Training & Nutrition - when and what to eat during the ride

Hello everyone. I had a group ride a short while ago that lasted about 2.5 hours and was a very hilly ride. I planned that I would have something to eat while riding after about an hour. So, I bring a Powerbar with me and at the approx. one hour mark I go to eat it (we didn't stop - I ate on the bike). I had a very difficult time eating the bar and I don't think that my body absorbed it easily as the remainder of the ride was very difficult and I had nothing at all left in my power. Needless to say, the last hour of the ride was torture for me. Perhaps a Powerbar is not easily digested rapidly? Should I opt for a different during the ride food that is absorbed more easily? I should mention that the morning of the ride I had a bagel (rather large) with some fruit (bannana and strawberries) and some coffee. The ride started about an hour and a half after my breakfast.

I nibble my solid food rather than trying to choke down an entire bar. It often takes me most of an hour to get one down (and then I start on the next one if it's a long ride).

Most people can digest 250 calories an hour without much problem.

While I prefer Clif bars now, I have used the old formula of Powerbars in the past, and they worked fine for me. The new ones contain HFCS. I know I can ride on HFCS but it makes me slightly ill.
You might try them a few more times before you write them off.

A 2.5 hour ride may not require any food, especially if you eat a good breakfast.

I make my own energy bars. I have also eaten Fig Newtons, they're small and easy to chew. I have seen other riders eat everything from bananas to PB&J to oatmeal cookies. You need to find what works for you.

I prefer to use liquid nutrition. I feel it is assimilated by the body faster and easier. Plus I find it difficult to chew and swallow solid food while riding hard.

You should try out gels. On a typical 6 hour weekend ride I bring with me 7 gels, 2 bottles of gatorade, and 100oz of water. Energy bars are alright -- on a hot day @ 100F+ the bars usually melt into gel form anyway :)

I had a very difficult time eating the bar and I don't think that my body absorbed it easily as the remainder of the ride was very difficult and I had nothing at all left in my power. How hard was the ride relative to how you normally train? It could just be that your fitness is not there yet.

1 power bar requires about 500cc of water to process on top of what you need for hydration. Did you have enough water?

What did you eat before the ride and when? You need to allow time for the food to be processed and stored. The same is true for a powerbar. Eating it at the 1 hour mark probably means that you ran out of gas (pre-ride food) before your body was able to utilize anything from the bar. Once that happens you are done.

Next time try munching on some of it a bit earlier. I start at about 30~45 minutes in and eat about 1/3 of the bar. I eat the remainder at around 1 hour. This means it will kick in about 30 minutes later.

For a 2.5 hour ride any solid food you eat after 2 hours won't help you much at all (unless it is simple sugars or has other ingredients like caffeine etc).

Eat early and eat often.

Great advice everyone, thanks!! I'll try the above mentioned.



How hard was the ride relative to how you normally train? It could just be that your fitness is not there yet.


This could very well be. It was quite a bit of a harder ride that what I have been doing. I plan to make more rides like the one mentioned in this topic to get my strength up as well.