Question: Re eating on the bike and post-exercise food

HobbyMan

Quick question for the more experienced longer distance cyclists:

I am just wondering what you eat, and how often you eat, during your long ride ? Also what do you eat/drink after a long or tough ride ?

Furthermore: How would you rate the Powerbar products such as bars and gels. I took a bunch of these whilst riding on holidays recently but yesterday I stopped at the local garage and bought a few chochie bars which, I thought, did the job just as well. Can't comment about the 'health' aspect of it though. :rolleyes:

alexanderomahon

On this point , does anybody take whey protein after long cycles?

cloinsigh

If I'm planning on training in the following 2-3 days after a long cycle (100K) I'll eat some type of protein (usually chicken breast) within an hour or two but if not then I'll just eat as per usual. The vast majority of the weight lost from my cycle is fluids.
Amino acids are great for recovery too

I never bother with whey or anything like it. I know too many people who tried to bulk up on that for playing rugby etc and now have to try to get rid of it.

As for the powerbars, I don't bother anymore. I used them during Gaelforce over the last few years and won't anymore. A few chocolate bars an fig rolls are just as good and much tastier. The gels can be good for a quick boost but can be a bit rough on the stomach, well mine anyway.

blorg

The main thing you need is starchy carbohydrates to sustain energy.

If I am doing a hard effort I find chocolate too sweet and really just don't like to eat it at all. Touring, I love the stuff.

Racing or sportives the likes of Powerbars are good but fig rolls, flapjacks etc. also do the job. If you keep an eye out online, you can sometimes get very good deals, I got a bunch of Clif bars for 50c each on PBK last year for example. One major advantage of the cycling/sport-specific stuff is that it tends to be easy to handle and doesn't break up and go all over the place.

That is on the bike- at rest stops it is difficult to beat a sandwich.

Gels should really only be used racing IMO, and sparingly.

After the ride, whatever is good. Usually pasta.

AFAIK you only need protein when building muscle and for cyclists you should get sufficient from a normal diet. So my doctor says anyway. I have never paid any particular attention to consuming it and any I do consume comes from natural sources (e.g. steak, nuts.) At home in Ireland training and racing I am nearly vegetarian; on the road touring I have been eating a lot more meat, simply as it is cheap and generally available.

kennyb3

blorg wrote: »

Gels should really only be used racing IMO, and sparingly.

Can i ask you about this comment Blorg, any reason for not using gels when training long? Just cost?

I ask as if im doing 100k plus i ll generally take a couple at least. I feel better for it both during and after. Its a costly habit but fig rolls always seem to get mashed, crumble or end up wet in my jersey pocket. I steer clear of chocie bars because of the saturated fat element.

cloinsigh

blorg wrote: »

AFAIK you only need protein when building muscle and for cyclists you should get sufficient from a normal diet. So my doctor says anyway.

Agree, but if doing long hauls it's importants not to loose too much muscle afterwards. That's where the chicken breast (protein) afterwards comes in handy.

Khannie

alexanderomahon wrote: »

On this point , does anybody take whey protein after long cycles?

I do, though I'm a noob to cycling. I have been using whey for years to help reduce recovery times / prevent muscle loss but for a totally different sport. I watched one of Nico Roches' videos recently where he talks about what he eats and I was surprised at the lack of protein tbh. Must not be such an issue for cycling after you've initially built up the legs.

Khannie

Here's that youtube vid where he talks about what he eats. About 1m50s in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xBk-yEYic8

Lashed

What he has in a day wouldn't do me till 11am and I'm not exactly large at 6ft and 78kg.
However OP, as Nico said, on a day when you are doing an event, you should not deviate much from what you eat every other day. Fluids are most important during an event.