What to Eat on a Century Ride?

[itself]

Hi all!

Well, as I am preparing for the Tour de Tucson, I am trying to figure out what will work for me on the ride as far as food. I have a really hard time digesting stuff on rides, so peanut butter and honey are out.

I am beginning to think that I may have to live on protein bars and bananas, unless I can figure out something. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know.

Thanks!

[Becky]

The short answer is anything you can keep down.

I have to eat solid food on long rides. Shot bloks only go so far, and start making me nauseous after awhile. I like Clif bars, fig newtons, and fruit if it's available. I've heard of people using boiled potato slices, but never tried them myself.

What have you tried so far?

[Veronica]

Experiment as you do your training rides.

Veronica

[Eden]

What do you normally eat on rides - what's worked on your training rides? Eat that - eat more of it, in small quantities, often. If you find solid foods to be hard to digest (not sure why protein bars should be any better than peanut butter....), make sure your bottle has some liquid nutrition in it -but find something and try it *before* your ride, as you never can tell if you will like it or if it will work for you until you try it, and in the middle of a century is a bad time to find out that your sports drink gives you terrible gas or tastes horrid or is intolerably sweet when it gets warm.

Everyone is different, so its hard to give specific advice. What works for me, may not be right for you (I, for instance, cannot tolerate bananas on the bike - they give me stomach cramps). That said, what does work for me personally has two components - it depends on how hard I'll be riding - the more strenuous the ride, the fewer solids I can tolerate. For races I rely mostly on liquids and gels. For longer more steady rides I usually take some sort of salty nutty kind of bar(s) - I particularly like Odwalla sweet and salty almond bars. Sometimes I take a little jerky - a tiny bit of protein with a wallop of salt calms my stomach and is a welcome relief from sweet, sweet, sweet. I always start with a bottle with calories and a bottle with only electrolytes.

[maillotpois]

And remember if you go the liquid nutrition route (which is largely what I do) that for organized rides you almost always have to bring tour own along in baggies. Tour de Tucson is no exception - I don't remember what the drink mix was they have there (and it varies year to year) but it was never something I had trained with so I always brought my own.

[marni]

I can't answer if you are pushing for speed, but having done several centuries, or century+ rides which last an average of 6 hours each start to finish, I do know that if I try to subsist on nothing but short ride, gus, gels, protein bars and electrolyte drinks. I need some normal type food somewhere along the line. For me a peanut butter made with low fat peanut butter and whole grain bread, cut into bite sized chunks, along with a baggie of dried fruit chunks ( banana, apple, apricot and dates) which I can suck and mouth to keep myself busy and slivating.

Just a thought- when in doubt, the best food is the least processed,closest to real food you can find if you are accustomed to it throughout your diet.

[ny biker]

It takes me closer to 9 hours to ride a century and I can do it on gu, gatorade and water. Usually I have to limit myself to those three things because my stomach won't tolerate anything else.

It really is a personal thing that you have to figure out during training.

[itself]

Thanks gals! The pretzels and fig newtons are great suggestions. I use Ultima Replenisher electrolytes, no cramping and has worked great.

I am hoping the Marriott or a restaurant will be open early enough in Tucson that I can get some pancakes before the start.

I will go to REI and pick up a couple of some different gels to see if they help. Thanks again for the help!

[nikkoblu2]

I can't answer if you are pushing for speed, but having done several centuries, or century+ rides which last an average of 6 hours each start to finish.

OMG! Six hours isn't pushing for speed??? Thank you, NYbiker for saying that it takes you closer to 9 hours to do a century.;)

God bless you Marni if you're doing it in 6 and not pushing for speed.

I rode 48 level miles yesterday (24 into a headwind) on my new road bike - it was 3:30 of actual ride time and the entire ride took 4:10. I wasn't really going for speed, but I don't think I could have gone much faster if I wanted to.

I know I completely deterred from the thought of this original post...sorry about that. :o

[Catrin]

6 hour century? You ROCK! As for me....the one ride on which I've hit 70 miles so far took me 6 hours.... I know this isn't the purpose of the thread but I couldn't resist :)

Still hoping to ride a century in 2010. For me, I have found that a combination of Cliff bars, Shot Blocs, Heed, Accelerade and a peanut butter - banana sandwich does me just fine - at least up to 70 miles. For under 30 miles I don't really eat any extra but do have a bottle of Heed to go with my 'bak and some shot blocs should i need them.

