What not to eat while riding [Archive]

Beverly

11-13-07, 05:54 PM

I usually don't have problems with food while riding but on the club tour last weekend I found one I'll never eat again while on the bike. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and one of their specialties was corn bread and beans. I probably would have been okay if I hadn't used the small serving of chopped onions they served with it:eek: It was 28 miles from the restaurant to our cars and I kept eating those onions with every turn of the crank. Never again......

Today I found another food that seems to have the same effect.....wasabi peanuts! I ate Tums like M&M's before the ride tonight but nothing could quiet those peanuts. Now I have two foods that don't mix with biking. Anyone have foods that make it almost impossible to ride after eating them?

robtown

11-13-07, 06:00 PM

I had a McDonalds quarter pounder w/cheese and fries for lunch one day. The ride home dragged as if both tires were flat.

europa

11-13-07, 06:03 PM

I had a McDonalds quarter pounder w/cheese and fries for lunch one day. The ride home dragged as if both tires were flat.

And you committed this foolishness because ...

Richard

Tom Bombadil

11-13-07, 06:03 PM

Raw onions and wasabi are two that I can't handle. I have an allergy to raw onions and even one bite of them gives me heartburn.

Sometimes greasy foods give me problems, but not always. I have eaten large hamburgers, and at other times 2 slices of pizza, in the middle of 25+ mile rides without any problems.

I can't handle hardly anything that is spicy hot. There are lots of spices that I love, like garlic, freshly ground black pepper, ginger, curry, etc. But my tongue is extremely sensitive to hot spices. What is mild to someone else can set my mouth on fire. Others think that I can't handle the heat that they can barely detect, but what is really happening is that they might barely detect it, but it is a 5-alarm fire in my mouth. This has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years or so. My wife recently made 4 quarts of corn chowder and put 1 jalapeno in it, and I could barely eat it.

dvs cycles

11-13-07, 06:14 PM

Eating crap on a ride and not getting sick is all about practice. All Junk all the time or the sudden influx of new poisons will mess you up.

jppe

11-13-07, 06:26 PM

Anything spicy........how about Mexican food including Taos Woman's "Christmas Salsas" in New Mexico??

Green Peppers do me in......

I've even found that I can tolerate some Cliff Bars better than others.........the ones with expiration dates prior to 2000 really seem to irritate my stomach.......

Louis

11-13-07, 06:27 PM

I sometimes take a Zantac 150 before a ride to prevent heartburn.

Eating fruit at rest stops will screw up my stomach. I prefer energy bars, PBJ, cookies, candy bars, etc. to carry me through a long ride.

Bud Bent

11-13-07, 06:29 PM

Ok, y'all are bolder than me. I get most of my riding carbs from my maltodextrin drink, and the boldest thing I've eaten in the middle of a ride was a BMT sandwich from Subway. Usually, it's just bananas and granola bars.

BluesDawg

11-13-07, 06:42 PM

I've been known to eat most anything during a ride, but now I am becoming a little more picky. I passed on the hot dogs offered at one rest stop during the century I did Saturday. :eek:

cccorlew

11-13-07, 06:53 PM

In my much younger and stupid days I went on a fast ride to "The Cheese Factory" and had cheese and wine for lunch.

It was a long, slow, lonely ride home.

ralph12

11-13-07, 06:57 PM

A vegetable sandwich from Subway is about the easiest thing for me to eat during or before a ride. I avoid fatty foods like the plague on the bike. Sometimes I will take a Pepcid to prevent stomach problems before riding if I'm going to be cranking hard or riding for a long time.

