OK, so this video might be a little more based in humor than actuality, but it does illustrate a valid point...The more you ride, the more you should eat. I was asked a question not that long ago dealing with what I ate on a century ride. That really is a simple enough question, until I started thinking about all the variations of food that I have gone through over the years. When I really sat down and started to think it through, I realized that the answer was rather lengthy, with lots of caveats thrown in for good measure. I figured that simple question might just be a great jumping off point for this blog entry.
I have alluded to my eating plans occasionally in different entries here dealing with my century pointers, and training plans for various rides. They all have said slightly different things based on what I was needing for specific rides, or what I was currently doing with my diet. That is part of the confusion when trying to answer a simple question like "what do you eat on a ride?" I would like to break things down into three stages for this entry. The first stage is what to eat before a ride. This is pretty straight forward and there is a lot of documentation to be found. The second part will be some different approaches while on the bike. This part will get a little involved. The last part will be what to eat after a ride. Think of this as the dessert to your day, and it will be just about that simple to explain.
Pre Ride
 |
| Filling the tank |
This dish has served me well every time I've needed to carb up before a big ride. Typically, I'll eat this the day before the big ride, but in the event of a REALLY big ride, I'll double up, and eat it the two preceding days before the event. When I've compared how I've felt on the bike between carbing up and just eating normal, I have always felt like fatigue has hit earlier without the fuel stores in my body. I consider this stage to be of the utmost importance for a long ride! Without it, you will be relying heavily on what you are able to consume during the ride, and you won't be able to keep up with your body's demands playing catch up all day.
 |
| When you are in a depleted state |
I credit the glycogen stores for that performance more than anything else. Like I said, I can tell when I have enough carb stores before a ride, and when I have a deficit. If you are into riding long distances (typically measured at 62+ miles), this stage is going to set the tone for your whole ride. It can also help on shorter rides, but keep in mind that you need to keep your carb intake reasonable to your ride distance. If you overdo it, you won't burn all the carbs for energy, and they will be converted over to fat which is harder to burn. This can result in actually gaining weight while riding during the season.
During the Ride
This is where things get a little wonky for me. I have gone through many different stages of what I eat while riding. I've tried to stick with the rule of thumb that after the first hour, you should be consuming about 300 calories per hour. Now, this is not hard and fast, and depends on how fast your are traveling. The faster you are going, the more calories you are burning per hour. It has been said that an average sized rider, riding at 15 mph will burn approximately 500 calories per hour. As the variables change, so does the caloric requirement. Just for conversation sake, I am 5' 11" tall, 165 lbs, and I ride between 19-21mph for an average speed. With those variables in place, I typically burn between 800-1100 calories per hour (based on Garmin's estimates). Obviously, you can't replace all of those calories every hour. There just isn't enough food out there to do that. Plus, you would get so lethargic riding would become increasingly difficult. What I've found is that you start with the 300 calories per hour and adjust for what works for you. If you are burning 350 calories per hour based on your weight and speed, then you can probably look to replace 100-200 calories per hour. If you are burning at the rate that I do, you will need a good bit more to keep your legs moving happily.
Something to keep in mind is how the body uses your food as fuel. Intensity, and duration have a lot to do with what is burned and when. Here is an article that explains this concept in detail. Essentially, you start out using your glycogen stores. This is why carb loading is so important before the ride. What will fuel you at the beginning is what is already in your body. This will last for 30 minutes, or more depending on how much is stored, and how your body metabolizes these stores. After that, you will start burning fat which is a slower burn than the glycogen. This will only last a certain amount of time before your body will then turn to protein, and ultimately, it will start feeding off of your own muscles for fuel. Think about that for a minute. You ride to get healthier and stronger, but if you don't eat properly while riding, you body will start to consume the muscles you are building. That is rather self defeating wouldn't you say?
The first 30 minutes to an hour of a ride, you are going to operate off of your own stores, but after that time is done, you need to start to fuel your body and replace the carbohydrates which are the simplest form of lasting energy. Since your body will burn different things at different intensities though, you also want to consider adding in some fats which are great fuel sources, as well as some protein. Protein is an interesting thing though. Some riders swear by it, and go with a protein rich diet while riding. This is a fast burning fuel and gives a lot of bang for the buck, but because of that, it is depleted quickly while riding and must be replaced constantly. This is why I shy away from the protein diet while riding. I much prefer the slow burn of carbohydrates and fats to fuel my ride.
