittles - just remember you must drink if you eat. And stop for a coffee - even if you are on a solo run you will 9 times out of ten meet someone to chat with.

For longer rides I have some homemade ricecakes (the cooked rice form- not the diet cardboard sort) and some form of fizzy tablet in the water to stop it tasting too much of the bottle's plastic

chris_bass

I think global cycling network (GCN) did a video about what to eat when cycling on youtube recently, if you do a search on there, I quite like their videos.

paul e w sanders

drlodge wrote:

Fig rolls are good, jelly babies, flap jack. Oaty stuff is good. Lots of threads on here about it. Oh and the granola bar from Sainsburys sold with the cookies. Also jam sandwiches.

I use High5 Isotonic in my drink as it provides a decent balance of carbs and electroytes

But you are going wrong in one major area. You are not stopping mid way at a cafe for coffee and cake. So what is the point of your ride???

im very competitive with myself so because i ride on my own its about getting from a to b as quickly as possible thats the point to my riding i love pushing myself especially now im a grandpa of 50 years.

paul e w sanders

bflk wrote:

Paul, I found that after a few months I could ride for 3h without any fuel at all just water but I don't go at 18.333mph which might explain it. What drink are you taking as maybe for that kind of duration having something like Gatorade in a second bottle is worth a try? I usually only eat solids on longer (>3h) rides now. Eat Natural darker chocolate with brazils and apricots OR dark chocolate with cranberries and macadamias.
There's a bit of a theme there if you look closely ;-)

hi thanks for your reply i take a 700ml bottle of sis go hydro the calorie free one ,wow you sure like your chocolate fix but if it works good for you i,ve never really liked chocolate that much what about flapjacks or fig rolls as an alternative?

paul e w sanders

Chris Bass wrote:

I think global cycling network (GCN) did a video about what to eat when cycling on youtube recently, if you do a search on there, I quite like their videos.

Thankyou for getting back,i will have a look i,ve watched some of their videos before on youtube regards paul.

KnightOfTheLongTights

'Proper' food:
- Malt loaf with butter
- Hot cross bun / fruit bun w/butter
- Wholemeal bagel & cream cheese

Bars:
- Mule
- Cliff
- Tracker
- M&S flapjacks
- Kelloggs 'Breakfast Bake' NutriGrain bars (NOT the standard NutriGrain bars which are bloody awful)

I take food on any ride >2.5 hours (always have something in case you bonk, doesn't matter if you don't eat it).

If I have breakfast then I won't have anything until 90 mins in, and then every 45-60 mins after that - probably the equiv of 100-150 calories each time.

(And all that pertains to a fairly steady / brisk pace riding alone - if I'm out with some fast riders and expect to be on the rivet then I'd be taking something on every 40 mins from the word go - but more likely to have carb drink in that case)

sloppyschleckonds

Jam sandwiches, bananas

chrisw12

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

'Proper' food:

I take food on any ride >2.5 hours (always have something in case you bonk, doesn't matter if you don't eat it).

If I have breakfast then I won't have anything until 90 mins in, and then every 45-60 mins after that - probably the equiv of 100-150 calories each time.

(And all that pertains to a fairly steady / brisk pace riding alone - if I'm out with some fast riders and expect to be on the rivet then I'd be taking something on every 40 mins from the word go - but more likely to have carb drink in that case)

Agree with this. Think we all have our own time limit which will depend on how stocked up we are and how hard the ride is going to be. Saying that, I think there can be a tendency to over eat and over think it, at the end of the day cycling is a great way to lose weight, why spoil that by taking a feast out with you.

And always take a gel, it makes a great tyre boot as well as an energy get me home.

bobmcstuff

Soreen

Rigga

bobmcstuff wrote:

Soreen

+1 especially now there are some nice new flavours like banana and fruity five! Bloody lovely, oh and the high 5 flapjack energy oat bars are great, nice flavours also.

whitestar1

Aldi flapjack - works for me along with two or three gels (SiS) and three proper carb/protein bars (SiS,High5,etc). so far rode upto 5 hours (75miles)

brettjmcc

All of the above. Find out what works for you and when you need to refuel. remember you need to do it before you start feeling the effects.

Personally, I make my own bars and energy drink these days, though do have pre-made gels in the pocket just in case.

MattPillinger

I find on longer rides I start with good intentions to eat, but gradually forget until it's too late.

But, my Garmin does a little beep and displays the split every 5 miles, I use this as a reminder to drink (every 5 miles) and eat (every 10 miles).

I use a little tribag on my top bar to put food in. Personally I think Gels and the like are disgusting, so I have dolly mixtures, flapjacks, dried pineapple chunks any occasionally Soreen (don't get this wet, it swells up to about 3 times the size and tastes rank!)

homers_double

A nice bowl of porridge and some tea half an hour or so before I leave the house will fuel about 2 hours, then I'll have a cereal/cake/breakfast bar stuffed in a pocket for every hour of riding. I also have an abundant energy source secreted about my person :?

I only drink water because I don't like gels and energy drinks.

diy

How many grams you need depends on key body composition data, body weights, calories consumed and fat reserves. A very small quantity of glucose and caffeine will keep you going unless you have very high lean body mass to body-weight ratio.