Eat while riding?

I'm pretty new here, just bought my bike a month ago and have taken a few 15-20 mile rides.

I pushed myself the other day and rode over 30 miles, but the last 7 or so weren't so pleasant. I was feeling totally exhausted. I'd eaten a little while before heading out and taken water with me but no food. I was averaging 17-18 mph for the first 1 1/4 hours but dropped to about 10-12 for the last 45 minutes or so, including a brief time when I was walking the bike to try to stretch out my muscles. What surprised me the most is that my arms were so tired. I know I need to work on my core strength and I have too much weight on my arms, but it just surprised me how tired I felt all over. I was feeling great until it was like I hit a wall and lost all my energy.

I'm wondering if this is because I should be snacking on something while riding. Is there a general rule for eating while riding longer distances? (For me, 30 is a pretty long distance.)

Generally every half hour or so. But everyone is different. Since you already know you hit the wall around 20 miles, maybe try eating every 10 miles? (eat before you bonk, much better than eating as you bonk or after you bonk)

Edit to add: generally *I* eat every half hour or so. I didn't mean to imply that everyone eats every half hour or so. :D

My solution to food while riding has been this...it is just an idea as to what combo might work for you...

I have been eating a clif shot before I leave the house. Before that I have usually eaten a good breakfast and perhaps a midmorning snack, if needed. On my bike I have a cytomax drink mix in one water bottle and pur water in the other. During the ride, I will go back and forth between them as needed. From what I have read and learned from everyone, is to go back and forth between each. Then if I am really hungy, this varies on my ride length and other factors-how hungry I have been -I will have some clif bar at a stop along the way.

My usual rides have been around 30 miles. I am sure I refill on water when I come home and I am sure I eat something when home to refuel.

Clif bars and the like work for me, there are many brands of bars out there so find what works for you.

happy riding.

Red Rock

Keep in mind that since this was a much longer ride than normal for you, part of your exhaustion is likely just that, exhaustion. Your eating and drinking provides only so much. Even if I eat every 20 minutes I can't ride 100 miles at once if I haven't trained for it. You need to work up your distance and experiment on your water and calorie intake while doing so. Everyone is different.

If you have eaten a good breakfast (or meal if you ride later) within a few hours of riding you should be good for an hour before you need calories. After that you need to start consuming some calories every 20-30 minutes.
I take along Clif Luna Moons on rides under 50 miles. On rides over 50 I also take along a single serve pack of pringles and a small bag of beef jerkey.
I also use a custom blended electrolyte drink from a company called Infinit Nutrition. You can find them online. But any electrolyte/energy drink of your choice will do.
But as said, part of your bonk likely came from lack of saddle time. Once you get a few more base miles in your legs the distance will come a bit easier.

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Originally Posted by Spec&TrekGirl

I'm pretty new here, just bought my bike a month ago and have taken a few 15-20 mile rides.

I'm wondering if this is because I should be snacking on something while riding. Is there a general rule for eating while riding longer distances? (For me, 30 is a pretty long distance.)

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The law is, "eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty."

Depending on your state of fitness, and the amount of effort you're putting out, you liver and your muscles will hold enough glycogen for about 2 hours' work. So, if you're going to be out riding for at least two hours or more, you need to take along something to eat, or stop for a snack every now and then.

Food = fuel for your bike's motor, which is you!

Tom

I tend to plan rides partly around eating. There's a new restaurant I want to try that's 30 km away, so I'll have a nice 60 k ride soon. There's another one that's 51 k so that'll get me a metric century next month.

The general rule is to increase your distance, time, or intensity by about 10% per week. You might want to taper back just a bit to where you're most comfortable, and then begin adding more mileage and time in smaller increments each week.

For fuel, everyone is different. A lot of people like oatmeal before a ride, and carb snacks during the ride. We like Nature Valley Oat 'n Honey bars for our rides, or dried apple pieces, oatmeal cookies or similar snack bars, and the like. Another thing I do is put a little O.J. (or apple juice) in the bottom of my water bottle, add a little honey (1-2 tsp.) and fill with water.

