Ride Nutrition
01-06-19, 01:51 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 755
Bikes: 2019 CAAD12, 2015 Specialized Sirrus Comp
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 562 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 64 Times
in
46 Posts
Ride Nutrition
Would appreciate advice on nutritian while on a long, difficult ride. Rode 75 miles yesterday in flat and hilly terrain and was in a lot of leg pain about midway. Stopped at a grocery store and got some bananas and fresh mango juice, which helped.
What kinds of nutrients help with general exhaustion and muscle pain on longer rides?
Thank you,
Robert
What kinds of nutrients help with general exhaustion and muscle pain on longer rides?
Thank you,
Robert
01-06-19, 04:45 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Daly City, California
Posts: 858
Bikes: Trek 2.1, CAAD10
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
If you are having muscle pain it might not be because of lack of nutrition. It could be a fit issue, but most likely you just overloaded too much if you don't occasionally ride that long (in other words you might not be fit enough). Stopping at the grocery store helped because you rested a little.
01-06-19, 04:51 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 755
Bikes: 2019 CAAD12, 2015 Specialized Sirrus Comp
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 562 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 64 Times
in
46 Posts
It's definitely a fitness issue. My prior max ride was 60 miles in flat conditions. Yesterday was 75 miles in partly hilly conditions. I'm working up to the Solvang Century in March.
Muscle pain aside, what is considered proper nutrition on a long, all day ride?
Muscle pain aside, what is considered proper nutrition on a long, all day ride?
If you are having muscle pain it might not be because of lack of nutrition. It could be a fit issue, but most likely you just overloaded too much if you don't occasionally ride that long (in other words you might not be fit enough). Stopping at the grocery store helped because you rested a little.
01-06-19, 05:28 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, R. I.
Posts: 4,340
Bikes: Specialized Secteur, old Peugeot
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 663 Post(s)
Liked 496 Times
in
299 Posts
The gel packets I use from Hammer Nutrition are 100 calories each and Hammer recommends about a packet every half hour or so or about 200 calories every hour. My book on "Long Distance Cycling" by Burke and Pavelka recommends 300 calories per hour. Obviously, your pace during that hour would dictate nutritional requirements. A pro cyclist at a race pace would need a greater intake than most of us. One good piece of advice from "fuel Your Ride" by Molly Hurford is to maintain a steady intake of food on long rides because if you get into a calorie deficit it will be difficult of make it up.
In addition to some gel packets, I also add a carb and protein supplement to my water bottles of about 300 calories to each of two water bottles. Some cyclists on longer rides than I do will carry additional calorie supplements in a baggie or other container.
In addition to some gel packets, I also add a carb and protein supplement to my water bottles of about 300 calories to each of two water bottles. Some cyclists on longer rides than I do will carry additional calorie supplements in a baggie or other container.
01-06-19, 05:30 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 755
Bikes: 2019 CAAD12, 2015 Specialized Sirrus Comp
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 562 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 64 Times
in
46 Posts
Can you recommend a particular product for this? Also, what about electrolytes?
01-06-19, 05:47 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, R. I.
Posts: 4,340
Bikes: Specialized Secteur, old Peugeot
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 663 Post(s)
Liked 496 Times
in
299 Posts
https://www.hammernutrition.com/?gcl...SAAEgJWsfD_BwE
The link for Hammer Nutrition has lots of information on fueling for long rides and electrolites, You could easily spend an hour looking through the web site. I buy their products on line or sometimes at REI or some bike shops. I also recommend you get either of the two books mentioned in my earlier post and put in plenty of miles before your century. Work up to riding 170 miles a week.
The link for Hammer Nutrition has lots of information on fueling for long rides and electrolites, You could easily spend an hour looking through the web site. I buy their products on line or sometimes at REI or some bike shops. I also recommend you get either of the two books mentioned in my earlier post and put in plenty of miles before your century. Work up to riding 170 miles a week.
01-06-19, 05:52 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: N. California
Posts: 158
Bikes: Trek Emonda SL6, Santa Cruz Tallboy 27.5+
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 9 Times
in
6 Posts
Calories/Salt/Water
We are all different but this is what I do in general.
Water: 1-2+ liters/hr. First bottle is water, after that 1/2 Nunn salt tablet gets added to each liter. May weigh myself prior & post ride particularly when it’s hot. Figure more than 1lb loss is due to not drinking enough.
Calories: Usually wait an hour after a meal to start a ride. Rides 1 1/2 hour or less I don’t do anything more. Longer rides I fuel primarily with sugars, and some carbs, starting the ride with 100 calories and another 100 calories every 20 minutes throughout the ride. On longer rides I do get hungry but don’t like a belly full of food. When I do stop for a meal it is light and without much of any protein. I find it easy to carry regular food to fuel from for a few hours and carry a variety of gels and blocks for longer rides just to be able to fit enough in jersey pockets. While this works for me for rides over 100 miles & 10k+ elevation I suspect I could eat /digest more.
