Question: I don’t have a problem with energy on my 90-minute weekday rides. But I bonk badly when going 75-100 miles on weekends. What should I eat for longer distances? — Pete T.
RBR Replies: It’s amazing how many calories we burn on long rides. A century can incinerate more than 4,000. Riders tend to underestimate how much food this represents.
With the help of a calorie chart, put 4,000 calories worth of bagels, sandwiches, fruit and cookies on your kitchen table. Hint: It’s equivalent to about 17 energy bars.
They don’t make jersey pockets big enough for so much grub. And, of course, you don’t need to replace every calorie burned. The trick is to start long rides with a full tank and then begin steady in-flight refueling.
Eat 2-3 hours before the start. If you scarf down a quick slice of toast and cup of coffee, you’ll soon be toast, too. Get up early if necessary.
Mix protein and fat with carbs. Most nutritionists suggest a pre-ride meal that includes all three food components, not just carbohydrate. I like a bowl of cereal with milk, a banana, juice and a bagel with cream cheese.
Carbohydrate is essential to endurance performance, but fat and protein “stick to the ribs” better and make the meal last longer. Find what agrees with you and doesn’t let your stomach feel hollow an hour into the ride. You’ll find what works well for you by trying different combinations of foods.
Of course, an ample breakfast means it’s uncomfortable to start fast, but that’s a good thing when you’re touring or riding for fun. It holds you to a reasonable early pace, the key to lasting the distance. You can always ride harder in the second half.
Keep refueling. Even after a fairly hefty pre-ride meal, you need to begin eating and drinking no later than an hour into the ride. At a burn rate of approximately 40 calories per mile, it’s amazing how quickly cereal or an omelet gets converted to energy.
The rule of thumb for long rides is to consume 300-350 calories per hour. That’s not as much as you burn, but it’s about all you can digest. It’s the equivalent of a typical energy bar and bottle or two of sports drink. These calories, plus the muscle fuel already stored in your body, should give you the energy you need to stay ahead of the bonk all the way to the finish.
Readers, what is your pre-ride eating strategy before a long ride?
One-size-fits-most is true here so starting with the above advice is most prudent. However if after years of riding long distances, especially at mostly an aerobic pace, you find all this food is just too much overhead then I have found that leaning toward less-to-no food in general and much fewer carbs specifically will allow you to ride up to 100 miles without even thinking about refueling. Going carb-light does a wonderful job of pulling down your blood glucose levels and giving your pancreas (and vascular system) a well deserved break. Odds are after a few years of riding this way you will not be truly hungry for hours after a long ride. On the flip-side always carry plenty of water, electrolytes, and some gels in case your push too hard and have exceeded your time-adapted capabilities.
Right on, William. I like getting myself into a fat-adapted mode where I don’t need the gels and other sweet stuff to keep me going on a long ride.
The American College of Sports Medicine has some solid evidence-based guidelines for fluid/electrolytes/ and nutrition during exercise, including prolonged exercise (>3 hrs). Fats (& to lesser extent proteins) are often not well tolerated (GI upset) during prolonged, fairly intense exercise, although a bit of protein can help limit muscle damage during ultralong exercise (continuous >4-6hr). Carbs at 30-60g/hr have been shown to help (120-240 cal/hr), as many folks cannot tolerate more without slowing down. Also bear in mind that during prolonged intense-to-intense exercise (>65-70% max HR), gut blood flow slows so absorption of fluids and calories slows. So taking a break during that century ride to eat/drink can help a lot. Lots of individul variation so always best to explore what works for YOU before your big events.
I have a normal breakfast then an extra pb&J sandwich along with a one-cup of milk latte.
On-bike fuel is homemade “cooks illustrated toasted oat and almond energy bar” recipe and Road Bike Rider’s homemade orange electrolyte drink “RBR-HOED” (and lots of it – I drink 750 ml (25 oz) just before starting the ride –any ride– and for me this is not a problem to drink this volume then start the ride, ymmv).
I also carry mixtures of raisins/peanuts or almonds/cranberries.
I eat and drink these all ride long. Sometimes a chocolate milk somewhere along the ride. Sometimes some fruit.
I sometimes carry 1 or 2 litres of extra homemade electrolyte drink (or gatorade powder if I know I’ll have access to store-bought or potable water) on hot days or long rides (park rides or pure no-civilization backroad rides).
This keeps me fuelled up for 6-12 hour rides. Generally I do not stop for off-bike meals during the ride. The key is to keep eating more-or-less constantly. On-bike eating/drinking, micro-pause 2 minute stand-up mini-rest stops, or sit-down short breaks at scenic locations are always a good time to eat a bit of food but not too much!
On a “short” long ride (60-70 miles) I start about an hour after a good breakfast and then take in about 700 calories at a mid-ride break. That means a Coke (250 calories) two oatmeal raisin cookies (another 250 calories) and a handful of salted mixed nuts. For me, a ride like this will burn around 2,200 calories, and over roughly 4 hours, you’ll get 800 from metabolizing fat, 700 from the food at the break, and the rest from stored glycogen and what is left in your stomach from breakfast. Virtually no chance of a bonk.
With a long ride (110-115 miles) I follow the same routine, but I add fig bars to eat while riding. Experience teaches me that a dozen fig bars (660 calories) combined with the additional 600 calories from fat burning (another three hours riding) does the trick.
I notice that many century riders are overweight. I think they tend to eat more than they burn. I found that eating an energy bar (which fits in jersey pockets) at most of the rest stops with a small “meal” mid-ride works well. A cookie or two or whatever looks tasty will keep your “spirits” up.
Going back to my brevet days, including 2 PBP’s, I was hooked on Ensure. This was a good source of calories and easy to digest. I ate lots of solid foods but the Ensure filled in the calorie gap. I would carry baggies of powered Ensure, which you can still get online, so I only needed to add water. You’ll need to dedicate a water bottle for Ensure because it’s not good for much else without an after taste. My normal complement was 1 bottle Ensure, 1 bottle Powerade, Camelback with water.