Hermes

11-13-07, 07:05 PM

I ate a lot at lunch in Italy and got back on the bike. The biggest lunch was risotto and wild boar in chocolate sauce. I was never sick but warming up the engine after lunch seemed to take a little longer. On normal rides, I eat very little and prefer water and protein bars.

doctor j

11-13-07, 07:43 PM

The greasy hamburger and chocolate malt I ate, mid-ride just prior to a 9.5 mile climb, sat in my stomach, gave me no energy, and made me feel as if I had swallowed a sack of rusty bottom brackets. Then there was the grilled chicken sandwich at a fast food place during a 73-mile ride...

byte_speed

11-13-07, 08:05 PM

The one food I can't eat before riding is tuna. They never seem to lose the instinct to swim upstream, even after being in a tin can for a while. And almost nothing else ever bothers me.

ken cummings

11-13-07, 08:36 PM

Bean dip. I was riding across the Mojave Desert (Las Vegas to LA) and found that the wife had packed bean dip for me thinking it was an efficient, concentrated food. The stuff was so salty I couldn't choke it down.

CrossChain

11-13-07, 08:37 PM

I'm laughing as I read what some people are eating. I can't imagine putting down fried meat, wild boar (!), greasy pizza, or jalapenos......and then riding off. I stick with fruit for its moisture and mild sweetness, cookies and other baked items (PIE!), and the usual energy stuff. And.......I'd ride a 5 hour century if I knew there was a barrel of Nutela at the end.

Prolene

11-13-07, 08:55 PM

Yeah, it's interesting what people are able to eat before or during rides. I should not ride if I drink milk without taking Lactaid. I guess ice cream would fit in that category for me.

stapfam

11-14-07, 11:12 AM

Granola bars- About the only thing I will never try again and they go on the same list as Powerbars in the uneatable stakes.

I eat anything I fancy on a ride- but after about 6 hours- It has to be moist so it does not stick anywhere. Pasta- Creamed rice- Gateaux. I don't ever fancy junk food till after a ride and then it has to be good quality junk food. Like KFC and not McD's

robtown

11-14-07, 11:21 AM

And you committed this foolishness because ...

Richard

What can I say, I was weak....

donheff

11-14-07, 11:29 AM

I ate a lot at lunch in Italy and got back on the bike. The biggest lunch was risotto and wild boar in chocolate sauce.
I had wild boar stew (Chingiale) for lunch on my bike tour of Tuscany. It was great and didn't spoil the afternoon ride at all. But then, I would like most of the things people have mentioned - just not in huge volumes.

Tom Bombadil

11-14-07, 01:02 PM

On one 40 mile ride this past summer, I stopped at the 20 mile mark to eat a BBQ Pork sandwich, a piece of cherry pie, and washed it down with a glass of milk. No problems at all on the 2nd 20 miles.

Road Fan

11-14-07, 01:50 PM

BCIpam

11-14-07, 02:02 PM

I can remember in the olden days, when I had to walk 20 miles to school, in the blowing snow... oK teasing, but when I was younger, I could eat anything. We used to routinely ride out to this hamburger joint have burgers or BLTs, french fries and shakes and I would be good to ride home.

As I get older, my system gets more and more fragile and pretty much I am afraid to eat on a ride. I have stuff, like a Balance Bar or a Peanut Butter sandwich (no jelly as the sugar upsets my stomach), but now I have to wait until after the ride to eat well.

Last year a group of us rode from Ventura to Ojai. It was a lovely ride and we had this great lunch in Ojai. Not 2 minutes on the bike I knew I was in trouble. I think I averaged over 25 mph (it was slightly downhill) the whole 20 miles back to Ventura looking for a restroom. I did not feel so well. :(

So now, no eating if I need to sit on a bike for any time. I have to stick with the stuff I know won't upset my stomach. It sucks getting old I tell ya!

BCIpam

11-14-07, 02:04 PM

I don't ever fancy junk food till after a ride and then it has to be good quality junk food. Like KFC and not McD's

Only in England is KFC considered to be good quality food... ;)

Terrierman

11-14-07, 02:11 PM

Then there was the grilled chicken sandwich at a fast food place during a 73-mile ride...
Amen to that one. And NO DAIRY for me. I am likely as not to see anything dairy again if I am in exertion mode.

