Eat while riding?

[Tokie]

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( 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

[Trigress]

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...

[Geonz]

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.)

[Fujichants]

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

[KSH]

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.

[Geonz]

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

[aicabsolut]

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.

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.

[KSH]

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

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

[Spec&TrekGirl]

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.