When do you need to eat on longer rides?

1964johnr

I usually ride about 30 miles on a weekend ride, which takes less than 2 hours and have just been taking on liquid. Recently I have been starting to do 40, 50 and 60 mile rides and realise there is a need to eat. Just wondering on tactics for eating and what to eat. I wont be opting for gels, just real food.

cooldad

Cake stop.

paul_the_pedaller

I generally ride 50 + miles most weekends at a moderate pace and eat something after an hour. SIS mini bars or a piece of flapjack are my preferred options, with a couple of slices of toast at a café stop at 35 or so miles. I generally get through 2 500ml bottles of High 5 energy source as well, one an hour.

sniper68

On a 50-60 I'll have something at the cafe stop at around 30 miles usually poached egg on toast if it's early or Cake if it's afternoon.If need be I'll have a flap-jack or similar around 45-50miles.
On a 110 miler last Summer I made the mistake of having Fish and Chips at the half way mark(well it was the seaside )...I felt horrible for the next 20 miles

david7m

You'll need food if out for more than 90 minutes.
SIS gels popular, but check your stomach can handle them at home before committing to potential billy bum splats during the ride.
My favourite is banana sorren, but it's fairly dense and difficult to consume whilst riding.
Dave

N0bodyOfTheGoat

If I intend to chase PBs up more than one cat4 hill, I start eating a Jelly Baby every ~15mins from ~60mins into the ride. I stash a good handful in one of those small re-sealable bags in a jersey pocket.

What may help is that generally, I eat a banana and drink the best part of a mug of water before I head out, ideally 30mins ish beforehand.

Dorset_Boy

Eat properly beforehand (eg porridge & banana at breakfast) and you should be good for 50-60 miles.
I regularly ride 80-90 miles on a Saturday with just a yoghurt, bowl of porridge & banana at breakfast, and up to 2 bottles of High 5 on the go, plus coffee and cake 12-15 miles from home.
Yes, i've built up to that but lots of people think they need to eat when really they don't. I do always carry and emergency gel and bar though, even on a short ride.

sungod

short version...

you're not racing, for 60 miles just eat before you start, have a doughnut or two along the way, eat again when you finish

longer version...

60 miles, assuming rolling terrain and not racing, maybe c. 2000kcal, could vary a fair bit either way depending on pace, terrain etc.

typical human glycogen stores are c. 2000kcal, with a lot more energy stored as fat, but humans can't metabolise fat as fast so it's less useful for high effort

from memory, with an optimum formulation (glucose/fructose mix) typical human can absorb c. 90g/hour carbs, for glucose only assume c. 60g/hour

there're c. 4kcal/g from carbs, so that's 240-360kcal/hour

the standard tactic is to stoke up in the preceding hours (or days) to ensure best stored glycogen level, then replenish as you go based on the absorption rate for what you're taking in

how much energy/hour you need depends upon level of effort, if you are going easy then you can ride all day as your body can metabolise fat fast enough to keep up

pushing it will use over 1000kcal/hour, i.e. at high effort you cannot replenish energy as fast as you use it, you must take on food right from the start to minimise the (inevitable) energy deficit

gels/bars/'real food' is irrelevant, all that counts is how fast you can absorb it: energy intake vs. expenditure, just choose what you like

sheffsimon

david7m wrote:

You'll need food if out for more than 90 minutes.
SIS gels popular, but check your stomach can handle them at home before committing to potential billy bum splats during the ride.
My favourite is banana sorren, but it's fairly dense and difficult to consume whilst riding.
Dave

90 minutes is not a long ride without food, plenty will be out on a weekday evening ride of 2 to 3 hours with just a bottle of water.

david7m

Fair enough, was just quoting a GCN YouTube. Most rides I forget something, today I forgot my food and was out 3 hours Beans on toast when I got back
Dave

joey54321

Different people are very different when it comes to food. I do an 11 mile ride to work fasted every day as well as some weekend long rides fasted so have come quite accustomed to burning through my sizable fat stores.

I'd say if someone is riding for anything under 2 hours that isn't all out then food isn't necessary, but you are still burning calories. It's better to be eating on the bike at the time than demolishing everything in the cupboard 6 hours after you get home. Experiment with what's works for you, monitor weight (up or down), check your energy levels and how much you enjoy the ride too. You might enjoy it more fed or without a focus of when to eat.

mr_mojo

60 miles yesterday at about 20mph average, big bowl of porridge for breakfast then a banana at about 40 miles. Was enough for me as don’t like to eat much when out.

pottssteve

I eat lots - agree with the porridge option before going out. While riding I will have banana or muesli bar for longer-term energy, mixed with something like a mini Mars bar or two.
Also agree to avoid big meals - little and often is the way to go.
Try to avoid drier foods while riding as they are hard to swallow; I once inhaled a lung full of very dry waffle that I had been given on a sportive!

It's best to take a bit more than you need at first and experience will tell you whether you have enough.

joe_totale-2

Home made flapjacks or those mini malt loaves are my preferred cycling food.
TBH the cycling specific energy bars are a bit of a rip off. Baking your own flapjacks saves loads of money and taste much nicer as you can adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes.

