Training & Nutrition - What do you eat during your ride?

I'm currently training for the bike to the beach (San Antonio to Corpus Christi) and doing some long training rides. I'd like to know what you all eat during your rides. Did 76 miles on Sunday and ate a lot of ceral bars.

thanks,,

Oh, also, can you all recommend a recovery drink/meal/supplement.

Cliff bars, Gu2O in the bottles, gels, boiled potatoes. Really depends what I have and how lazy I feel. For recovery drink Chocolate Milk. :thumb:
Main thing is to try different things and see what and how much works for you. Some people swear by energy bars (and by brand), others call them silly and unnecessary and swear by peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and fig newtons. It all depends on what you like, your riding pace, and eating strategy. For example do you eat while riding or stop? Are you going fast, or slow? If you are going fast and eating while you are riding then peanut butter and jelly sandwich might not be the best/convenient thing to eat.

I averaged 15.1mph for the 76 miles that I rode on Sunday. I did eat a bit while actually riding (cereal bars) but probably ate more while we were stopped. I did buy a Cliff bar at one of the stores we stopped at and liked it a lot. I might just stick to those as they're quick and easy to take along.

I'll consider chocolate milk as a recovery drink.

Bananas + low calorie blackcurrant flavoured water with added glucose (for the calories!).

Macaroni elbows lightly pan fried and salted in a ziplock baggie and a bag of Cheetos plus Cytomax to drink.

on a ride from 50 to 75 miles where i properly fueled prior to the ride i go with two bottles of Hammer HEED and a Cliff Bar if needed. over 75 miles i find that going with a 250 calorie avg intake per hour keeps me properly fueled for the duration. works for me. may not work for you. you just have to experiment. later.

Every Saturday I put in at least 50 miles on a very hill route. Before I leave for the ride, I drink 2 cups of water, have a protein shake (I prefer cytosport gainer), a banana, and take vitamin D&B supplements (the D reduces lactic acid build up, and the B gives energy). Sometimes I will have real food (either an egg or some bread and peanut butter) if I am actually hungry. On the ride I am never too hungry, occasionally I'll have an energy bar like a cliff...I used to bring hammer gel, but never found that it made a difference. When I get home from the ride, I have a full serving of the cytopsort gainer, which has 54 grams of protein.

I am a believer that you learn the hard way. You need to experience bonking, not just once, but a few times. That way you will know how your body reacts to deprivation of essential nutrients and fluids.

I recall times when I got the cramps so bad that I couldn't help but fall off the bike while trying desperately to slow down and stop. There I lay on the ground with great pain waiting and waiting for it to go away.

After that it was experimenting with everything and eventually I get conditioned and ride smarter. I don't know what everyone else does but I go for foods that give me minerals like the one's found in electrolytes. Everyone seems to be down on Gatorade but the G2 that I use plus water is good for me. The energy gels give me a boost when my glycogen starts to run down. I make sure I stop for rests every so often like 20 miles.

I go to organized century rides and examine what they serve at the stops. That helps by reinforcing what I read here.

On long rides, I try to plan it so that I know where I can stop to get aid, like more G2, fresh fruit, even Jamba Juice smoothies.

i only eat solid food on the rides > 3hrs. what i eat depends on whether it's a training ride or a race. on training rides, the type of food include bananas, PBJ, nutella sandwiches and gels (not often). for races, i only use Enervit energy bars + Hammergel.

as for recovery, i shun the designer recovery drinks. i just have a whey protein shake and a banana (or sometimes a bowl of cereals), and i only do this for rides > 3 hrs (or a hammerfest between 2 to 3hrs long). this recovery formula is then followed up with a carb rich meal.

What is the distance involved between the two cities.. Its a day ride no??.... Less than a half a day ride, just a power bar and power drink. Maybe a banana at some fruit stand.. If its more than a 7 hour ride, a full lunch is needed.. Not too much, but enough to not bonk.. I find something like a medium serving of French waffles and some fruit will get you thru a day's ride. It digests easily enough you don't feel bogged down and lazy as long as you don't over eat.

It's a two day ride, 160+ miles (96+/- the first day 64+/- the second)

Generally, I do not eat anything except for gels in water and maybe a banana if I am riding 100 miles or more.

Sports drink, gels and whatever the ride is serving - bananas, fig newtons, bars.