Be sure to not let yourself get hungry. Experiment and find what works best for you.

An excellent resource for learning about food as fuel for exercise is Chris Charmichael's Food for Fitness. He trained Lance Armstrong back from the brink of death to TdF victory, so I guess he knows a thing or two on the subject. :)

S&TGirl - I usually eat every 15 miles or so. That seems to work for me. This time of year when the temps are cooler I take two bottles of just water, but as the temperatures heat up I usually take an energy drink in one bottle and water in the other. If we are on a long ride, then every-other time I eat a gel while I am riding to save time. I have to stop for bars though 'cause I choke if I don't! :rolleyes:

Have you ever heard of Larabars? They are completely natural, easy to digest, provide lots of energy and are made right in Denver.

https://www.larabar.com/secure/index_.php

I love them because they are GOOD and easy to eat. If you can get your hands on some, give them a try.

I did a lot of fueling on the bike last year. This year, I decided to hone back a little based on my ride times. For example, I no longer need a goo for a 1.5 hour ride. If I do 2 hours or more, I'll start to add things in. Then, it's a question of Heed vs solid food.

You may find one thing works one year and then you can switch it up the next simply because you're in better shape. :)

I've found that my body responds quite well to Hammer products. I like chocolate Hammer gel and Heed (Hammer Nutrition's vs of Gatorade, kind of). One thing I REALLY like about Hammer is that their products are all natural. I've found that by switching most of my foods to organic and trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup, I've gotten rid of my asthma and coughing of three years and my acne is now clearing up.

With that in mind, what you put in your body during your ride may not be nearly as important as what you put in when you're not on your bike. :)

Welcome to cycling! You'll find it's more than just a sport. It's a lifestyle that's well worth the journey. :)

If 30 is a long distance for you, you probably will want a snack. When I started riding 30 would be hard without Gatorade and maybe a small snack. I was already running four days a week, so I had a good fitness base but 30 miles would wipe me out.

Four years later I will not eat on a 30 miler, I will however have one 20 oz bottle water and one 20 oz of something with electrolytes. I usually eat every two hours (in the normal area I ride this would be about 35 miles) because anything more tends to upset my stomach.

I used to carry a small pouch of cytomax powder, some fig newtons, luna bars still my favorite, water. When my two water bottle ran out, I would make a stop at 7-11, circle-K, deli wherever and get 32 oz bottle of water for a refill. One would have plain water the second bottle would have cytomax with water.

If your training ride is one hour or less, you don't need to refuel. but if your ride is over 2 hours, refuleing is a must. I just like to graze.

My rides are not that long right now so I just carry two bottles, one with plain water the second with Accelerade and water. I'm upping my milage to 40 miles per ride so I will start carrying fig newtons or luna bars. Graze while riding.

When I get home, I have jerkey with all that salt and a fruit smoothie before I do anything else.

Smilingcat

Larabars

Peanut Butter to-go cup

Figuring out the food thing took me quite a while, but now I've got it worked out pretty well. I think it's really an individual thing. My stomach seems to be pretty easy-going and I can tolerate snacking during a ride. I know some people who cannot face the idea of eating while riding and feel sick if they do.

My rule of thumb is that if I'm going to be riding farther than 20 miles or so, I always carry some food with me just in case. Power Bars, fig newtons, shot blocks, etc. If I stop for a rest or a potty break, I'll usually eat a few bites. And I always have one water bottle with Gatorade and another with plain water. I drink at least every 10-15 minutes and more frequently if it's hot.

It also makes me feel better just knowing I have food along. Last summer I forgot my Gatorade and my food on one of my solo out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere rides. It wasn't a long ride but I was panicking because I didn't know what I'd do if I needed calories!

Good luck...I'm sure you'll figure out what works best for you. Just experiment a little and you'll get your own food routine down in no time!

