Originally Posted by
hubcyclist
I can assure many recreational cyclists on this forum don’t expend as much. Given that our bodies carry a lot of stored glycogen, a lot of folks don’t need anything at all
I’ve seen it during local club rides. 35-40 miles with not that much climbing and people are having calorie ladened food during the stop. Two decades ago I rode across the country and then some self contained. I actually put on fat in the Midwest because I was still eating like I was in the mountains of the west.
Over the last couple of years I have experimented with eating less and it has worked. Last year during a two-week tour in MT and ID I did a 50 mile day with nearly 4,100’ of climbing. Most of the first 30 miles were up hill to one degree or another. Some fig bars and coffee for breakfast. On the road I ate two Cliff Bars, a bottle of Perpetuem and an apple. (There were no services anywhere en route.) I was hungry when I finished, but I was fine during the ride. And I was pedaling this:
