Nutrition on a long ride

[TheNissanMan]

This post is geared at amateurs like myself and thinking ahead to the London to Brighton in two weeks, now the distance part is as sorted as can be I thought I better start looking more into the nutritional side of things to keep energy levels up on the ride itself!

I’m be booked the day off before the ride so am thinking along the lines of:

Day/Night before:
Lots of water, healthy lunch and Pasta dinner

Day of Ride:
I will be up at 5 ish so a big bowl of Fruity Muesli as prefer Muesli to Porridge and should still (with my logic) give me enough oats goodness to help.

In the car on the way to the drop off point a banana or two to top up and again a decent amount of water.

During the ride I will be carrying 3x 600ml water bottles which will be topped up as required on the ride, initially they will be loaded with 2x SiS Electrolytes and 1x SiS Carb/Electrolyte, I would imagine they will be topped up with straight water as they empty.

For food am thinking as this is where I fall down to go first 45 mins without eating unless hungry and then topping up with energy bars/cakes at stops and regular Jelly Baby hits along the way!

Is there anything I’m missing up to the end of the ride or anything you guys/gals can suggest that would help?

I appreciate that 54m isn’t a long ride to some but to me it still seems like a bloody long way although I guess the best word now is achievable! Just hope it’s not as hot as it is this morning....

Cheers in advance.

[thirdcrank]

IIRC, On your other thread, somebody (Slowster?) pointed out how the drop pf blood sugar is imperceptible till it drops below the line. All you need to do is to be aware of that and don't think because you feel ok you needn't bother eating. I don't think there's any need to get too hung up about this or it can begin to play on your mind during a longish time in the saddle.

Bearing that in mind, it's useful to have some flexibility. A few years ago I did a long ride by my standards and another rider arranged to meet us in the afternoon to ride the last few hours. I asked him to bring some bananas but by the time we met him I'd eaten so many I couldn't bear the thought of another. Part of that was because I'd known that he was going to bring some bananas.

Above all, don't worry.

[althebike]

If you overdo your pre ride food, you could spend the first hour of the ride feeling full and lethargic, and having to ride it off rather than enjoy yourself.
You could have a bottle of energy drink, as well as electrolyte drinks and alternate between them during the ride.
carry nibbles with you and eat from the start, before you are hungry.If you wait until you are hungry, it is too late. Early nibbles are not because you are hungry, but to help you hours into the ride.

[TheNissanMan]

Thanks, I do have a habit of over thinking things Unfortunately more than familiar with sugar levels having a wife who is diabetic so know first hand what happens when they drop out of the blue which although I know is different cycling will I would imagine be the same philosophy.

[Mick F]

I eat when I'm hungry and drink when I'm thirsty.
Simple as that.

Some longer rides, I don't eat or drink anything. I tend to drink water quite a bit when it's hot and sunny, and in the summer I may take two water bottles, but in the winter, take none.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
DON'T over drink water before exercise! this will have.......can have a detrimental effect on your body salt............leading to lethargy and feeling sick for a few days post ride too.

I would eat and drink as normal pre ride.................. then drink up to a bottle an hour on a hot day during exercise till you finish then carry on drinking for another hour post exercise.

During exercise eat after about an hour, food as normal as it gets like bananas-sandwhich-cake-cereal bar etc.
certainly after two hours minimum, this will make sure any lack of performance / expectation is not down to lack of energy via nutrician.
If you over eat the feeling of bloated will disappear down the road in an hour max.

Whilst experienced endurance exercisers can go for hours without nutrition and fluid with little drop of performance, its not best advice to go without any especially on a hot day, and taking on extra fluid pre ride is disastrous................

Eat well two days before any event and rest, last training stop three days before event.
Electrolytes etc won't normally really be needed if you are eating basic food and drinking water but it won't harm, some electrolyte supplements have a limit on daily intake.

Always take emergency rations! for that unexpected kettleing which in the event of accidents leave you isolated and high and dry.
Lack of sustenance brings out the green eyed monster in the most normally sane people.

Good luck.

[slowster]

I am not very familiar with what is or isn't best practice with regard to nutrition, and it seems to me that many people who do an endurance sport at a non-elite level are far too prescriptive and rigid about what they eat and drink, especially when it comes to food and drink products specifically marketed for sport.

I read that on a rest day during one of his Tours de France, Jacques Anquetil was seen in a restaurant eating steak and chips with a bottle of champagne. The next day he struggled and his team mates had to nurse him along for the first part of the ride. He still went on to win.

