Quote Originally Posted by north woods gal View Post
To eat or even not eat on a ride is a matter of you and your physiology and diet requirements. I very rarely eat anything on a ride, even on all day ride, but my eating habits are different than most folks. I only eat two meals a day, anyway, so I'm used to going for long stretches between eating. Whatever you do choose to eat, make sure you can comfortably ride while it digests. Fruits, for instance, make me feel bloated and uncomfortable when I ride.

Water, though, is essential for everyone, no matter how or what they eat. Don't leave home without some water.
Definitely! I eat breakfast (cereal and coffee) before most of our rides, so start out well-hydrated. As a result, one large-size water bottle is plenty for me on even my 35-mile rides.

I could never ride all day without eating and don't recommend it. I have a very fast metabolism and will start feeling hungry two hours into a ride, if not sooner. It's best to eat a little before you feel hungry! I stop about 90 minutes in for a light snack, typically a granola bar or cookie of some sort (soft, since I have braces on my teeth right now). Usually ~100 calories will do it, since I only have an hour to go at this point in my ride.

I've recently discovered the joys of potatoes as bike fuel. I wouldn't bother with something like this on an organized ride, but I get tired of sweets riding 4 times a week. I buy smallish redskin potatoes, cook them until soft in the microwave. Once cool, I roughly chop them and mix with a small bit of oil (coconut or olive), salt, pepper, and a bit of mustard. I make enough in a batch to use for several rides (storing them in the fridge, of course). I take a small Tupperware container of these in my bike bag, along with a plastic fork. They warm up a bit during my ride, so by the time I eat them, they are room temp and taste so good. Provide a lot of immediately available carbs, a little fat, and a little salt. I think they are the perfect cycling snack, other than they take a little bit more storage on the bike, and a fork. I could eat them with my fingers in a pinch, of course!

YUM.