How do y'all fuel for long rides?

[andtckrtoo]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I did a search and couldn't find what I was looking for. :(

My question is related to what you eat before and after, not during per sae (I've got that part down). Do you eat a few more calories the day or two before hand or do you wait until afterwards?

Yesterday I did a 37 mile 3000 foot altitude gain ride and for some reason was shocked to see that I burned more calories than when I did my half marathon. I guess I never really thought about fueling for rides - I just rode (never had a HRM when I trained for my centurys 10 years ago -and I sometimes think that's the way to do it! :rolleyes:). But as I'm going to be riding hilly rides more often than I will run half marathons, I need to start figuring out how to avoid eating too much or too little. Any suggestions are welcome.

[alpinerabbit]

For really long rides (100 km and up) - plate of spaghetti the night before (make that 2 - I loooove spaghetti), dark bread (pumpernickel) for Breakfast, often with a boiled egg.

After rides of any length, Protein after the ride. Yay. I'm getting hamburger tonight. And I love (non-alcoholic or otherwise) beer after a ride.

[KnottedYet]

Normal dinner the night before.

Big yummy breakfast the day of: two fried eggs, fried porkchop, potatoes, salad or steamed veges. Coffee.

Just before the ride: hunk of cheese, rice crackers, V-8

Every 1/2-1 hour on the ride: Clif Bloks or banana or Lara Bar or boiled potato wedges with salt (stole the potato idea from MP, I think. Awesome on-bike food!)

I gotta EAT! and I'm not shy about it!
(of course, YMMV)

Best way to figure out what your body likes is to experiment. Try different pre-ride fueling plans. Do you ride better with a big dinner the night before, or a big breakfast the morning of? Is it protein and fat your engine craves, or carbs? Would it rather do re-fueling after the ride, instead of pre-fueling before the ride? Do you have exciting gut issues like hypoglycemia or celiac disease that might influence the way your fuel system works?

[Fredwina]

first question is how long is long? I do brevets (double metrics, 200K or 124 miles), but that's probably too long for you
Two things to remember
1. eat what you can take in, not what you've lost
and
2. HRM 's LIE:p Well, not really, but often times, the Calorie counter figure is more of wild burro-ed guess;)
As far as the first one goes, You probably can't put that much stuff down and keep it down. Your body need to burn calories to digest the food your'e putting in and move you down the road - I'd suggest looking at Hammer Nutrition's (http://www.hammernutrition.com/downloads/fuelinghandbook.pdf) guides (and keep in mind they're trying to sell you stuff :) )
As for me, I used to be morbidly obese. If I ate like a normal cyclist, I'd be back at 340 in time.
I usually like to have a big meal before a big event - actually I found that what's on the menu doesn't matter to me. And part of this finding out what works for you - play around and see what you and your body like:)

[Zen]

boiled potato wedges with salt (stole the potato idea from MP, I think. Awesome on-bike food!)


I got the idea from Wahine, except I shake them in a bag of some kind of Lipton's garlic and herb seasoning and toss in a little extra salt.
Lightly brushed with olive oil then roast instead of boil.
They's some kinda good.

[KnottedYet]

I got the idea from Wahine, except I shake them in a bag of some kind of Lipton's garlic and herb seasoning and toss in a little extra salt.
Lightly brushed with olive oil then roast instead of boil.
They's some kinda good.

Oooooh, that sounds good! I'm gonna have to try the seasoning salt, too!

[shootingstar]

Have a peek at what might be in store for you if you go on loaded touring rides.. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=23623 :D

As you can tell, I'm not a consistent fan of potatoes. If I have potatoes before ride, make it homemade and roasted is preferred. Deep fried foods..actually make me abit sluggish if too much of it. Sometimes there's no choice.

Eating a good, well-balanced supper night before helps me and I will lean on pasta or rice as carb on side with veggie dish of some sort, with seafood or chicken if I choose a meat. For breakfast, a medium-sized breakfast. Having a fruit or fruit juice somewhere during breakfast, is helpful to my system. Seems to defuse "sluggishness" in my digestive system from other heavier foods. :) (Normally at home, I only have less than 1 c. of oatmeal with a glug of milk, and a fresh fruit on side. Plus tea. Then jump on bike for 30-40 kms. before needing to eat.)

