aboatguy

I'm only 215lbs (6'3") but I can do a moderate effort 100 miles on nothing. If I'm putting out on a ride or going long distance (more than 100) I'll eat, however, I like real food vice gels and powders. Often Ill eat magnum bars, almonds and raisins, a good bento plate with sausage and rice is on of my favorite long distance meals. However, with the exception of the almonds, raisins and magnum bars most of my food choices make my riding partners ill.

Mike

youcoming

I like the whole find what works for you. For you that means commercial food sources, I've tried pretty much them all and they all make my stomache upset and reduce my performance. I do use two products, hammer gel and stinger chews but only for a boost. Other than that it's just food for me, wish I could do the perpetuem it's so damn convinient and easy to consume when riding a rotating paceline in a big group, no frigging around with normal food but I've got pretty damn good at jamming it in when I rotate back.

Axiom

What should someone take if they are on Atkins induction? Would it even be possible to do a century while you are on induction? 3 beverages sweetened with sucralose, and majority of your carbohydrates ─ 20 ─ should come from vegetables.

Homeyba

I have the same problem as you with perpetuem. After about 300-350 miles I can't stomach it any more. Have you tried Spiz. A lot of people have better success with it than Hammer products. I use Spiz when I'm self supported and when I have support I will use Ensure or Boost. They work really well for me.

chasm54

The important point here is the one that Homeyba and Big Fred have made. No matter how big you are, no matter how many calories you burn, you can't absorb carbs much faster than 60g, or 240kcal, per hour. So eating faster than that while riding is just a waste of time and simply leaves the food sitting in your system. Eat whatever agrees with you in regular small amounts up to about 250kcal per hour.

If you're riding at an easy pace, which most people do on long rides, you're getting most of your fuel directly from fat anyway.

vesteroid

Homey...give me a how to on using powdered foods like perpepteum on a ride. For whatever reason as much as I love it, I havent tried to mix it on a ride.

When I am hiking, I stop at a creek, fill a quart bottle, purify it, drink down enough water to make room, dump in 4 scoops, shake drink, and then refill the bottle with water for the next 5 miles.

But that always seemed to complicated for the bike.

Homeyba

Thank you!

Homeyba

There are lots of ways to do it but what I do is put premeasured amounts (usually 2 servings) in plastic sandwich baggies and stuff them in a pocket. I have one bottle mixed with fuel and one bottle water. When the fuel bottle is empty I take one of the baggies and rip the corner off and use it as a funnel to pour it into the bottle. Then add water and shake. It helps if there is 1/4 or so bottle of water in there first.

One of the things with perpeteum is that it gets nasty quick if it's really hot. They say its good for several hours but being good and tasting good are too separate things. Spiz isn't so bad that way. You can alleviate this somewhat by adding ice.

chefisaac

I make my own bars and nibble every 15 minutes and sip at that time too.

evand

This would be a great idea but it's not gonna work on a century. You would loose energy fast. Ketosis alone would never able to supply the muscles with energy. You could try somthing like power aid zero and just carefully add sugars in thru more complex carbs like oatmeal and nuts for added energy. I wish I could manage a non sugar/carb based nutrition for longer rides. My normal 30 mile or less are all very low carb. Plain water, zero power aid or nunn tabs. pre ride omlete and a low carb wrap after I can hit under 5 carb easy.

My post ride results. I ended up happy just drinking gatorade, 1 cliff bar and few cookies at one of the rest stops. Real gatorade not the newer lower sugar stuff like g2. I did earn my first century water bottle.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us I am looking forward to trying out a few more.

I want aero bars for those long boring straights now. Looked like it relieved alot of wrist and saddle pressure.

Homeyba

If your seat or hands were bugging you you aren't fitted properly on your bike. Some tweaking may be in order. That's not uncommon as you increase your mileage. The aerobars are not a bad idea. They will give you some additional hand positions. The saddle on the other hand is a different animal. The aerobar position will change your position from back towards the nose on the saddle. That can be a good thing or a bad thing and it'll take you a while to make the proper adjustments. I have a completely different saddle position on my regular bike than my bike set up with aerobars. Just something to think about.

Axiom

Awesome, thanks!

paisan

There was a thread a few months back and some fo the stuff Homey Ba posted made me re-evaluate my long ride nutrition Using his advice I dropped the gels (except for an occasional one as a boost before/during a really long climb) and now I mostly stick to perpetuem and the occasional bars. I never got a chance to thank him for that solid advice which has since fueled me through some nasty mountainous rides and centuries. So thanks Homey!!

PS for the perpetuem users, my advice is to get the unflavored version then go to the grocery store and buy the sugar free drink powder packs that are made for 16 oz water bottles. I use 1 pack per bottle regardless of how much perpetuem I put in (i.e a 2 or 3 hour bottle) doing that you can make the perpetuem any flavor you want. My favorites are grape and fruit punch.

vesteroid

Sitting here trying to figure out how to stuff an unopened big bag of perpepteum into my bear can along with a weeks worth of other stuff. I am going to have to jump on the lid to get it to close lol.

Nusince

The reality is that clyde or otherwise the nutrition requirements for endurance riding are actually very similar. You need slow burning carbs to feed your legs when you start out the ride (I like quaker oats plain but ask 25 people what their favorite is and you will get 25 answers). And a quick burning carb (Bananas are your friend) when you first head out. Then it is a matter of maintaining. I personally like a Cliff bar after 25-30 miles (Blueberry is my fav but again, to each his own) and if I am turning a century most likely a second around 60 - 70 in. Cliff Bars also have an advantage in that they are also a good source of potassium and sodium to help replenish what you have sweated out. Then maybe a Gel/Blocks/et al every 10 - 15 miles after that depending on how you feel. The thing about Gel's is that they provide a great source of quick carbs for your legs which will help avoid hitting the wall but they should by no means be considered a sole source of nutrition. Think of them as taking a spoon full of sugar since for all intensive purposes that's what they are.

