At what point do I need to eat to increase my cycling distance?

Question: Most of my riding consists of short rides of between 15 and 25 miles. I never eat anything while riding. I notice that sometimes I’m particularly tired after the longer rides. I am 66 years old, and I’d like to be able to increase my riding distance. I’m wondering at what point it becomes necessary to eat during a ride to maintain energy output and improve endurance. Thank you for any advice you can provide. —Steve

RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: First, what I will say assumes you have eaten a light meal that includes some carbohydrates an hour or so before beginning your ride.

Second, although you have stated your current ride length in miles, for food consumption calculations, you are better served to use time ridden as the guide. To take your 15-mile ride as an example, on a flat route with no wind, you might complete this distance in a little over an hour. But on a hilly route or in high wind conditions, you will not go nearly as far in that same time. For rides lasting no more than 90 minutes, you can usually skip snacking altogether (though you should drink water as needed), but rides fitting the second scenario are likely to leave you needing nutrition while the first scenario ride does not, though both cover the same number of miles.

You mentioned that you are sometimes particularly tired after your longer rides, which makes sense given the 90-minute limit to cycling without eating. You said your longer rides are about 25 miles. It’s possible for a strong rider to cover that distance under favorable conditions in 90 minutes if she or he averages nearly 17 mph, but many nonprofessional cyclists don’t or can’t maintain that average, especially as we age.

So on rides lasting more than 90 minutes, you should begin consuming some food at about that point (some riders even set a reminder alarm on their phone or smartwatch). Choose foods that are heavy in carbohydrates but are easily digestible like sports drinks, gels, fig bars, chews or bananas.

If you are trying to increase your speed and endurance on the bike, you may want to look into foods and amounts recommended by performance coaches, such as found here. But for simply increasing distance while riding recreationally, you don’t need to be as precise, but do stick with foods that have carbohydrates as their primary nutrition. About that, see here.

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Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.