Planet Fox

On Sunday I'm doing my first 100 mile ride, with 70 miles being my longest so far. What food should I be eating the evening before and the morning of the ride? And what should I be taking on board during. I already use energy gels and drinks but I want to make sure I get the right intake for the ride.

MikeyBoyAz

I like PBnJ with the crusts off. In sandwich bags of course. I usually bring a few of those, they fit well in the jersey pocket and it doesn't matter if they get smooshed.

dstrong 

I think of three basic needs: Hydration, Electrolytes and calories (short lasting/long lasting).

Night before the ride, I subscribe to the carbo-load approach...big honkin' plate of pasta with plenty of water. The morning of the ride, I try to eat a stick-to-ribs breakfast...my current favorite is steel cut oats...but regular oatmeal will work too. Drink lots so that you have to pee right before you leave.

On the road...drink plenty of fluids and replace electrolytes with a sports supplement like gatorade, endurolytes or something else that replaces the stuff you sweat out. Use short-term gels/honey stingers when you need a boost but eat stuff like PB&J/clif bars that will stay with you and take a little more work to digest.

I usually fall short in one of these three areas and suffer for it.

bobbycorno

Sounds like you've figured out what to eat during. Just make sure that you start eating early on (1/2 hr to 1 hr in), and take in 2-300 cal / hour. Dinner the night before, pasta or some other hi-carb meal really makes a difference for me. And the morning of, I usually have a bigger-than-usual, hi-protein breakfast. 'Course, I generally don't hammer right from the gun, so I don't have digestive problems. If you tend to start fast, a light breakfast would be in order.

Just remember, pace yourself, eat and drink along the way, and enjoy. Let us know how the ride turns out.

SP
Bend, OR

JamieElenbaas

Beer, burger, and espresso.

If at all possible, stop for an espresso a few times during the ride. A hamburger with a pint of beer is the perfect lunch.

You may think I'm kidding, but I am not at all. This obviously is not the schedule for an under 5 hour century, but if you are slow or with slow riders and this is going to be a 7+ hour affair, morning caffeine and the afternoon beer are marvelous. I've converted a couple of friends to this technique.

botto 

same as any other night.

depends on the route, and intensity that you ride it.

dstrong 

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkkkk.

YokeyDokey

Got my first real century in the books Saturday. Two previous starts turned into metric 100s when I bonked at around 45 miles, so I tried a different approach this time - instead of getting up at 3 a.m. to carbo load, I slept until it was almost too late and then wolfed down a giant bowl of packaged maple/brown sugar oatmeal loaded with added crushed walnuts. Probably 20 ounces with milk, maybe more, and chased it with at least a half pint of o.j. Ate pb&j and bananas at nearly every rest stop and didn't bonk until around mile 80, which was 15 miles into the real climbing. I think, if the route had been laid out properly with the climbing on the front end and the prevailing winds at our backs instead of vice-versa, I would have made the ride in 5 1/2 hours riding time instead of 6:50. I'll stick with this diet in the future (I won't ride the BDB100 again unless the route is laid out properly).

Jakedatc

Cereal for breakfast, banana right before i go. Mix of honey stinger waffles, gel, Odwalla bars during. can/bottle of soda somewhere near the end for a sugar boost. usually do gatorade and NUUN for drinks. I've had the best luck with stopping once per hour to eat something.

banerjek

Is this a supported ride? If so, it's best if you can get by on what they provide.

For 100 mile supported ride, I typically carry 4 gels just in case I need a boost where I don't like the food for whatever reason. Often, I'll wind up popping one or two. For last weekend's century, I returned with all of them still in my jersey.

The morning of the ride, I like to toss down a couple cans of Ensure Plus. If you're going to be sitting in the saddle for a long time, liquid nutrition is better IMO. The evening before, I eat whatever I'd normally eat -- though I avoid the super spicy.

DScott

I'd take twice what you normally would for a 50 mile ride.

kimconyc

Do the same thing you did for the 70 mile ride; eat/drink whatever you normally eat but...

at the 70 mile point eat/drink enough to get you to the finish.

Almost sounds too simple of an answer but it's the truth.

kimconyc

So much wisdom and truth that will most likely be ignored.

Megiddo

I did my first 100 on the 17th and I ended up taking 3x the food I needed. The rest areas were well stocked and first rate (from what I hear... never seen one before).

Among other things I took 6 packs of the Powerbar Energy Gels... 3 would have been fine. I did take about 8 snack size paydays. Loved them, salty and tasty and I ate almost of them.

banerjek

Just so you know, a classic Fred mistake is to eat tons of crap just before riding. The 3am carbo load is a nice touch. Your body can only absorb about 250 calories per hour, so if you add more, all you'll succeed in doing is getting sick.

If it seems like a little wind and placement of the hills are messing things up, the actual problem is more likely your fitness and/or strategy. The 5K feet of elevation gain in the BDB isn't nothing, but it's not exactly a climbing ride either. On actual climbing rides, they often save the biggest climb for the very end.

Machka 

A little late to be asking us these questions now!!

What food did you use on your 70 mile ride? Did it work for you? Did it sit well and seem to provide you with enough energy? If so, then use that food.

If not ... then you could be in a bit of trouble because you haven't taken the time to experiment and find out what works for you.

YokeyDokey

Ironically, however, I finished in the middle of the pack... unlike when I did the 3 a.m. carb load. Reckon I'll dance with who brung me, you stick with your little partner...

hyhuu

Seriously? Properly laid out route? If the route doesn't end up in a ditch or middle of nowhere then I said it's properly laid out. From what I seen of the centuries around here, the hardest part always seems to be in the second half.

