When to carb up?

[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.