[ny biker]

Thanks gals! The pretzels and fig newtons are great suggestions. I use Ultima Replenisher electrolytes, no cramping and has worked great.

I am hoping the Marriott or a restaurant will be open early enough in Tucson that I can get some pancakes before the start.

I will go to REI and pick up a couple of some different gels to see if they help. Thanks again for the help!

It's best to plan breakfast in advance, too. I have been known to smuggle a toaster into the hotel room when I'm doing a ride that requires a hotel stay so I can have my usual waffles for the pre-ride breakfast.

Cereal and milk is a packable breakfast, if you get the milk in a box (e.g., Parmalat or soy milk). If the hotel has a microwave in the room you can make oatmeal.

[Jo-n-NY]

This year we used Perpetuem by Hammer. You put in the amount of powder going by body weight and how long the ride is by the hour. I use it for any ride that will be over a two hours. I put in the powder for up to 4 hours then bring more in a baggie to replenish for a century ride. You don't chug it like water or gatorade. You take a swig every 15 minutes for long rides followed by water or for me water with some gatorade in it. It replaces carbs & protein.

We also take Hammer Endurolytes capsales for electrolyte replacement. I still eat at the rest stops but both my husband & myself found a huge difference in our legs by using this.

[Becky]

+1 for the electrolyte capsules! They definitely make a difference in how I feel, both physically and mentally.

[marni]

+1 for the electrolyte capsules! They definitely make a difference in how I feel, both physically and mentally.

I second the use of electrolyte capsules for gym training as well. These days, probably because of the low humidity ( abnormally low for this time of year in this area) even though I am drinking like a fish (water, more water, and still more water) I seem to be cramping up at the drop of a squat. I have been taking the electrolyte tablets and they help.

[DarcyInOregon]

Itself, you were given good advice on trying to figure out your nutrition on your training rides before you do the century. I hope you get it figured out. Like everyone is saying, it is an individual choice, that what works for one cyclist may not work for another cyclist. I know the first year that I tried to increase the distance on my road bike I got my nutrition all wrong, and stuff that works great for many cyclists actually did harm to my body in terms of internal inflammation, sodium sensitivity and blood sugar levels and it took an entire year to get my health back.

I am in agreement with most, and that is the electrolyte tablets are great. I don't use them on every ride, but for certain types of rides where there is heat or distance, then I use the electrolyte tablets.

I pretty much ignore the food at the rest stops except for 1)fresh fruit and veggies, 2)boiled eggs, and 3)whole grain with peanut butter. Mostly I stand there and try to eat the stuff in my jersey pockets, which for me is mostly Power Bars, the food that is effective for me and doesn't have any added food chemicals, but is real nasty tyring to eat on a ride with high temperatures and the darn things melted in my pockets. I only refill my water bottles with water, and I add an electrolyte tablet to the bottle if needed.

Be sure to to followup after the ride to let everyone know how the nutrition and fluids went for you on the century.

[itself]

Hi all,

Thank you again for all of the great advice.

I'm losing weight at a quick rate, and I am already a bone. So I brought pasta back into the house ( I don't believe in eating pasta unless one is doing endurance training), and am having to eat it at night to try to get some weight back on. I am eating peanut butter is really helping fill me up and good calories after the ride.

20-30 miles on the bike I typically just bring water and electrolytes, no food. I don't feel like I need it. When I get over 40 miles, I definitely am feeling like I need something. So I will experiment with the GUs.

Thanks again!

[OakLeaf]

I second the use of electrolyte capsules for gym training as well. These days, probably because of the low humidity ( abnormally low for this time of year in this area) even though I am drinking like a fish (water, more water, and still more water) I seem to be cramping up at the drop of a squat. I have been taking the electrolyte tablets and they help.

Is it possible you're drinking too much water? Have you done before/after weighing? I've read that weight gain during an event is the #1 predictor of hyponatremia.

Balancing hydration and sodium intake is a huge issue for me, too, but the weigh-ins at least give me a clue whether I'm hydrating properly.