So whilst it's probably not a good idea to eat a large steak the night before (which will take a long time to digest) with a lot of alcohol, for the most part it's probably not too critical what you eat the day before a ride. I understand some marathon runners make a point of carbohydrate loading before a race, but that is presumably because of the nature of the race: they cannot eat or absorb calories while running, so must have enough fuel on board at the start to complete the race. Riding a bike is different - your body can digest food while riding.

Pasta the night before sounds good, but what about some protein? If it were me I would have fish and chips, or a good home made curry with rice (not a stupidly hot one).

Porridge is great, and I guess you would get the same slow release of energy from muesli containing lots of oats. That said, if there's going to be a long time between breakfast and the start of the ride, I suspect you would probably be OK having a fry up (fat, carbohydrates and protein), which would probably similarly give a fairly slow release of energy, providing the portions were sensible, i.e. not overeating.

A few other points/thoughts:

- Whatever you eat/drink, make sure it's something your body is comfortable with before the event. The event is the last place you should experiment with foods or drinks which you have not tried before. In my own experience some of the energy drinks (and possibly the gels as well) contain ingredients which upset my stomach, so I gave up on them.

- I would save the pure sugar type things like jelly babies to the latter part of the ride. It is when I am tired and exhausted that my body gets the best benefit from a sugar hit. Normally I do not much like or drink coke, but I find that towards the end of a long/hard ride (or after the ride), the combination of sugar and caffeine in regular Coca Cola or Pepsi is very effective.

- Food and energy drinks will not alleviate the tiredness and discomfort that will develop in your muscles. Your body will require enough fuel to get you to the end of the ride. Consuming a lot more calories than your body requires and is able to process, will not get you to the end any more quickly or reduce the discomfort and muscle tiredness.

Lastly, a tip for the day after the ride - you will probably feel very stiff and sore. If possible, try and go out on your bike for a short, extremely gentle easy ride, even if it's just down to the shops and you find you have to ride it in bottom gear all the way. Such very light exercise will help to ease the stiffness and soreness and accelerate your recovery. If you cannot ride, then go for a walk instead.

[thirdcrank]

... I read that on a rest day during one of his Tours de France, Jacques Anquetil was seen in a restaurant eating steak and chips with a bottle of champagne. The next day he struggled and his team mates had to nurse him along for the first part of the ride. He still went on to win. ...

Some All our yesterdays material there.

JA went to a feria - a sort of public barbecue - with team manager Raphael Geminiani and started the next stage under the weather

Gem on the left, JA facing the camera

Here's a recent retelling of the story
https://rouleur.cc/editorial/tour-de-fr ... from-hell/

My recollection is that as well as getting a lot of legitimate help from team mate Rostolan, he had a long uphill push from a rider on another team who was disqualified IIRC, even though he said he had only done it out of sympathy because Anquetil was in such a state. Anybody with a copy of Miroir du Tour 1964 who's reading this may be able to name the rider.

Moral here is don't start a bike ride with a hangover, no matter what your other plans are for nutrition and hydration.

[ossie]

It depends on you fitness and ability I guess but in the big scheme of things its not that far and you will survive no matter what.

For a 54 miler I would have a bowl of cereal and two slices of toast for breakfast..as usual. Just eat normally the night before.

For the ride one 750ml bottle of water (or two but it adds weight) with a High 5 tablet lobbed in and 2 gels . Just make sure you hydrate normally before the start just in case its a hot one. Sure gels taste like hot salty snot and someone will be along to say how you should take a banana and malt loaf blah blah but they're as cheap as chips and they work over that distance without your stomach doing somersaults trying to digest something solid. Take some jelly babies as well if that floats your boat.

Best of luck.

[mjr]

For the ride one 750ml bottle of water (or two but it adds weight) with a High 5 tablet lobbed in and 2 gels . Just make sure you hydrate normally before the start just in case its a hot one. Sure gels taste like hot salty snot and someone will be along to say how you should take a banana and malt loaf blah blah but they're as cheap as chips and they work over that distance without your stomach doing somersaults trying to digest something solid.

Yep, they just pass straight through undigested, pronto

Seriously, don't eat anything on the big ride that you've not tried before if you can avoid it IMO. Flapjacks, malt loaf, fruit cakes are all good to me.

Before the ride, I favour porridge with toppings but muesli is good too. The evenings before and after, I like hearty, filling but balanced meals. Each to their own!

[foxyrider]

I possibly come into the 'hardened distance rider' category, even a short spin for me is longer than your L2B!

