Fuelling for cycles

G1032

dinneenp wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. So I've refined to 2 bananas, 2 bottles of water (bidons), 1 flap jack & 2 gels (which I mightn't use).

Might stop half way for a cuppa and small bite (just for pleasure, not aiming at re-fueling) halfway (at Leenane).

Cheers,
Pa.

Don't leave yourself short of food Pa. It's better to be looking at it than for it. Once you're more used to longer hours on the bike you'll have a better idea of what works for you but on your first long spin just be sure to bring enough with you..........

Wishbone Ash

Weepsie wrote: »

Few things more miserable to me on a cycle than stopping in some crap filling station or shop. It's the last resort for me personally.

I meant in Covid 19 times when a coffee shop/cafe etc is not an option. Still though, I much prefer to buy something than trying to make/plan food.

Macy0161

Just to say, I've heard lots of podcasts with professional nutritionists (including those employed by pro teams) that say the biggest thing amateurs do is under fuel the work and recovery. And that includes people who have no skin in the game (i.e. not people who work for companies supplying drinks/ gels/ food).

I'd also say the negatives of refined sugars, are based on studies of average sedentary joe public, rather than people who regularly train and/ or use the refined sugars to fuel their workouts.

dahat wrote: »

One thing, is sushi rice normal white sticky rice?

They normally say short grain rice for rice cakes - sushi, risotto, pudding rice.

I used risotto rice at the weekend, and it worked fine. In the past I've used the pudding rice (and had some ready), but the risotto was open and past it's best before!

Large bottle small glass

Macy0161 wrote: »

Just to say, I've heard lots of podcasts with professional nutritionists (including those employed by pro teams) that say the biggest thing amateurs do is under fuel the work and recovery. And that includes people who have no skin in the game (i.e. not people who work for companies supplying drinks/ gels/ food).

I'd also say the negatives of refined sugars, are based on studies of average sedentary joe public, rather than people who regularly train and/ or use the refined sugars to fuel their workoutts!

The OP is doing his first 100km. My experience of that level of rider is the overwhelming majority have a difficulty not over fueling when on and off the bike.

The only group likely under fueling would be racing cyclists training hard and watching their weight; which is not what OP started thread for.

positron

Great discussion - Not sure if I have anything to add but sharing this anyway just in case!

When I started cycling - and I cycle for pleasure, not to compete - it was fine for up to 40k with just a bottle of water.

Then I started doing 50-70k fasted (first thing Sunday morning), and switched to a bottle of 50% OJ + 50% water and a banana for the halfway mark. This was fine for a few months.

Then one day I bonked badly at around 80k mark (after getting caught in a lot of rain, unknown roads etc etc). So I started taking an extra breakfast bar. So banana + bottle + breakfast bar. This worked well for up to 100-110k, with some refills of water.

Then I attempted 200k - banana, bottle, couple of breakfast bars, but stopped for a nice lunch around half way mark. This also worked well, with of course many refills of water and lucozade etc along the way. This is my go to choice for 200k+ rides now.

I also did one 200k+ ride without a lunch stop. Instead I went thru at least 4 mars bars / snickers plus couple of bottles of water / lucozade. Not great, but doable - everything is doable once you build up to it I guess.

monkeysnapper

G1032 wrote: »

Don't leave yourself short of food Pa. It's better to be looking at it than for it. Once you're more used to longer hours on the bike you'll have a better idea of what works for you but on your first long spin just be sure to bring enough with you..........

Absolutly this......

In past when I've got home with my home made peanut butter and jam sandwich I've eaten it while downloading my strava ..... it won't go waste!!!!

Always take enough food if there's no shops on route .... even if there is shops id rather have my own because I once many years ago had a bike stollen and im scared for life because of it.

Large bottle small glass

positron wrote: »

Then one day I bonked badly at around 80k mark (after getting caught in a lot of rain, unknown roads etc etc). So I started taking an extra breakfast bar. So banana + bottle + breakfast bar. This worked well for up to 100-110k, with some refills of water.

magicbastarder wrote: »

i've 'bonked' (hate the term) a couple of times - both times when i've gone out and stayed out longer than expected. last time was when i went out to do what i expected was to be about 75km a few years back, but stayed out for around 100km i think (it was an all ireland final day, so the roads were gloriously quiet). so i'd probably last eaten around the 50km mark. when i hit about the 85km mark, the speed i could sustain fell fairly quickly by 5-10km/h on the flat, i couldn't go faster than maybe 20 or 25km/h without serious effort; i had started to recover maybe 5km before i got home.

