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Nutrition

Old 09-15-20, 07:36 AM
  #26  
PoorInRichfield
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I've found that the need for food on a ride depends a lot on your diet in general. When I used to eat a lot of carbs, I'd usually have a PowerBar or Clif Bar with me on just about every ride. If I didn't have a constant supply of carbs, it didn't take long before I felt like I was going to die of hunger. Since I've switched my diet over to primarily healthy fats and a few carbs, I find I can pretty easily ride 40+ miles w/o anything but water. On longer rides, 60-70 miles, I'll bring a Clif Bar or two, but that's about it.
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Old 09-15-20, 08:25 AM
  #27  
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Any possibility that those that feel a need to eat on a 4 or 5 hour ride are confusing thirst for hunger due to poor hydration habits both on and off the bike?

I mean, come on people, you can't go without a snack between meals? And on the bike, if you aren't emptying bottle at least every hour then I'd claim you aren't drinking near enough.

And certainly this isn't directed toward those that do hydrate adequately but choose to get carbs from food.

I'm not directing this toward anyone. Just putting out that supposition for you to ponder if it might be a factor.
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Old 09-15-20, 11:09 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Iride01
Any possibility that those that feel a need to eat on a 4 or 5 hour ride are confusing thirst for hunger due to poor hydration habits both on and off the bike?

I mean, come on people, you can't go without a snack between meals? And on the bike, if you aren't emptying bottle at least every hour then I'd claim you aren't drinking near enough.

And certainly this isn't directed toward those that do hydrate adequately but choose to get carbs from food.

I'm not directing this toward anyone. Just putting out that supposition for you to ponder if it might be a factor.
I think that we're seeing a pretty broad cross-section - from sugar-burners out hammering, who need to stay topped-off, to fat-adapted working in Z2 all day long with little-to-no caloric intake, to the many pampered for whom mild hunger is a novel and somewhat uncomfortable sensation. I'm sure that there are some poorly hydrated, too, as you propose.

And, FWIW, water intake is going to vary quite a bit, too, based on effort, weather, conditioning, etc. This time of year, I could certainly do an easy 80 mile ride on two bottles.
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Old 09-15-20, 03:16 PM
  #29  
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I make rice cakes+SIS beta fuel for really long rides 4hrs+. Re rice cakes, the texture seems to go bad pretty quick in the fridge tho. I don't know if you can freeze them.

I am still trying to figure out what my stomach likes and keep experimenting though. A few times this year I almost pulled to the side like Tommy D to take a messy dump.

I like SIS gels and Will give fig bars a try. Maybe that's the answer to my GI issues.
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Old 09-15-20, 04:37 PM
  #30  
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Clif bar is in the pocket for emergencies, but I usually just stop for a Turkey/Cranberry Sauce and Brie wrap, with a bag of Salt n'Pepper potato chips and a poured Arnie Palmer. I must not be in the middle of nowhere like the rest of ya.
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Old 09-15-20, 07:27 PM
  #31  
PoorInRichfield
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Clif bar is in the pocket for emergencies, but I usually just stop for a Turkey/Cranberry Sauce and Brie wrap, with a bag of Salt n'Pepper potato chips and a poured Arnie Palmer. I must not be in the middle of nowhere like the rest of ya.
In farm country where I like to ride most, there's a lot of milk available... kind of...

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Old 09-15-20, 09:05 PM
  #32  
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Ryno Power Gladiator 30 minutes before I ride, generally after eating a bowl of oatmeal or a slice of toast with a hard boiled egg. Cliff bar in the jersey pocket with 1 bottle of water and 1 bottle of Ryno Power Hydration Fuel.
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Old 09-15-20, 09:37 PM
  #33  
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Vega bars and shot bloks pretty much fuel my rides. For an electrolyte drink I have Vega hydrator in one of my water bottles. Cheers.

