When to carb up?

[ny biker]

Neither. My diet has enough carbs in it already.

[luvmyguys]

The advice that I had been given is to eat well two nights before, even up to lunch the day before, but not to go crazy the night before. The reasoning is that if you eat too much the night before, it'll still be digesting, which can drag you down the day of the event.

[ny biker]

Well, I'd say it depends on what you eat the night before. I learned the hard way not to have a Five Guys cheeseburger with fries the night before a big bike ride. And that dinner at the Mexican restaurant the night before my first-ever century was not a good idea, especially considering how nervous I was at the time. So you bring up a good point, which is to eat foods you know you can digest easily the day or two before the ride.

I will eat a slightly larger dinner than usual the night before a long ride, but it will be a tried-and-true meal that I've had many times before. Same with breakfast before the ride. I'll eat more than usual, but it will be the same waffles that I have most other mornings.

The trick is when the big ride involves a road trip with a stay at a hotel. That takes lots of planning to try to control your pre-ride meals.

[rebeccaC]

What you want to do is maximize the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles. I do it by eating my regular training diet the week before and backing off training so I’m not depleting my glycogen. I will do a very short high intensity interval ride two days before and also have a carb lunch the two days before. That and getting a good nights sleep the few days before and making sure I’m properly fueled and hydrated during the ride works well for me.

[velo]

When I did the 160 mile RAIN ride, I ate more carbs than usual the whole week before to up my glycogen stores, as Rebecca said above. The night before, I ate a light meal to not feel bloated and full. I had my on-bike nutrition figured out, eating about 200 - 300 calories per hour, a combination of carbs and protein with a little fat (peanut butter) and I started eating that around 5am for a 7am start. I usually ride about 200 miles a week and that week I rode only 100 or so miles Mon - Wed (not high intensity), leaving two full days of recovery (I did an easy walk on Thursday and Friday was no activity at all) before Saturday event. This worked out very well for me - and each person has to find what works best for themselves. Good luck on your ride!!!