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I've been using Clif bars, which I like, but I find them a bit claggy and therefore can only eat one or two max.
Any alternative suggestions for stuff that will fit in Jersey pockets that I can eat on the bike? It's for 80-100 milers.
On yesterday's 80 miler, I had two cheese rolls, a banana, some fig rolls and three cereal bars. All went in jersey pockets easily, worked a treat.
That all fitted along with spare inner tubes, phone etc?
https://feedzonecookbook.com/portables/
Great ideas, lots of variety and some actual science behind the reasoning 🙂
Though I did think fabian cancellara was just stuffing down a ham and cheese baguette in the tour yesterday
Spare tubes and all that are in a little saddle/seat post bag. Phone was in jersey pocket though (and a gilet for a while too)
I did give the rolls a bit of a flattening squish before I put them in my pocket, but that's all.
Oh, and top tip; Nick some of those dead thin plastics bags that you put veg in at the supermarket. If you put your rolls etc in them, they're dead easy to rip open as you ride along.
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This is also the smallest packing food provider I have found so far
I don't like stopping, let alone leaving my bike unattended whilst I go into a shop, and I'm not carrying a lock.
Malt loaf, flattened, and some jelly babies or similar for variety and a treat. Always carry one gel just in case on big rides, rarely need it but..
not the speediest of riders so it doesn't bother me to have a tiny cable lock in my tool bag - will stop an opportunist - with no lock petrol stations are good as you can usually see your bike (hopefully not just see it going into back of a van)
.........malt loaf.
Cheap flapjacks - the ones that can normally be found at the ALDI checkout are great - full of fruit/sugar and about 50p.
Jelly babies, maybe gel, nutri grain bar.
Been using the chocolate version of these:
Delicious, natural, filling, nutritious. Much better than synthesised gels and bars, and actually feel like you have eaten something. And not too expensive either.
What's this not stopping thing ? I thought riding was all about heading for a nice pub lunch or cafe stop 😉
Think I'm more of a pottering tourer type these days.
Can't stand gels seem to make my teeth sticky and for me, anything from High 5 puts the share index in Andrex up.....
Like has been said, malt loaf, jelly babies etc. Home Bargains and B&M do small flapjacks for about 29p that can easily fit in a pocket.
Reet, logging off to find a pub to cycle to..... 😀
Haribo Tangfastics
Peanut M&Ms
9bars (a bit dry for longer than 100 mile days when I might get a bit dehydrated)
Haribo Tangfastics
Clif shot bloks
Tunnocks caramel wafers
And if all else fails, Haribo Tangfastics
As you can see, I'm not a nutritional role model, but Haribos go straight to my legs and the tangfastics create saliva so I can get a handful down no matter how destroyed I am.
Of course, if you're already spending serious money on Clif bars, there's always gels...
And if all else fails, Haribo Tangfastics
At the end of a week of riding I fell back on the fizzies, was hell riding the sugar crash all day was seriously bad news.
For a long ride I might take a Soreen loaf (they squish really small!), a Bananna, and a packet of peanuts or some snickers.
I generally have an emergency gel stashed somewhere as well, but I try to save those for races.
Decent quality, tasty whole foods every time!
(Calorifically dense is a bonus, as they are easier to carry).
I take apples / banana, and some variety of (sugar-free) Nakd bar or Raw Bite bar. Another couple of months and it'll be roadside apple / berry time too!
All good suggestions, thanks. I like flapjacks so may look for some of those. Jelly Babies is also a good shout, as are Nakd bars. Salted peanuts may also be a good option.
Depends how hard you are riding and how your digestive system copes with different foods.
If you are bimbling round your ride in 8 hrs pretty much anything will work, cereal and/or cake bars from the supermarket will do the job nicely.
If you are pushing on a bit more, or if you struggle digesting fat/protein on the move you'll want to stick to proper energy products.
Personally i like zipvit zv8 uncoated bars and SiS Go gels when going hard. When going easier, Powerbar wafers, kellogs breakfast bakes or whatever cake looks appealing at the cafe stop.
Edit: and whilst i know some people swear by them, jelly babies are not a smart choice when you do the maths on how many you need to eat to fuel a century on them alone
If you are pushing on a bit more, or if you struggle digesting fat/protein on the move you'll want to stick to proper energy products.
I think I fit into that category.
Dried fruit such as dates or apricots and Percy Pigs work for me. I find quite a few of the sports energy bars are too dry in warm conditions - suck all the moisture out your mouth so really hard to chew and swallow.