Both of these are pretty classic situations that people describe as bonking.

Bonking is typically understood as low glycogen levels leading to low blood sugar which can only be fixed by eating something sweet.

It's mostly boll1x and it is other stressors(getting lost, unfamiliar roads. unexpected headwinds, fatigue, undertrained etc) which lead to someone feeling low in energy.

Really clever study here to test is feelings hungry related to blood sugar levels
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666316302604

with a discussion of study here

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2016/09/do-blood-glucose-levels-affect-hunger.html

Eating sugar and caffeine combined will in most situations give you a lift but especially when after prolonged exercise. The reason for the lift is probably more phycological than physiological.

For the OP bring away plenty food for now and see how you go in time. I wouldn't bet on anything in Leenane being open; all it was missing when I went through it a few weeks ago was tumbleweed

silverharp

probably need to take the season into account too, in June-Aug someone is going to lose more water and minerals so hydration is relatively more important

CramCycle

A slightly related anecdote when you mention hydration, did anyone do the Roundwood GP a few years ago on a baking day, probably close to 30degrees. I was A4 and we were sitting in the shade sweating as the races were delayed. I must have drank 10L just waiting for the race to start. The A1/2/3 field was obliterated though. As we waited for the start, there were riders rolling in after lap 1, looking like broken shells. Out of a field of 60, I'd be surprised if 15 made it to the finish.

dinneenp

G1032 wrote: »

Don't leave yourself short of food Pa. It's better to be looking at it than for it. Once you're more used to longer hours on the bike you'll have a better idea of what works for you but on your first long spin just be sure to bring enough with you..........

Cheers for this advice. So I did my cycle yesterday-
pasta the night before
porridge with blue berries for breakfast
3 bidons of water in total (1 with Dioralite)
1/2 a banana after 1.5 hours
2 hours- lovely cup of tea (shop), flapjack & half jam and peanut sandwich. You really appreciate and savour food when it's limited and you're hungry....
3.5 hours- another cuppa (shop) and other half of sandwich
4 hours- gel.

Entire cycle was 108km, last 35km I was knackered, don't think 'bong', more the killer climb and it being my first cycle of this length.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5201753309

Seth Brundle

dinneenp wrote: »

Entire cycle was 108km, last 35km I was knackered, don't think 'bong', more the killer climb and it being my first cycle of this length.

...but you felt good about yourself I bet!

Brian?

dinneenp wrote: »

Cheers for this advice. So I did my cycle yesterday-
pasta the night before
porridge with blue berries for breakfast
3 bidons of water in total (1 with Dioralite)
1/2 a banana after 1.5 hours
2 hours- lovely cup of tea (shop), flapjack & half jam and peanut sandwich. You really appreciate and savour food when it's limited and you're hungry....
3.5 hours- another cuppa (shop) and other half of sandwich
4 hours- gel.

Entire cycle was 108km, last 35km I was knackered, don't think 'bong', more the killer climb and it being my first cycle of this length.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5201753309

108km with 1200m of climbing is a very decent spin man. Well done.

68 lost souls

I do most of my rides exclusively with tailwind. I have a bowl of muesli before I leave and then depending on the a couple of scoops of tailwind in a bidon or two. Then if going further a couple of sachets for topping up if needed.

MojoMaker

Many middle-aged amateur male cyclists getting into the sport significantly overestimate their fuel needs. A lot of the conventional advice seems to be "load up" as we've seen above, whereas perhaps better advice is to work up to these distances much more gradually and don't view food as the only variable. The body builds, stores, and releases energy in different ways. You have to train it - there's no silver bullet.

You only have to look at the bellies at any given Irish sportive and the ravenous animalistic feeding that goes on at the food stops :pac:

dinneenp

Seth Brundle wrote: »

...but you felt good about yourself I bet!

Definitely! My longest cycle to date.
Next time I might do the Cong- Leenaun, Maum Cross and back loop (flatter) or a similar flatter one and see what my time is like.

monkeysnapper

Thats some savage climbing .... well done ...

eeeee

I always tended to underfuel, just bring a banana on club spins of 180k min. I did that for years. I did my first road race with 1 water bottle and no food.

I have learned that if you want to do anything else with your day fuelling right is key.

