What is the best nutrition for a 100 mile ride?

[CREPELLO]

iv been lead to believe that a big pasta dinner the night before will help too? Or is this untrue?

Yes. The pro's certainly eat that sort of thing before race day. Helps to build up the glycogen levels in the muscles and liver.

[JohnW]

Don't eat bacon, sausage, meat etc or anything fried - even if you have that for breakfast, it's just about processed and ready as blood sugar by the time you get home. Easy to digest grub, and little and often !!! Plenty to drink, and I don't recommend beer on a ride - get home, get your bath, and off to meet the lads at the local.

This is not so, John. If you eat protein with your carbohydrate it slows down the absorbtion of the carbohydrate making it last longer and evening out sugar spikes. I used to subscribe to the little and often, of carbohydrate, and it does work, but found that moderate amounts with protein, much less often work just as well, and are more satisfying.
When I'm bike touring, or doing a 100 miler I have a bigger than normal breakfast with fish, or if in a hotel/B&B etc., some of the full English/Irish/Ulster/Yorkshire/Whatever they call it breakfast. I don't eat fried eggs but I'll have rashers, sausages and black pudding. I then don't have to eat anything till lunchtime.

Yes - ok Geraroidmuar - what I should have written is : "I[u]don't eat bacon, sausage, meat....................[/u]

I had the "full English" for years before long rides, but I found by experience that the regime that I've learned works better for me. You may be a medical man or a nutritionist and thereby have better knowledge than I have, but I know my own experience. I do, however, have plenty of eggs when on a ride - scrambled egg & beans on toast - egg and chips - fried egg and tomato sandwiches - and egg does have plenty protien.

I don't know about the slowing down of carbo absorption - if you need the calories you need them; quite frankly I learned not to prejudice my stomach's ability to process food into blood sugar at a very early stage - and I'm sorry, but I really can't go along with any suggestion that fat is ok.

This may make piedwagtail smile, but I once experimented and did a 140 mile ride on nothing else but milkshake - semi-skimmed milk with "Nesquick" - banana flavour. I drank about seven litres. A couple of weeks later, on our section's 240mile in 24hour ride, I survived on the milkshake formula except for a stupendous three-course full English at breakfast time. We had a sag wagon which took my milkshake - I drank 13 litres, and although over 20 years ago, I still get my leg pulled over it. During the course of that night, I must have saved about half of the hawthorns in the Yorkshire Dales from drought conditions.

I certainly endorse the "eat before you're hungry" philosophy - somehow your stomach can get past the ability to process the food, and it doesn't recover for the rest of the day. Make it easy for your stomach.

The longest ride that I've ever done was 268 miles - I'm not in the extreme distance category of the 600k, 800k, PBP and LEL riders - but I understand that fruit cake and rice pudding are favourites.

[glueman]

I favour rice and fish or chicken, suitably chilled, with something sweet, sultanas or honey and plenty of water. Having a delicate stomach I have to avoid spontaneous purchases and cafe food, but rice or buttered new potatoes with some added protein does the trick for me.

[caldini]

If you're racing, then you should have worked out a suitable food and training regime by now involving carbs, sports drinks etc.

However, if it's for fun then I would recommend a good breakfast - perhaps cornflakes or muesli and plenty of water. Then after each 20 miles have the following:

20: Snickers and a fruit juice
40: Ham and cheese sandwich and a lemonade (with ice and lemon)
60: Cup of tea and a piece of cake (coffee and walnut is my favourite)
80: Packet of peanuts and a pint of lager
100: A good drink of water, shower, three course meal at a nice pub. Half a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

Tee hee!

In reality, you don't need that much food for a century ride if you're going to be doing it at an enjoyable pace. As has been said earlier - you'll be surprised at what the body can do - so if you're doing an enjoyable ride then have enjoyable food along the way too. Just make sure you have plenty of water with you. Feeling thirsty is one of the worst experiences you can have on a bike (speaking from bitter experience).

[Gearoidmuar]

[
I don't know about the slowing down of carbo absorption - if you need the calories you need them; quite frankly I learned not to prejudice my stomach's ability to process food into blood sugar at a very early stage - and I'm sorry, but I really can't go along with any suggestion that fat is ok.

I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area, but anyone who read the right stuff would understand it without problem. Why slowing down the absorbtion of carbohydrates is desirable can be explained by the following facts.
If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk. (A kind of Chinese meal syndrome) You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.

[JohnW]

I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area.................If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk..........You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.