OnTheRopes

For me up to 2 hours usually nothing, just water in the bottle but I often carry something in the back pocket just in case I feel hungry.
Over two hours usually have a banana cut in half for 2 small snacks and a fig roll or Nature Valley bar as a back up, sometimes I eat sometimes I don't. I usually take 2 bottles on a long ride, one with water which I drink first and second with Torq energy which I sometimes need.
Sometimes I carry a gel in case of emergency which I never really use except in races.

pottssteve

Joe Totale wrote:

Home made flapjacks or those mini malt loaves are my preferred cycling food.
TBH the cycling specific energy bars are a bit of a rip off. Baking your own flapjacks saves loads of money and taste much nicer as you can adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes.

I agree with this. Pros use them to get calories in fast in racing situations. We want to be like pros, so people buy them. However, unless you are smashing along at 50km/hr, trying to stay in the wheel of Philippe Gilbert on a 2 man breakaway across the Ardennes you are much better off with proper food.

sniper68

I must be the only person who doesn't "get" porridge.I do like it but I'm always hungry about an hour after eating it,sooner if on the bike!I used to take it to work for my breakfast but stopped doing so for this reason!I now have 2Xpoached eggs and beans on toast(both at work and pre-ride)and find I feel fuller for much longer.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Sniper68 wrote:

I must be the only person who doesn't "get" porridge.I do like it but I'm always hungry about an hour after eating it,sooner if on the bike!I used to take it to work for my breakfast but stopped doing so for this reason!I now have 2Xpoached eggs and beans on toast(both at work and pre-ride)and find I feel fuller for much longer.

Protein stays in your stomach longer, making you feel fuller for longer, think it's all to do with giving enzymes time to break down the protein into amino acid building blocks.

sniper68

NitrousOxide wrote:

Sniper68 wrote:

I must be the only person who doesn't "get" porridge.I do like it but I'm always hungry about an hour after eating it,sooner if on the bike!I used to take it to work for my breakfast but stopped doing so for this reason!I now have 2Xpoached eggs and beans on toast(both at work and pre-ride)and find I feel fuller for much longer.

Protein stays in your stomach longer, making you feel fuller for longer, think it's all to do with giving enzymes time to break down the protein into amino acid building blocks.

I thought Porridge was supposed to be a "slow release" food?
A bloke at work has cold Porridge.By cold I mean he makes it with cold milk,just pours the milk on,stirs it and eats,not sure why but he swears by it

pottssteve

NitrousOxide wrote:

Sniper68 wrote:

I must be the only person who doesn't "get" porridge.I do like it but I'm always hungry about an hour after eating it,sooner if on the bike!I used to take it to work for my breakfast but stopped doing so for this reason!I now have 2Xpoached eggs and beans on toast(both at work and pre-ride)and find I feel fuller for much longer.

Protein stays in your stomach longer, making you feel fuller for longer, think it's all to do with giving enzymes time to break down the protein into amino acid building blocks.

Porridge is slow release complex carbohydrate - it is broken down by enzymes so the starch is converted into smaller oligo, di and monosaccharides. The latter can then be readily oxidised to produce energy by cellular respiration. However, as you point out, proteins are broken down to amino acids. This can take a bit longer, especially for large and complex proteins, and mainly happens in the stomach, keeping you full longer. Fats can take even longer to digest, and yield more energy than carbohydrates, staying in the stomach even longer.

As I understand it, porridge gives a good balance of relatively slow release of energy with enough ready calories. Perhaps combine the porridge with some form of protein to feel full for longer?

Uncooked oats will take even longer to digest as cooking partly begins the breakdown of starch.

sniper68

pottssteve wrote:

As I understand it, porridge gives a good balance of relatively slow release of energy with enough ready calories. Perhaps combine the porridge with some form of protein to feel full for longer?

I've tried it with Banana,Apricots,Berries etc but I always get a rumble and hunger pangs 30-60 mins later :roll: Must just be me :roll:

joey54321

Banana,Apricots,Berries aren't protein, that's just sugar which will have the opposite effect.

I always cook an egg into my porridge, it's delicious but also adds a bit of protein which is good. At the end of cooking turn the heat down, add the egg and let it sit on a low hit while stirring for a couple of minutes.

sniper68

joey54321 wrote:

Banana,Apricots,Berries aren't protein, that's just sugar which will have the opposite effect.

I always cook an egg into my porridge, it's delicious but also adds a bit of protein which is good. At the end of cooking turn the heat down, add the egg and let it sit on a low hit while stirring for a couple of minutes.

Most fruits contain Protein albeit in small amounts.Unfortunately there aren't many other ways to add any Protein to Porridge other than Fruit or seeds/nuts.
Egg in Porridge?Not for me thanks Eggs are one of my favourite foods but I wouldn't touch one in Porridge.I've seen someone put Cottage cheese in Porridge and that's just wrong too

svetty

Dorset Boy wrote:

Eat properly beforehand (eg porridge & banana at breakfast) and you should be good for 50-60 miles.
I regularly ride 80-90 miles on a Saturday with just a yoghurt, bowl of porridge & banana at breakfast, and up to 2 bottles of High 5 on the go, plus coffee and cake 12-15 miles from home.
Yes, i've built up to that but lots of people think they need to eat when really they don't. I do always carry and emergency gel and bar though, even on a short ride.

