Nutrition / Drinks while cycling

pokaface

Hi,

I'm looking for some tips for what to drink for long cycles (100k+).

I recently got some electrloyte drinks (nuun) which are fine and help replace salts and sugars that water wouldn't but I think for longer cycles some kind of a protein based shake would work well.

Any suggestions of drinks to use?

abcdggs

From what i know of nutrition, during exercise you should be consuming simple carbohydrates, protein is mainly used for building/repairing muscle. I tried an energy gel the other day when i was out with some boardsies, they can attest to how much of a difference it made for me. On the protein front you should be looking to eat twice as much carbohydrate as protein within the first fifteen minutes/half hour of finishing your workout.

On the best energy gel to get i can't say, but if you're looking for protein or other supplements i'd suggest here, from what i can tell it's the cheapest place to get it.

DirkVoodoo

pokaface wrote: »

I recently got some electrloyte drinks (nuun) which are fine and help replace salts and sugars that water wouldn't but I think for longer cycles some kind of a protein based shake would work well.

I think you mean a carb drink, I think protein absorption is best after exercise. I'm also not sure a shake would be easily digestible on a bike.

Carbohydrates are really what you need, there are plenty of online sources for on bike nutrition, but you really have to adapt them for what works for you. One mantra holds true though, and it certainly requires practice, "eat little and often". Once you crack this nut, longer cycles become a simple matter of having enough to keep yourself topped up.

Post cycle nutrition.

On the bike tips.

Protein for post ride recovery

More fuelling while on the bike.

cdonnelly

I have been using Lucozade sport drink for the past while
but at €1.80 a bottle they are a bit expensive,as I am lucky to be near the border I was in tesco in Derry the other day and picked up 8 bottles of lucozade sport for a fiver
Perhaps this stuff aint great but it suits me

Cathal

DirkVoodoo

cdonnelly wrote: »

I have been using Lucozade sport drink for the past while
but at €1.80 a bottle they are a bit expensive,as I am lucky to be near the border I was in tesco in Derry the other day and picked up 8 bottles of lucozade sport for a fiver
Perhaps this stuff aint great but it suits me

Cathal

It's alright, but like you say expensive. A tube of Nuun can be bought for as little as 5.73 euro. With 12 tablets, that works out as less than 50 cent a bottle and it's probably better than lucozade sport.

abcdggs

the problem with lucozade sport is that it is only a source of energy , it contains no electrolytes and so has limited effect of rehydrating you, if you were to buy a "sports drink" for use during cycling i think powerade is a better bet.

The best option would be to use something like nuun tabs in with your water and then something else as a source of simple carbs

Lumen

Food and water (or drink of your choice).

You don't need electrolyte drinks in February.

jimshady101

Two very good drinks that are very popular with cyclists are Reflex The Edge and High5 Energy Source 4:1.

Both drinks contain whey protein Isolate which is the purest and best absorbed protein on the market. Used for preventing muscle breakdown but also as a secondary energy source and for recovery.

Both drinks are very high on complex carbohydrates.

Both drinks also contain electrolytes which will help with cramping and replace the minerals lost in your body through sweat.

Both driks contains anti-oxidants.

The Edge also has pro-biotics, Vitamin C, Vitamin E which help greatly with your immune system.

Here's some links to the label information on both:
Reflex - The Edge
http://www.reflex-nutrition.com/images/pdf/The%20Edge.pdf

High 5 - Energy Source 4:1
http://www.highfive.co.uk/energy_endurance_drinks/energy_source4_1.htm

As I work for Reflex I am not going to push one product over the other as people will think I am just plugging but they are both certainly worth looking at.

Both are far more cost effective and energy effective than buying Lucazade Sport or Powerade which are basically just glucose and not much else and also contain Aspartame which is a big NO NO in my books as a sweetener.

abcdggs

jimshady101 wrote: »

As I work for Reflex I am not going to push one product over the other as people will think I am just plugging but they are both certainly worth looking at.

As far as i'm concerned plug away, so long as you have the boardsie discount to go with it

jimshady101

abcdggs wrote: »

As far as i'm concerned plug away, so long as you have the boardsie discount to go with it

I have a 10% discount code for www.reflex-nutrition.ie but don't want to be getting slatted. I'm only trying to be helpful with my input!