When I first started riding, my snack of choice was a crunch granola bar. They are easy to find in the grocery store, cheap, and easy to pack in your jersey. They made for a great snack and I was getting about 160 calories per package. I was able to last on about one of these packs every 10-15 miles or so. As I got faster, and my rides became more intense, I found that granola bars were not enough to keep me going. I experimented with slim jims to add in protein, fat, and salt (you need electrolytes in the heat). These seemed to work well. They tasted wonderful when I was hot and losing salt through sweat. The protein gave me energy, but I found that they made me thirsty, and the energy didn't last long at all.
In the Summer of 2013, I did my first Ultra Endurance ride. This was a double century, in a single day. I had been working very hard trying to fine tune my diet for this ride. This was what I packed for each of the rest stops along the way. Each of these piles represents about 30 miles worth of riding. As you can see, I have my standard granola bars (I was getting so sick of these things!) and slim jims. I had also added some variety in the form of Honey Stinger cookies, Cliff Bars, and a couple of Bonk Breakers. I think I was looking at between 300 and 700 calories per leg to consume. On the last leg, you see a slightly different package labeled Perpetuem. This was something that I had gotten from my bike shop to try out. I wasn't sure how it would work since I had never tried it before, but I had it just in case.
When I posted this picture before starting the ride, I was met with a comment from one of the other riders I wasn't expecting. He said something to the effect of "that sure is a lot of sugar!" I didn't really think much about that then, but I've since given it more thought. Before I did this double century, I pretty much thought that carbs were carbs, and sugar was just fine for a ride snack. I was proven wrong on this ride though. With sugar comes an eventual crash as we all remember from those Halloween nights as kids. Sure, the sugar was giving me all sorts of energy at the beginning, but after around 130 miles, my body was starting to crash from the sugar highs, and no amount of sugar would bring me back. It's pretty sad when you eat something called a "Bonk Breaker" and all it does is make you feel bloated and does nothing for your energy level. In fact, by this point in the ride, I was having a very hard time consuming solid foods at all. In order to finish, I had to experiment with the sample package of Perpetuem which goes against everything I've always said....Never experiment with food on a long ride!
Well, it was experiment or abandon the ride, so I tossed all my hope into a water bottle mixed with the Perpetuem powder and water. Combined with the caffeine from a can of Coke, I was able to complete the ride under my own steam. When I unclipped, I had ridden a total of 212.24 miles. I had eaten about 2/3 of the food that I had brought with me. I had very little energy left in me. I knew that I needed to work out a different eating plan because what I had wasn't working at all for long rides.
I started to do all sorts of research into different theories on eating. One thing that kept coming up was references to Skratch Labs. They not only make food to sell, they have recipes for making your own food at home. What they stress is natural ingredients and less processed foods. This made sense to me, but I really wasn't able to convince myself to order their foods online since I couldn't find them locally. Without seeing the recipes, I didn't feel comfortable purchasing them either (yeah, I'm cheap sometimes). But I did take the natural ingredients to heart, and focused my search in that direction.
I pretty much ditched my granola bars since they just didn't have the umph I was looking for any more. They were replaced by the Cliff Bars which seemed to work pretty well. I also decided to get rid of the slim jims and stocked up on Gatorade for electrolyte replacement. The Honey Stinger cookies were ditched in favor of Fig Newtons which were supposed to be very good sources of fuel. They had lots of carbs in the cookie part, and the figs inside were full energy packed nutrients. They tasted pretty good on a ride as well, but they tended to get crushed easily in a jersey pocket. I found that bananas were pretty good to take on a ride as well. They are easy to store, loaded with potassium which is one of the electrolytes that gets depleted when you sweat. For the rest of 2013, this made up my staple for solid foods on a ride.
By the end of the year, I had started a sabbatical from cycling after a crash. It was nearly a year later before I returned. One of the things that I thought about early on was what would I do for fuel on the bike this time. I wasn't all that happy with my choices from earlier, and knowing that I would be participating in the double century ride again in 2015, I decided I would really look into sustainable energy sources that were mostly natural in ingredients, and designed to burn slowly over a long ride.
 |
| Food for 2015 Double Down to the Beach |
What I came up with after a good bit of research was a pretty good mix of options. I went back to the Hammer Perpetuem that I found to be so beneficial at the first Double Down. This is actually marketed as "endurance fuel" and is designed to be easy to digest with no stomach problems, providing a nice mixture of slow burning fuel. You can mix it with water in a bottle, or as a paste. When mixed in a bottle, you can do it as an hour supply of fuel, or as a multi hour supply based on your weight and time needed. It is very flexible, and I liked that about it. The biggest, and only downfall for this product is once mixed, it has a short shelf life. Ideally, it needs to be consumed in less than 2 hours before it starts to spoil. In cold weather, that can be stretched out to about 4 hours, but not much longer. Beyond that point, it will start to sour quickly and will smell very, very bad! This makes the Perpetuem difficult to use on a self sustained distance ride.
I would typically mix up a 2 hour bottle, which is three scoops of powder in 25 oz of water. This has about 400 calories, consisting of primarily carbohydrates, but adding in fats and proteins as well. The hotter it is, the quicker I have to drink it so it doesn't sour. When I ride a century, I'm gone well over 2 hours, usually about 6 hours total actually. With that kind of time, I just can't live on the Perpetuem alone. This is where my solids come in.
I've found that the Cliff Bars still work well for quick energy if I start to get into trouble with bonking on a ride, so I have kept those in place. I don't rely on them as primary nutrition anymore though. For my main caloric intake, I have adopted a sandwich that works out really well despite it sounding very nasty. I take two waffles and spread Nutella between them. Since the spread doesn't need to be refrigerated, it works well in a jersey pocket. With the waffles toasted, they tend to hold up pretty well also. It is very sweet, but for some reason, it just tastes right to me on a ride. There are plenty of carbs as well as fat in these sandwiches, and they tend to last quite a while in terms of energy. One of my other favorite ride snacks is an idea that I got from Bicycling Magazine. They call these macaroons "Power Puffs" and indeed they are. They are easy to make at home with all natural ingredients like coconut, honey, and eggs. You can make them in a variety of shapes and sizes, but I've found that using a muffin tin works perfectly. Toni has about perfected making these treats for me and has found that if you double the cook time, you will get them nice and firm which will maintain their shape in the back of a jersey.
I've come a long way since eating granola bars every 10-15 miles. With this grouping of food, I was knocking out century rides early in the year with a two hour bottle of Perpetuem, two macaroons at the 30 mile mark, the waffle sandwich at the 60 mile mark, and two more macaroons at around 75-80 miles. This was all that I would need over the course of a 100 mile ride. In preparation for Double Down I had to consider my dietary failures from the first time though. What worked well for 100 miles fell short after 130 miles. I needed options.
Knowing that I stopped being able to eat solids in the last half of the double century, I had to consider that as a possibility once again this year. I knew that the Perpetuem worked well for me, and caused no stomach issues at all. I started to look into sustaining myself completely on Perpetuem bottles for the entire ride. All my research said that it was possible, and that this product was designed for just that use. Since Toni would be sagging me all the way down to the beach, and there would be water stops at every 30 or so miles, I felt that this was a strong possibility. I could change my diet plan if needed because she would be right there at each stop, and I could make fresh Perpetuem at each stop which would be no longer than the 2 hours it would last. For the first time, I packed two complete diet plans for a ride. I had a full liquid diet with the Perpetuem, and then a full solid diet with the waffle sandwiches and macaroons. I could live on either, or a combination of both.
As it turned out, I was able to pretty much do the ride completely on the Perpetuem. I used it on all but the last stop when I just went to plain water. As far as solid foods, I ate two macaroons at the 60 mile mark at Toni's request but I didn't really need them. I also ate a sub sandwich at the lunch stop which hit the spot for sure. The rest of the ride, was all liquid in the form of water, Perpetuem, and GU Brew electrolyte tabs. For the most part, I kept the Perpetuem bottle in the front cage and the electrolyte bottle in the back cage. I would drink primarily from the front bottle so I would get my calories in, and do it gradually so I didn't experience the dreaded bonk from the previous time. As I needed a different taste, or became thirsty, I would swig off of the rear bottle.
I'm happy to say that this worked flawlessly and I had no issues at all...well, other than the heat we were dealing with. With my Garmin registering a high of 113 degrees, food wasn't the issue, it was heat stroke. I didn't bonk, but I did about pass out from the heat. Regardless, I consider this experiment to be a resounding success.
 |
| Food for 3 days of "A Ride to Remember" |
As with Double Down, this was going to be a supported ride with water stops along the way. This meant that I could use my Hammer Perpetuem again like I had done with Double Down. This would allow me to consume my fuel while riding since to eat solids, I have to stop the bike or risk crashing. I planned on doing the liquid diet once again for all three days, but wanted to make sure that I had enough solid food available for variety, or if the Hammer didn't work out for me.
In the picture above, I have the food divided up into the three days, 65 miles, 88 miles, and 100 miles. The first group had one bag of Perpetuem which should last the majority of the ride. In my training, I have not been consuming many calories at all on rides of this distance, so I wasn't all that concerned with caloric intake, but I wanted to keep from going into too much of a calorie deficit with longer rides right around the corner. I kept my emergency Cliff Bar at the ready as well. The Builder's bar is a protein bar which was bought to replace my standard protein shake after the ride. Without access to milk, I wasn't going to be able to make my shake, and I needed that boost of protein for recovery. When I was done with the ride, I had finished the Perpetuem, and ate the protein bar afterwards. I didn't need the Cliff Bar.
