Recumbent - Eating while riding

I'm trying to do a century this weekend. Being a complete newbie, I'm just dealing with the food aspect now. I have realized that one of the keys to making good time is to stay moving.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/BacchettaSm.jpg

I have a Camelbak which I have hung on the back of my seat and I run the tube through my helmet strap. Behind the Camelbak goes the backpack.

I can carry food in a backpack, but I don't want to stop to get it out.

It looks like there is a very tempting area to use behind the seat but in front of the support rods. That will be just in front of my Camelbak and backpack. I'm thinking about some kind of net to hang there or container.

What have other people done so that they can eat on the go?

Thanks.

I have somewhat successfully tried two things on my old Bike E.
In both I had just a large camelback bladder in the seat back like you mention.
In front of the bladder I had a bag hanging down which I could reach into by just putting my hand back behind the seat and grabbing something. Then I could dispose of the waste be reaching behind with my left hand and putting it in another bag. You could also try something under the seat too. Depends on what you can attach to down there.
The other thing I tried was a stem bag. It is really meant for a road bike but I was able to get it attached to the stem and the errr 2x4 main "tube" of the bikeE. Most bicycle shops have something like that.

I've ridden centuries with one stop to refill a 70 oz. CamelBak bladder, usually cut 50/50 with water and GatorAde or other energy drink. I also carry cut up, bite size pieces of Power Bars, Marathon Bars or whatever in a fanny pack and just eat a piece every few minutes.

I could carry two 70 oz bladders (I've got the Fastback double century bag) and wouldn't have to stop at all in a 100 miles except for my usual pee stop. There always seems to be at least one. :)

I take it that you have already ruled out hanging doughnuts off of your handlebars? :)

Actually, I think you might be a lot better off getting off your bike every hour or so. It'll help avoid cramping up, and give your legs and feet a breather, if only just for a few minutes.

Also, you're definitely going to want to replace some of those electrolytes, and some of the best supplements are in capsule form.

Speaking of capsules, you might bring along some ibuprofin, and about half way in, take a couple of caps. It will do wonders for aching quads.

Do you have something like CarboLoad to replace some of the calories lost while you're riding? If you get in around 300 calories an hour, you should be fine.

One thing I find really helps too is to bring along 1 banana, and eat it at the 50 mile mark. The potassium in it really helps.

Have a great 1st century!

I've done a century non-stop, using 80 ounces of Perpetuem in my Carbon Fastback and a 28-oz bottle of plain water. If I were to do it again, I'd probably find something better tasting than Perpetuem, though.

If you're not looking to break any speed records, just keep the stops short: take care of 'business,' quickly refill the bottles, and grab a few cookies or power bar and take off again. You can also put a bento box on the boom just ahead of the head tube.

I'm not a fan of liquid fuels. So I use regular food or at least power bars for riding. You can wear a fanny pack backwards to get at your food on the go.

You can also use one of these FastBack Systems frame bags (http://www.fastbacksystem.com/page27/page27.html) - I had one on my Volae and it worked well:

http://www.fastbacksystem.com/page27/assets/flash-profile-big.jpg

I find eating a little bit of food frequently keeps me happy on longer rides.

A lot of good advice here.

Well, from what I've read, the event is not time to try out new stuff like Perpetuem, so food wise I'm going with what I've trained with. Definitely going with a banana or two. I have the Camelbak for water, and will take an extra liter of water, and plan to carry apple juice for some liquid sugar. Hot dogs have gone down well on training rides so I may gobble one if it's available enroute, it's got protein, carbo and salt and I know that it goes down smoothly.

I may also take a few soft oatmeal-raisin cookies and pick up a pb&j early on. And I'll carry a couple of aspirin.

I know I'll have to take breaks, a few. The god Recum-But will see that I do. I'm not trying to break speed records, but my training times have been slow enough that I'll have to keep going to make it past the cut off points in time, so I want to push hard till at least the 75 mile mark.

Just looking at the bike. One thing I'm noticing is the platform pedals. I've noticed from riding my Bacchetta's with tennis shoes is that my legs get tired quick from having to hold them up all the time.
You might want to invest in a set of clipless shoes/pedals, you're legs will get less fatigued that way.

As for the camelbak, I just went back to bottles, 1 on each side of the seat. I tried everything with the camelbak, finally used a magnetic mount that came on my Nalgene bladder to hook the tube to my brainbox. It works, but you tend to carry more weight than you need in fluids. One thing for sure, you don't want the tube strapped to you if you have to bail, running it through your helmet strap is probably not wise as the tube could pull your helmet off while your crashing. I had a flat and crashed in a corner ended up with the bike dangling by the tube while I was standing. You have bottle mounts underneath the mesh, just need to burn through the mesh with a soldering iron for the screw holes, quick poke is all it takes. The iron will melt the mesh and keep it from tearing.

I've ridden two centuries and a conscious part of my stradegy was to stop every 20 miles, take off my shoes, stretch a little, eat a yummy cliff bar if necessary, and sip some gatoraide for about 5 minutes.

I accepted the weight of carrying some gatoraide but used a standard 100oz water bladder. I just stopped and bought water to refill when necessary.

Both rides were in the summer in central Florida and I ended up refilling the bladder 5 or 6 times.

A lot of good advice here.

Well, from what I've read, the event is not time to try out new stuff like Perpetuem, so food wise I'm going with what I've trained with.

That's a good policy. It's not that you need to get used to a particular fuel, but you need to find if it works or has unintended side effects. For instance, when I tried Harvest bars I found they gave me horrible gas. Better to find out on a short ride than on a century that a new energy mix is a close functional approximation of Ex-Lax.

