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After a little riding recently I have been wondering what the best food for mid ride energy replenishment really is.
Personally am a fan of flap jack but should I really be looking for something with more carbs, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins, sugars or mystic magical powers to improve what little energy I have?
A hearty pasta dish the night before and a good few dollops of porridge with lashing of golden syrup for breakie should do the trick, unless you're doing stoopid mileage.
Cheers,
Jamie
sugar gives a quick boost but you can never beat high carb stuff for long term energy gains. For carrying around with you then flapjack and fruitloaf are hard to beat. Those dried fruit packets are good too. Nana's too.
The key is to carb up beforehand. Load up the night before or at least in the morning.
I'm a fan of pasta the night before or for breakfast. Seems to work well. Also take plenty of water and a gel or too if it is a really long/hot ride.
Personally am a fan of flap jack but should I really be looking for something with more carbs, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins, sugars or mystic magical powers to improve what little energy I have?
Probably not.
EAt normally when not riding and take a few sandwiched/cereal bars/bananas when riding.
I disagree with eating lots the day before. It takes about 24h for food to pass through you. If you have a massive meal the night before and for breakfast then you are carrying it when you ride.
Isn't the trick to train your body to use it's own fat reserves for energy rather than the sugar stored in your blood? If that is the case, carbs may not the way to go.
I eat normally night before. Normal breakfast - i like muesli and tea on ride days.
If i am out all day take a proper sarnie or roll and a couple of sport food items as well as malt or banana loaf. If you have not tried the latter you are really missing out. Nom nom.
I take a proper 30min break for the sarnie otherwise i cant digest it preferably somewhere scenic and by that i dont mean in a renault.
This is non scientific advice.
Targeted snacking.
You load your muscles up with carbs by eating the day before. That will give you the first few hours. You eat in the morning to get new carbs into your system and then snack as you go round to keep topping up. Sugar items are used in case the carbs run out.
I like to take a nice ham and pickle sandwich, a couple of nanas, maybe a KitKat (four fingers natch) a flask of tea and a pork pie..
"It takes about 24h for food to pass through you."
About 8 hours IME. Peanuts don't lie!
On longer road rides I find little and often is the key. If I wait until I'm hungry it's too late and I can't really recover.
I set my GPS to squawk at me every 10 miles and remind me to eat or drink.
"It takes about 24h for food to pass through you."
About 8 hours IME. Peanuts don't lie!
I don't know where my number came from but next time I eat some sweetcorn I'll start a stopwatch.
Malt loaf does the trick for me. I got through so much of it when I went riding in Wales for a week! At the minute I'm on a low carb diet and just snack on nuts or cheese.
Spam and piccalilli on white thick sliced warbys and a couple of Park Drive before setting off.
I do my eating the day before. A mars bar half way cheers me up though.
Tuna pasta the night before and porridge in the morning
Then anything over 30 miles then a pack of jelly babies taken a few at a time over the ride with a 10 min stop for a flap jack bar and banana if doing a 50-60 miler.
And a nice cup of tea when I get home 🙂
About 8 hours IME. Peanuts don't lie!
The healthy average for transit is around 8 1/2 hrs*
I'm as disgusted by folk that don't poo every day as they are by my 2-3 times a day.
*cant remember where I got that from. But FACT anyway.