Ah - so you come from real knowledge and I bow to that. What you say confirms my experience to a great extent. My "little and often" intake is sugar free, or at least not sugary, until late on in a ride, and I'm aware that, once sugary foods are started, I have to keep to that - again little and often. You confirm the benefit of eggs intake (I have simply found it by experience), and I've had fish occasionally - the trouble with fish when I am out on a decent run, is that it is usually of the 'Fishn'chip' variety - delicious but there's a lot of fat in the batter - but bacon, sausage and meat generally don't do me a bit of good - for me they're almost as bad as nothing. I have a lot of experience of long day rides - a lifetime's you might say - and I now know my own needs, which vary with the hilliness of the ride. As you say, starting on "sweeties" is a bad thing, because once I'm on them, somehow my stomach doesn't want to re-start on "proper" food. I take energy bars for emergencies, but they often pass their sell-by date in my saddlebag. I take the marzipan bars also for emergencies, but I always use them to get me home over the last ten miles or so - where I live means that on 75% of decent runs, the last ten miles are climbing. I also eat a lot of bananas - they seem to be good for the last ten miles before a grub stop, if I feel like I need it.

The one problem that I had to apply myself to in earlier years was my tendancy not to eat frequently enough - I'd ride 65-75 miles out to a lunch stop on water only, and then, whilst I felt ok, my stomach took a lot of persuading to take the food that I was putting into it. I'd be waiting around for a couple of hours before food stopped making me feel sick. Little and often for me now - or sometimes big and often.

There is a warning here though - some of the Dales cafes, operated by local Yorkshire Dales ladies (rather than the townie comer-ins who concentrate more on lace table cloths than what goes onto the tables) make these wonderful apple pies to ride 100 miles for - and they seem to last for 100 miles.

I'm grateful for what you say, because you seem to confirm that my great love of egg, chips & beans is more than a childhood hangover !!!

[AlanD]

Hello, I would like to know if it is a good, or bad, idea to have a big pasta meal the night before? If I eat too late in the evening, I go to bed feeling bloated and don't feel comfortable. I would also know what views there are on what is the optimum time before the start of the event for having breakfast? Assume that I will have a full breakfast to ensure that the 'batteries' are fully charged. I'm planning to do 75 miles on Sunday in the Oxford Bike Ride and this distance is going into unknown territory for me.

Thanks,

Alan

[Gearoidmuar]

Hello, I would like to know if it is a good, or bad, idea to have a big pasta meal the night before?
If I eat too late in the evening, I go to bed feeling bloated and don't feel comfortable.
I would also know what views there are on what is the optimum time before the start of the event for having breakfast? Assume that I will have a full breakfast to ensure that the 'batteries' are fully charged. I'm planning to do 75 miles on Sunday in the Oxford Bike Ride and this distance is going into unknown territory for me.
Thanks,
Alan

Pasta is an excellent idea. Eat it earlier. It'll still stay in your muscles.
Doesn't matter what time you eat breakfast for cycling. It would matter for running.
Have fun. Bring something to eat and plenty to drink. You'll need to nibble something in 75 miles.

[Edvardus]

I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area, but anyone who read the right stuff would understand it without problem. Why slowing down the absorbtion of carbohydrates is desirable can be explained by the following facts.
If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk. (A kind of Chinese meal syndrome) You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.

From what I've read, my understanding is that there are fast and slow burning carbohydrates, so for example porridge is supposed to be a "slow burner" and certainly lasts me all morning without having to resort to stuff which gives a rush of energy followed by a "low".

[Mick F]

I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area, but anyone who read the right stuff would understand it without problem. Why slowing down the absorbtion of carbohydrates is desirable can be explained by the following facts.
If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk. (A kind of Chinese meal syndrome) You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.

I'm not a retired doctor, but I agree entirely.

Eat sensibly.
Eat a balanced meal twice, or perhaps three times a day.
Ride happily without bonking.

[JennyAdcock]

Thank you for the advice everyone, a good read all

I'm taking some tips away with me and hope I'll be able to keep up a steady pace for the Great Western Sportive.

[AlanD]

I have found that when eating porridge, it makes me feel fuller at the time but I feel hungry again before lunchtime. Whereas Bacon, eggs and toast seems to keep me going forever.

[paulcuthbert]

Recent 100 mile ride:

Breakfast - 4 rice cakes with Nutella

Lunch - Banana sandwich on white bread + 2 pieces of fruit. Pomegranate juice

Mid-ride - Regular water in bottles + 2 bananas

Post-ride - Homemade recovery drink containing small tin of pineapple, 1 banana, 200ml fat free yoghurt, 200ml skimmed milk, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar

[workhard]

If I'm not chasing a clock, i.e. just doing a long ride for fun, then I just eat normal food, from my normal diet, at normal times. My body is like that, doesn't seem to care much that in between meals I'm pushing the pedals round over and over.

Hydration seems far more important to me but then I sweat buckets. Have never had problems on a ride though lack of food, have had lots of trouble through lack of fluid.

[Gearoidmuar]

Recent 100 mile ride:

Breakfast - 4 rice cakes with Nutella

Lunch - Banana sandwich on white bread + 2 pieces of fruit. Pomegranate juice

Mid-ride - Regular water in bottles + 2 bananas

Post-ride - Homemade recovery drink containing small tin of pineapple, 1 banana, 200ml fat free yoghurt, 200ml skimmed milk, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar

Are you a protein-free zone!!