Last edited by NoWhammies; 09-16-20 at 10:24 PM.
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Old 09-15-20, 09:42 PM
  #34  
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I take Gel Gu, one every hour, and also protein bar. If it is a long ride I might even carry a banana. As others have said, if you diet doesn't consist of snaking every hour, eating healthy foods, etc... doing so just for your rides may be difficult. If you are a serious cyclist, there are certainly plenty of foods to avoid that take way to long to digest or have little nutritional value. For example if you are a steak eater or pork eater, the next day you may feel lethargic when you ride. Turkey and chicken breaks down much faster and has a better nutrition then the aforementioned. You could always carry a Big Mac if you wanted....lol.
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Old 09-16-20, 09:04 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by mrblue
Hello,

Just wondering, what do you take with you for fuel on long rides? I'm looking for some new ideas beyond my usual protein bar(s).

Thanks.
I'll eat on anything around 2 hrs or longer but probably more a matter of me not being the most fit guy in the world

Carbs Fig Newtons, or Lara Bars (Apple Pie or Pineapple upside-down cake)
Electrolytes Nuun Tabs 2 per 24 oz bottle
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Old 09-16-20, 10:08 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Iride01
Any possibility that those that feel a need to eat on a 4 or 5 hour ride are confusing thirst for hunger due to poor hydration habits both on and off the bike?

I mean, come on people, you can't go without a snack between meals? And on the bike, if you aren't emptying bottle at least every hour then I'd claim you aren't drinking near enough.

And certainly this isn't directed toward those that do hydrate adequately but choose to get carbs from food.

I'm not directing this toward anyone. Just putting out that supposition for you to ponder if it might be a factor.
I can tell the difference between thirsty and hungry. MOSTLY, the feeling of low blood sugar can be kept at bay with a sports drink, but if I've eaten insufficiently before a ride, I can absolutely reach a point where the drink isn't enough, and I'm not dehydrated. I feel it first primarily in the gut, a just plain hungry, empty feeling.

I ALWAYS take a Clif bar along, but I rarely resort to eating them. I end up carrying the same one for months! But sometimes, like last Sunday, even though I was drinking regularly and it wasn't hot so I was not sweating profusely, I could tell at about 12 miles from home that my blood sugar reserves were running low, so I gave in and ate the bar. Now I have a new one that will last me a while!
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Old 12-06-20, 04:53 AM
  #37  
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Rice cakes: blech

I stumbled onto a recipe for "Team Sky Rice Cakes." They're godawful! Maybe I should've used more sugar?
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Old 12-06-20, 04:08 PM
  #38  
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I am good for no food up to around 70 miles. I tend to eat large meals and not ever in between meals. If I was a racer I would eat something and for a century a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich is the best along with maybe some fig newtons. I think the way you train has much to do with it. I am a runner and running you generally do not eat even for marathons but make sure the glycogen in the muscles is topped off. This is done by what you eat 12-15 hours before riding long. In a race all beat are off you have to keep something going down I am sure for best outcome, In training I prefer to suffer a bit and be tired the last 30 minutes then eat a huge meal when i get home.
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Old 12-11-20, 02:02 PM
  #39  
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Everyone and every ride is different. It's hilly here, and I do some rides hard, some moderate. Short rides, say up to 50 miles, I'll take a bottle or two of HEED and won't necessarily drink at all at the short end or finish the two bottles at the long end, which total 300 Cal.

When the rides get longer and harder, I'd run out of glycogen if I didn't fuel properly. For those I mix a powder of 7 parts maltodextrin to 1 part chocolate whey protein, by weight. 2 cups of that in a 24 oz. or 1 liter bottle is 750 calories, or 3 hours of riding strong. Since these rides will be more than 3 hours, I bring extra powder in Ziplocs in my saddle bag. I've mostly given up on solid foods. It's just too hard to digest when I might be climbing in the heat for a couple hours at a time.

I buy the malto at a homebrew supply house in 50# bags and the whey online in 5# containers. I go through about 1 bag of malto per year, costs maybe $80. On really long rides, I can't carry enough powder, so I'll eat whatever along the way, fruit pies being a favorite. But on really long rides, effort is low enough that digestion isn't that difficult.

Main thing is to keep the carbs coming a little at a time, no long breaks between fueling. Back when I used to use Clif bars for fuel, I'd break them into quarters and eat a quarter every 15'. That works OK, but I prefer liquid now, same principle, drink a little every 15'.
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Old 12-11-20, 04:27 PM
  #40  
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Dates are natures gels. Just remove the pits before the ride.

Personally I take nothing, just a bottle of plain water. Two bottles if over 50mi and summer.
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