Carbonfiberboy 

On a 1 hour bike ride, please, don't eat anything. It's only an hour. Surely we can all go without eating for one hour. Cool off with plain water, doesn't even need to be cold. Sweating on the bike is what cools you. Feel hot? Ride on.

To get a little more into the sugar/bike thing, yes, you can eat sugar etc. on the bike on long rides with absolutely no negatives. I just did a 10 hour bike ride and ate about 1500 calories of pure maltodextrin (a much faster carb than pure sugar) and whey protein, mixed 7 malto/1 protein. I burned about 4000 calories and lost ~ 1.5 lbs., a lot of that water from breaking down glycogen. A few days later, I was back at my pre-ride weight. That's what normal looks like. Try not to eat more than 1/2 your burn, figuring 40 calories/mile. Eat mostly carbs on the bike.

Daniel4

The 1 hour is actually one-way to get to where I'm going. It's in the morning so it's not so bad. When I return, I eat a light lunch and it's in the sweltering afternoon when I'm drinking the smoothies.

But thanks for the reply. It makes me feel better. Initially, I carried my lunch and snacks with me but they just added extra weight. So I'd rather just buy the food. It's the purchased and processed food that's full of excess sugar, excess salt and it's usually fried that had me worried. And then there are reports that say reward foods after a good workout completely negates all the fat you burned exercising.

rm -rf

Those "protein" drinks mentioned, Boost or Ensure, are mostly sugar. I suppose they are good for a person that just doesn't feel like preparing food or even has much appetite. I don't see why a cyclist would drink them.

Boost:
Water, Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Milk Protein Concentrate, and Less than 2% of Vegetable Oil,... etc

Ensure:
Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Milk Protein Concentrate, Blend of Vegetable Oils (Canola, Corn), Soy Protein Isolate, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali). Less than 0.5% of: Nonfat Milk, ...etc

79pmooney

What I read and practiced more than 40 years was that, for endurance athletes, once the body building has been done, protein requirements are not large and in fact, excessive protein impacts muscle recovery simply because digesting protein monopolizes blood oxygen that would otherwise be used for rebuilding muscle tissue. My recent times of good form and strong riding have also been times of watching what I eat, in part to keep protein intake down.

Ben

terrymorse 

Protein requirements for endurance athletes do not change much as fitness grows. It’s governed instead by training volume. Recommendation is 1.2-1.4 grams per kilogram per typical training day, 1.6-1.8 on longer training days.

Aerobic exercise consumes protein. After 2 hours of exercise, about 15% of the body’s energy comes from protein. Lacking a food source of protein, the body gets it from breaking down muscle, in a process called gluconeogenesis.

Carbonfiberboy 

This may be no help at all, but at least it's true, vaguely interesting, and germane to this thread:

Decades ago, I had a vegetarian employee who decided, for environmental reasons (he as a smart guy), to ride his bike the 16 hilly miles each way to work and back 5 days/week. The first week was fine, but by the end of the second week he was feeling tired and his legs hurt all the time. I told him to make up 2 pint bottles of 15g whey protein with about half as much sugar, put them in the fridge, to do this every evening, to leave one in the fridge and to bring the other to work on his bike. Each bottle to be drunk immediately upon arrival. Fixed him right up, no further issues. Being vegetarian, he had no need of further carbs, but he was low on protein. Hill riding does plenty of damage, especially if one is not used to it. Being the usual environmental nutcase of the day, I think he actually used about twice as much hemp protein or some such. Stuff was green, looked pretty disgusting. He's a German Buddhist, studied monkhood in Thailand, where he ate the monks' leavings. Interesting person.

redlude97

whats wrong with sugar if you can control CICO? Its the easiest way to restore glycogen

wolfchild

I was reading that as we become older our bodies become less efficient at absorbing protein. So and elderly person who exercises will have greater protein needs...Protein powder isn't a replacement for real food and it's best to get the bulk of your daily protein from real food...Drinking protein shakes all day long and not doing resistance training isn't going build muscle and prevent muscle loss.... You need to use those muscles and do resistance training to prevent muscle loss.

Carbonfiberboy 

My wife eats (drinks) only Ensure on the bike, about 25 miles/bottle. I have a buddy who did PBP on Ensure. Good stuff. That's why.