Training & Nutrition - eating while riding

I went on a 54 mile ride today, and it was great, I went 18.4 mph average in the hilly Raleigh, NC area, and I felt really good. I had a bagel and a banana while riding. my question is, how much should I be eating while out on these rides? I have heard that your body can digest like 450 calories per hour...does that mean that on a three hour ride like this one, I should consume 1350 calories? thats seems like a lot. I think I probably had about 450-500 calories, counting the bottle of gaorade that I had. so whats the verdicct folks? on a medium hard ride like this one, what do you eat? am I eating enough? too much?

another question is about electrolye depletion. It was about 90 degrees today with about 70% humidity, and I sweat like a mofo...I drank 6 bottles on this ride, 5 water, 1 gatorade. these are 28 oz bottles, so that makes it a few cups short of a gallon and a half. do you think i was in danger of hypotremia (sp?) with all of the plain water I drank? do bananas have electrolytes? how about bagels?

The figure I've heard is that your body can only metabolize about 300 calories per hour, while riding. As far as eating too much while riding, I go by feel. If stuff starts to feel like lead in my stomach, I'm eating to much. Same way with water. If it starts sitting heavy in your stomach you're drinking more than your body can use. Bananas have potassium, bagels probably have sodium. Based on the fact that you "felt really good," and if you didn't experience any cramps, I don't think you're at risk for hyponatremia (sp?) or need to worry about it. Personally, to be on the safe side, I'd probably shoot for, like, 3 bottles water, 3 electrolyte drink.

PS. Good luck at NC State!

this may sound stupid but i was wondering if you guys stop and eat or eat while your riding? i am not yet up to th epoint of riding long enough to eat i was just curious

I usually just eat while I'm riding, I dont usually stop.

I guess I'll keep my calories around 500 for rides like this one. usually, for rides less then two hours, I dont bring anything to eat.

and roadbuzz, thanks...I think I'll have a good time.

When I first started biking, I felt real hungry if I went for more than a 2 hour ride, so I brought something to eat along the way. But as time passes, it seems like I get less hungry during the longer rides up to like 3 hours.

I'm not skinny or anything, and I tend to eat a lot normally (more than I need to actually - I love cake and sweet stuff!). Is eating really necessary if your not pushing your not already extremely lean in terms of your fat-muscle ratio?

On hot humid days, where you're sweating a lot, you should probably be taking on more sodium and potassium than you did. A friend of mine got into trouble with low blood sodium one time when he did a long ride in Missouri. He drank plenty of water all day long, but no Gatorade, pretzels, or anything else containing sodium. By the end of the day, he had a massive headache, nausea, and was not thinking clearly at all. After a couple of hours in the ER on a sodium drip, he felt better.

I also find that by replacing sodium and potassium, I'm less likely to suffer from cramps.