Now something to keep in mind. If you see people doing endurance riding using only a couple of gels or other such shenanigans there is a good chance that either they have abused their body for so long it is just used to it (Cross country runners are notorious for nonsense like this), or they understand how to properly carb load the night before so that they have sufficient glycogen stores in their legs to make it with only a few pick me ups along the way.

BigJeff

46 and 100 are very different rides.

If you're riding under 50, you can get away with just two bottles of fluid, gatorade, etc. If you're going 60+ you may want to have a small amount of something to bite on. (or after a month of riding or so, you may need nothing other than fluids.


However, my ~100 days, I'm eating at probably the first two or three water refill stops. After that, I'm probably staying away from food, from being too full.

Nusince

It is certainly possible to do endurance activities during ketosis, it just requires more thought on your approach then you would otherwise take. One thing that you will need to be aware of and monitor is your heart rate zones. When you are pushing hard and you cannot deliver enough oxygen to your muscles they will enter an anaerobic state and your muscles can metabolize glucose for energy by using using lactic acid. However when you are in ketosis your muscles cannot burn fat for fuel in an anaerobic state as oxygen is required to convert fat into useable energy in your muscles. So in theory there is really no reason why you cannot do endurance riding while in ketosis, it just requires more thought on your part.

jim p

Let me tell you something not to try. Sugar free candy is a real bad idea. For 6 months I rode with diarrhea because of the laxative affect of the candy. I am just a slow learner but I thought that I would pass this along.

Homeyba

Your welcome. I'm glad it helped you out. I've been doing the long and ultra distance stuff for many years and it's nice to be able to pass on some of the knowledge I've gained over they years.

Homeyba

I think we're opposites. I'm a weight weenie on the bike but when I go back packing I have no problem carrying a pack full of "real" food! No perpetuem for me on the hiking trail.

TrojanHorse

OK, just to chime back in, I finished my century today and I don't think I ate right.
Rest stop 1 - 15 miles - half a muffin and some trail mix. Gatorade
Rest stop 2 - 30 miles - banana & gatorade
Mid ride - 38 mile or so - clif bar
Lunch - 55 miles - big ham and turkey sammich with red onion, grey poupon, two tomatoes & plenty of pickles (I was cramping), water & gatorade
Rest stop - 75 miles - peanuts & cytomax (tasted great after all that sweet gatorade)
Rest stop - 85 miles - popsicle & gatorade
mid ride - 92 miles or so - power bar gel

I was drinking plenty on my ride, except from about mile 40-55 when I lost my waterbottle (the one that was still full of gatorade... ). I really didn't feel hungry at all but I think I didn't eat enough of the food I'm used to eating on a ride and that sandwich was too big. That gel at mile 92 was a godsend... seriously, I was struggling along at 15 mph, popped that sucker and was cruising at 19-20 the rest of the way home.

Food for thought for my next century I guess!

bigfred 

Amen brother! Mrs. Fred and I set a loose 15kg pack weight limit, then see just how well we can eat while respecting that. Our's has been the "Larder of Envy" at many a hut. We actually get enquiries about what's going to be on our menu next.

This thread has got me thinking about my coming century and giving energy/nutrition "products" another go. Some of what I've read on the Hammer site and others, makes sense. Some of it I think sounds like marketing, trying to justify there product over others. At the very least it's going to get me to more closely exam the nutritional info of what I typically eat and look at optimizing it.

I'm going to start by trying one of the liquid supplements. We'll see how that works for me over the next few weeks.

Homeyba

I'm sure you're right about the marketing stuff on their sites. You kind of have to wade through it a bit but there is still some really good info there. I'd check out the UMCA web site though as there is no marketing hype there and a lot of great info. It's definitely very important to try stuff before hand because you never know how your pallet will react. Plus it's better to go into an event with a nutrition plan (even if it's a loose one) rather than trying to chase your nutrition and hydration during the event.

vesteroid

Got my pack, packed yesterday with all my gear,2 liters of water, bear can, but no food. Weighed in a 20 lbs. that's a little high for me, but I am taking more clothes on this trip for the cooler temps. Food is going to add another 9 lbs or so.

We pretty much hike all day, so for us, easy and quick is where it's at food wise. We also don't use shelters or huts so we are carrying a bit more gear. My mouth stays dry while hiking for some reason, so the liquid food all day helps me, and in the mornings if it's cold, I simply heat up the water I use in my perpepteum. I supplement with meat snacks, and gorp, and have one freeze dried meal each night for some substance.

I know you boys are in better shap than I, but when I do 20 miles with 3000-4000 feet of climbing, all I want to do is eat quickly, and go to bed

Homeyba

I think the most I hiked in one day was 50 miles but it was flat and a very long day, dark to dark. I prefer to do that 3k-4k of climbing in something like 3 miles instead of 20 and my pack usually weighs at least twice yours. I usually have climbing gear in mine on top of the food. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of hiking on trails. I much prefer cross country routes. I can't do the real technical climbing anymore but I can do some short moderate to easy stuff that occurs on the mountaineering routes. I like to eat real foods and bring real eggs and bacon to make french toast in the morning and pizza for dinner with cheesecake for desert, stuff like that.