The second day, I have noticeably more prepared with two bags of Perpetuem which should last me about 60 miles of the 88. My standard Cliff Bar is back, and I've added a waffle sandwich with a couple of gels. When the second day was done, I had finished the Perpetuem, ate my sandwich, and one of the gels. It wasn't enough food based on how I felt at the end though. The protein bar helped my muscles recover right after the ride.
The last day was going to be the full century, and I pulled out all of the stops since I knew I would have a caloric deficit going into the day. I had three bags of Perpetuem which should be good for 90 miles worth of riding. Four gels, two Cliff Bars, and two sandwiches. When I was loading up, I realized that this was more food than I could carry in my jersey so I ended up keeping the powder, and both sandwiches. I stuck a couple of gels in my pocket as well. Since Toni would be at the 75 mile rest stop, If I needed to add to my supplies I could do that then. As it turned out, I made the 100 mile ride consuming only the Perpetuem, one gel, and a can of Coke at 75 miles. Of course, I know that I was able to do this because of the large glycogen stores from the carb rich dinner the night before. It was nice to think that I had done a full century without eating a bit of solid food for the entire ride. I really do like the freedom of not having to stop to eat. With the Perpetuem, I just reach down and grab my bottle and take a swig.
Something to keep in mind about fueling during the ride is everyone will be different in their needs and tastes. I've been conditioning my body for years to do endurance rides. My metabolism has been "trained" in a way to operate on much less caloric intake than it once needed. The key is to spend time training for the distance rides and paying attention to what your body is doing and what it is craving. Over the course of a season you will find that you can fine tune your nutrition to what tastes good, and keeps your energy level stable. What you want to avoid is the ups and downs of sugar. Each dip of the roller coaster will go further down, and you will need more sugar to bring it back up again. Eventually, your body will crash as mine did on the first Double Down. If you avoid sugar, and go for better carbs, you will find that your energy level is much more linear without the spikes and dips. This will allow you to perform at a consistent level while not feeling overly taxed.
Post Ride (Recovery)
This is the part of the ride that people often forget about, but it can have one of the biggest impacts on the next day of riding. In addition to stretching out the muscles while they are still warm and pliable from your workout, you will also need to consume about 24 grams of protein at a minimum to help rebuild your muscles. All of this needs to be done within an hour of completing your ride while the benefits are still at their greatest.
 |
| Post ride stretch |
I look forward to my protein shake at the end of my rides. It is cold, smooth, and creamy. Everything about it is yummy to me when I'm hot and sweaty. That being said, I don't always get my shake. It is loaded with protein, and calories which is great when I need it, but over the top when I don't. For those situations where my ride doesn't warrant that much, I rely on Greek Yogurt which gives me the perfect minimum protein (in two servings) without a heavy calorie intake. So how do I determine what my effort warrants when it comes to recovery? I read an article not that long ago from Bicycling Magazine which provided a pretty good guide for that question. In short, this is what they said about protein recovery needs:
2 hours or less with at least 20 minutes at maximum effort
2.5 hours with at least 30 minutes very hard
2.5-plus hours with at least 40 minutes hard
4-plus hours with at least 40 minutes moderately hard
Conclusions
So, what does this mean for you? Obviously, what I've written about here is what works for me. Your needs are probably different in many respects. I'm also not saying that my method is even the best for me, its just what I've found that works the way I want it to. Take what you have read here, and try some things out. There are a lot of sources on the Internet for cycling nutrition that will give you other options. The main thing that you should take from this is the awareness of the three phases of nutrition. The pre ride phase will have a huge impact on how well you will ride the following day. What you consume while riding will dictate how far you can go, and how happy you will be at the end of the ride. The post ride recovery, will help you gain the most benefit from your ride, and will determine how quickly you are ready for your next ride. It all works together to keep you a happy cyclist and one who will be able to constantly improve their abilities.
While looking at your nutrition plan, keep in mind whether your ride will be supported or self sustained. This can have the biggest impact on the foods that you choose. As you have read, I'm a big fan of the Hammer Perpetuem, but it is just not practical on a self supported ride since I can't really ensure that I will have fresh, cool water available to make a new bottle every couple of hours. Instead, I use an initial bottle for the first part of the ride, and then transition over to solid foods for the second part. This allows me to keep three bottles of electrolyte water on the bike for pure hydration. Supported rides make things much easier in all respects, and should allow you complete control over how you handle your nutrition.
Enjoy your ride!
No comments:
Post a Comment