Above would be for a ride at 80-100 kms. with 2-3 short stops. If the rest stops are longer (ie. due to taking a ferry boat crossing), then I eat smaller food portions and less heavier /calorie-laden food.

As for post-ride eating, I do want to eat within the lst 2 hrs. after getting off bike. It doesn't have to be huge. Your metabolism is still crankin' away high. So might as well take advantage of that small window of calorie burning off-bike. A small 1/2 sandwich or muffin and large fruit juice drink. Hence, by suppertime, supper doesn't have to be large...if I am not biking same distance next day.

[Kalidurga]

Big yummy breakfast the day of: two fried eggs, fried porkchop, potatoes, salad or steamed veges. Coffee.


Knot, you're a woman after my own heart. My longest rides have mostly been fueled by steak'n'eggs and sweet iced tea (and Zen knows where I go for that). I like that fried porkchop and potatoes idea, though.

Post-ride: Let's just say I'm a big fan of those studies that say chocolate milk is the perfect recovery food ;)

[LBTC]

Night before - normal meal, definitely with meat and a carb - probably rice as I"m still not a big fan of rice pasta!

Morning of - usual breakfast: egg with avacado and goat cheese, and maybe a slice of gluten free toast. I've tried to ride after a gluten free waffle breakfast, but it doesn't sit well for me. Protein needed says stomach.

During - a cliff shot block or two every 30-50 minutes, and lots of water. On a supported ride a half banana seemed to work. I would like to try the seasoned potatoes, but i'm wondering if they can be done without the olive oil - not sure how that would sit....

After - my favourite: a nuked potato with chopped up meat, chopped vegetables and soy cheese melted. Protein, carbs, vegetables and easy. If the veggies and meat are chopped in advance and the ride ends at your door, you can easily be eating within 30 minutes of stopping for ideal metabolization. Sushi works too. :D

Interestingly enough, the next day of eating is really determined by the type of ride too. I snack all day at work (about 5 servings of veggies, 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of processed snack (baked snap peas and pieces of dark chocolate), not counting my medium-sized lunch. The day after a heavy ride I can't seem to stop eating, and will tear through the veggies and healthy stuff and move on to the less healthy stuff pretty quickly. It doesn't seem to matter if the heavy ride was long (50km), hard (3000+ ft of elevation) or max effort (25 minutes of time trial).

Experiment for yourself. What works for a short to medium ride may well work on a longer ride, with just a bit more and a bit more frequent. And very likely, if it doesn't work for a short ride it won't work for a long ride.

And be gentle on your digestive system. It's really important! If it gets messed up enough it can affect the rest of you in ways you may have never imagined. So listen and be nice to yourself.

You'll figure it out!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[kelownagirl]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I did a search and couldn't find what I was looking for. :(

My question is related to what you eat before and after, not during per sae (I've got that part down). Do you eat a few more calories the day or two before hand or do you wait until afterwards?

Yesterday I did a 37 mile 3000 foot altitude gain ride and for some reason was shocked to see that I burned more calories than when I did my half marathon. I guess I never really thought about fueling for rides - I just rode (never had a HRM when I trained for my centurys 10 years ago -and I sometimes think that's the way to do it! :rolleyes:). But as I'm going to be riding hilly rides more often than I will run half marathons, I need to start figuring out how to avoid eating too much or too little. Any suggestions are welcome.

Today I rode 40 miles with 2600' climbing in 2-1/2 hours on a small bowl of plain yogurt. I was up late partying and didn't sleep well so I was a tad hungover and didn't feel like eating. I'm pretty sure this is a what-not-to-do post though...

Seriously tho, you should eat a little if you're going to ride over an hour but you can't absorb more than about 300 calories per hour so there's no use in eating more than that. I like shot blox, your miles may vary.

[Ana]

I feel weird eating on my bike. I don't feel like I have that much control over my bike when I let go with one hand...and inclines and declines make me even more nervous. Any tips on eating? How do you eat the banana while riding??? :eek:

[KnottedYet]

I feel weird eating on my bike. I don't feel like I have that much control over my bike when I let go with one hand...and inclines and declines make me even more nervous. Any tips on eating? How do you eat the banana while riding??? :eek:

1. Stop bike.
2. Admire scenery.
3. Eat.
4. Wave cheerily at passing bikes.

I'll happily drink while riding, but I prefer to stop while eating.

