Solid snacks on the bike
#1
mosquito rancher
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Solid snacks on the bike
What do y'all like to eat on the bike?
I tried a homemade energy gel--obviously not solid, and pretty awful. More recently, I've been trying fig newtons. The nutritional composition isn't bad, they're cheap and readily available, and a sleeve happens to fit perfectly in my top-tube bag. They're easy to handle and easy to meter out. But they're a little hard to get down, so even over a 5-hour ride, it takes some effort to get through just one sleeve, which is about 750 calories. So I'm hitting up the hive mind for suggestions.
I tried a homemade energy gel--obviously not solid, and pretty awful. More recently, I've been trying fig newtons. The nutritional composition isn't bad, they're cheap and readily available, and a sleeve happens to fit perfectly in my top-tube bag. They're easy to handle and easy to meter out. But they're a little hard to get down, so even over a 5-hour ride, it takes some effort to get through just one sleeve, which is about 750 calories. So I'm hitting up the hive mind for suggestions.
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About 20 years ago, I switched to doing Hammer Nutrition style liquid fueling. At first, I experimented with their fuels. I have a low tolerance for unnecessary expenditures so I started making my own. My recipe for powdered fuel is 7 parts plain maltodextrin, 1 part chocolate flavored whey protein, by weight not volume. I buy my malto in 50# bags from a homebrew supply house and use my current favorite for the whey protein, which I buy in 5 lb. containers. Of course flavors other than chocolate work fine, and these substances are easily available in smaller sizes.
Two cups of powder mix is about 750 calories and is the max strength I use for a 24 oz. bike bottle. For me, that's about 50 miles, which is a good distance between pee and water stops. For long rides, I carry extra powder in ziploc bags. For longer rides, I supplement this drink with ordinary whatever at mini-marts, etc. Hostess fruit pies are a fave.
I take a sip about every 15 minutes and just keep it coming, the slow drip effect. It's not sweet, very mild tasting, and doesn't tire my mouth. For electrolytes, I use Endurolyte caps rather than mixing something into my drink. For long rides, I carry one liter bottle with 750 calories of drink and either another liter of plain water or a Camelbak.
I switched to this system because nothing else works even vaguely as well.
Two cups of powder mix is about 750 calories and is the max strength I use for a 24 oz. bike bottle. For me, that's about 50 miles, which is a good distance between pee and water stops. For long rides, I carry extra powder in ziploc bags. For longer rides, I supplement this drink with ordinary whatever at mini-marts, etc. Hostess fruit pies are a fave.
I take a sip about every 15 minutes and just keep it coming, the slow drip effect. It's not sweet, very mild tasting, and doesn't tire my mouth. For electrolytes, I use Endurolyte caps rather than mixing something into my drink. For long rides, I carry one liter bottle with 750 calories of drink and either another liter of plain water or a Camelbak.
I switched to this system because nothing else works even vaguely as well.
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I used to take a banana and cut it into 3 or 4 sections with the peel left on and put them in a plastic bag. Easy to fish out of a bag on the top-tube. Peel is bio-degradable, but I always tried to bring it back with me and dispose at home. Various granola bars and power bars were treat too, along with a snickers bar when temperature permits. I tried trail mix, but though I eat nuts of all sorts off the bike, they didn't like me on the bike. Currently I just take a box of raisins on trips of 50 or more miles. I tend to be happy with most of my carbs in my bottles. But if I didn't like putting carbs in my water, I suppose I'd be using Hammer's gels in their re-fillable flask. That is what my son likes to use.
Or maybe some of those strawberry jelly packets they used to give you at mcdonalds when you bought an egg mcmuffin.
Or maybe some of those strawberry jelly packets they used to give you at mcdonalds when you bought an egg mcmuffin.
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I have good digestion and I prefer solid calories to liquid calories. I avoid all the commercial made sports nutrition products and bring along normal food and drink on my rides.... If I don't bring anything along with me then I will stop along the way and buy something that is real food.....A muffin, a bunch of cookies, chocolate milk, banana, fig bars, granola bars, potato chips, a slice of pizza, subway sandwich etc.
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Usually Clif bars since they agree with me. Sometimes I'll buy cheap snacks individually wrapped at the dollar store for a change of taste in junk carbs during rides. If there's a convenience store I'm grabbing a donut and coffee. But I have a little difficulty swallowing after throat surgery a couple of years ago so I usually avoid some dry or gummy solid foods while on the bike. It's easier to wash that stuff down during a rest break when I have access to plenty of water.
So, usually gels and whatever I add to my water bottles.
