food for cycling

[craig kennedy]

lol, I wish, no not at all. I know that I can cycle any distance I want so long as there is no time constraints, but I presently lack the confidence to just go for a long cycle run. I was pleased when I cycled from Maidstone to Aylesford,up through Ditton then up the Kingshill dual carriageway, and through wateringbury back through maidstone to home, 18 miles. longest run yet for me. Not sure on how long it took as I forgot to start the map app thing.

I loved every bit of it, and want to get on a longer run, but just need to pluck up the courage to go for it.

 

[vickster]

Reversible M520 SPD pedals cost £15, is that a fortune? SPD-SL type are all single sided

 

[adscrim]

Fig rolls and rice crispie squares do the trick for me.

 

[uclown2002]

I did 80 miles today on 750 ml squash, and without breakfast. I'm sure folk overthink this food intake; most could manage without for 2 hr ride.

 

[craig kennedy]

80 miles in 2 hours....nope, I cant do that, 40 miles in 2 hours.....hmm, I would struggle with that as well

 

[vickster]

Yeah for 18 miles, just eat before you go out (porridge for breakfast, or a sarnie for lunch, whatever), take a bottle of water or squash Take a few quid just in case you need to get something at a corner shop, but unlikely

I think doing 80 miles on one bottle and no food at all is probably ill advised for a newbie, indeed for most folks... that won't have been a 2 hour ride, more like 4 or 5 even for a well trained cyclist

 

[theloafer]

BRANFLAKE LOAF

More delicious than shop bought malt loaf and so easy to fling together
a child can do it. This must be one of the only cake mixtures that looks and tastes
pretty revolting in the bowl, but honestly, the end result is well worth the complete lack of effort...

Best sliced thinly and eaten with butter or jam.

1 mug of Kellogg's All-Bran
1 mug of either currants, mixed dried fruit or sultanas
1 mug of milk
1 mug of self-raising flour
A generous half-mug of caster or soft brown sugar


Method

1. Put everything except the flour in a large bowl and leave the mixture to stand for about an hour.

2. Grease and long-strip-line a standard size loaf tin and pre-heat the oven to approximately Gas Mark 3 (160 C)

3. Sift the flour into the soggy mixture, stir it in well and pour the whole lot into the loaf tin, spreading it evenly up to the sides.

4. Bake in a cool oven for about an hour and a half, until a skewer or sharp knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

 

[Citius]

Pretty much any food and any drink will do - preferably stuff youlike the taste of. The only requirement is that you need to be able to carry the food with you - and the drink needs to be able to fit into your bottle.

 

[Mandragora]

Home made flapjack, to which you add seeds (pumkin; pine nuts etc etc - the type of stuff you get in trail mix), raisins and any dried fruit lurking in the cupboard. Aldi's a good place to stock up on packs of cheap, high energy foods such as nuts, seeds etc.

Delia's recipe is fine don't bother with the almond essence if you're putting actual nuts in it though:

http://www.deliaonline.com/home/Print-Recipe.html?PID=2238&ampCID=487

I find that as long as I've had a decent breakfast and perhaps stick an apple in my pocket or a few (Aldi, cos they're deleicious!) jellybabies in a plastic bag, I'm good to go for anything up to two or three hours. I make the flapjack, but don't eat it myself; that's for son no.2 who's currently in a long-distance running phase.

 

[Cuchilo]

The tabs are good even though you don't really notice it . The cost per ride isn't really a bother but for 12 miles I wouldn't use one . A few jelly babys and a bottle of water will do for up to 50 miles .
Nature valley oat bars are cool as they come in a packet and fit nice in my pocket .
A banana is sugar fuel from the gods and beats everything .

 

[nickyboy]

lol, I wish, no not at all. I know that I can cycle any distance I want so long as there is no time constraints, but I presently lack the confidence to just go for a long cycle run. I was pleased when I cycled from Maidstone to Aylesford,up through Ditton then up the Kingshill dual carriageway, and through wateringbury back through maidstone to home, 18 miles. longest run yet for me. Not sure on how long it took as I forgot to start the map app thing.

