Eat while riding?

[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.)

[KnottedYet]

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.

[Red Rock]

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

[breezy]

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.

[Running Mommy]

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.

[PscyclePath]

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.)

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

[kat_h]

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.

[Yen]

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.

[IFjane]

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!

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.

[Di bear]

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.

[Aggie_Ama]

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.

[smilingcat]

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

[la bicicleta]

Larabars

Peanut Butter to-go cup

[RolliePollie]

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!

[VeloVT]

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 . 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.