Fifty Plus (50+) - Curious what food you bring/eat on your rides?

Curious what food you bring/eat on your rides?

Thanks.

Fig Newtons. Gel packs. Zingers. If on an organized ride I will grab a banana or apple or two at a rest stop to take with me.

Don't know what your are looking for relative to distance, time, altitude gain or temperature, so FWIW, I generally bring 4-8 packets of Perpetum (4-8 bottles extra, depending on heat), 4-6 GU's, 4-5 Stingers and a couple of GU Chomps for a 5-6 hr ride. Distance is 50-60+ and 8-10K climbing. I eat a high protein breakfast before I leave. I am 66 and love to ride in the foothills.

Breakfast bars. Clif shot blocks. Pennut butter samich.

Depends on length of ride, but here's the menu:

Lance Toast-Chee peanut butter and cheese crackers
Clif Bar
Salted cashews
Dried apricots or dried pineapple
Honey in 9-gram pouches (similar in size to ketchup packets at burger joints)
Endurolyte capsules
Gatorade powder for reloading bottle
Beef jerky

Some combination of this stuff will work for me up for rides up to 100 miles.

Apples for short rides. Bananas and PBJs for a little longer ones. I also like to stop for lunch - soup, sandwiches, oh, and pie.

Short rides under 2 hours I don't eat, just drink water with and without nuun.

On longer rides, again it depends on the length as to what and how much. These are some of the items I use;
- Larabar
- Clif bar
- Clif shot blocks
- GU
- Peanut butter and honey sandwich
- Bannana
- Fig newtons
- Trail mix
- Honey stinger waffles

Some combination of Cliff Bars, Power Bars, GU packs, a bottle of GU2O and one of water.

Up to 35 miles, nothing. 35 to 55 miles, a Clif bar and a gel pack. 55-75 miles, a Clif bar, half a flask of gel, about half the recommended amount of Perpetuem for the time of the ride. 75-100+ miles, a flask of gel, 3/4 strength Perpetuem (3-4 refills in baggies), light snacking at rest stops (mostly PB&J).

Not written in stone. In different circumstances, I may take different approaches.

I am pretty close to BluesDawg's routine. It really depends on the ride distance. My daily rides are anywhere up to 30 miles and I don't have anything but water and a second bottle with ZipFizz (electrolytes) if it's in the summer and a granola almond bar in the middle of the ride. 30 to 50 miles, a GU Gel before the ride, one halfway into the ride and another at the end of the ride and a granola almond bar or two during the ride. I also have electrolytes and a third bottle with Pertetuem (still trying to find a flavor that I like). I also carry a frozen PBJ which I eat halfway through the ride. I usually get the Smuckers or the ones from Sam's Club which taste the same to me and are much cheaper for more sandwiches. On all my rides, I carry GU Chomps which I don't chew but I let dissolve while riding. I found that letting them dissolve does two things for me; 1) it helps keep me from breathing through my mouth and tiring out faster 2) it keeps my mouth moist and keeps me from having to sip water all the time. A chomp normally lasts me between 8 to 10 miles.

On anything longer than 50 miles, it is usually a charity ride that has SAG stations along the route and I stock up on what they have, especially bananas. I can't seem to find anyone that wants to ride more than 50 miles with me just for the heck of it. One day, I'll get around to doing a century by myself if I can find somewhere safe to ride. I can't imagine doing a century ride at a MUP.

On rides under two hours I don't bring any food, just water. For rides longer than that I'll take fig bars and/or vanilla crisp Power Bars. The number depends on the length of the ride. For an all day (5 to 7 hours) I'll take five or six fig bars and three Power Bars. I went with the Power Bars for two reasons. The first is that I can tolerate them without stomach distress. Second, I found a place where I can get them for $0.80 each.

My co-workers encouraged me to come clean completely. Sometimes I also take along a bit of beef jerky.

Long rides only:
1) homebrew mix of peanut M&Ms, dried apricots, dried bananas, raisins
2) gel packs
3) Hammer Endurolytes (hugely beneficial for muscle cramp prevention -for me, anyway)
4) water, water, water.

But the greatest food relief experience I ever had was stopping late afternoon (super hot day) on a 100mi+ day and being given someone's extra orange. Memorable!

Usually just some Clif Bars and Clif Blocks but don't necessarily eat them during the ride. All depends on the length of my ride. I just like to have something with in case I decide to ride further than I planned when I set out.

For drinks, I'll bring some electrolyte type liquid as I sweat - A LOT - and a 2nd bottle with water for longer rides.

Banana, dates, prunes, Shot blocks, Cliff bar.

I'll stop for water. I'll have coffee or tea if the ride is more than 3 hours during cool weather. I'll also stop for soup.

Long rides only:
But the greatest food relief experience I ever had was stopping late afternoon (super hot day) on a 100mi+ day and being given someone's extra orange. Memorable!

Mine would be a tie between a can of V8 on an extremely hot day and a coke and a Snickers bar at a store stop near the end of one of my first century rides.

Shot bloks for shorter rides, 30 - 62 miles. For rides 62 -100 miles, also a gel. For rides over a century, additional gels, shot bloks, and power or cliff bars.

I always carry a spare gel in my camelbak just in case.

Mine would be... a coke and a Snickers bar at a store stop near the end of one of my first century rides.

This is what I'm talking about. A lot cheaper than all the synthetic stuff people are chowing down. Unfortunately American Coke made with fructose hurts my stomach. If you could only buy Mexican Coke (made with sucrose) at convenience stores. I get the good stuff at Krogers and it's $1.40 per ten ounce bottle :eek:

Scooby Snacks and Granola bars in the seat bag with the tube and patch kit. :D

If I'm going more than 60mi I'm stopping off for a meal.

