Another Nutrition Question

[sarah b.]

Hey y'all,
I went on what was supposed to be a 60 mile ride today. My stomach was kind of bothering me as we began the ride, feeling bloated. But, around mile 35, I started feeling really naseous. By mile 40, I lost my snacks on the side of the road. You gotta love vomiting with an audience (sorry, probably too much information).

My body felt great, except for the tossing of the cookies, so I know if I can conquer that, I'll be able to ride much farther. I ate a Snickers Marathon bar and had a little bit of coke before the ride. I realize that the coke and chocolate may not have been the smartest, but I generally get a headache if I don't have caffeine all day, and I knew I'd be riding for a while. On the ride, I stopped at 2 rest stops and had a quarter orange slice, half a banana, and animal crackers or vanilla wafers at each stop. I only drank water on the ride. I was drinking out of the camelback so I don't know how much I drank, but I tried to drink consistently.

Now that I've told you more than you wanted to know, here are my questions. First of all, what do you generally consume before the ride (either the night before and/or the morning of)? How long before the ride do you try to eat? I know you shouldn't wait until you feel bad to eat, but what do you eat if/when you start to feel naseous?

Thanks so much for all your help. I really want to accomplish bigger cycling goals and don't want this to hold me up. Many of your tips helped my husband finish the ride today and helped me to ride safely in a large group.

-sarah b.

[LBTC]

Hi, Sarah

I'm no expert, but I try to eat something substantial at least 2 hours before a heavy ride. If it's early in the day on a weekend, I just eat my regular breakfast, but definitely make sure I've got that two hours to digest. Before an after work ride, I try to eat 2 hours before - usually something with potatoes and cheese. that's what works for me. I usually feel bloated and/or nauseous for the first half hour after eating that as it is a bit before I really need that much food, but it seems that the 2 hour window makes that go away and then I have enough fuel to ride. Luckily, whenever I've felt nauseous while riding, I've managed to stretch (open up my chest and core by changing riding position) / ride it out.

Yesterday was a big ride for me at 40 miles in 2 hours 44 minutes. At 1 1/2 hours I knew I needed something and a gel pack would have been perfect, but all I had were the 2 bottles of cytomax. tummy was fine, energy and legs disappeared.

Was it particularly hot? Is it possible you need to drink something with electrolytes and salt while riding? your snacks seem good, but may the citrus was hard on whatever else was in there? Keep experimenting. you'll find the sweet spot!

Namaste,
~T~

[CorsairMac]

Clif bars and others also make a goo type replacement that has caffeine in it so you don't have to try and throw back a pop to make sure you get your daily fix! (I know what you mean about the headache - I have Exactly the same issue) I try to carry a couple of those in case my ride is gonna take me past my noon time caffeine requirement. It replaces the electrolytes And gives me the caffeine. Make sure you check the packaging if you wanna try those - coz they also make non-caffeinated goo.

[Tar-Cat]

How long before the ride did you have the coke? It could possibly have been some effect the carbonation had on your stomach, or the combination of that with the chocolate. Sometimes drinking carbonated soda (even just a little bit) before a workout really makes me feel like my stomach is just sloshing around. Besides that, I dont' have anything else to add.

[fixedgeargirl]

Clif bars and others also make a goo type replacement that has caffeine in it so you don't have to try and throw back a pop to make sure you get your daily fix!

What she said! I find that Coke causes for me a condition I affectionately refer to as "bubble gut". I, too, am a slave to caffeine, so I make sure I get some coffee/black tea/green tea in the morning. It doesn't take much to keep the headache at bay. One cup of tea can do it. Barring getting your dose in (7 am start, anyone?), those caffeine enhanced goo packs come in mighty handy. They can also give a much needed boost on the last leg of a long ride.

As for menu, I make sure to eat a protein breakfast at least 45 minutes before a morning ride. Breakfast taco with egg, bacon if we have it, cheese. As an example, I went 50 miles yesterday on one taco (no meat), 3 goo packs, one Luna bar and most of a bottle of full-strength Gatorade. I was hungry at the end, but not famished. Also ended just before lunch time, so it was a time-appropriate hunger.

