Eat every 20 minutes? Is that necessary?

[swee'pea99]

Friends in training for the etape say they eat something every 20 minutes on their four hour runs - energy snacks, flapjacks, whatever - to keep their energy up. Seems a bit excessive to me. Is there anything to it?

 

[PK99]

Yes. the amount of carbohydrates the body can store is limited and far less than needed on a long tough ride. If you wait till you really need to top up 1: performance will have dropped off 2: digesting the amount needed while still exercising is not possible. Steady top ups while riding keeps everything balanced.

 

[raindog]

Every twenty minutes? On a three hour ride I sometimes don't eat anything at all.

 

[black'n'yellow]

your body can store about two hours worth of glycogen, so in principle a 2 or 3 hour ride should not require much in the way of additional grub. If you're planning on riding for longer, then it's worth taking food and eating it before you need it...

 

[oldfatfool]

I would suggest drinking a little 4:1 mix every 20 minutes would be more beneficial than slower releasing foodstuffs

 

[cyberknight]

Depends on the intensity and length of the ride.
On medium pace club runs i tend to have a good breakfast and carry 1 cereal bar , along with a cake stop i am good for 60-70 miles at a steady pace.
if i was riding solo i would be another 2 mph average and if i wanted to keep that pace for more than 30 miles i would be looking at snacking as recommended around evry 30 minutes and looking to keep hydrating regulary.
The body can only absorb around 90 grams of carbs through the 2 main digestive cycles so its no good expecting to be able to ride on the rivet and expect your body to digest enough ,especially as the gut slows down as the blood is busy elsewhere.

 

[lukesdad]

A lot depends and quantity and what your eating. Flapjacks on a four hour ride is a bit of a waste of time really, as you would probably of finnished the ride before you get the benefit of the oats.

 

[Strathlubnaig]

See Rule # 91 for guidance.

 

[martint235]

Every twenty minutes? On a three hour ride I sometimes don't eat anything at all.

This.

It's entirely up to you. Eat what you like, when you like. I can do a four hour ride at an average of 18mph without eating but that's me. If I do 100 miles, I will start to suffer after about 80 unless I eat something.