Krystian

Lately I've been going on longer and longer rides and find that about 2.5 hrs in I get a real drop of energy. Lately I've been bringing a couple of chewy granola bars with me to snack on mid ride. I've used gels in the past but I'm not a huge fan. Need some ideas for good road snacks.

alexaschwanden

tons and tons of junk-food and power-bars, that's what keeps me going.

david58

Snickers bars are very good - if you can handle that much on your stomach. A very inexpensive energy bar - most energy bars are expensive candy bars....

Krystian

Snickers - you guys are speaking my language

canam73

There tends to be oatmeal cookies at my house so I'll grab a few of those for longer rides. I like them because they don't melt like snickers and the like.

ivan_yulaev

Pop-tarts. Very high energy to weight ratio. Gotta be careful not to smash them too much though.

Mtbnomore

Bottle of MEXICAN Coke (made with sugar) or a Lara bar (they have like 4 ingredients).

Yo Spiff

I'll take some trail mix bars with me. Kinda like granola bars, but chewy and with a little fruit in them. Often a Clif bar as well. I like the cherry chocolate flavor.

cpach

To a limited degree the macronutrient content of your snacks can be important. I absolutely love snickers and buy them by the 48-count box at Costco, but they do have a lot of fat and protein, and thus probably aren't ideal for very high intensity rides. Maybe ideal for touring and similar length/intensity, though.

I like fig newtons, which are a nice snacking size; cut up apples in a bag; and bananas. Also it's sad, but the Nabisco fig newtons are infinitely better tasting than the hippie bulk bin fig newtons, as I learned on one ride. Baked goods like muffins are nice. You can also make little burritos and wrap them in aluminum foil.

I've also been drinking lemon kool-aid with a little salt as a cheap-man's energy drink.

The summary of what I got from reading about cycling nutrition is that probably the only things that matter are bulk macronutrient content (ie, how much is carbs, what the glycemic index is) and to a lesser degree maybe electrolytes. All the other crap in sports-specific food probably is of limited utility, but they do generally nail the macronutrients and they are conveniently packaged, and sometimes taste nice. I do love Cliff bars, although I got really tired of the 3 flavors they sell at Costco.


So yeah, there's lots of normal food that works fine. For my entertainment I think I'm going to start making homemade gel packs and see how that goes.

AP1EKWAN

I've been on a PayDay kick for awhile. I did the Snickers thing before too, but the chocolate melted too often. A couple of times it would slip out of the wrapper and fall onto the jersey. Not a pretty sight on a white jersey. And no one believes it's chocolate.
Bite sized Snickers are cool tho, you can finish it in 2 bites.

LOGICK ONE

My personal favorites:

On pit stops Mexican cokes are great—real sugar and caffeine to help get some energy rush.

Non-sport specific foods: PB&Jelly or PB&Honey (no crusts). Trail Mix (Dried cherries/dried cranberries/pistachios/walnuts/m&ms). Snickers.

Sport specific food: Honey stinger waffles, NOW energy bars, Clif Bars (chocolate chip), PowerBar (Cookies n Cream), Hammer Gels.

billyb0b115

Strawberry Pop Tarts! Great taste, good amount of carbohydrates and it's cheap! I save one for the road and the other when I'm done

I'll get some cliff bars every now and then.

grwoolf

Another snickers fan here, but only if I'm stopping at a store and doing a longer ride. I'll usually combine with a banana. In the pockets, I usually pack those Welchs fruit snacks. Decent amount of calories, cheap, and pretty easy to rip open and eat while on the move. I used to do the cliffs bars, but I struggle to choke down an entire bar quickly while riding.

surgeonstone

You can buy a lot of crap of questionable value or go for the simple things. I ride with a large bottle of OJ, 24 ounce thermal bottle from Camel-back.
I fill it 2/3 OJ and 1/3 ice and add three large tablespoons of sugar. Keeps me going, I drink 2 or 3 swallows every 20 minutes. On rides longer I bring a whole wheat PB & J sandwich or a bag of raisins and walnuts. Can't stand the gels or powerbars. I have never bonked doing this and with the oj going in I do not need much additional fuel.
On cold winter days I ride with hot tea and honey. Great stuff.

