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Yeah I guess the study solely focused on carb regeneration during cycling. In practice, eating savory carbs is great for the first half of a long ride. But whe
by torgian 7y ago
Yeah I guess the study solely focused on carb regeneration during cycling.
In practice, eating savory carbs is great for the first half of a long ride. But when you’re riding 100-200km, you get so tired of eating.
I typically eat solids foods for the first 70k or so. But after that, when you’re eating every 20 to 30 minutes, you just don’t want to eat.
That’s when you turn to gels and things that are small and packed with carbs.
Relying on just solid foods is not feasible for those long distance rides.
However, you can’t just rely only on gels and sugary stuff either.
Yesterday I rode 150km with 3000 meters of climbing. My friend and I had a small breakfast of local food before hitting the road. Started eating at about 35k in, because we climbed a thousand meters at that point.
During the course of the ride I had two bananas, two sticks of Yokan, and an SIS energy gel. We also grabbed a quick bite at 7 of a fantuan. But the majority of the ride was sweeter carbs to keep going.
I wanted to puke after forcing down that last yokan before the final climb. My friend and I wanted nothing with sugar after that ride.
The point being, there’s a fine balance that has to be made for the long rides. Food is important, and I’m experimenting with different recipes for the savory foods throughout the first half of a long ride.
- hinkley 7y agoYou can’t eat trail mix all day long, but in small quantities it’s a good change of scenery. Bananas and Gatorade aren’t that bad. We didn’t have this fancy stuff. And honestly for a couple days of touring? Autocannibalization isn’t that bad. Post rehydration, I think the worst I ever lost was three pounds, and I’ll bet half of that was still water weight. A deficit of 5,000 calories isn’t gonna kill you.
- torgian 7y agoNo, it's not, but people don't understand that it's not the deficit that hurts. It's the lack of carbs. It's the _bonk_. Bonking during a ride sucks hardcore.
- hondo77 7y agoYeah, you need to find out what works for you. Twinkies, stroopwafels, gels, donuts, chocolate scotheroos, rice cakes (great ideas in "Feed Zone Portables") all make it into my longer rides in different combinations. I do save the gels for last, though. Especially in the heat. I don't get tired of eating but I'm not hungry at all at the end of a ride.
- torgian 7y agoTrue that! Personally, I need to not have sugary stuff during a long, hard day in the saddle. In fact, yesterday was kind of an experiment ( a rather painful, crappy experiment ). Gels are great for the last 1/3 to half of the ride though. Straight energy and easy to take in. But even so, I have had gels that made my stomach feel like ass during the ride, so I tend to stick to SIS gels. They're the mildest, packed with carbs for the size, and dont have any coloring.