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Old 05-04-10, 07:14 AM
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Machka 
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Do experiment with food and drink on your bicycle ... on shorter and medium length rides. If you're aiming to ride a century (100 miles) for example, as you build your way up through the 50 mile ride, the 60 mile ride, the 70 mile ride, and all the shorter rides you're doing during the week, you should be trying out different foods and drinks to find out what works for you. If you don't experiment with foods and drinks on your rides, how are you going to know what you can stomach as the rides get longer? How are you going to find out that you need to nibble foods rather than eating something all at once?

And as for orange juice on a long ride ... it's wonderful!! One of my favourite combinations on really long rides is either orange juice and salted almonds or orange juice and beef jerky.

Most energy drinks, granola bars, energy bars etc., end up being way too sweet after a relatively short time on the bicycle, and you want something more sour or salty. The orange juice becomes a very refreshing choice. Orange juice has a lot of Vitamin C, a decent amount of calcium, and potassium. Combine it with something salty like the salted almonds or beef jerky and you've got your electrolytes.
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