Rowan

I have learned to be very careful stereotyping "fat cyclists" as being slow or non-performers on a ride. Case in point: On a recent 200km hilly randonnee in British Columbia, one of the starters was a big guy. He was darned fit, fast and finished well ahead of us. Seen this before on other randonees. They won't be Cat 1 racers, but some of them can hold their own in endurance.

Fat also is a matter of perspective. I might be considered fat at the moment, but can still prepare for a 400 in a couiple of weeks, and a 600 a few weeks after that.

All that said, my breakfasts 95% of the time consist of cooked oats, a sprinkling of ordinary sugar, and full-cream milk, plus a large ordinary home-made instant coffee. That will get me through three hours of riding (which corresponds to morning tea time at my employment which often involves quite hard physical work).

I do, however, eat quite well the night before to (a) replenish energy stores and (b) assist in muscle repair.

dieselgoat

Correct. I too have seen many big guys who are good riders. I'm just saying I've seen many centuries where folks are stopping and eating every 15-20 miles, and in my experience, that is really not needed.

Rowan

The general consensus is that the blood and liver contain enough glycogen to power the body for around two hours, depending on the intensity of the riding, without the need to eat something. One influencing factor is what sort of phyiscal activity the rider has done prior to getting on the bike (eg, a phyiscally active job, for example).

The belief is that by taking in carbs, there is a "top-up" of that glycogen store.

Protein takes longer to digest and may well end up with a concentrate of blood around the stomach to assist that process, which in turn may affect energy output at the muscles and hence intensity.

Yes, proteins and fats are a good thing for the touring cyclist, less so for the commuting cyclist (if the ride is less than two hours) and for the performance cyclist.

Once the window of up to two hours for glycogen stores has passed, the body will need additional sources of glycogen, and carb intake will provide that quite efficiently.

It's one of the reasons why the catchcry "eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty" still holds true for a lot of riders, especially those doing real endurance (ie, long-distance) riding.

In my previous post, I mentioned about oats. They take a while to digest and present the sort of energy I need at work and on long distance rides. The fat in the full-cream milk also assists. The sugar is more an instant energy hit.

I've tried other stuff before... proteins and stuff like instant noodles and even refined breakfast cereals. I find that they really don't do the job for me, and oats provide the balance I need to have enough to last three hours or longer.

I also try to pay attention to when I start eating carbs.

One thing that often is not mentioned is that depending on the density of the food being eaten, fluid intake becomes important. Hence the large cup of coffee (the equivalent, in fact, or three standard cups -- yes, it's weak and instant) to go with the oats.

Taking in carbs on the bike, whether dry or gel form, also needs additional fluids along with electrolytes to enable the food to be absorbed efficiently and to avoid stomach issues.

These are some of the things I have learned over two decades of distance riding in several forms.

Dirt Farmer

Six eggs/Spam/onion/Habanero scramble the night before.

Banana the morning of.

jlax2485

I generally will eat oatmeal with a little maple syrup in it and a banana cut up before embarking on my 30-40mi rides in the morning. If I am hungry into the ride I will eat a Lara bar or another banana but that's all I really need. I take two bottles, one with water and another with a weak mixture of Gatorade powder.

simplybao

I find that it's not just what I eat before I ride, but the night before as well. I eat carbs the day before with no real thought to what it is. But I'm not a racer. I'll eat Pizza, pasta, rice, whatever, as long as it's carbs. I like to ride early (like when the sun is coming up) because I hate riding in the heat. For breakfast, I eat one of those jimmy dean sandwiches or I make a fried egg sandwich with 2 eggs and a little bit of cheese. I drink some water, and off I go.

I did that this morning and I was fine. We rode 50 miles today. Again, not a competitive rider. I just want to be able to get through the ride without feeling like I'm crashing. I carry cliff blocks. We stop about every 15 miles and maybe have a banana. I smoke, and have a cig. And keep going. I'll get some hate for that, but you know what, do what makes you happy.

My partner is a "big guy". He usually does the pacing. On a good day, the Garmin tells us we average 16 mph with 1400 ft of climbing. On a bad day we go 13, but we don't care. We just want to ride and it's fun.

We did a big charity ride a couple of weeks ago on fairly flat terrain. We did the metric century and the Garmin said we averaged a little over 17 mph and I didn't change my routine. I say, do what works for you. Experiment and remember to look up. There is an entire world around you.

f4rrest

This is also my experience.

A cup of coffee, and that's it.

I can do 50 without food or gu, unless it has significant climbing.

People that eat carbs on all their rides teach their muscles to depend on carbs.

The key to this approach us that most rides are zone 2, and my muscles have adapted to put out 250 watts in Z2, so I can cruise 20mph without dipping into last night's meal (glycogen stores).

Riding fasted would be very difficult on a calorie deficit, since you'd have much less stored glycogen, due to caloric restriction the day prior.

In this case, OP might need to do easy but long rides if attempting fasted training.

Milton Keynes

We had a debate on this very forum not long ago about how a cyclist needs to eat carbs every 60 to 90 minutes or else they'll "bonk." Which was news to me because I've ridden 3 hours without a snack before and never bonked. Of course I've got plenty of energy storage, if you know what I mean.