~ WHAT ~

No Beef Jerky???

It's my favorite on the go food... get a wad between the cheek and gum, chew it up when needed!

Just a thought...

Best of Luck!

get a wad between the cheek and gum

Here in Arkansas, doing that usually requires a spitoon. ;)

I appreciate markw's suggestion of getting some clipless pedals. In the long term its probably the right thing to do. But with only a day or so, I'm not sure I could get used to them fast enough.

I finally figured out what to do for fetching food easily. I have a shopping bag that I got at a trade show and found that I could attach it well to the seat with a bungee and I cut down the sides so I can get my gloved hands into easily and pull objects out of.

I also tried some Accelerade that a friend gave me. It went down well and I felt stronger climbing up the big hill on my training run this morning. So I'll probably bring that along too.

NoNaYet, doing centuries in the Florida sun. My hats off to you. I grew up in the Tampa Bay area and I know how hot it can be out there riding.

I'm trying to do a century this weekend. Being a complete newbie, I'm just dealing with the food aspect now. I have realized that one of the keys to making good time is to stay moving.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/BacchettaSm.jpg

I have a Camelbak which I have hung on the back of my seat and I run the tube through my helmet strap. Behind the Camelbak goes the backpack.

I can carry food in a backpack, but I don't want to stop to get it out.

It looks like there is a very tempting area to use behind the seat but in front of the support rods. That will be just in front of my Camelbak and backpack. I'm thinking about some kind of net to hang there or container.

What have other people done so that they can eat on the go?

Thanks.

Why not use a regular cycling jersey with 3 rear pockets. The two outer most pockets can be used to carry items and will not interfere with your seat/back. Works well for me.

Why not use a regular cycling jersey with 3 rear pockets. The two outer most pockets can be used to carry items and will not interfere with your seat/back. Works well for me.

I've found a good shopping bag that I cut the sides down and it fills the area well and is very convenient. But your idea sounds good too.

I take it that you have already ruled out hanging doughnuts off of your handlebars? :)

that is the coolest question ever, im not sure why, but it is!

Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil I take it that you have already ruled out hanging doughnuts off of your handlebars?

that is the coolest question ever, im not sure why, but it is!

naw the bugs stick to the donuts ,, you could go liquid food and use stuff like ( ensure ) while riding

How about an edible fairing? A huge, curved cornchip that you could break off as needed.

How about an edible fairing? A huge, curved cornchip that you could break off as needed.

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

How about an edible fairing? A huge, curved cornchip that you could break off as needed.

Nope, you'd need the fairing the most at the end of the ride, and of course that's when it wouldn't be there for you!

I have a Giro 26 setup with a fastback bag, brain box, and a top peak stem bag. I start with two bottles 50/50 mix water and gatorade on the EM seat and a bladder in the brain box if it's going to be hot. I put three protein bars in the stem bag. I try to go thru the first stop and stop at the second to walk for a few minutes. Try to keep the stops short, take more stops if needed in the second half of the ride.
Find a comfortable pace and enjoy the ride.
Joe

On my bike I have to keep one hand on the bars at all times. That Fastback bag looks like just the thing for snacking.
You said you run the Camelbak tube through your helmet strap? If you go down and separate from your bike, won't that jerk your head to the side?

I have a Bento Box on my Corsa. It's the same thing as the Fastback bag, just smaller and cheaper.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/415FA1A2JDL._AA280_.jpg

Riding while using a knife and fork to eat is not recommended.

Riding while using a knife and fork to eat is not recommended.

I prefer to just use a toothpick.






http://www.swordandstone.com/weapons/knifeimages/thumbs/arkansastoothpick015.jpg

An Arkansas Toothpick. ;)

On my bike I have to keep one hand on the bars at all times. That Fastback bag looks like just the thing for snacking.
You said you run the Camelbak tube through your helmet strap? If you go down and separate from your bike, won't that jerk your head to the side?

It might, so I'm looking for other answers but it's a useable workaround.

I prefer to just use a toothpick.






http://www.swordandstone.com/weapons/knifeimages/thumbs/arkansastoothpick015.jpg

An Arkansas Toothpick. ;)

wouldn't that be a little dangerous on rough roads?

It might, so I'm looking for other answers but it's a useable workaround.

Camelbak sells little tubing clips that snap around the tube with a clip that attaches to your clothing. I have one zip-ties to my handlebars to hold route sheets.

http://www.rei.com/product/610509?vcat=REI_SEARCH

That's a good idea. I can steal a clip from an old convention badge.

http://media.rei.com/media/25589.jpg

I have a Camelbak which I have hung on the back of my seat and I run the tube through my helmet strap.

I recommend against doing anything to tie your head/neck to your bike. In case of an accident where you and your bike are separated, this "tie in" could cause further injury by twisting your neck.

(Take it from someone who was in a pretty serious 'bent accident. Keep the odds on your side!)

Yes, I understand the concern. I'm looking for a better answer.

But it worked well on the Arky 100. :) I was also happy with how the bag I rigged behind the seat worked. I stuffed it with oatmeal raisin cookies, pb&j sandwiches, a banana and a bottle of Accelerade. They were easily reached and it kept me going.

I discovered that I could park a cookie in my lap and take a bite every so often to keep the power flow smooth. The biggest problem is that I would forget the cookie was there and come to a stop and stand up, dumping the cookie to the ground. Oops. And at the end of the ride, my shirt was covered with cookie crumbs.