@mikey74 as posted back up there take a look at the portables book I linked too, trying a few things out and a great forward on sports nutrition etc. there is some good sections online
The sugar crash about an hour after eating a handful of jelly babies isn't nice 🙄
+1 for the feed zone portables
The sugar crash about an hour after eating a handful of jelly babies isn't nice
Most unpleasant. Things like jelly babies and gels on a long ride, emergency use only!
Decent calorific lowish GI snacks and nibble often.
This recipe for chia seed flapjacks works great for me... a drizzle of dark chocolate on top to hold them together.
http://www.muddyrace.co.uk/nutrition/how-to-make-chia-seed-flapjacks-from-the-experts/
What ever cereal bars are on offer.
I've just ordered a mixed pack of the Veloforte stuff to try out. I'll see how it goes.
What ever cereal bars are on offer.
Pretty much this. At the moment those McVities Medley(?) things seem to be £1 for 5 everywhere so they're current favourite. For a long one I'll make sure I've got a gel or 2 as well, and maybe 1 or 2 'proper' sports bars although I think they probably have mainly psychological benefit!
I might also stick a Peparami in my pocket just to have an alternative to all the sweet stuff.
I just found some of the Feed Zone Portables book on-line as a PDF 8)
[url= https://www.bmcshop.co.uk/images/9781937715007.1.pdf ]Feed Zone Portables Book in PDF format[/url]
Yeah, I found that the other day.
Veloforte
Mmm may have to give those a go.
^^^ at £2 a pop I'd be hoping for some EPO in there 🙂
Been using the chocolate version of these:Delicious, natural, filling, nutritious. Much better than synthesised gels and bars, and actually feel like you have eaten something. And not too expensive either.
£10 for 3 including P&P. 😯
Peanut butter on cheap white sliced bread (easy to get down and digest)
jelly babies (never had the sugar crash here, only eat 4 or so at a time)
bananas
few gels
energy goop in bottles (I make mine weak as I can get nauseous from energy drinks on long rides)
There was once a code for new customers that gave the cost of postage back
Doh and I've just ordered some!
Mine were £8 for 3, including postage, from Sigma Sport. Take the £2 postage off and it's not much more than your average Clif bar, or other such energy bar.
All of this sport-bar stuff seems overkill to me if you aren't a serious racer.
Brown rolls from the supermarket with peanut butter or nutella squished down; home made flapjack is easy and better than additive loaded shop bought. grilled chicken breast cut into strips and wrapped in brown paper sealed with masking tape for protein (good way to use the odd one in a packet of chicken). Gels or haribo for emergency. Those cheap electrolyte tablets from aldi for hot days or weak vimto in the bidon
For 80-100 miles I don't need much so my cereal bar comment stands. For longer rides I have found other things that work.
New potatoes with a bit of strong cheese melted in the middle.
Potato cakes with cream cheese
Rice cakes although I found the consistency hard to hit.
Egg tortilla/ spanish omlette
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/chocolate-marzipan-vegan-chocolate-marzipan/
New potatoes with a bit of strong cheese melted in the middle.Potato cakes with cream cheese
Rice cakes although I found the consistency hard to hit.
Egg tortilla/ spanish omlette
😯 I don't intend on having a full on picnic by the side of the road 😆
grilled chicken breast cut into stri
Wouldn't meat be quite hard to digest? My body generally has other things to think about when I'm out on the road bike.
All of this sport-bar stuff seems overkill to me if you aren't a serious racer.
I've never understood that logic: Surely trying to ride 100 miles as fast as you can, without stopping, demands very similar nutritional requirements to racers, doesn't it? if I was on a leisurely poodle with some mates, then fair enough: We'd probably stop at a pub or two. However, I usually ride on my own and don't tend to treat it as a social, site-seeing event.
For very long steady efforts... Cooked piadinas with filling of choice is nice too. Flatbreads with chicken or cheese. Pretty much any proper food that fits in a jersey pocket, is easy to eat on the bike, and won't repeat on you!
Wouldn't meat be quite hard to digest? My body generally has other things to think about when I'm out on the road bike.
If I'm riding hard enough for this to be an problem then I'm unlikely to be out long enough to need to eat much! At an easy pace it's not really an issue.
It pains me to bring it up again, but this is more than a first world problem, its an STW first world problem....
You don't need anything special at all to ride 100 miles on a bike. It's a few hours of relatively gentle exercise, so eat whatever you fancy. Even if you are cracking on, just eat something that you can fit in your pocket.
You won't die.
It's just riding a bike.
