What to eat/drink on a 25 mile bike ride?

I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through and
I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle of
Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

Brown Cat wrote:
I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through and
I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle of
Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

That really is the wrong type of food to eat, and I am guilty of that
myself.
For long rides it is best to eat a mixture of complex and simple
carbohydrates. The body takes longer to break down complex carbos (e.g.
wheat, starch etc), and so they provide energy over a longer time.
If you have a quick burst of sugars, then the body tries to break it
down quickely, giving you a short burst of energy.

IMHO the best drink is a mixture of fruit juice and water, which you sip.

Martin.

Brown Cat wrote:

I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through
and I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle
of Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

For eating 'on the move' a banana or two, and my wife makes a
jam-filled shortcake biscuit 'thing'. And a couple of Mars/choccy bar
of choice.

Dilute orange/lemon/blackcurrant and water.

--
Paul - xxx

'96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi
Dyna Tech Cro-Mo comp

On May 27, 8:10*am, Brown Cat wrote:
I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. *The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through and
I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle of
Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

Different people will have different definitions of long rides. I
recall eating a few jelly babies the one time I did a 50 mile time
trial, and had nothing on shorter ones. For 5h trailquests we used to
eat chunks of dried banana and sometimes bits of energy bar - the
latter can often be stuck to the top tube (unwrapped) in preparation
and grabbed on the move. For touring, assorted pastries and jam
sandwiches go down well IME. There's no problem with sugar-based food
so long as you graze rather than binge.

James

Brown Cat writes:

I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through and
I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle of
Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

How long does the ride take you?

A couple of hours should be doable without really needing to fuel up
during the ride, although it certainly doesn't hurt to have something. I
normally put a banana and some chocolate in my back pocket if I'm going
to be riding for several hours; if I see I nice pub and the mood takes
me then beer and crisps help

It might help to think about what you eat before hand. A complex-carbs
rich meal a couple of hours beforehand should mean you start with
reasonably reserves; and make sure that you're not thirsty before you
start.

If you're not used to the exercise then you're probably going to feel it
whatever you eat until you're conditioned; but that'll come soon enough
if it becomes a regular part of your life.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through and
I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle of
Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

Yeuch!


What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

How long does the ride take you?
A couple of hours should be doable without really needing to fuel up
during the ride

You'd have to be going pretty slow to take much more than a couple of
hours to cover 25 miles. Unless you're treating it as a scenic trip,
towing small children etc. in which case why not take a proper picnic
or stop at a pub?

http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2008-05-19

It might help to think about what you eat before hand. A complex-carbs
rich meal a couple of hours beforehand should mean you start with
reasonably reserves; and make sure that you're not thirsty before you
start.

I think that's the key. If you're leaping out of bed and riding for 2
hours without breakfast you're not doing yourself any favours. A
decent bowl of porridge and plenty of fluid before you set off should
see you right.

writes:

You'd have to be going pretty slow to take much more than a couple of
hours to cover 25 miles.

On the road yes, but off-road riding can be quite different in some
conditions. 25 off-road, muddy, hilly miles can be a good day's ride
sometimes.

On Wed, 27 May 2009 01:11:22 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

How long does the ride take you?
A couple of hours should be doable without really needing to fuel up
during the ride

You'd have to be going pretty slow to take much more than a couple of
hours to cover 25 miles.

Not everyone's super-fit (or able to be). And of course terrain
variations will make a huge difference. Right now I'm very pleased to
be able to do my 26km commute in an hour and a quarter, although I
used to do a regular 18mile journey in under an hour some years back.
I'm sure that the more I do it the faster I'll get, and hopefully may
one day regain something of my former fitness, but if it's just an
occasional leisure ride that's not likely to happen.

It might help to think about what you eat before hand. A complex-carbs
rich meal a couple of hours beforehand should mean you start with
reasonably reserves; and make sure that you're not thirsty before you
start.

I think that's the key. If you're leaping out of bed and riding for 2
hours without breakfast you're not doing yourself any favours. A
decent bowl of porridge and plenty of fluid before you set off should
see you right.

I couldn't do that. And in practice my body seems able to deliver
sufficient slow-release energy to keep me going all the way, although
I know I need to eat as soon as I get to the office. Eating a mixed
meal a couple of hours beforehand is the best way, but riding too soon
after eating (i.e. while you're still digesting it) is actually going
to give you less available energy.

Brown Cat wrote:
I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through and
I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle of
Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

Muesli bars and lucozade diluted 50:50 with mineral water. Works
every time. The main thing I find is to drink little and *often*,
clearing about a litre of said mix for 25 miles.

Getting dehydrated has a big downer on a) how you feel, and b) how you
perform.

Just my tuppence worth.

Paul - xxx wrote:
Brown Cat wrote:

I've started doing a weekly 25 mile bike ride. The first time I went
that far I ate no food along and only drank water the way and felt
utterly exhausted.

I've found that I start feeling a bit fatigued about half way through
and I've taken to eating a Turkish Delight washed down with a bottle
of Lucozade which seems to give me a noticeable boost of energy.

What does everyone else do to keep their energy up on long rides?

For eating 'on the move' a banana or two, and my wife makes a
jam-filled shortcake biscuit 'thing'. And a couple of Mars/choccy bar
of choice.

Dilute orange/lemon/blackcurrant and water.


Base layer

Not sure if it works with cycling but before a days walking a bowl of
porridge keeps me fuelled for a lot longer. (When out with a bunck of
kids on a walk it's easy to tell which has had cereal and sugar and
which has had porridge. By mid-morning the sugar addicrs have slowed and
are asking when lunch is. The others are asking why the first lot are so
slow.)

--

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