I think this is highly variable from person to person.

For 30 miles or less, I'm fine with just water.

Up to about 50, I'm okay with just a carb sports drink (I like Gu2O). But I usually end up eating something on rides over 30 because I do most of my riding with my boyfriend, and he gets low-blood sugary much earlier than I do. He's had a couple of low-blood sugar related accidents (like riding into my rear wheel, crashing and cracking a rib, or inexplicably hitting the curb going up a steep hill and again going into the bushes), and so I'll make us stop and have a snack halfway through (usually a Luna bar -- they fit in a medium sized seat pack with tools and tubes if you pack carefully!), as well as making sure he's drinking from the Gu2O bottle as well as the water bottle, and asking him periodically how he's feeling, especially if I notice flaky riding of some kind. (He really doesn't mind my keeping an eye on him :D. It prevents crashes). (Just to illustrate how variable fueling needs are, he also needs gel or sports beans to avoid feeling lightheaded on runs -- he'll take beans on an 8 mile run, I won't consider bringing sugary stuff on runs unless I"m going over 15 miles).

Over 50, I will alternate sports drink-water bottles (finish water bottle, finish sports drink bottle, go to drug store and refill water/make up a new Gu2O bottle, repeat). I will also need something solid with protein (I like Luna bars, they're easy on my stomach) periodically, depending on the length of the ride (60 would be one, 85 might be two -- but remember, this is in addition to the sports drink).

I drink A LOT. So if I'm alternating water and sports drink, I can actually end up taking in a lot of calories that way.

As others have said, the key thing is to start taking in calories before you reach the lightheaded and spacy stage. It takes some experimentation to find out what works for **you**, and it's a bit of a moving target since your body gets more efficient at using fuel as you become fitter.

Hi! One bit of advice I should follow more myself - always bring more than you plan on needing. You can get lost and stuck getting somewhere the long hilly way by accident(:o who, Me?!!), or be riding with or come across someone who is "bonking" Most all of the gels are good, I've heard that you should avoid using the extra sodium gels in combination with sports drinks like cytomax, etc which also have sodium. So if I eat an added sodium gel, I'll wash it down with water, and drink the cytomax later. I like to count calories when something works(for example, my favorite 70 mile hilly ride is a 1000 calorie ride for me) Before I started doing this, packing all the gels, organic toaster pastries,sports drinks, and sports bars seemed like too much food, and I would run out of gas having brought too little. Eat and drink to finish your ride strong! Tokie

Bananas work wonders for me, cheap and easy to eat. I eat more or less every 45 minutes or so, but then I don't ride very long, I'm a beginner to longer distances. I've also tried some homemade energy bars that I've used winter camping, these contain a lot of fat, sugar and starch, and won't upset your stomach. Correction: they don't upset my stomach... :p

It could also be, simply, that you went out too fast. (I don't know how intense 17-18 is for you... might not be.) However, could also be that a shot of GU ... or OJ ... or a banana... after half an hour and you'd have been coming in strong.
I've also noticed that dehydration can peg me out... I'll feel stronger after I drink plain ol' water. (I don't eat much on rides, myself.)

Bring some Gu packs along and eat that when you reach the half way mark. I find that this usually helps for me.

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Originally Posted by Spec&TrekGirl

I'm pretty new here, just bought my bike a month ago and have taken a few 15-20 mile rides.

I pushed myself the other day and rode over 30 miles, but the last 7 or so weren't so pleasant. I was feeling totally exhausted. I'd eaten a little while before heading out and taken water with me but no food. I was averaging 17-18 mph for the first 1 1/4 hours but dropped to about 10-12 for the last 45 minutes or so, including a brief time when I was walking the bike to try to stretch out my muscles. What surprised me the most is that my arms were so tired. I know I need to work on my core strength and I have too much weight on my arms, but it just surprised me how tired I felt all over. I was feeling great until it was like I hit a wall and lost all my energy.