ColinL

^^ This is a very true statement. You don't need to bring a boatload of calories with you because you cannot process them. If you're going above 12mph you should be burning more calories per hour than you can ingest.

Why bother at all? Because it helps. I know there are many distance runners who still don't use gels or even drink any water, but we have easy places to store and use them on our bicycles and ... did I mention it helps??!!

ColinL

Btw Mikey are you eating those PBnJ on the go?

YokeyDokey

hmmmm... well, let's try this then. It gets dark here at night - has anyone else noticed that where they live? Wait, let me guess, someone from Alaska will argue against this.

banerjek

I take it you're not a rando fan...

goose70

I haven’t had a chance to read all of this, so I apologize if I’m just re-hashing. This year on 100-plus mile rides, I decided to follow the Hammer Nutrition guide and it seems to have paid off well. My times are much better and, best of all, how I feel during and after is much improved.

First, I do not have a huge “carb-loading’” dinner the night before. That would just keep me from sleeping well and is completely unnecessary as long as I’ve been eating well (both in connection with training and regular meals) in the weeks leading up to the event.

Second, assuming the ride begins relatively early in the morning, I skip breakfast. That’s right, very counterintuitive and your stomach will be rumbling, but I found that it works well. I’ve also found that, as Hammer says, the hunger pains disappear right after you start peddling. According to Hammer, you should not eat in the 3-4 hours leading up to an endurance event lasting more than 2-hours. Doing so screws up your body’s ability to properly regulate glycogen use by the muscles, or some such thing. And getting sleep is more important to performance than waking up extra early just to eat before the 3-hour window closes.

Third, I do begin fueling right after the start of the ride, almost always within 15-minutes of the start. I typically just use a bottle mixed with Perpetuem the entire ride (I keep an extra packet in a jersey pocket). The other bottle is just water, although when it’s hot, I may pop an electrolyte pill in it after a couple hours.

Finally, I have a serving of Recoverite immediately after the ride. This seems to be key to feeling well versus feeling lousy the following night/morning.

I’m not a Hammer rep or sponsored by them (the only money I’d get from a sponsor would be to stay away from its products). I also appreciate that the placebo effect can be significant. But, whatever the reason, this routine works great for me. I definitely do not bother with the rest stop sandwiches, PBJ or even pie….that stuff killed my rides last year.

Mantis Style

I've only done 100 miles a few times, so I'm probably closer to your fitness camp than some others here. Know that some of these guys eat nothing on a 60 mile ride. I think they are either nuts or liars, so here's what I do:

1) Eat lots of carbs 2 nights before. Eat whatever you normally would the night before
2) Drink LOTS of water the DAY before. That way you know you are super hydrated.
3) Morning of, eat what you did on your last 70 mile ride. I usually have a big bowl of oatmeal + bananna + coffee + almonds + glass of oj. OR I have 2 eggs + 2egg whites over easy + 1 bagel + coffee + oj.
4) 1hr before you go (or on the drive to the event or whatever) drink a bottle (or 20 oz or so) of energy drink. All of these last two points depend on when you get up, so just try to eat a good meal and drink something.
5) I'm assuming the ride isn't supported. So I'd bring 5 gels (3 w/ caffeine) + 3 cliff bars. I try to shoot for 250 cals/hour. So that's 500 (gels) + 750 (bars) = 1250 calories. I figure it would take me around 5 hrs, so that's 250/hr. Now, I ALSO start out with energy drinks which adds more calories, so I almost never finish all the food. BUT I like to have the just in case scenario. I also anticipate that I will only be able to find water along the way, so I bring 4 (or more) of those Nuun tablets. It makes water taste better to me. Some people here will bring home made stuff, banannas, whatever. 100 miles (for me at least) is the time to spend $6 on prepackaged sports food. It's easy, fits in pockets nicely, it's not messy, and I know exactly how many calories I'm getting. And the gel with Caffeine at mile 88 is a life saver.
6) If it IS supported, I'd just take 3 gels and a cliff bar just in case. And the Nuun tablets.
7) I shoot for 1 bottle every hour without fail. I eat a gel every hour. Have a bite of a cliff bar every once in a while and it'd be really tough to run into problems. Just don't eat TOO much too quickly. Key is just a little all day long and drink whenever you eat.

Again, my goal is 250 cals/hour. If I have a sports drink I eat less. If I just have water, I eat more. Eat early. Drink a lot. Go slow at the beginning. Go fast (if you can) at the end. My first century, I expected to finish in 5 hours & I finished in 4.25. If you feel good, go for it. If not, 100 miles is a hell of a goal.

All in all, if you've gone 70 miles, this really shouldn't wind up being much harder or really that much different. That said, mile 88 usually sucks the most. You want to be done, but you still have a way to go. Eat a gel w/ caffeine. Shortly after that, I wind up seeing the end of the tunnel and it's all good.

Save energy for the party later. I don't care what some people here say - 100 miles is a big ****ing deal and you should be proud that you finished it.

Oh, and when you are done, a recovery drink BEFORE the beer really does make a difference. And if they have them at the end of the ride, get a massage.

Note: I'm around 5'10, 165 to give you an idea of what I need/like calorie wise.

Bill

I have to eat prior to this kind of ride, otherwise I bonk right away. I eat a stack of pancakes, a banana, and maybe a Clif bar. That generally lasts me for a while--maybe 50 miles or so. Then maybe another Clif bar or something else.