I don't bring anything but water if I'm doing 80k or a bit more. After that I bring a homemade flapjack and start nibbling after an hour, and take a good gobful every half and hour to an hour or so.
If I'm doing over 100k+, I will have my regular breakfast plus a small bowl of porridge. I will bring 2 bottles, 1 water, 1 water, squash and salt, and the aforementioned flapjack. If it's 130k+ I bring 2. Once I brought three and got through 2 and a half, so I may up the flapjack!

I am not a fan of stopping mid spin, starting again especially in the rain is grim. Maybe at the end of a spin.

I only bring gels for racing, I take one on the start line, and about 30/40 mins before the finish of a road race, for track nationals I will take a caffeine gel 45 mins before I ride. I also add porridge to breakfast if I'm racing. I would say the intensity of your racing will dictate your fuelling strategy. Endurance, long distance stuff is very different to say road racing, which is different to CX, which is different to track.

I will bring a coconut milk with salt and protein in it for after a race if it's a long journey home from a road race. Post race sandwiches also rock!

ETA: when people are starting out on the bike I think they are usually hungrier, so no harm in bringing more than you need. Eat little and often. You'll get to know what you need as you do more and get used to your own body.

magicbastarder

eeeee wrote: »

I always tended to underfuel, just bring a banana on club spins of 180k min.

180k or 180 minutes?
long club spins if they're 180k!

eeeee

magicbastarder wrote: »

180k or 180 minutes?
long club spins if they're 180k!

180k. I had 30k there and back to the meeting point so it was a long day out (ended up 180k for me). We only did it one year. I got so fit it was great!

Wishbone Ash

eeeee wrote: »

...just bring a banana on club spins of 180k...

Sweet Jesus! :eek: On a 180k ride, I'd probably have 4 food stops.

I run a very inefficient engine - I need to constantly refuel even if I'm just watching TV. Mercian Pro on the other hand will do a 150k hilly ride on a small scone.

eeeee

Oh I'd be absolutely flattened for the rest of the day and the day after it.
I learnt pretty quickly to bring food!

dahat

eeeee wrote: »

Oh I'd be absolutely flattened for the rest of the day and the day after it.
I learnt pretty quickly to bring food!

This.

Everyone’s a winner when you learn this lesson.

loyatemu

I mainly cycle so I can eat more cake :pac:

also enjoy stopping at the top of a climb to eat a banana or whatever, take a photo etc.

I've never used anything but water in my bottles though.

paddydriver

180k cycle.. then run 42k :pac::pac::pac: - Oh and a 3.8k swim before it.

Fueling very difficult to get right and can well expect to be fairly flattened for a few days after.

JimmiesRustled

paddydriver wrote: »

180k cycle.. then run 42k :pac::pac::pac: - Oh and a 3.8k swim before it.

Fueling very difficult to get right and can well expect to be fairly flattened for a few days after.

Get out of here with that talk. No more than ya's deserve for not wearing socks.

NamelessPhil

I do endurance cycling and on a good day I can rock round my own 200km route on two bananas, two Nature Valley protein bars and some water. Winter days I'm fond of a Centra sausage roll and 500ml milk at any stops (roughly every 45-70km) and I have a bag of Lidl jellies with one every 5km or so.

I worked it out that I eat about 30g carbohydrate every hour, but then I'm going at a fairly steady pace. Also I'm a relatively small female, your mileage will vary.

Over multi-day rides I'll try to stick to real food, getting adequate protein and fat is important for refuelling, yoghurt, porridge ham and cheese sandwiches are all good. Milk is excellent as a rehydration food. Too much sugar may lead to digestive issues, nobody wants to do a Tom Dumoulin into a ditch.

paddydriver

JimmiesRustled wrote: »

Get out of here with that talk. No more than ya's deserve for not wearing socks.

Feck no way... sleeves and socks; none of those vest yokes. You've mistaken me for someone who thinks they are fast

eeeee

Fully agree with milk being an awesome food, for everything. I go through 4l a week by myself :pac:
It's such a well balanced food.
I have a pint of warm milk after every spin, it's so good!

Wishbone Ash

eeeee wrote: »

...I have a pint of warm milk after every spin, it's so good!

Stop! I'm going to vomit. :eek:

Cold milk is unpleasant enough at the best of times. How anyone would wish to make it even more unpalatable by warming it is beyond me.

Seth Brundle

Milk is fine if it is in cheese, yoghurt, custard or other foods.
Otherwise, just No!