Immediately post ride is when I eat protein. Either in a meal or fruit smoothly with a scoop of whey powder.
And there is Tylenol and Alieve in my saddle bag.
Water: 1-2+ liters/hr. First bottle is water, after that 1/2 Nunn salt tablet gets added to each liter. May weigh myself prior & post ride particularly when it’s hot. Figure more than 1lb loss is due to not drinking enough.
Calories: Usually wait an hour after a meal to start a ride. Rides 1 1/2 hour or less I don’t do anything more. Longer rides I fuel primarily with sugars, and some carbs, starting the ride with 100 calories and another 100 calories every 20 minutes throughout the ride. On longer rides I do get hungry but don’t like a belly full of food. When I do stop for a meal it is light and without much of any protein. I find it easy to carry regular food to fuel from for a few hours and carry a variety of gels and blocks for longer rides just to be able to fit enough in jersey pockets. While this works for me for rides over 100 miles & 10k+ elevation I suspect I could eat /digest more.
Immediately post ride is when I eat protein. Either in a meal or fruit smoothly with a scoop of whey powder.
And there is Tylenol and Alieve in my saddle bag.
Last edited by BarryVee; 01-06-19 at 06:06 PM.
01-06-19, 06:41 PM
#9
Senior Member
Gels are convenient but get expensive. I’m not a pro so I usually just pack a zip lock baggie of whatever I have in my pantry such as raisins, dates, fruit snacks, fig newtons, etc. I usually eat something every hour if going out for more than two hours.
01-07-19, 01:54 AM
#10
In Real Life
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152
Bikes: Lots
Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 596 Times
in
329 Posts
Granola bars.
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Potato chips.
Beef jerky.
Salted almonds.
Dried apricots.
Apricot fruit bars.
Whatever you like.
Salted almonds have lots of your electrolytes, but you can also go with various electrolyte pills.
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Potato chips.
Beef jerky.
Salted almonds.
Dried apricots.
Apricot fruit bars.
Whatever you like.
Salted almonds have lots of your electrolytes, but you can also go with various electrolyte pills.
__________________
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
01-07-19, 02:04 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,909
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4806 Post(s)
Liked 3,932 Times
in
2,557 Posts
The cheap electrolyte drink is Vitalyte. REI or go to their website. ~$18 for a package good for ~40 WBs. The stuff has been around for decades (under several different names though the formulation never changed. FOr 75 miles in less that really hot weather, I'd go with 2 WBs, 2 scoops in each.
Ben
Ben
01-07-19, 09:27 AM
#12
Senior Member
Depends, 75 mi is a decent distance, but I would normally go through around 3 liters of Gatorade (I buy this stuff powdered, it's around 225 calories per liter) and probably 3 gels.
If I'm do a ride that is 5 hours + (century or more) then I'll get serious about nutrition and shoot for 1 liter of fluid with an entire packet of Hammer Perpetuem, which is 270 calories per. I'll also focus on having a gel roughly every hour. Here and there I'd even throw in a caffeine pill to keep me hyped for the next mile.
If I'm do a ride that is 5 hours + (century or more) then I'll get serious about nutrition and shoot for 1 liter of fluid with an entire packet of Hammer Perpetuem, which is 270 calories per. I'll also focus on having a gel roughly every hour. Here and there I'd even throw in a caffeine pill to keep me hyped for the next mile.
01-07-19, 09:34 AM
#13
- Soli Deo Gloria -
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Northwest Georgia
Posts: 14,779
Bikes: 2018 Rodriguez Custom Fixed Gear, 2017 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2015 Bianchi Pista, 2002 Fuji Robaix
Mentioned: 235 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6844 Post(s)
Liked 736 Times
in
469 Posts
The OP's problem isn't as much what to eat but simply not eating enough.
My advice is simply to eat more.
-Tim-
My advice is simply to eat more.
-Tim-
01-07-19, 10:23 AM
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Allen, TX
Posts: 2,636
Bikes: 2021 S-Works Turbo Creo SL, 2020 Specialized Roubaix Expert
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 762 Post(s)
Liked 4,041 Times
in
1,430 Posts
It's not food, but I take Sportlegs every 2-3 hours on long rides. It's a lactate inhibitor, and it makes a huge difference for me during the ride, but also after the ride and the following day.
-Matt
-Matt
01-07-19, 10:33 AM
#15
Serious Cyclist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: RVA
Posts: 9,308
Bikes: Emonda SL6
Mentioned: 97 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5721 Post(s)
Liked 261 Times
in
99 Posts
I usually ride on an empty stomach (plus some coffee) in the mornings, and am fine going up to 2.5 hours on just water, or water/gatorade if it's hot. Beyond that, maybe a stop at a 7-11 for a coke and a nutrigrain bar/banana, but that's it.