So, usually gels and whatever I add to my water bottles.
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Decent quality granola bars
Oatmeal raisin cookies ... or chocolate chip if it is cooler
A little baggie of salted almonds
Fruit bars
Dried fruit
Bananas
Lollies
Oatmeal raisin cookies ... or chocolate chip if it is cooler
A little baggie of salted almonds
Fruit bars
Dried fruit
Bananas
Lollies
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Fresh fig bars are great, like the ones from convenience stores in 4-bar packs. They're not as dry, and seem to have more flavor. Candy bars or fruit pies are great if you can stop to buy them.
I'll reluctantly eat Clif bars if I can't stop at convenience stores, like this year. I still need a bunch of fluid to get them down, but they don't melt on warm days (like Snickers and Kind bars).
I'll reluctantly eat Clif bars if I can't stop at convenience stores, like this year. I still need a bunch of fluid to get them down, but they don't melt on warm days (like Snickers and Kind bars).
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Solid snacks? Nuts; granola; jerky; the rest via the water bottles (with electrolyte and/or energy packets added in). Won't melt or drip, and won't go bad. Won't provide huge amounts of ready energy (as gel packs would), but for the longer-lasting energy I need for longer distances and sustained modest to moderate effort, this works for me.
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For those that like fig newtons but the cookie part is too dry in your mouth. You might try some dried figs. 2 figs gives about 110 calories. And they taste a little better than the inside of a fig newton. Without the crumbly dry cookie part you might not need as much water to wash it down with.
I get a big bag from Costco and snack on them way too much. Dried apricots too.
I get a big bag from Costco and snack on them way too much. Dried apricots too.
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What do y'all like to eat on the bike?
I tried a homemade energy gel--obviously not solid, and pretty awful. More recently, I've been trying fig newtons. The nutritional composition isn't bad, they're cheap and readily available, and a sleeve happens to fit perfectly in my top-tube bag. They're easy to handle and easy to meter out. But they're a little hard to get down, so even over a 5-hour ride, it takes some effort to get through just one sleeve, which is about 750 calories. So I'm hitting up the hive mind for suggestions.
I tried a homemade energy gel--obviously not solid, and pretty awful. More recently, I've been trying fig newtons. The nutritional composition isn't bad, they're cheap and readily available, and a sleeve happens to fit perfectly in my top-tube bag. They're easy to handle and easy to meter out. But they're a little hard to get down, so even over a 5-hour ride, it takes some effort to get through just one sleeve, which is about 750 calories. So I'm hitting up the hive mind for suggestions.
#13
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I eat Clif bars when riding. Not a whole bar at a time. Maybe quarter bar size bites.
When I eat Clif bars I chew and keep them in my mouth until the dissolve. It makes sense to me that very well chewed solid food would digest easier and get into the blood stream easier than less well chewed solid foods.
When I eat Clif bars I chew and keep them in my mouth until the dissolve. It makes sense to me that very well chewed solid food would digest easier and get into the blood stream easier than less well chewed solid foods.
#14
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I'm generally a fig bar guy, try to buy them on sale in multipack, so I end up paying 30 cents vs. $1.19 or more at a convenience store stop.
Recently tried some SANS meal bars, and really liked them both for taste, quality and energy. They are 380 calories vs. 140 for the standard fig bar pack and much more expensive - on sale, in quantity 24 they were around $2/bar - calorie per $ about the same as convenience store fig bars but way more expensive than when I buy those multi-packs of fig bars in advance.
But, on long rides I'm really enjoying 1 SANS bar vs. 2 or 3 packages of fig bars.
Recently tried some SANS meal bars, and really liked them both for taste, quality and energy. They are 380 calories vs. 140 for the standard fig bar pack and much more expensive - on sale, in quantity 24 they were around $2/bar - calorie per $ about the same as convenience store fig bars but way more expensive than when I buy those multi-packs of fig bars in advance.
But, on long rides I'm really enjoying 1 SANS bar vs. 2 or 3 packages of fig bars.
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On brevets rice crispy treats are my favorite on bike snack. Rugged, dense, packable, and easy to eat on the bike; sugar for quick energy and puffed rice for slower energy. Multigrain bars are a nice, less sugary change of pace. Later in the ride, it's whatever convenience store snacks stuff looks appealing. Often less sweet. I find small things like fig bars or crumbly things like cookies or muffins tasty but difficult to manage on the bike. Bananas are good but have to be eaten quickly. Apples are marginally worth the effort. If in France, the best cycling pocket food in the world is available: jambon beurre sandwich. Two please: one for now, one for later.
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