Let’s try to connect! Will send contact info offline.

Let me begin this by stating I have T2 Diabetes but I’ve struggled with this same thing for the past two years. During that time I’ve completed numerous centuries (and farther) and have finally found what works for ME so take this for what it’s worth.

Water—— depending on the route, I usually carry two 33oz Zefal bottles filled with Arbon Energy Fizz packets.
If my route demands more water, I have an under-saddle bottle cage that clamps to the seat post where I can carry up to a third 33oz Zefal. It actually positions the bottle directly under the nose of the saddle but does not interfere with pedaling, I’ve never done a ride that wasn’t covered by that much water without finding resupply.

Food—— I start my rides with (gasp) a fast food breakfast sandwich, hash browns and coffee. I consume a GU about every hour and eat a Stroop Waffle or Rice Krispy treat every other hour combined with a few Vit B tablets and Potassium and magnesium tabs.
At the halfway point in a century I make sure I eat something substantial such as a tuna sandwich, potato chips and perhaps a bottle of Gatorade and then another GU and I’m off again.
This might seem like a lot to some people but the worst thing that can happen is for me to have a sugar crash during a ride because that is not something you recover from very quickly and it’s simply dangerous.

It took me about two years of distance riding to figure all of this out and it is key to my riding. I’m heading out the door tomorrow morning to do 130 as training for a double century in April.

What about San Antonio's Big Red and Barbacoa, or the Dallas version of Four Slim Jims and a Beer...

Anyway, when I used ta ride long enough ta need food on a ride I found having a water bottle with a mix of Apple Juice and Protein Powder sufficient...

There are people that judge people that use Camelbaks?

I know, right?

This past summer, plenty of our weekly group rides started out in 100+ degree temps. There's no judging when it comes to hydration.

My diet and rest before a significant ride matter more than what I eat during a ride. I don't do long, hard rides anymore due to chronic neck pain from cervical spine stenosis, so it's pretty unlikely I'll bonk on my usual 20-30 milers.

But if I do carry snacks, I like Pop Tarts and stroopwaffles because they're flat and fit a jersey pocket neatly.

I carry a couple of gels with caffeine but don't use them often anymore. Maybe toward the end of a hard ride when I'm dragging and a caffeine boost might help.

There are convenience stores along most of my usual routes so I don't really need to carry much of anything if I prefer to keep it light. I've done that a time or two when chasing PRs on segments of 1-6 miles, or climbs, and I just piddle-pedal, loafpedal and glasscrank between segments to conserve energy.

I'm pickier about hydration. Usually one bottle with electrolytes (DripDrop if I'm feeling fancy; otherwise Propel or Kroger generic and I add a little sugar), one with plain water/ice. If it's an early ride, or I've just waked up, I'll include some caffeine in the first bottle. I usually carry one or two spare single serve Mylar packets of DripDrop, Propel, whatever. Those carry nicely in a minimalist seat bag, jersey pocket, even tucked inside my shorts leg hem, sock, whatever. Single serve Mylar packets are very resistant to sweat, rain, whatever, so they're usually good for up to a year before the powder gets a little clumpy. NUUN tablets always got gooey and clumpy, didn't want to dissolve.

I've worn a generic hydration backpack (2L, I think) on summer runs and rides when the temp is over 100F, which is common in Texas. One route I rode a couple of summers ago, aiming for a full century, had no convenience stores at all. 30 miles out, temperature was already over 100 degrees and at the rate I was drinking water (hydration backpack and two bottles on the bike) I knew I'd run out of water before I reached the nearest store *if* I detoured. But that would be at least 50 miles, and I wasn't familiar with that road after some highway construction. The safer choice was to turn around and head back the route I'd just ridden. Finished with 60 miles and drank my last sip of water a mile from home.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...704a6114c6.jpg
Stolen from Mark Remy's Dumb Runner FB page. I run too. Applies to both. Although I rarely carry anything but water on my typical 5k-10 mile runs.

We don't do any judging beyond the camelbak though. They're pretty much a lost cause so why bother.

OP, gels need water to get adsorbed. You may as well just stick that stuff in your bottles.

