Energy bars.

I cut my energy bars up in bite size pieces and drop them in the back pocket. However body heat & sun turn them into a sticky mess which gets tranferred to bars, brake levers etc. :'( Solution is to wrap them in rice paper. Cut paper to length of bar, run bar under tap, then lay on paper & wrap. Leave for few minutes. Cut to size. I use garden secuteurs, (wife says wash them first! :) DON'T wet the rice paper, only the bar! Fiddly job but worth it. I use PVM bars http://www.energybar.co.za I buy them by the box from Macro which works out at R2-35 a bar. They come in various flavours.

 

Neat trick, Old Timer! 8) I'm gonna try it!
Where do you get the rice paper from tho? Chinese stores?
I enjoy the Strawberry flavoured PVM bars.

 

You'll see this rice paper on the nougat sweet. I'm going to check the store today, and keep you posted if I can find any.

 

My wife gets the rice paper at Pick n'Pay. Paper size does mean that you get a lot of offcuts left over. :'( I'll check around what else is available.) As I said it is a bit of a fiddle, particularly if left to the last minute! I usually spend an hour and do a whole bunch of assorted flavours, (pineapple, lemon/lime, strawberry, etc). By mixing them you have a "lucky dip" on the road and don't get bored with one flavour. I keep them in an insulated sandwich box on top of the fridge and grab a handful on my way out. I don't keep them IN the fridge as they go very hard and are not chewable for quite a while.

 

what do you all do for food on say a 100k race?. do you just take lots of energy bars?

 

Nicolas, I take bananas and small potatoes. I don't like sweets a lot and the bananas are a good fast carbo release replacement whereas the small potatoes are a good slow carbo release replacement. I usually have the potatoes from 30-90 km with a banana at 90km (that "boost to be your best" ). On races longer than 70, I usually take 1 (sometimes 2 depending on how I feel) sachet of Goo with me just for that extra bit of oomph ;D.

 

I eat an energy packed breakfast two hours before the ride. That keeps the hunger pains away.
During a 100k race I use 3 sachets of 'Vooma' (similiar to 'Gu' and corn syrup). In the back of my jersey you'll find one enery bar of some sort and some raisins or a banana.

Old Timer - I'll pick some up at 'PnP', thanks.

 

VO2. Rice paper, made by "UNSGAARD" RSA. Costs R8-65 for 8 sheets. 203mm x 279mm. Look around for baking powder section etc. (Don't bother to ask. You'll get a blank stare! :)
One sheets will wrap 4 bars = 27c per bar. Still only costs R2-62 per bar.

Rice paper is very fine edible paper, made from the pith of an oriental tree. It is totally edible and contains no harmful additives. It is tasteless and has no smell.

 

Ewep. Interested in the small potatoes idea. Never heard of this but it should make sense. I take it you boil them first (don't they squash?) or do you have them raw?

 

i once took some cooked potato's (boiled) , they never fell apart and did seem to work. it is a slow form of energy so thats good too.

any of you bokes eaten bread on a ride? on a ride with my dad we popped in at a friends and they gave us some sandwiches. i was really slow after that.

 

Old Timer, the potatoes don't squash. I usually use the small potatoes, boil them in a bag in the microwave (with a bit of salt) the night before the race, pop them in a sandwich bag on race day and off I go ;D. Works great and I prefer it to "sweets"

 

'Adult' potatoes and breads are Hi GI foods, meaning that they are a quick form of energy. Be carefull of this, it might give you a blood sugar spike and a downer after that (thats probably what happened to you, Nic).
Try and stick to intermediate GI food stuffs, such as 'small' or 'baby' potatoes, like ewep uses.

 

One thing you must remember, dont eat the potato while you are chasing, climbing or struggling with breath. Its difficult to chew and swallow. No. not a bad taste but the texture. The syrups is easy to swallow and you tend to think the same will happened with the potatoes. I ate this on the double century and the potatoes dont squash.

 

I tried the rice paper around the energy bars this weekend. It worked great! ;D I cut them up and wrapped each one seperately like a parcel. I wet my finger in a bowl of water and run it over the edge of the rice paper to seal it instead of dipping the bar in water. Careful! Too much water just disintergrates the paper to nothing.

 

I use SLIM FAST bars as they are cheap, small in size, easy to chew and a similar make-up to other energy bars.

Jam sandwiches are a great food for longer rides, a mix of High and Low GI. They are also very good for people who like something to chew on or don't like the empty stomach feeling that you get with 'energy' products.

I use a mixture of all of energy foods and the alternatives depending upon the ride.

 

I just wondered if anybody had any updates on the food front.

As my distances are starting to increase, I'm obviously finding my need to take food increase.

I've tried some of the above and at the moment my favourite food is Fig Rolls, I also eat Alpen Muesli Bars though I'm not sure how good they are in terms of helping me ride longer , its just that they are easy to keep in my pocket whilst I ride and have a satisfying eating quality (i know that doesn't make sense, but it's the best way I can describe them

 

I don't know how you guys do it. I can't eat before or directly after a race. I knew I needed something in my stomach before the Cansa Race so I forced myself to eat 2 energy dynamics zone bars before and a bottle of octane.

2 sachets of corn syrup and one of GU during the ride and an ice lolly (they were being handed out) afterwards.

 

FIG NEWTONS!

 

Fig Newtons are good. They're bite sized too. I used to use Apple Newtons coz they're tastier. Cut the foil wrapper the packet comes in in half, line your jersey pocket with it and chuck them in.<br /><br />Unfortunately, you can't get them here in the UK. I use Jordan's Frusli bars. They are tasty, easy to eat, and give you a boost of energy. I eat a bite avery now and again, and wrap it up and put it back.

 

I've used power bars but tend to get a bad stomache and they don't taste too good!