Milton Keynes

That doesn't sound bad, but I'd rather have real ham than Spam.

highrpm

My longest ride, by far, so far has been the ride up Pikes Peak I did about a week ago. It took me longer than five hours to go up and down.


I ate a banana for breakfast that morning. During the ride, I went through two Gatorades, two bananas, and two Snickers bars. It was just the right amount of nutrition. I didn't feel stuffed and I had plenty of energy.


OP, I'm thinking that you are eating way too much for the rides you are doing.

luddite_68

Maybe you see so many fat cyclists is because it is a great way to lose weight. As for grossly overestimating, what no one on this thread guestimating calories burned has taken into account is the weight of the rider. This nifty calculator is actually right in line with my fitbit of ~2500cal per ride.

SylvainG

My last commute ride gave me 436 kcal in Garmin Connect, 524 kcal in Strava and this calculator gave me 653 kcal. Even if Garmin and Strava didn't account for BMR and the calculator did (although it didn't ask me my height or age so I doubt it does), there is still quite a discrepancy...

memebag

Let your body use proteins to repair and build muscle. Use sugar to provide energy. Keep taking on a steady supply of sugar to prevent depletion.

Milton Keynes

Burning 2722 calories assuming they're riding at 12-14 MPH nonstop for that 2 1/2 hours. But we all know there will be a bit of coasting going on in there, too. That's why I always take apps reporting calories burned as estimates. One of my apps always lists more calories burned than Strava, but I may not have my correct weight listed on Strava.

*edit* Actually I just went into my Strava account and edited my weight. I hadn't changed it since 15 pounds ago. So it had me weighing more, but for some reason burning fewer calories.

luddite_68

I agree, but for me to eat an extra 500cal of carbs in the form of a fruit smoothie and 2 gu packets to get through my 2 1/2hr ride shouldn't be an issue if I am any where in the range of this calorie burn.

rachel120

My calorie tracker, for a lot less weight, gave 678 calories an hour. So that came to only 1695. I burn more than that in a 6.5 hour shift putting away clothing.

Milton Keynes

Like I said, I just take the calories burned as a rough estimate. I have no idea how accurate any of them are.

memebag

There are estimates and there are measurements. Calories in is an estimate. Calories out is an estimate. Weight is a measurement.

caloso

How does this nifty calculator know if you're riding uphill or down, into the wind or with a tailwind, solo or in a group?

Fett2oo5

Oatmeal, banana, milk, and water.

During, I have found that a simple Payday candy bar works very well. I take each bite with a little swig of water. It doesn't make my stomach feel weird, and the energy lasts quite a long while. But that's just my personal opinion.

Kapusta

I was wondering about the elevation part, too.

Kevindale

I've skimmed this thread, so may have missed a bit, but I tend to agree with those who are counseling the OP to not dramatically increase his fluid and calories. I'm not sure what he described as "bonking" was actually bonking. I think it was more the exhaustion that comes from healthy overtraining.

I think the key is the OP is increasing his mileage and doing so as we enter the dog days of summer. I also ride in the deep south, with high temps and high humidity. I've also significantly increased my mileage this year. In prep for my first metric century, I increased long rides from 20 to 25 to 30 to 40 over a period of about a month. Then I did 50 miles on a hot day, with a single water bottle and a single 140 cal. cereal bar. But the key problem was my seat post had slipped down about a cm during the ride, so my pedaling was less efficient then usual, and I was really working my legs. That's been the only ride I've ever bonked on, and it only happened in the last 5-6 miles, and I think it was as much exhaustion as truly bonking. The whole ride was a little over 3 hours, without coasting or stopping even for a moment.

What I did after that was make sure my seat post was tight, coast and stretch my legs every 5-10 miles, take 2 bottles for rides over 2 hours (I still finish long rides with a full bottle, but it's a good just-in-case measure), and keep a few honey packages and an extra cereal bar in my seat pack. As I rapidly increased my mileage during the spring and early summer, I would often finish the ride, shower, and need a nap. It wasn't lack of nutrition, I was just worn out. Now I can finish a 2 hour ride with no stops/average 18+ mph and go on with a regular day.

In the morning I eat a bowl of steel cut oats with some blueberries, and a small bowl of home-made granola in the morning, with a big cup of coffee/sugar/cream. I sip some water when I get on the bike, and then I drink when I'm thirsty. If I drink more, I have to stop and pee. I eat the cereal bar at about 90 minutes into the ride. On a 3-hour ride, I'll take a banana, too, and eat that during the third hour.

The key, I think, is to rely less on estimates and calculations. Learn to listen to your body. Make every ride a controlled experiment, with the understanding that it's a highly variable process. Accept that it's going to be somewhat uncomfortable/tiring as long as you're stressing yourself by pushing your pace or your mileage, but that your body will adapt. You're on the right track, just keep going.

philbob57

The calorie burned numbers can be validated in a very rough way.

change in weight = calories in - calories out, or
change in weight = (calorie estimate for everything one eats in a day) - (calories out for basal metabolism + calories the calculator says you burned).

If Bicycling's calorie estimator were accurate, I'd weigh a lot less than my scale says I do.

DomaneS5

I usually have to travel before a long ride...

before the ride...

Chicken biscuit from McDonalds
V8
coffee

during and after ride...

protein chocolate bar
water
Powerade Zero

10 Wheels

Fried Corn Mush. Gives Slowly turns into energy for me..