Food Intake Advice

pgibbo

Hi,
I am new to cycling and prior to today only ever cycled 20 miles in one spin. This morning I did a 32 mile cycle. The first 20 or so were fine but from about 25 onwards I ust felt weak as a kitten. I went straight out on the road after getting up and only grabbed a handful of raisins. Stupid, I know. I also didn't bring any food with me. I know - dumb ass!!! :P I did have some water with me though. :rolleyes:

I was just wondering what people usually eat before an early morning ride and what they tend to eat on the spins also. I know a lot depends on the distance, but I don't see myself doing more that 50 miles in one spin in the near future so if responses could be based on that then that would really help.

Also, I averaged around 18mph on the spin.

Cheers.

TinyExplosions

It's a hard question to answer, because basically, it depends!

Personally, on the training spins, I don't eat before we head out, and I try to keep my heart rate fairly low, but that's cos I'm trying to shed some weight -if I was going on a serious spin (like the attempt of Dublin-Galway-Dublin or the Wiclow 200), I'd have a bowl of porridge a couple of hours before heading out to line the stomach. On the road, it also depends on how hard you're pushing it, but you should maybe average a nutrigrain or similar an hour or so (but if you're pushing hard, you'll need more fuel)

I find water just fine, but also have great results with Carborocket, and am trying out Nuun tabs at the minute which seems good so far (I have one bottle of water, and one of the electrolyte/carb drink)

Raam

Some people say to eat 20 minutes or so, but I find that a little much for me. For shorter and slower spins (< 60km), I'd eat hardly anything, but for anything longer than that I would start eating after a half hour or 40 minutes. I'll always leave the house fully fueled up no matter what the ride.

For super long rides (> 100km) I'll usually bring a couple of gels but only use them if I need them. I'll always bring some Nutrigrain, the ginger, cherry, raisen bake are my favourites.

Drinks: if it's to be an epic spin, I'll bring something technical like what Tiny mentioned. If it's an easy spin, I'll take water or Ribena (cos I like it)

A good tip while on the bike, is to eat BEFORE you get hungry.

penexpers

There's really no hard and fast rule for this because everyone is different.

For me, I either have porridge a couple of hours beforehand or nothing if I can't eat at least a couple of hours before. Though I have had some plain bread in the past just before a long spin and that's worked well.

Once on the road, I tend to eat and drink very little (I did the RoK on one ham sandwich, one cup of tea, some brack and 750ml of water), but that's just me. I only eat when I get really hungry and I usually stick to basic food like the above. I have tried energy bars and nutri grains but I don't digest them very well at all while on the road.

So, in short, it's up to you to work out how you should feed yourself before a spin and during a spin.

Gavin

Weetabix for brekkie, rain, hail or snow.

Bottle o water with maybe some robinsons orange for flavour, bit of energy. Some bananas and either breakfast bars or fig rolls or both. Whenever there's a pause I tend to have a drink and maybe eat something. I'm a bit scared of bonking when out far, it's a terrible feeling and can make the journey seem torturously long.

Oh. A wee tip I picked up. Put your figrolls/bar into a plastic bag and not straight into the rear pocket on your jersey. It gets quite warm back there... unpleasant.

ROK ON

Bolied eggs (1 or 2). Brown bread, 2 bananas, apple/pear/fresh nuts. OJ. Nice coffee. Sustains me - but there is a lot of me to sustain.
On th bike water with Nuun tablet or salt (cuts down on cramp). Cereal bar, sometimes a powerbar on long cycles. Banana. Bar of chocolate when I get home.

Raam

If you want to read up on it, have a root around here: http://www.cptips.com/toc.htm#nuttips

ba

i remember thinking the same things just over a year ago. and it was one of the coolest periods cos you get to try out loads of different types of food on the bike.

i stick to porridge before a spin. water in the bottles and a couple of nutrigrain elevenses in the back pocket. keeps me going for anything up to 120km. don't really do anything more than that. have yet to put electrolytes in my drink, but believe its a good idea.

pgibbo

Thanks for all the tips and pointers guys. I know one thing for sure - I will not be going longer than 20 miles on empty again.

Caroline_ie

Before Saturday spin, I usually have 2 or 3 slices of brown bread with butter and jam and tea... because I am always late and I have no time to eat anything else. I will have a banana too when I have some other wise. Summer spins, because I know I will be out longer I will bring fig rolls or cereal bars for the day and sometimes lucozade.

If i am only cycling to work in the morning, it's a short enough commute so I will have my breakie afterwards.

Here are links:

http://bicycling.about.com/od/cyclingforabetterbody/a/nutrition_bikes.htm
http://www.bottombracket.co.uk/cycling-nutrition.html

MCOS

Big bowl of porridge n honey with a banana chopped in. Pint of orange juice, pint of water for breakfast. I'd eat more if i knew I was going to be out for more than 3 hours. Bring a cereal bar or mars bar and a banana with me and have 2 gels stashed in the saddle bag just in case.

Don't let yourself get hungry or thirsty, stay ahead!

LDB

I never leave the house for a spin without a bowl of porridge in me. It’s perfect as it has the carbs for energy and the protein (in the milk) for repairing of the muscles.

