Originally Posted by
Sierra_rider
I was being a bit facetious, but I did get lectured on here before for my ride nutrition. I guess it was unacceptable to use simple carbs to fuel my way through a 5000 calorie ride
. For a certain individual, they couldn't understand how my normal diet and my ride nutrition could be 2 separate things.
Anyway, I totally agree about how it's almost impossible to overeat during a hard ride. The caveat I'll give to that, is if someone hasn't trained themselves to eat that much during a hard effort. My nutrition strategy definitely changes with the event. If it's a non-racing event, or the race is broken down into timed stages, I'll definitely peruse the feed stops. I might not be as regular with my gels, but I'm still getting the calories in. If it's a long race that's timed from start to finish, I typically forgo the feed zones(except to chug a coke) and stick to the gels I have on me. With my recent MTB race, I could set up my own feed at the start of lap 2, so I just went that route instead of carrying a dozen gels on me...I was in and out of that feed zone in less than a minute.
I’m the same with event feed zones. I often skip them completely or just use them to refill bottles. On the L’Etape du Tour we had a private feed station where I could store my own bag. But I will often set off on a century event with a dozen gels, half a dozen bars and 2x 1L bottles of carb drink. I can often get through non-stop on that gear, but might need to stop for a bottle refill if it’s hot or 5+ hours.
Eating “healthy” food on a hard bike ride is not very effective or practical. Simple, easily digestible carbs are king. For those in the UK (as I don’t think they export) I find Veloforte a good brand for more natural ride fuelling. Their gels and bars are pretty tasty.