When to carb up?

[thekarens]

I appreciate all the advice. I've gone back on my diet which involves low cal/low carb, but I want to have enough juice for the ride, so I'll modify my diet that week. Hotter N Hell should be fun :-)

[shootingstar]

I don't deliberately carb up much. But make sure I eat a good supper and breakfast for long distance bike ride the next day.

The night before is to have a supper that's well balanced. Having nutritious pureed veggie soup the night before is a good thing for me plus other stuff. Breakfast which is eating stuff that digests easily, ie. waffles are great, scrambled eggs, etc. Besides I've reduced high carb in my diet long term for the past few years (very little rice now, only certain types of bread 1-2 small slices, certain types of pasta only, etc.).

[Boudicca]

I have been eating a pasta meal the night before any ride, let alone a big one, so I guess I've been doing it all wrong.

But there again, I like pasta, it's a meal that works for me, and my weight is within a pound or so of where I want it to be.

My pre-ride breakfast is oatmeal or muesli, with buttermilk and fruit (more carbs), and my in-ride meal is pb+j (or pb +_ home made marmalade) on home made bread, perhaps with a banana and sometimes an energy bar or two.

I am such a creature of habit.

[TigerMom]

I was told to carb up starting 2 days before. But you still want to try eating high fiber carbs, ie oatmeal, whole grain bread, Dream Fields pasta which has lots of fiber

Also, no fatty foods. No spicy foods. No sour foods (ie. pickled items/hot and sour soup)

Drink tons of water until your urine is a light yellow starting 1-2 days before.

[OakLeaf]

It depends on what you mean by a "big ride." If it's just a long ride that I plan to do at an easy pace, I can replenish on the road. I'd only do anything special nutritionally before a high-intensity event like a road race or gran fondo. I'll carb load before a full marathon, but not a half.

The latest I've been reading is that it's best to fat load first starting five days before your event, then deplete your body's glycogen and replenish it fully one or two days before the event.

[ny biker]

I was told to carb up starting 2 days before. But you still want to try eating high fiber carbs, ie oatmeal, whole grain bread, Dream Fields pasta which has lots of fiber

Also, no fatty foods. No spicy foods. No sour foods (ie. pickled items/hot and sour soup)

Drink tons of water until your urine is a light yellow starting 1-2 days before.

I would not eat high fiber carbs before a big ride unless my diet normally includes high fiber carbs. Otherwise the results could be extremely unpleasant.

Same with drinking water -- I don't drink more before a big ride because I drink plenty of fluids every day.

You should be doing training rides leading up to an important event, and the food and beverages you have before the event should be similar to what you have learned is best for you based on what you eat and drink before the training rides.

[shootingstar]

If it's just a long ride that I plan to do at an easy pace, I can replenish on the road. I'd only do anything special nutritionally before a high-intensity event like a road race or gran fondo. I'll carb load before a full marathon, but not a half.

High intensity...can also mean cycling 100+ km. with 2 loaded panniers of my own baggage with several hills along the way. In temp at least 25-30 degrees C. Then back to back each day for 3-4 days of same length, same temp. and cars whipping along ..

I think different people have different food tolerances. I have eaten spicy foods the night before and think nothing of it. As long as the same meal is counterbalanced by a healthy neutral carb and liquid. Then breakfast next day is not spicy.

If I eat a big breakfast...I try to at least finish 1 hr. before I start cycling a long bike touring ride with pannier weight. It works for me and I don't have to worry about the washroom ..

Oatmeal with some milk for me works well for breakfast plus other stuff.

[TigerMom]

I was told to carb up starting 2 days before. But you still want to try eating high fiber carbs, ie oatmeal, whole grain bread, Dream Fields pasta which has lots of fiber

Also, no fatty foods. No spicy foods. No sour foods (ie. pickled items/hot and sour soup)

Drink tons of water until your urine is a light yellow starting 1-2 days before.

Don't know the accuracy of this article, but I just got it in the email in case any of you are interested.
http://beta.active.com/nutrition/Art...ing-a-Race.htm

[indysteel]

I was told to carb up starting 2 days before. But you still want to try eating high fiber carbs, ie oatmeal, whole grain bread, Dream Fields pasta which has lots of fiber

Also, no fatty foods. No spicy foods. No sour foods (ie. pickled items/hot and sour soup)

Drink tons of water until your urine is a light yellow starting 1-2 days before.

LOL. I rode my best century after some of the hottest Thai food I've ever had! I think it's a matter of knowing what your body does and doesn't tolerate.

[jusdooit]

Nutrition is so individual & unfortunately takes a lot of trial and error. I usually eat some type of pasta dish the evening before.Then breakfast is either cheese grits or english muffin with peanut butter. I don't tolerate real food on the bike well, so I use a gel every 10-14 miles depending on the intensity of the ride.

[velo]

Nutrition is so individual & unfortunately takes a lot of trial and error. I usually eat some type of pasta dish the evening before.Then breakfast is either cheese grits or english muffin with peanut butter. I don't tolerate real food on the bike well, so I use a gel every 10-14 miles depending on the intensity of the ride.

I think this is important to talk about. I am an "on the bike" eater. Anything over about 35 miles or two hours and I do want to eat something. This is not the case for everyone. If I'm going to ride a century, I snack along the way and usually enjoy a small sandwich around lunch time. I have a couple of friends who are just like justdooit and want nothing more than gels and electrolyte replacement in water. Everyone is different, so we shouldn't rule any particular method out based on our own experiences. The most important thing is to figure it out ahead of time. I would never ride a century with only a 50 mile ride under my belt. The old, "if you can do 50, you can do a metric, you can do 80, you can do 100" doesn't hold water. Particularly in heat, which is a whole other story that gets dehydration into the mix. That will kill you. Literally.

[Triskeliongirl]

If you are on a low carb diet, then read the paleo diet for athletes. It explains how to time carbs, and what types around your riding. I also eat low carb, but the night before a long/high intensity ride I will eat a sweet potato. If carbs aren't bad for you in general, then your plan to just eat a more balanced diet the week before the event is good.

But I can ride a century on low carb, since I use low carb to control mild type I diabetes, but to do it you need to train yourself to burn a higher ratio of fat to carbs, ride at moderate not high intensities, and drink a protein drink with electrolytes (Jay Robb) on the bike so u can fuel your rides with the by products of amino acid metabolism (you can deaminate amino acids to carbon skeletons which feed into the TCA cycle). But this is a way of life for me, not something I would do on a single ride, or attempt to do for the first time, on a long event ride.