What I eat on the bike will depend on distance, time and intensity. I bring nutri grain’s but probably don’t eat as much as I should.

It’s also just as important to eat soon after a training spin. Protein and carbs such as a yogurt and a banana, although most of us probably wolf down a pizza if we have been out all day

Gavin

I have my pint o chocolate milk after a spin. And then a large amount of food.

bcmf

my wife makes fantastic cookies that have all sorts of slow release energy food in them and packed with raisins,cranberries etc. Dont bring anything wiyh me for spins under 2 hrs.Over 2hrs and its a cookie or Alpen bar every 44mins or so.
Just on a side note: I read an interview with Russell Downing in CW not so long ago and he pointed out the good side of getting "The Knock" is that when you recover it will take a very long time before it will hapen again as your body goes into a sort of protection mode and slows down the release of energy.

ba

Verb wrote: »

I have my pint o chocolate milk after a spin. And then a large amount of food.

thats exactly what i do. love that chocolate goodness!

Signal_ rabbit

I too would start with porridge, then its bananas on a ride (leave in fridge overnight to keep them hard) with Nuun in the bottles, i always take gels but never really use them (a tip with gels is to make sure you suck it all out as any left leaks in the back pockets!). Have tried High5 carb drinks but didn't really notice any difference. Does anybody else use the carb drinks?

Chris Peak

Porridge is probably the best starter for the day. It’s easy to digest, has slow releasing carbs and is also quite filling. Without leaving you too stuffed to ride. You can sweeten it with syrup or honey, which are good for a quick energy boost.

I don’t eat that much during a ride. Just a few dried dates or a jam sandwich if I’m out all day.

One of the best energy drinks for me is Ginseng tea with honey and a little salt.

You really don’t need any protein during a ride. The processing is quite taxing your body, and so it’s best if you have it as your evening meal either the night before or after the ride. It’s also best if you don’t have a high protein source with a high carb source e.g. steak and spuds. Have them separately with a few hours in between.

liamo

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

Have tried High5 carb drinks but didn't really notice any difference. Does anybody else use the carb drinks?

Yes, I use High5 without any solids (but always with breakfast beforehand). That's on rides up to my max of 80k. So far that's been sufficient for me.

I'm continuing to increase my distance and I had been thinking that I will need to start taking some solids (or maybe gels) above this distance so this has been an excellently timed thread with a lot of useful opinions and links.

zzzzzzzz

Yup - porridge for me in the mornings too with a bit of sugar or cocaine raisins in it.

If I'm out for 2 hours or less i'd usually just bring a bottle of water (and a packet of wine gums just in case but usually wouldn't eat them if i've had a decent breakie)

Anything more than 2 hours I'd put a couple of scoops of high 5 in one bottle and plain water in a second bottle. Again a packet of Wine gums and possibly a tracker bar on longer spins without a coffee stop.

Never tried gels - someone told me they're not great for your liver so never bothered with them.

Also - I'd usually have porridge made with water. I read somewhere that dairy products aren't great for you when you're excercising. Maybe I've been mis-informed though because one of the high-5 drinks says you can mix it with milk.

Chris Peak

Dairy products are very hard to digest during training. And can lead to stomach cramps or vomiting. Save them and meat products until well after the ride. It’s best if you have carbs within 20 minutes of the ride, if you don’t take any during that is.

I haven’t heard anything about the gels being bad for the liver. I just don’t really like them, much prefer something more filling (substantial) like a sambo.
You also need quite a lot of water with them, which can lead to uncomfortable bloating due to water retention.

Chris Peak

These vids are worth a look
Pre event fuelling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRkWbwdXSOY
During: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4oOMzhGBws
Post event fuelling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPBuDtWObuE

blorg

Personally I do think some of this is a little over the top- if you are racing seriously, maybe you need to separate your protein from your carbs, I don't know. If you are new to cycling, went out without eating, and felt weak as a kitten after 25km, you bonked, simple as. Best advice: bring a couple of nutrigrain bars or a banana, or whatever works for you, in future, and eat when (or better, before) you feel hungry.

I have only seriously bonked once, ever, and it was not on any particularly crazy distance, but it was before breakfast, I didn't have any food with me and felt very weak. Was around the Liam Horner memorial near Glencree when it happened, was going strong until then and then suddenly, zip, nothing. I limped home slowly and slightly high feeling. If I had a bar think I would have managed through it a lot better.

Before and since have managed 100km before breakfast, Alpe d'Huez before breakfast (only 32km up and back ) but made sure I had a bar or two in the pockets just in case. Think of it as insurance.

EDIT: Just re-read your post, didn't notice the imperial units, 32 miles (52km) feeling weak after 25 miles (40km), this would be expected- you need to eat something. My 100km before breakfast was done when I had somewhat more ahem padding to be worked off, I do think this also makes a big difference (the speed/heart rate you are moving at is also very relevant, easier to do long distances on a low HR with less food.)

With regard to what to eat before, I just eat what I normally eat, although I do happen to eat a lot of pasta anyway so maybe I am naturally disposed. On the morning of a long event I will maybe have a little bit more for breakfast but this generally means I might have a slice of toast and milk in my coffee along with my cornflakes, I don't go mad. Best not shock the system. If you can bring yourself to the porridge, that sounds like a good plan.