Nachoman

There should probably be two categories of "road snacks". ON the bike and OFF the bike. For me, they're usually very different.

Werkin

Dried Figs and Salty Peanuts, Prunes and Salty Cashews, Animal Crackers.

Yo Spiff

I've seen a few people suggest this. How do you carry a PB&J to keep it from getting squished and nasty in your jersey pocket, or even in a camelbak?

ilovecycling

PayDay candy bar, Honey Stinger waffles, Fig Newtons, Banana, coconut water (if I stop somewhere), etc. Basically anything that tastes good and doesn't get messy. Doesn't matter so much what you eat as long as you eat.

milkbaby

I like a PB&J sandwich too, just ziploc'ed in the jersey pocket. It does tend to get squished flat if I have other stuff packed in there too, but if the ride is long enough then it tastes great. I also like peanut butter crackers, my fave are the Lance brand "nekot cookies". Stopping at the store with the group and having a soda is a favorite tradition for me too. We've been tempted to split a $3.99 4 pack of PBR tallboys at a particular store often...

surgeonstone

LOL, in my camel back. I just divide it in half, put each half in a small baggy and through them in my rear pocket. They hold together pretty well. My fav is Skippys Chuncky style with Smuckers Orange Marmalade. Usually have one half 1.5 hrs and the second at 2.5-3 hours out.

NathanC

LesterOfPuppets

By 2.5 hours in I need something substantial like a big greasy cheeseburger. If it has to be something you can eat while rolling a big ol' burrito from a taco truck might be nice.

I'll third the bottle Mexican Coke. Generally not a good while rolling drink. Requires two hands to open and need to find a place to toss the empty.

Machka 

While riding:
Granola bars
Cereal bars
Oatmeal and raisin cookies
Oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies
Salted almonds
Small bags of cheezies or chips
Poptarts
Dried fruit
Bananas
Other fruit - cut into pieces


When I stop for a break:
Cheesecake
Carrot cake
Muffins
Pastries
Crackers and cheese
Potato chips
French fries
Hamburger
Chicken croissant
Subway sub
French toast
Perogies
Pizza Pops
Slice of Pizza
Burritos
Chicken Noodle Soup
Whatever is available in the town I'm in ... and appeals to me.

I used to include scrambled eggs and toast in that list, but it seems that eggs bother my gall bladder now.

MinnMan

After a few hours, you've got to keep feeding the beast.

For long rides, I have two kinds of food with me- energy items to eat while in the saddle and things to eat at breaks (unless there's likely to be food for sale at the planned reststop

On the bike - gels, Clif Shot bloks, or gummy candies (bears, worms, etc.).

Off the bike: A mixed bag of raisons and peanuts and/or Clif bars.

revchuck 

Lots of good ideas above. I'm used to gels and Clif bars and Gatorade, but on a longer ride will sometimes stop for a bottle of sweet iced tea (sugar and caffeine but no carbonation) and something sweet to eat.

If you're going to be out for a long ride, don't wait until you're out of gas to refuel. Start eating within the first hour. Your body can process about 250-300 calories/hour, so keep it to about that level. For me, that's about a bottle of Gatorade and a gel, or a bottle of water and a Clif bar, over the course of an hour. Candy bars are about 250-300 calories. A half-liter bottle of regular Coke is 240 calories.

If you're going to use something big and/or hard to open, open it before you start the ride and break it into manageable pieces. Eating a whole Clif bar or Powerbar at once while riding is a hassle; "choking it down" is an accurate description. Half a Clif bar works for me. If there's any left in an open package at the end of your ride, either finish it or stick it in a ziploc for the next ride.

When you eat something, wash it down with about four good swigs of whatever's in your bottles. It helps your body process the food, and you need the fluid anyway.