Pre-Ride foods
- Thread starter GV2013
- Start date
Suggest eating low fiber carbs 2hrs+ before a long ride, not just before - gotta allow the food time to digest properly. Also gotta experiment to determine how many grams of carbs/protein/fat your stomach can handle before riding.
Before a planned long day in the saddle (5+hrs) I'll eat well the night before. The morning of the ride I'll break the fast by eating about 150g of low fiber (rice/corn) cereal (hot or cold).
Before a planned long day in the saddle (5+hrs) I'll eat well the night before. The morning of the ride I'll break the fast by eating about 150g of low fiber (rice/corn) cereal (hot or cold).
Yeah, I'll bring along a nutrional bar or two, but usually I'll just stop along the way at a convenience store or the like and buy a couple Snickers. My body is notoriously poor at burning fat (even at relatively low intensities; a typeII muscle thing) so I must stop every hour or so and have about 100g of solid food while on these long jaunts, otherwise I will most certainly bonk. And riding on a bonk is never pleasant...
The gels and goos don't do much for me either - kinda like kindling wood to my furnace. Those 25g of concentrated carbs (just a sugar concoction) are gone in about 8mins (verified by lab testing) even when I'm piddling about at 220w during the long rides...
Try getting some of the bars that also have some protein as there's more substance to them and may satiate you more effectively...
The gels and goos don't do much for me either - kinda like kindling wood to my furnace. Those 25g of concentrated carbs (just a sugar concoction) are gone in about 8mins (verified by lab testing) even when I'm piddling about at 220w during the long rides...
Try getting some of the bars that also have some protein as there's more substance to them and may satiate you more effectively...
I like to have a big bowl of oatmeal a 2 to 3 hours before going on a long ride.
Then lately I've been taking Sunbelt Low Fat Oatmeal Raisin bars with me to eat on the ride. ( I bought 3 boxes on sale at Wal-mart)
Per bar:
140 total calories
2.5 g Fat
27g Carb
2g Protein
If I'm riding less than 35 miles I normally don't eat during a ride. For a 40 to 45 mile ride I usually eat one bar at 15 miles. One of my weekly rides is 60 miles and I eat one bar at 15 miles and one at 30 miles.
Then lately I've been taking Sunbelt Low Fat Oatmeal Raisin bars with me to eat on the ride. ( I bought 3 boxes on sale at Wal-mart)
Per bar:
140 total calories
2.5 g Fat
27g Carb
2g Protein
If I'm riding less than 35 miles I normally don't eat during a ride. For a 40 to 45 mile ride I usually eat one bar at 15 miles. One of my weekly rides is 60 miles and I eat one bar at 15 miles and one at 30 miles.
GV2013 said:
Define what you mean by "long ride" and at what intensity do you ride?
If it's an early morning long ride of several hours or more ridden at a hard pace then just go for the ride and start eating something just after you start riding. That "something" might be a carbohydrate drink, energy bars, gels or something naturally high in carbs. Personally I dig Hammer Perpetuem and a banana as a quick on the bike breakfast and continue drinking Perpetuem throughout the ride. This is something that I found works well for me on longer "challenge" type rides like the Alta Alpina Challenge - 198miles, 8 passes and lots of climbing. As I found out this weekend it even works pretty good when one has a stomach bug too.
Doing this allows you to sleep in a bit later and still allows the body to top off glycogen stores as you start to ride - just don't go blasting off right from the gun
If you have about 3 hours before (it varies by individual but 3 hours is a safe bet) then something fairly high in carbs is OK. Don't over stuff yourself in hopes of getting more carbs in - it doesn't work like that. Eating too much will leave you bloated and feeling bad once on the bike. Just eat a regular meal, one that could be considered "healthy".
We "regular folk" have no need to injest massive amounts of calories to do 2 to 3 hours sessions 3 to 5 times a week.
64Paramount said:
I looked at those recently and promptly popped them back on the shelf. Sugar, on sugar with added sugar and HFCS, more processed sugar with some d-glucose and sugar substitute thrown in...
Yum!
Granola (Whole Grain Oats, Dried Apples [Sulfite Treated to Preserve Color], Sugar, Brown Sugar, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soybean Oil, Apple Concentrate, Salt, Soy Lecithin), Corn Syrup, Raisins, Crisp Rice (Rice Flour, Sugar, Whey, Salt, Malt [Malted Barley Flour, Wheat Flour, Dextrose]), Water, Sorbitol, Palm Kernel and Soybean Oils. Contains 2% Or Less of Each of The Following: Egg Whites, Nonfat Dry Milk, Emulsifiers (Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin), Cellulose Gel, Guar Gum, Sugar, Carrageenan, Salt, Peanuts, Almonds.
swampy1970 said:
LOL...wow, you must have a photographic memory to exactly quote the ingredients listed on the box after you recently looked at them and popped them back on the shelf!
What do you think about snickers bars?
64Paramount said:
I have a good memory but not that good. I remember then being filled with junk which is why they went back on the shelf - but it was the power of the internet that brought you that little list.
Snickers - awesome... but not for on the bike unless you've completely bonked and it's the only thing within 10 sq miles and you've still got way over an hour to get home.
I would also look to try and include some form of protein with the pre ride meal and during to help keep valuable nutrients supplied to muscles. Actually you should eat complex carbs the night before not 3-4 hours before the race. You want quick energy before the race and things your body can process quickly such as fruit and fruit juices.
Many complex carbs have protein. Oats have protein. Eating oats and corn together gives a well balanced protein.aloysiuscarl said:
Fruit and fruit juices can be digested in much less time than 3-4 hours.
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