Quote Originally Posted by aquamoose32 View Post
I am been doing a lot of 70-100 mile rides. I used to just drink water, but I have been turned onto these GU packets and shock blocks that they instant give me bursts of energy. I did a century ride event and met this guy who was telling me all about long chain sugars, ect (he used Hammer nutrition). He thought GU was too much sugar. I tried one of his hammer packets and didnt feel as good as I do when I eat a GU 50 miles in. What do you prefer, or do you stick to water as well?
If you're going to be out riding for more than two hours at a time, you need to take some food along, or stop somewhere for a snack. A good rule of thumb is that if you're just pootling along at 12-15 mph, you're burning approximately 400 calories/hour, and you need to start putting some of that back in the tank in order to stay fueled.

Now, just what you eat or drink is going to be a personal thing, based on your appetite, and what your stomach will let you keep down and digest. Some folks can get by on gels or energy bars, others do better on "real" food such as a sandwich, cookies, or maybe a boiled potato ;-) It's something you're going to need to experiment with and see what works for you.

Me, I carry two bottles, one of energy drink and one of plain water. Over the past year or so, I've been replacing the energy drink bottle with Nuun (for electrolytes) and carrying a couple of Payday bars or Clif Shots for the carbohydrates. At rest stops (e.g., local convenience stores) I'll get a Coke and maybe a bag of chips. It's worked really well for me... but your or somebody else's mileage on the same fuel may differ widely.