Simple bland easily digested in small quantities, especially if it is hot. Bananas work real real good, so does PBJ on whole wheat. high protein or high fat = high discomfort

stapfam

11-14-07, 02:39 PM

Only in England is KFC considered to be good quality food... ;)

Good Quality- Junk Food.

Now if you want a better quality Junk Meal- Then Fish and chips- Take away Chinese or Indian or the Piece de resistance- A kebab. Only problem is that they are a bit too large a meal for a ride and more awkward to eat on the move.

BCIpam

11-14-07, 03:51 PM

OK glad you clarified re KPC... :D

As to the ethnic food there is the perfect moving meal - Del Taco Green Burrito. Easy to eat with one hand not that I would want to eat one on a ride... again just saying...

And no one mentioned Falafels. There is a restaurant chain, very popular here - Daphne's Greek Food. A popular haven for cyclists.

Old Hammer Boy

11-14-07, 04:00 PM

I avoid jakalope. It makes me feel real jumpy and those antlers tear up my guts.

Garfield Cat

11-14-07, 04:02 PM

Anything "Szechwan"

BCIpam

11-14-07, 05:00 PM

I avoid jakalope. It makes me feel real jumpy and those antlers tear up my guts.

How about snipes... do you avoid them as well? :rolleyes:

RockyMtnMerlin

11-14-07, 05:03 PM

I avoid jakalope. It makes me feel real jumpy and those antlers tear up my guts.
While the bison is the offcial Wyoming State Animal, the Jackalope is the official beast of the state of Wyoming http://hamous.org/images/Jackalope.jpg

cyclezealot

11-14-07, 05:09 PM

Don't do burritos. It once caused me to have to abandon a tough climb. Put me in a fever. I had a heart rate monitor on. Thought I was gonna die on this one tough climb.

Artkansas

11-14-07, 05:26 PM

Anyone have foods that make it almost impossible to ride after eating them?

Doughnuts! They send you way up to make the bonk all that worse.

cyclinfool

11-14-07, 06:10 PM

I love hot spicey food but can't come near it on or anywhere before a ride. Other than spicy food I can eat most anything an hour before a ride. During a long ride though - I have to be very very careful. Certain power bars hold me back, power drinks make me sick, some gels want to come back up. I have been learning what ride snack foods work for me and provide the nutrition I need. What I am still experimenting with is hydration formulas that work well - I just bought some nuun tablets to see if they work better, last september on a century I drank water like a fish but ran out of electrolites so I dehydrated anyway.

RockyMtnMerlin

11-14-07, 10:11 PM

Oh well, I thought the Jackalope picture was funny. ;)

buddyp

11-15-07, 08:30 AM

all this is probably cause were old. I remember back in the day eating most anything and riding. One of my favorite rides back then was a 70+ miler with a stop in the middle at a BBQ shack. My first tour of colorado I had huevos rancheros for breakfast every day -- it was new to me, being an east coast person.

Now I have some cereal and soy milk or a granola bar before a ride and pretty much all I eat on the road is clif shot or hammer gel. I did have a piece of apple pie and ice cream on a ride back around halloween but I was already dropped then. It was some good pie though, and turned what had been a pretty miserable day into an OK one :)

Allegheny Jet

11-16-07, 09:27 AM

The second time, confirmed my original suspision, that I should not eat corned beef hash midway thru a ride. Good thing I carry a small package of tissue in my bag.

wobblyoldgeezer

11-16-07, 11:45 AM

What you asked me not to eat - ask me how I know.

Chucked 'em all, cycling in many countries and at various stages of maturity

]
Nothing but coffee before a hard ride
Haggis
Tripe (don't ask)
Andouillettes, handed out at an aid station on an organised ride in southern France
Dagang Rendang (matured chili beef in Indonesia - burns your mouth going down, worse later)
Half a gallon of Fullers London Pride - seemed like a good idea at the time
Sago grubs in coconut sauce, climbing up to a volcano in Flores Indonesia

Hey, it's all good;)