Nice. Seasame seeds are really high in electrolytes/a variety of minerals…
kinda off topic, but these rule.
they got me through the hotter n’ hell 100.
nature’s path
Yes. Dates are fucking great. On ultra distance rides i have done well just filling a jersey pocket with them and having one every 20 minutes or so. Halva is another mid eastern/ mediterranean snack that’s good for ultracycling. The mixture of sesame seed mush and honey is very effective.[/quote]
What do you consider “ultra distance” because a date every 20 minutes or so only adds up to 75 calories or so an hour and they are almost entirely simple carbohydrates. If you are really doing some time in the saddle, that sounds like a recipe for the Bonk.
Yes. Dates are fucking great. On ultra distance rides i have done well just filling a jersey pocket with them and having one every 20 minutes or so. Halva is another mid eastern/ mediterranean snack that’s good for ultracycling. The mixture of sesame seed mush and honey is very effective.[/quote]
What do you consider “ultra distance” because a date every 20 minutes or so only adds up to 75 calories or so an hour and they are almost entirely simple carbohydrates. If you are really doing some time in the saddle, that sounds like a recipe for the Bonk.[/quote]
Meh you got me. This date thing is an extrapolation from a single date eating experiment that occurred in the last couple of hours of a ride that had solid chicken sandwich support before then. I will try not to pull things out of my ass in future internet activity but no guarantees.
For double centuries, I will consume a mixture of gel (carried in a flask), about 6-7 Cliff bars, several bottles of Heed or Perpeteum, and Endurolyles. Normal food works as well, but the main benefit of the “scientific” stuff is that its more convenient to consume on the bike and its easier to monitor caloric and electrolyte intake. Management of caloric intake and electrolyte levels are a very important parts of how you strategize your way through a ride that long. I can fit 200 miles worth of fuel in my jersey pockets and not need to stop for anything except water. Like anything, it (especially the 6th-7th Cliff bar) gets more and more unpleasant to eat as the ride progresses, but I force myself to consume calories at regular intervals and it keeps me going. I never have gotten an upset stomach from any of the stuff…its just becomes not fun to eat. Your sense of appetite is not the right instinct for sustained exercise…you have to strategize it out and stick to the plan regardless of how hungry you feel.
The more I use gels the more Iike them, for quick burst of energy and as an effective suppliment to solid food on longer rides. However, you are right…the individual packets are way overpriced. I buy Hammer gel in large bottles. Its almost half as expensive that way. By carrying it in a small flask, you also avoid having to deal with sticky wrappers.
clif bars and clif shot energy gel.
however
… i just got some honey stinger energy gel packs, pretty tasty!
i rode 106 miles in 100degree heat in august.
i ate 1 cliff bar the whole ride.
every 10 miles i would drink 24oz. of water and 24oz. of powerade or pickle juice.
i was worried i’d die from lack of eating but i did fine, and felt great afterwards.
i lost 8lbs. that ride, and also did it on my ss.
The more I use gels the more Iike them, for quick burst of energy and as an effective suppliment to solid food on longer rides. However, you are right…the individual packets are way overpriced. I buy Hammer gel in large bottles. Its almost half as expensive that way. By carrying it in a small flask, you also avoid having to deal with sticky wrappers.[/quote]
Even the bulk stuff is overpriced considered the majority of the products are made up mainly of maltodextrin, and malto is ridiculously dirt cheap if you buy it by itself from say, a beer brewing store.
[quote=“thehappyrobot”]i rode 106 miles in 100degree heat in august.
i ate 1 cliff bar the whole ride.
every 10 miles i would drink 24oz. of water and 24oz. of powerade or pickle juice.
i was worried i’d die from lack of eating but i did fine, and felt great afterwards.
i lost 8lbs. that ride, and also did it on my ss.[/quote]
powerade is like 80 calories per 8 oz serving… So if you consumed 24oz, at full strength, every 10 miles and rode at about 15 miles an hour that adds up to 36 oz of powerade an hour and about 350 calories per hour. Thats a bit more than your body can process while riding, but not that far from standard endurance athletes guidelines.
i understood 3 words.
[quote=“thehappyrobot”]i understood 3 words.[/quote] You were thinking that you under-fueled… But you actually over-fueled
I think I really prefer real food, mostly because it hearkens back to old photos of dudes riding 12 speeds in cycling caps, wool jerseys and knickers, drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes at stops. I want to be one of those incredibly classy dudes. It makes me feel mad legit when dudes around me are whipping out gel and shit and I pull a PBH&J and some home made fruit leather out of a jersey pocket. I rode a century this last summer and was riding the oldest bike I saw all day (out of like 500 bikes) and finished in the top third. I did have some gel that was provided on one occasion and it helped, but I felt the most benefit from eating sandwiches and granola and stuff.
I keep a demi-baguette, some goose liver pâté, and a bottle of Chenin Blanc in my seat bag. Right next to the rolling papers.
user
^ win.
I’ve used GU, Cliff shots, and Hammer Gel. I like the GU the best. The cliff shots were way too thick. I used them during a 24 hr race where the temp was in the low 30’s all night. The chocolate flavor felt like I was eating a gooey brownie. Nice for a short trip, but not after 150 miles.
I generally ate one gel every hour or so that I was on the bike. I tried to drink a bottle of water or gatorade every hour too, but i’ve never been good at drinking as much as I should. Aside from that I had a crapload of pasta and my friend got me some avacado sushi at about 10 at night. It was so amazing. I’m convinced that it is one of the best long distance fuels around. Avacado’s got fat and protien. Rice has carbs. Nori has salt. And it’s easy to eat on the bike. Just a little dab of wasabi on one side of the stem, a packet of soy sauce on the other. I tried to store the chopsticks in my helmet vents, but they kept falling out.
I usually just eat the bugs that hit my face.
My system…
Fall / winter Rides
Under 1.5 hours: just water
2-3 hours: nuun in one bottle, heed in another bottle
3-5 hours: one scoop heed, one scoop perpetuem in each bottle (I have found that mixing them tends to help make the taste less offensive)
In the summer the only difference is that I will almost always have a nuun tab in at least one of my bottles.
I’m not big on gels or bars on rides simply because they are not as convenient as a drink.
I avoid sugary tasting drinks like Cytomax and Gatorade because they don’t seem to work as well.
I should add two things. A proper breakfast is part of my routine for any ride over 3 hours. I usually keep it simple like a couple eggs and two pieces of toast with butter and jelly. Getting a bit of protein like that seems to work better than a carb heavy breakfast alone and I usually try and eat about 1 hour before I get on my bike.
Proper recovery is key as well for long rides if you are trying to get faster/stronger but I’ll save that for another thread I guess… off to work.
[quote=“bradencbc”]
I should add two things. A proper breakfast is part of my routine for any ride over 3 hours. I usually keep it simple like a couple eggs and two pieces of toast with butter and jelly. Getting a bit of protein like that seems to work better than a carb heavy breakfast alone and I usually try and eat about 1 hour before I get on my bike.
Proper recovery is key as well for long rides if you are trying to get faster/stronger but I’ll save that for another thread I guess… off to work.[/quote]
Food before and after is super important.
When I go climbing in the mornings, I can tell the difference between eating a good dinner the previous night and a bad one. My times for the climb vary a lot as well.
Good dinner = 45 min easy, hammering can get it down to 43.
Bad dinner = struggling to make 47 or 48 min and it’ll go over 50 if I’m not careful.
If I don’t eat within 30min after finishing a hard ride I feel like shit for the rest of the day.