But nutrition is very important regardless of distance.

Firstly - as others have said, you don't want to preload with water, start using unfamiliar gels etc or stray too far from your normal eating pattern.

Your pasta meal the night before is good, not sure that uncooked oats will work as well as porridge but with muesli you are getting some fruit too.

The early start needn't be an issue - you need @ an hour to properly digest stuff and topping up with soft fruit is fine. A cup of coffee, bacon sarnie - quite acceptable as top ups from breakfast.

Personally I think you are carrying too much wet, 2 bottles should be ample, one with plain water (if it's warm you can squirt it on your head/neck/buff or just sip as required. You will be filling up along the way so the the contents of the second bottle can alternate energy/electrolyte as you go.

Carry some light snack food, flapjack, those little boxes of raisins, energy bars (but try them first as you might find some difficult to eat! And yes, some JB's/gummi bears or similar as a sugar hit treat.

Do try to eat/drink at the food stops - don't know what they'll have but cake never fails, banana of course, bread sandwiches with soft fillings, cola or ice tea both work on the thirst well.

Try to eat quite soon after the event - chicken and eggs are excellent at this point with maybe more pasta or rice/quinoia. This is the point to drink plenty - a quick guide is your pee colour - if it's dark yellow and maybe uncomfortable to do you need to drink plenty - it should be a sort of straw colour through to almost clear.

Just so you know I haven't just made this up, today I rode the 129km (@89 mile) Petit Depart sportive in the Yorkshire Dales. My last ride before hand was on Thursday (@55 miles) then i've tried not to do anything too energetic in between. For dinner last night had a curry with rice, a not too hot or spicy Dansak with all the trimmings, I even allowed myself a beer.
Ride day - porridge and a cup of coffee @ 1 hour before start. Porridge bars and raisins in pockets, e bottles, one water, the other Sis energy with electrolytes. It wasn't so warm today so sipped at energy bottle from @ 10 miles.
First feed at @ 30 miles (@ 2 hours riding) - flapjack, piece of pork pie, half banana, half cup coffee.
2nd feed at @ 56 miles (@ 3hrs 15) - round of cheesey sandwiches, cup of tea, jaffa cake.
Still sipping from bottles in between.
At finish (5 hours) - drink plenty, water, squash, tea and today it was a big pork burger. Sipping more water on way home (well we stopped at my daughters to see the GS and had a cuppa)
This evening - still drinking plenty, chips and Chinese curry for tea.

Rest tomorrow then back to probably 90/100km ride on Tuesday.

I follow a similar regime on most longer rides - event or 'training' - leisure rides will have more solid meals at longer mid ride stops. Sometimes I finish with my on body food supply intact, on less well provisioned rides I might chomp through a couple or three energy bars.

In a nutshell, keep it simple, keep it familiar, don't over hydrate, little and often and most of all enjoy yourself!

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
On second thought a packet of plain crisps and a Ribena carton with a straw will probably do....................how are you with a broom

[PH]

Eat whatever you fancy, that you know agrees with you. You say you’ve got the distance sorted, what have you been eating while you did that? If there wasn’t a problem, stick with it. If you’re a highly trained athlete needing to get every last gram of performance, then follow the same regime as they do (and don’t ride the L2B) quite simply unless you’re burning fuel at that intensity, you don’t need it in such a concentrated form. For most of us it’s more about avoiding the stuff that’s obviously bad.
My favourites - jam & peanut butter sandwiches, dried apricots, oatcakes, bananas, Jaffa cakes, fig rolls - if l want the convenience of a bar Aldi do some decent 50p ones, if I stop at a cafe, beans on toast is hard to beat.

[Mick F]

I'll be having bacon and egg with toast for breakfast. I've already had two cups of tea, and I'll probably have another two shortly.
Off on a 40miler this morning, leaving about 08:30.

I'll take a bottle of water with me.

[thirdcrank]

It's easier said than done, but try to stop worrying. It sounds as though you have got enough riding in to feel ok about the distance and you will have gained some experience along the way as well as having improved your fitness. Be aware of the food and drink thing but don't let it get out of proportion.

If anything is likely to spoil your enjoyment, it's starting too fast. After all the preparation and anticipation, you get to the start full of energy and exuberance and set off like the clappers with the idiots. The euphoria wears off and you risk an uncomfortable last few miles. This has already been mentioned but it's worth repeating. Try to remember it on the morning of the big day.

If you are concerned about time, try not to lose it at stops. I'm not saying don't stop; just don't waste time when you do.