Heh. Some of us would often eat second breakfasts close to that while riding across the country. Worked ok in the mountains of the west, but when we hit the Midwest I actually started putting on pounds. Had to put the brakes on that kind of eating.

Has the OP disclosed how far a 3.5 hr. ride is?

Gained 2 pounds of Muscle. 4200 miles 57 days.In The Heat of Summer. CA was112*

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8ebb5de826.png

Why do some people hate stopping? I've never understood this, always enjoyed stopping to eat something on a longer ride.

If working hard, that's the lower bound of what I'd do.

Last Saturday we went for a ride to a town 50km away, then a climb to a mountain, back down and home. I was trying to cram about 350 kcal per hour of sugar all the way to the summit. Since I ran out of sport specific solutions I dumped a load of Haribo gummi bears and other candies in my jersey pocket 🤷

It took me 2:06 hours at 252W to climb. That's 910 kcal per hour not counting BMR. Without eating as much as I can digest, it guarantees losing power because glycogen gets depleted.

Sure, easy rides work fine on water and something to eat half way, but working hard it is best to keep cramming yourself with the maximum sugar you can digest.

​​​​​As for hydration, if I think I'll need a lot, two 950ml bottles and then stop to refill.

I thought the cool kids were licking and sticking their chews lined up along the top of the stem?

If I climbed 2 hours at 252, I'd have gained 5-6000 feet, and also died.

I've seen them on top tubes, on CF bikes where the top tube is flat. For me, that would be one way of regaining some of the salt lost through sweating, as well as applying sunscreen to my tongue.

You mean not everyone licks their bike?

agree - my fav centuries were the ones that included a stop around the halfway point

small diner / restaurant ... some grabbed a sandwich - others something smaller / lighter

I typically stuck with Clif Bars (or similar) because I knew it worked for me ...

regardless - the stop / break seemed to help all

tonguescreen ?

apologize if I missed this in a previous reply

carbs ... more carbs ... 8 gel packs ... (ouch) ... ??? ...

have you tried some / more protein ... more balanced approach ?

.

Heh, I used to return, shower, and stuff my face, regaining any calories I had lost (and then some). Now I found that a pack of gummy bears mid-ride mostly stave off that urge.

Nutrition on a ride depends on both how long and how hard the ride is, and mostly on the "how hard" thing. 3.5 hours of hard riding can be a considerable dose. At this time, we don't know the terrain, distance, or intensity of the OP's rides, so pretty much impossible to give good advice on calories ingested.

That said, when I do a 3.5 hour ride, it's always a hilly ride, ridden as hard as I can. On those rides, consuming half my burn, using kJ from similar rides to estimate, works perfectly. I used to fuel with Clif Bars, 1/4 bar every 15'. I think that a much better solution than gels. I'd open a bar or bars, break them into quarters, and put them in a jersey pocket. That worked very well.

Many years ago, I switched to liquid food. I mix maltodextrin and flavored whey protein, 7:1 by weight, put an appropriate amount of powder in a bottle, add water and shake 100 times and leave it in the fridge overnight. I make up one bottle to last me 3.5 hours. So I carry 2 bottles, a water bottle and a food bottle, and usually have a coffee break in the middle where I refill the water bottle, have only coffee, no food. For long, hot, or no-break rides, I use a Camelbak, the simplest one, just a bladder in a sack.

Cycling "style" is super-important to many people. Remember the thread about the correct way to flip a water bottle? Or Style Man in Bicycling?

For me, it depends on the type of ride. If it's pretty casual, I enjoy stopping. If it's at a harder pace, I really dislike stopping - I get café legs and always feel worse off after a stop of 30+ min.

I had to google what café legs are. And if your legs look as nice as all the pictures google presented for café legs, then I've been totally wrong about the image I imagine of you. Especially your gender!

However I think I get what you mean. When riding long rides at a fast pace, I don't like getting off the bike for any longer than it takes to fill my bottles or urinate. Even just 15-20 minutes off the bike has my leg muscles rebelling for a time when I get back on the bike.

Sorry - I sometimes forget that we're not all serious cyclists here. :p

But yes, that's what "café legs" are - sore, stiff, ungrateful bastards after a stop to smell the roses sip the flat white.

The only Camelbak user I judge is my wife. Because she took mine….