01-07-19, 12:22 PM
#16
Jedi Master
For long rides, I mix up single-servings of bike food (maltodextrin and protein powder 7:1 by weight, same as Hammer Perpetuem) for one bottle and half-strength gatorade for the other bottle. Anything over 200k I'll plan on one bottle of each every 40 miles or so. I do a lot of fasted 100k's, so I agree that you don't really need nutrition for a 75 mile ride if you're in decent shape.
01-07-19, 12:27 PM
#17
Full Member
This, tbh. Most people eat too much during long rides. Yea, if you're sweating you need some electrolytes, but you can get that from bringing a few tablets of nuun or similar along with you and dropping them into a full bottle of water.
I usually ride on an empty stomach (plus some coffee) in the mornings, and am fine going up to 2.5 hours on just water, or water/gatorade if it's hot. Beyond that, maybe a stop at a 7-11 for a coke and a nutrigrain bar/banana, but that's it.
I usually ride on an empty stomach (plus some coffee) in the mornings, and am fine going up to 2.5 hours on just water, or water/gatorade if it's hot. Beyond that, maybe a stop at a 7-11 for a coke and a nutrigrain bar/banana, but that's it.
I also typically ride on an empty stomach, but in a lot of cases feel like I hit a wall at about 40 or 45 miles. Part of it is maybe I'm going too hard? Going 85-90% of FTP for 2+ hours might be part of my problem. The flip side is I can go at 65-75% of FTP basically all day, I simply don't get tired and my heart rate doesn't come up much. I've thought about adding some sort of food about 30-40 mins to see if that gives me more energy from hours 2 to 3 since I prefer to ride before my meals for the day.
01-07-19, 12:50 PM
#18
Serious Cyclist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: RVA
Posts: 9,308
Bikes: Emonda SL6
Mentioned: 97 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5721 Post(s)
Liked 261 Times
in
99 Posts
I'm interested in this thread because I have a 65 mile ride in June. I can go 65 miles now, but the question is "at what pace?".
I also typically ride on an empty stomach, but in a lot of cases feel like I hit a wall at about 40 or 45 miles. Part of it is maybe I'm going too hard? Going 85-90% of FTP for 2+ hours might be part of my problem. The flip side is I can go at 65-75% of FTP basically all day, I simply don't get tired and my heart rate doesn't come up much. I've thought about adding some sort of food about 30-40 mins to see if that gives me more energy from hours 2 to 3 since I prefer to ride before my meals for the day.
I also typically ride on an empty stomach, but in a lot of cases feel like I hit a wall at about 40 or 45 miles. Part of it is maybe I'm going too hard? Going 85-90% of FTP for 2+ hours might be part of my problem. The flip side is I can go at 65-75% of FTP basically all day, I simply don't get tired and my heart rate doesn't come up much. I've thought about adding some sort of food about 30-40 mins to see if that gives me more energy from hours 2 to 3 since I prefer to ride before my meals for the day.
01-07-19, 04:51 PM
#19
faster downhill
I love Tailwind powder mixed in my water bottle on rides over 2hours. It keeps legs strong and helps prevent the "bonk". I also will bring some food, favorite is PB and honey on whole grain bread. If riding more than 2 hours I find it important to start eating and drinking small amounts at a time within the first 30-45 minutes of riding and continuing throughout the ride.
find what works for you, some people can't tolerate certain foods while riding, While on a century ride I had a huge slice of pizza at about 75 miles and for some reason (salt and fat?) made me feel like I just started the ride and finished super strong.
find what works for you, some people can't tolerate certain foods while riding, While on a century ride I had a huge slice of pizza at about 75 miles and for some reason (salt and fat?) made me feel like I just started the ride and finished super strong.
01-07-19, 07:38 PM
#20
Advocatus Diaboli
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,640
Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4737 Post(s)
Liked 1,533 Times
in
1,004 Posts
01-07-19, 08:10 PM
#21
Senior Member
Actually, Nunn says one tablet per 16 ounces. I break them in half and use one in a half for my 24 ounce bottle. I did a 140 mile charity ride last summer. There were stops every 25 miles. I organized my intake in baggies for each stop. I ate Kind bars, macadamia nuts, bacon jerkey, nunn drops, and at 102 miles I had a steak salad. There were a lot of riders who used gels and sugar and by the end of the ride they got the jitters. Watch out about eating too much sugar.
01-16-19, 05:02 AM
#22
Gravel Rocks
I use Infinit Nutrition for electrolytes, fuel and hydration. Add it to your water bottles and drink every 10 minutes or so, finish a bottle an hour and I have all the calories, I need for what every distance. At race pace on longer rides or in the heat I'll up the bottle consumption to 1 every 45 minutes instead of 1 an hour. They do custom blends, free to set up a call for a consultation.