Edited to say: my Granny and Grandad used to ride to Blackpool on a Sunday, have lunch and ride home. It's a 120 mile round trip...
I don't intend on having a full on picnic by the side of the road
That is all stuff I can eat while riding, not always on the same ride unless it is really long ;). I tend just to keep motoring on my own and eat on the move.
You don't need anything special at all to ride 100 miles on a bike. It's a few hours of relatively gentle exercise,
It's either more than a few hours or not gentle. But I sort of agree, you just need food. It is more about convenience than anything. THe harder you go the more importance the convenience is because eating is harder. I resort to gels and drinks in races because I can't eat proper food. Rare I go that hard without a number on.
I use CNP gels. I like the taste of them, they don't do anything bad to my guts and I can carry a few easily in a pocket.
Maybe 3 over 100k, with another in reserve.
Short rides I usually just take water and maybe a gel or some Haribo in case I bonk, especially after work rides as I have a pretty physical job. I guess if you sit behind a desk all day you've plenty of spare calories to burn...
Veloforte
Quick report back. Brought a mixed pack. Not really one for energy bars but thought I'd give these a go. A bit different, like a sweet dense spiced cake, nice to nibble on during a long ride. Quite expensive though, and then the postage on top of that smarts. And I found the packaging fiddly to undo on the bike, surprising as it's meant to be riding food, I'm sure there's a knack to unwrapping it properly. Still, handy to have when there's no real food prepared. I'll probably get some more when I get through this batch.
Those wholefood peanut butter flapjacks are ace (Waitrose cereal bar aisle) or the Trek Peanut Power bars. Neither are particularly sweet, but they do the job.
Mini Soreen bars are the best value option out there.
Usually carry a gel or three but rarely use them, have found they were causing a bit of crash - since I stopped those and dropped drink powders to 'enough to mask the taste of the bottle' levels I've been much happier on long runs.
My go to for long rides are Snickers Bars. I've even done a few 24 hours on them.
But taking along a banana gives a bit of variety. Xmas cake is good too.
I've stopped taking Jelly Babies and the like because I'll scoff them anyway. 🙂
BTW if you're finding it hard to swallow the like of a Clif bar, maybe you haven't been drinking enough.
You don't need anything special at all to ride 100 miles on a bike. It's a few hours of relatively gentle exercise,
6 or 7 hours of gentle exercise or 5-6 of going pretty hard for me. Eat a few banna, couple of cereal bars or whatever and a good cafe stop! If doing a sportive I would eat energy bars and maybe the odd gel in the last 30 miles.
That's a lot of food some of you take, it must take an age to prepare.
Bowl of porridge for breakfast. Tea cake at the cafe and a Torq bar somewhere along the way is usually enough, carry a gel as an emergency get me home but rarely needed.
I like the idea of a Spanish omelette though...
Couple of slices of malt loaf, a banana and packet of jelly.
Quick report back. Brought a mixed pack. Not really one for energy bars but thought I'd give these a go. A bit different, like a sweet dense spiced cake, nice to nibble on during a long ride. Quite expensive though, and then the postage on top of that smarts. And I found the packaging fiddly to undo on the bike, surprising as it's meant to be riding food, I'm sure there's a knack to unwrapping it properly. Still, handy to have when there's no real food prepared. I'll probably get some more when I get through this batch.
I got some for Ride London and really liked them. I cut each bar into three and wrapped them in clingfilm, which made them more manageable on the bike. My favourite is, I think, the Classico one (the lighter coloured one that tastes a it like a light christmas pudding).
Tested out Tailwind drink powder yesterday on a 13.5 hr ride around the Cairngorms. It worked amazingly well, but failed in its claimed ability to replace everything, becoming your single fuel source, as I couldn't find a way of carrying enough.
Reserves came to the rescue in the form on a bacon sandwich (amazing), several coffees and a large packet of salted peanuts. Cake and a cheese scone may also have snuck in at some point. Can't be too sure.
pasta and chicken the night before. Then a cashew nut, sultana mix on the ride. Maybe one energy bar, and then one gel just in case.
banana and peanut butter wrap.
Team Sky rice cake
I will occasionally make some of these or similar. Problem is if you're not feeding a team of riders it's a fair bit of faff for something you can only store for a few days. Left overs are usually a better bet. And having a few bars like the veloforte ones in the cupboard for when you've nothing more natural made up is very handy.
Rice pudding watered down a bit and liquidized worked for me on last weeks 24 hr
make a batch, wrap individual portions in tin foil and then freeze them. Bloomin lovely.