I loved every bit of it, and want to get on a longer run, but just need to pluck up the courage to go for it.

Don't overthink this. Even if you ride as fast as you can possibly go, a couple of hours of a cycling requires no food during the ride. Just have a sensible meal an hour or so before you set off, be that porridge for breakfast or a reasonable lunch. Drink whatever you fancy. I just have dilute orange squash. But make sure you aren't thirsty when you are setting off.

For longer rides I still just drink orange squash but I'll take some flapjack with me. Making your own is cheapest I think but the "value" stuff from the supermarket is cheap

 

[jonny jeez]

Water with juice, or a slice of lemon. Frozen in the summer on its side and then topped up before a ride (keeps everything cool).

Never eat before a ride...which is wrong but each to their own.

Bananas, porridge, flapjacks, jelly babies all good stuff.

I tend to disregard the lot and have coffee and cake...but again, each to their own.. I have never used tablets or gels and have done some pretty serious distances (100 miles a day for 10 days) .

Actually, thats a lie, I was once training for a big ride and went on a zero sugar, zero carbs diet. Did a 109 mile training ride to Brighton and back and popped about 30miles from home. I was done in from lack of sugar I suspect. I did one of those gel things that made me feel sick and didn't seem to help. I accept I may have felt sick if I had had a Mars bar.

So, to retract, I have done one gel in my life.

On a serious ride, just eat healthily, sugars, carbs, nothing too heavy, (in training I don't do pies...listen to me "in training...ha!) plenty of fluids. Jelly babies work wonders as do bananas but both take about 20-30minutes to get into your stream.

On a casual ride, a cup of tea or coffee and some cake.

 

[jonny jeez]

I think doing 80 miles on one bottle and no food at all is probably ill advised for a newbie, indeed for most folks... that won't have been a 2 hour ride, more like 4 or 5 even for a well trained cyclist

Well said.

I did 90 on Saturday and it took the whole group 10 hours!, plenty of stops and a good lunch ( we were in France after all)

 

[jonny jeez]

I loved every bit of it, and want to get on a longer run, but just need to pluck up the courage to go for it.

You'll get ther. Maybe look at focussing on a target, there is a great oyster route from Maidstone to whitstable that I did last summer ( I hate oysters but you kinda have to when you get there) I think it was about 30 miles, maybe less. Via boughton Monchelsea and faversham from memory.

I'll check my strava.

 

[jefmcg]

To repeat what has been said above, what you need to eat is food. Real food that you find palatable and appealing. On an 18 mile ride, your body probably doesn't "need' food, but eating it will tell your body to release glycogen, which will make you feel better. A short stop, with a drink and a bite to eat can make all the difference in the world. And if you have a food you love (ie pork pies**) this is a good opportunity to eat it. In a while, you'll happy to go on an 18 mile ride on nothing but a cup of coffee.

The tabs are nonsense for most riders. They are carb free, so a rider doing serious training with a coach might need that as the amount and timing of carb intake has been calculated. But for the rest of us sipping and nibbling a flapjack, why not have some carbs in the drink as well? I don't like the taste of the artificial sweeteners, they seem to upset my stomach and they don't make the water more palatable to me - so why put all those random chemicals in your body? There's nothing magical about fruit juice either: it's just sugar water with a few vitamins. So I just scan the supermarket for a squash/cordial that does not boast "no added sugar", then check the ingredients to be sure. I add just enough to my water to make it tasty. The salt is not a bad idea, but you can skip that if you are eating pork pies (or just about any other processed food). If I stop at a Londis to refill my bottle, I'll get orange lucozade - because I like the taste - and water, and mix it about 40/60.

As for food and long distances, maybe the technical foods are useful to a non-serious cyclist doing up to 100 miles or so. But the really serious long distance cyclists, go for normal food. Audaxers - people who ride distance's starting at 125 miles - do things like eating cold beans from a can outside a co-op. Steve Abraham, who is trying to set the world record for the most cycling in a year, eats cheese and sausages on the road. And stops for fry ups.


**I did a 600km (380 mile) organised ride, that passed through Melton Mowbray early, when all the shops were shut