Eat while riding?

[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.