Trouble eating on a ride.

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Bit of a question about how to "fuel up on the go".

Last saturday i had a decent breakfast at 4am (four rounds cheese on toast and two weetabix) and then left at 5am to avoid traffic on what ended up as a 64 mile ride. (Solo).

As usual i found myself sweating quite a lot after the first few miles (only 5c as well), so i started
my usual trick of a couple of mouthfuls of orange squash every 2 miles.
The trouble is, the constant intake of liquid means any food i eat probably just sits in my stomach, not being digested!

So around the 50 mile mark i'm starting to "loose energy".

I think i may need a way of getting fluid into my system quicker (so its not sloshing around my stomach), so i can then take in useful food as well.

I've had a recent checkup at the doctors, blood sugar levels were spot on so no indication of
diabeties (which can cause excessive thirst, etc).

I usually end up with clothes stained in salt due to sweating ... and there was a line
of salt caked to my forehead where the helmet strap had been saturday!!

Although i drank 2 litres of squash during the ride, i think i drank another 2 litres after i
arrived home over the afternoon ... no loo visit until 9pm!!

Any ideas (apart from a saline drip on every ride).

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Dilute the squash half as much again as usual and add a quarter of a teaspoon of salt per 500ml: budget isotonic drink.

 

[Rob500]

I've found that drinking squash just makes me more thirsty.

A couple of mouthfuls every two miles sounds a bit much.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

I've found that drinking squash just makes me more thirsty.

A couple of mouthfuls every two miles sounds a bit much.

Dilute it more than is recommended on the bottle.

 

[totallyfixed]

If anything it sounds as if you are eating and drinking too much. I don't know your level of fitness but as an example I'm quite tall and lean so can easily put away more than average. On a ride of 55 - 70 miles I will eat a bowl of porridge with a big spoonful of honey over 1 hour before riding. During the ride I only drink 1 bottle water in winter and providing I am not really pushing that will suffice. Often there will be a tea stop where a scone and cup of tea is a nice little boost. Important to refuel as soon as you get back though. Milk is a brilliant drink to have after a long ride.
BTW I would never have squash in my water bottle, as others have said just makes you thirstier and not as easily absorbed by your body as water.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

If anything it sounds as if you are eating and drinking too much. I don't know your level of fitness but as an example I'm quite tall and lean so can easily put away more than average. On a ride of 55 - 70 miles I will eat a bowl of porridge with a big spoonful of honey over 1 hour before riding. During the ride I only drink 1 bottle water in winter and providing I am not really pushing that will suffice. Often there will be a tea stop where a scone and cup of tea is a nice little boost. Important to refuel as soon as you get back though. Milk is a brilliant drink to have after a long ride.
BTW I would never have squash in my water bottle, as others have said just makes you thirstier and not as easily absorbed by your body as water.

Bang on TF, except for the last sentence.

Squash (or fruit juice) is a good source of carbohydrate and is readily absorbed, provided it is dilute.

 

[totallyfixed]

Fruit juices are way higher in carb's than squashes which are often sugar free these days. The sugar free squashes will only supply trace amounts of carb's, typical values being @10g for 500ml or water bottle size and don't forget that is in its undiluted state. A good pure fruit juice will have near 10 times these values but hard to digest whilst exercising. Many a clubman will make their own energy drink up from diluted fruit juice and a bit of salt in one bottle and water in the other. Really it's just a rough and ready solution [excuse pun] to paying for the expensive isotonic drinks.
Sorry to bang on a bit but I used to teach this stuff.
This BUPA site is quite a good one without going too deep : http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/n/nutrition-for-exercise

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Please do "bang on", always pleased to learn from someone who knows their stuff.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Thanks for the replies so far, especially those from totallyfixed.

Time to add some more details: My height is 5'6", weight 196 pounds at 41 years old.
I spend most of the day on my feet at work (maintenance manager of a large factory) and
then every other evening will go out and do a 30 miler loop. (Typical average speed around 15.5mph). I don't know if thats classed as fit, or novice?
Anyway, the 30 milers are never a problem as far as energy is concerned.

Back to the long ride on saturday ... my fluid intake was from one of these low calorie squashes.
My total food intake over the 64 miles was 1 sausage roll, 1 packet of crisps ... that's all i could manage due to feeling "full" from the squash.

I lost 4 pounds during the ride saturday due to slight dehydration i suspect.

I'm going to try a home made isotonic in one bottle and water in the other as per totallyfixed's
suggestion ... hoping to go out on a 70 miler saturday. Will let you guys know how i get on.

 

[smutchin]

I usually just have water in my bidons, but sometimes I have 50:50 orange juice and water, which I find works well for me. I've never tried adding salt.

A couple of mouthfuls every two miles does sound a lot. I usually just have a swig when I remember, or when I feel like it, which may be as infrequently as once an hour, depending on the intensity of my riding and how hot a day it is. But I probably don't drink enough, so don't necessarily take that as advice.

d.

 

[endoman]

sounds like you need more carbs during your ride. Have you tried energy bars / gels?

 

[totallyfixed]

The food you have described is high in fat and not easily absorbed. It is very difficult to assess how someone else rides or how fit they are without actually observing. Energy drinks, gels, power bars are very subjective and difficult to recommend because we are all different.
It is often the case that relatively new riders are using more energy than they should simply because they have the wrong size bike / wrong set up etc.
I take others averages on here with a liberal dose of salt, so don't get hung up on averages too much. I often come back from a solitary ride thinking how good that felt only to see a low average on my computer, doesn't bother me in the slightest.
Come over and do one of my forum rides.

 

[pshore]

Caveat: I am a cyclist, not a doctor ...

I've been experimenting with a home made drink for the last 18 months. For hard 2hr+ rides I have settled on 1/8th tsp of salt plus 1/8th tsp lo-salt (for potassium). I used to have double quantities with one tablespoon of sugar for taste but was worried about the amount of salt I would be consuming

This is based on rehydration fluid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_rehydration_therapy

The effects I noticed were:

• I would pee less on a ride. I assume that my body is absorbing more fluid.
• Noticeable salt deposits on face and clothes with 1/4tsp salt plus 1/4tsp lo-salt. Again, absorbing the fluid and sweating it out rather than peeing it out.
• Less fatigue at the 2hr mark.

My conclusion is that the salt helps more fluid get absorbed into the body and you can get away with drinking less quantity. And for health reasons, it probably isn't good to habitually do this (but I don't actually have any facts to back that up!).

 

[VamP]

I would pee less on a ride. I assume that my body is absorbing more fluid.

Don't want to pee (sorry) on your parade here, but basic human biology lesson is needed. In order to pee liquids out, they need to be absorbed into the bloodstream first.

 

[smutchin]

Don't want to pee (sorry) on your parade here, but basic human biology lesson is needed. In order to pee liquids out, they need to be absorbed into the bloodstream first.

So if you have five pints of lager down the pub and don't go to the toilet, the amount of liquid flowing round your veins and arteries increases by five pints? Gosh.

Less facetious response: the best way to work out how much fluid you need to consume is to weigh yourself immediately before and after your ride. The difference is how much fluid you've lost (factoring in how much you've eaten and drunk during the ride, of course).

d.