I'm wondering if this is because I should be snacking on something while riding. Is there a general rule for eating while riding longer distances? (For me, 30 is a pretty long distance.)

---

Ok, so in theory a body can burn off around 250 calories an hour. Yes, it is different for different people, but you start there.

What was your nutrition going into the ride? When was the last time you ate? How many calories did you consume?

You had water, but did you have a sports drink too? You can substitute calories that way as well.

And the key to your calories is that you also need carbs with those calories.

For my long distance rides I try to consume approximately 30-60 carbs per hour. That can be in the form of gels, food, sports drink, etc. Just however I want to take it in.

I bet if you just ate a gel or two on your ride and drank some sports drink, you would be fine. I'm not sure you really need to start eating full "meals" on the bike for such a short distance.

But again, take in your calories anyway you want to.

I know on the bike I eat... Combos, Luna Bars, Uncrustables, Gels, and PB Crackers.

this thread made me hungry so I went to performance bike and ordered up two dozen power bars ;)

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Originally Posted by KSH

Ok, so in theory a body can burn off around 250 calories an hour. Yes, it is different for different people, but you start there.

What was your nutrition going into the ride? When was the last time you ate? How many calories did you consume?

You had water, but did you have a sports drink too? You can substitute calories that way as well.

And the key to your calories is that you also need carbs with those calories.

For my long distance rides I try to consume approximately 30-60 carbs per hour. That can be in the form of gels, food, sports drink, etc. Just however I want to take it in.

I bet if you just ate a gel or two on your ride and drank some sports drink, you would be fine. I'm not sure you really need to start eating full "meals" on the bike for such a short distance.

But again, take in your calories anyway you want to.

I know on the bike I eat... Combos, Luna Bars, Uncrustables, Gels, and PB Crackers.

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I thought the theory was that a body can ABSORB about 250-300 cals/hr. It is quite easy to BURN much much more than that. At race pace, I can burn 750 cals/hr according to my Polar. At a more relaxed pace but not recovery pace, I'd be in the 500 cal/hr range. So, you're going to be working with a deficit even if you do eat during the ride, but your pre-ride meal will get you somewhere on shorter rides. Also affecting motor skills and muscle cramping are electrolytes. For a ride of 50 miles, I will generally eat about 600 calories mostly from carbs on the bike, plus lots of water and electrolytes. For a 30 mile ride, I'd be fine with about 200. Of course, terrain and pace play a big part.

I do tend to eat more on the bike than most of my training buddies, but I feel that I really need it. Plus, I have a hard time maintaining weight when I'm training a lot, and I'll still finish a ride with a huge calorie deficit.

I prefer Clif bloks for most of my food. Sometimes Clif bars on longer rides, but it can be hard to eat "real" food sometimes. I tend to race with a Clif electrolyte drink instead, and I may add that to my usual food consumption in the summer, because I have a problem with cramping when it gets really hot.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

I thought the theory was that a body can ABSORB about 250-300 cals/hr.

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Yep, you are right. You did a better job of explaining it. :)

Thanks for all the advice! This forum is great.

I think the first thing I need to do is bring a sports drink/electrolyte replacement (which I now remember has done a great job of keeping me feeling good on hiking and backpacking in the desert). I like the idea of Gu too because it sounds like it would be easy to digest. I've always been a little hesitant to eat while exercising because my stomach doesn't deal well with eating and exercising soon after. I'll have to do a little experimenting with Gu, energy bars, and some of the other food suggested here to see what works for me and what I like.

Stopping for a meal in the middle of the ride sounds like fun when I have several hours so I can relax for a while after lunch before heading back.

I took another similar and slightly longer ride yesterday with an energy bar that I ate half of at 45 minutes and finished it about half an hour later. My stomach was a little upset when I got on the bike right after eating, so I took it pretty easy for about 10 minutes after each time I ate. Felt much better at the end of the ride, even with a serious headwind.