[salsabike]

1. Stop bike.
2. Admire scenery.
3. Eat.
4. Wave cheerily at passing bikes.



I love this! I don't eat on my bike unless I have some reason to be in a serious hurry. On long rides, that has not been an issue, since I am one who likes to stop and pee every 15 miles or so, anyway.

Back to the OP's question---people's food needs seem to vary widely. I eat a bowl of instant oatmeal. On a long, like 60 mile ride, I'll probably have over the course of the whole ride 1 1/2 to 2 luna bars, and that's it for me. Other people do this totally different, so some experimentation on your part will probably have to happen for you to know what works best for you.

[Ana]

1. Stop bike.
2. Admire scenery.
3. Eat.
4. Wave cheerily at passing bikes.

I'll happily drink while riding, but I prefer to stop while eating.

I think if I eat something I should stop :) I don't usually stop to use the restroom since my rides do not exceed 20 miles :)

[shootingstar]

After all these years of cycling and trips, I've never attempted to eat while cycling. Closest if pressed, would be to sip in water or juice while cycling.

For a luddite like myself, it's worth stopping a few min. to munch instead of possible indigestion which is what happens if I eat too quickly.

[Wahine]

Well, since you asked....

Fish and Chips the night before. Then yes I like the potatoes mentioned above by Zen. If I'm racing tho I stick to gels and perpetuem mixed with Dr. Pepper. Hmmmmm, not exactly yummy but somehow it works. Then a chocolate milk within 20 min of finishing, followed quickly by ample amounts of dark beer and some form of greasy food - burgers or pizza usually does the trick. And apparently I'm capable of consuming and entire bag of goldfish the next day without even batting an eyelash.:D:D:D

[andtckrtoo]

I'm really enjoying reading your suggestions! The potatoes sound wonderful! I'm definitely trying them! We used to do something similar with boiled eggs on hikes - peel and salt and pepper then put them into baggies. Great snack at 13,000 feet. Not sure I could do the fish and chips, though - I think my tummy would rebel - and the consequences would not be pretty. :D I'm impressed!

It's funny, but I've done all sorts of endurance events, but they are usually one shot deals. Now I'm finding my average weekend bike ride to be 2-3 hours, and with what I hope to do, that will just increase. I can fuel for a one shot deal - no biggie - but for ongoing training I realized I needed better ideas.

Oh and ITA on the hrm and calorie thing! I use mine strictly as a guide. If I tried to eat all of the calories it says I burned, I'd not be fitting through the door soon! :eek:

Keep the suggestion coming! I'm learning a lot and it sounds like others are as well.

[indysteel]

Before a morning ride, long or otherwise, I eat a bowl of instant oatmeal with a spash of milk and a cup of yogurt. If the ride is longish, I'll also eat a banana. I also drink at least one glass of water first thing when I get up (so I have time to expel as much as possible before the start of the ride). Hydration, rather than nutrition, is my Achilles' Heel. I try to focus on hydration on the days leading up to a long ride.

The night before a long ride, I'll usually eat pasta of some sort. I've found over time that as long as I eat a good meal, I feel just fine the next day. My body's not all that picky.

Afterwards, I'll eat whatever's available. I used to religiously drink some chocolate milk, but I've gotten kind of lazy about it.

As for eating while riding, I usually stop to eat, but I also keep some food in my top tube bag to nibble on for long rides or those where it might be hard to stop because I'm with a group. I find it easiest to put the food (and to cut it into small pieces if necessary) into snack bags. I can generally get to them without too much trouble. They came in really handy during the Ride Across Indiana since the SAG stops on that ride are about 35 to 40 miles apart.

[TrekTheKaty]

PROTEIN! I used to do half marathons and they are completely different. I couldn't eat eggs beforehand, because they would give me a stomach ache--but not on the bike! I warm up hash browns in a skillet (not the frozen ones), then add 1/4 c. eggbeaters and a little cheddar. Quick OJ and shot of espresso and I'm out the door.

I was doing yogurt for my "second breakfast," but I just switched to smoothies today--1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup OJ, 1 banana, handful frozen fruit (strawberry, peach, blueberry, raspberry).