Similar here. I wouldn't generally eat anything extra for rides of less than 70 miles or so. Above this a few carbs at regular intervals and a cafe stop do the job.

I know it's more my problem than theirs but I find it really irritating when out with a group and they all stop every 15 miles or so and break out the bananas, energy bars etc etc. FFS lads, it's a bike ride not a trans-arctic sledge pull :oops: :evil:

sniper68

Svetty wrote:

I know it's more my problem than theirs but I find it really irritating when out with a group and they all stop every 15 miles or so and break out the bananas, energy bars etc etc. FFS lads, it's a bike ride not a trans-arctic sledge pull :oops: :evil:

Can they not eat and ride at the same time?
I'm assuming that the Bananas/energy bars are in a Jersey pocket(where I would keep mine) so there's really no need to stop......unless they want a break but don't want to admit it :?:

joey54321

Sniper68 wrote:

joey54321 wrote:

Banana,Apricots,Berries aren't protein, that's just sugar which will have the opposite effect.

I always cook an egg into my porridge, it's delicious but also adds a bit of protein which is good. At the end of cooking turn the heat down, add the egg and let it sit on a low hit while stirring for a couple of minutes.

Most fruits contain Protein albeit in small amounts.Unfortunately there aren't many other ways to add any Protein to Porridge other than Fruit or seeds/nuts.
Egg in Porridge?Not for me thanks Eggs are one of my favourite foods but I wouldn't touch one in Porridge.I've seen someone put Cottage cheese in Porridge and that's just wrong too

There is far more protein in the oats/milk in porridge than comes from fruit. You are right, there is a small amount of protein but the majority of fruit shouldn't really be considered 'a source of protien'. Nuts and seeds are good, though come with quite a lot of fat.

Have you tried eggs in porridge before? I normally get that reaction until people actually eat it. It just makes the porridge taste like custard which is delicious!

sniper68

joey54321 wrote:

Have you tried eggs in porridge before? I normally get that reaction until people actually eat it. It just makes the porridge taste like custard which is delicious!

Now I definitely won't try it

keef66

Sniper68 wrote:

A bloke at work has cold Porridge.By cold I mean he makes it with cold milk,just pours the milk on,stirs it and eats,not sure why but he swears by it

Nothing wrong with that, it's just muesli without the interesting bits. I used to eat it all the time as a kid.

These days if I can be @rsed to make it I prefer bircher muesli in the summer. Mix the oats with a grated apple, handful of nuts and dried fruit, and full fat milk. Leave in the fridge overnight and in the morning you have a creamy, chewy breakfast treat.

Winter it's proper porridge for me.

When I first started increasing the duration / length of my rides I had to be careful to start eating early and keep nibbling. Now I can manage a couple of hours or more on just a bottle of squash. So I'm either more efficient / better at pacing myself or I'm getting slower...

Longer rides I still try to eat little and often; fig rolls and jelly babies being my preferred fuel. An all day ride and I'll take sandwiches / full-on picnic gear because there's a limit to the amount of sweet stuff I can cope with.

Vino'sGhost

depending on the intensity and my objectives is the answer.

For long hard multi day rides, i eat a good breakfast (protein rich ) and pretty much start nibbling from the off. For this time of year where most rides are steady and of a couple of hours duration i dont bother. over 2.5 / three hours after an hour or so.

If i want to drop weight quickly i just get up smash a coffee, have a poo and then go. ill probably eat after an hour and a half to keep some level of blood sugar or id come grinding to a carb craving halt outside some awful garage in the middlle of nowhereville


if i want to really smash a short intervals session I eat an hour or so before and then protein and carb snack after in place of a normal meal. This works especially well if its a turbo brutal session in the evening

OnTheRopes

I usually follow porridge with a couple of slices of toast and marmalade, seems to last longer until the hunger knock

Wayne Plunger

Svetty wrote:

Dorset Boy wrote:

Eat properly beforehand (eg porridge & banana at breakfast) and you should be good for 50-60 miles.
I regularly ride 80-90 miles on a Saturday with just a yoghurt, bowl of porridge & banana at breakfast, and up to 2 bottles of High 5 on the go, plus coffee and cake 12-15 miles from home.
Yes, i've built up to that but lots of people think they need to eat when really they don't. I do always carry and emergency gel and bar though, even on a short ride.

Similar here. I wouldn't generally eat anything extra for rides of less than 70 miles or so. Above this a few carbs at regular intervals and a cafe stop do the job.

I know it's more my problem than theirs but I find it really irritating when out with a group and they all stop every 15 miles or so and break out the bananas, energy bars etc etc. FFS lads, it's a bike ride not a trans-arctic sledge pull :oops: :evil:

Another advantage for the solo rider, you don't have to keep stopping whilst people indulge in a fruit fest.