Your ride menu does sound meager. Oranges are good for hydration, but don't have a lot of calories. I'd consider them more of a drink on a bike ride. You went 40 miles with no electrolyte replacement. I believe the guideline is replace electrolytes if activity is over an hour. It's amazing how something that tastes icky off the bike can have the greatest flavor ever after pedalling for 20 miles, with 40 more to go. Your body knows what it needs.

A big help for me is being able to eat a goo pack without getting off the bike. I have a quick metabolism (though it seems to be slowing as I press on through my 30's ) and need to replenish often. If I waited for a rest stop on a club ride... well, I wouldn't make it to the rest stop, having fallen over, twitching in some hypo-glycemic shock.

You've gotten some great feedback here! Try different things and you'll have your own personal formula before long!!!

[annerol]

Hi Sarah,
I'm a newbie, so I've been asking lots of questions and doing lots of reading. Perhaps you aren't interested in after- ride nutrition; however, with all the pre-ride and during ride responses, I thought that I might just chime in. Realize that this is all theory- not my actual longstanding experience yet.

for what it is worth...
nutrition throughout the week is going to directly affect your performance. eat healthfully and definitely eat carbs the evening before a long ride. day of: eat 2 1/2 hours before ride, drink LOTS of water. 1/2 hour before ride, consume another 16 ounces, plus 60- 100 grams of carbs. during ride, hydrate before you are thirsty, and eat before you are hungry. suggested 16 pz. fluid every hour. constantly snack (pretzels, trail mix, fig bars, fruit, sports products). definitely drink a sports drink to replace electrolytes, potassium, etc. be sure to ALSO DRINK WATER, AS JUST SPORTSDRINK can actually dehydrate you (read more from link below). anyway, this is all stuff you've heard. what i wanted to say, was that builing muscle and recovery is the KEY to improvement, so AFTER your ride is equally important to your training goals. eat 100 grams of carbs within 1/2 hour of compelting the ride, and then again 2 hours later. otherwise, your body will take nutrition from--- (and here I don't remember the phrase)--- but it is generally that the lactic acid (not the right word- can somebody more knowledgeable help?) will build in your muscles and increase likelyhood of injury and painful muscles.

also, if you just want some really great information about training, nutrition, health, etc., go to Aidslifecycle.com and look over the website. I'm constantly referring to the plethora of info they have there, because I'm training to do 585 miles this June over a one week period. all kinds of good stuff to know. also, i love to hang out at the bookstore and read the nutrition chapters in cycling books.

best of luck to you! hope this response wasn't out of thread interest.
Anne

[RoadRaven]

Hi there everyone... I'm a newbie here too... great little forum, btw...

And Sarah, my reply probably endorses what most others are saying

I avoid high sugar things, particularly just before I get on the bike.

Carbo-loading the night (or a few hours) before is good to give your body some reserves.

Most of my rides are in the morning, and for breakfast I like;
eggs on toast, or
a banana sandwich (or mashed on taost), or
muesli and yoghurt

I don't like to eat during the ride, it just sticks in my throat. That is something I know I have to work on...

A small can of creamed rice or a vegemite &cheese sandwich are what I most want when I get back home.

[DeniseGoldberg]

What I eat before a ride generally depends on the time of day I'm heading out. Morning? I just eat my usual breakfast or maybe a little more. Juice, cereal with fruit, english muffin or toasted frozen waffle with peanut butter. If it's later in the day, I'm still likely to eat something like a peanut butter sandwich.

For a 60 mile ride, I fill my Camelbak with water and the water bottles on the bike with Gatorade. I also carry - and eat - energy bars. It sounds to me like you had a combination of not eating the right food before your ride and not eating enough as you were riding. If I read your entry right, the only time you ate on the ride was at your 2 rest stops. And what you ate sounds like very little given your energy output.

It's also possible that the Snickers Marathon Bar and coke wasn't a good combination. On the oranges vs. bananas front, I find that bananas work better than other fruits when I'm snacking on the run.

[sarah b.]

Thanks for all the feedback, so far! You guys have helped confirm many things that I suspected were my mistakes yesterday. I'll try some of your strategies on a big ride this weekend and let you know how it goes.
-sarah b.