In the city, nothing. Instead I stop at a convenience store or fast food if needed. So far my recreational riding has been less then 20mi. The only thing I've needed to stop for is a cool drink in the warmer months. My problem is Dunkin Donuts is right on my way home. Hmmm, fresh donuts! :) I'm never going to lose that last 10 lbs. :(

For rides more than 30 miles I bring a varying mix of Cliff Bars, dried dates, dried mango slices, dried papaya slices and chocolate covered espresso beans.

But the greatest food relief experience I ever had was stopping late afternoon (super hot day) on a 100mi+ day and being given someone's extra orange. Memorable!

I had one of those experiences once on an organized ride. Some folks who lived along the route set up an impromptu free watermelon stop in their front yard. It was the coldest, sweetest thing I ever put in my mouth.

As for the original question, nothing for rides under 30 miles or so. If longer, I'll try to route myself past some place for a quick breakfast, or I'll pack a PBJ and banana, with some Honey Stingers along for insurance. And plenty of water. Don't much go in for them fancy sports drinks. ;)

Training rides up to 3 hours: water. Training rides over 3 hours: Peanut butter. Short races: light complex carb breakfast 90 minutes before or nothing (like oatmeal). Long races: same breakfast, and Hammer Gel or honey during the race.

In the two bottles; Camelback Elixir and Hammer Fizz; my jersey two Gu gels and Almond Snickers/Payday/Baby Ruth (one of these) for up to four hour rides. For breakfast 1/2 muffin and a can of Pepsi (I don't do coffee).

Hamburger for breakfast, Hi energy jelly beans during the ride, gatorade in the bottles.

Hamburger for breakfast? You mean like ground beef or a hamburger?
I'm a breakfast 'purist'. Gotta be real breakfast food. Could never do a Coke for breakfast either. I think that is one nasty thing to do to yourself ;)

Hamburger for breakfast? You mean like ground beef or a hamburger?
I'm a breakfast 'purist'. Gotta be real breakfast food. Could never do a Coke for breakfast either. I think that is one nasty thing to do to yourself ;)
Yep; Hamburger on a whole wheat bun, usually from Whataburger. Wash it down with sweet tea. I don't drink sodas at all anymore.

I'm a restaurant-to-restaurant rider.

I do better with a complete breakfast in the morning eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and toast. If I try to get by with something like motel waffles or pancakes I get real light headed and shaky feeling after a couple of hours or so. I don't usually eat anything additional till lunch when I'll eat whatever I can find locally. If I can find a roadside place that has some kind of specialty, I'll order that. If nothing else, deli sandwiches are usually findable in small towns.

I don't eat anything on a ride of less than 60 miles. Above that distance, the ride is usually a supported event and I eat anything I see that appeals to me: apples, oranges, peanut butter and jelly, cookies etc. On longer rides, I will also carry some salt for sodium replacement.

I'm a restaurant-to-restaurant rider.

I do better with a complete breakfast in the morning eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and toast. If I try to get by with something like motel waffles or pancakes I get real light headed and shaky feeling after a couple of hours or so. I don't usually eat anything additional till lunch when I'll eat whatever I can find locally. If I can find a roadside place that has some kind of specialty, I'll order that. If nothing else, deli sandwiches are usually findable in small towns.

I can't ride very long unless I've had a good breakfast with some kind of meat. Ham or sausage seem to work well. And eggs. Then something sweet.

Under 2 hours, just water. Beyond 2 hours, dried fruit, Pop Tarts, Beef Jerky (homemade). Over 4 hours I will take a bottle of Perpetuem as well.

Almond Snickers/Payday/Baby Ruth (one of these) for up to four hour rides. Any problems with the chocolate melting?

I've tried a chocolate covered bar once in the rear jersey pocket during the summer, came out a gooey mess, not good. Are you doing something different?

Any problems with the chocolate melting?

I've tried a chocolate covered bar once in the rear jersey pocket during the summer, came out a gooey mess, not good. Are you doing something different?
That's why I eat Paydays in the summer, yes the chocolate melts but I don't care taste so good!

I haven't gotten into really long rides yet, but before I start my 23 mile ride, I eat a banana and half a slice of rye bread, drink 16 oz of water and bring a water bottle along for riding. I don't always drink out of the water bottle--it depends on the temperature. Usually, if it's 70°F or more, I do drink during the ride--lower than 66, I generally don't. The one time I ended up doing about 36 or 38 miles because I also did test rides on various bikes at the LBS, I did bring and eat a Kashi bar and drink water around the 26/28 mile point.

My first long ride was a 50 mile charity ride, with rest stops every 10 miles with lots of food. I ate so much my stomach hurt. Learned my lesson!

Bagel sandwich with a mixture of peanut butter, honey, and raisins. Bagels are durable. I'll carry 1-4 of these depending on how far I'm riding.
One water bottle is made with a mixture of nonfat dry milk and Ovaltine.
Gu for emergencies.
On longer rides like 300 km or more, I'll eat whatever strikes my fancy at a convenience store. Some of my favorites are:
- Rice crispy treats
- Pecan pie
- Hostess Cherry Fruit Pies

I'm easy to please so if it's an organized ride; century or double century usually, I eat a light breakfast at the motel (a couple cartons of yogurt and a pack of Pop-Tarts), then add whatever I like that's available at the checkpoints.

If it's a double century with over about 8,000 feet of climbing, I find Hammer products work best. My favorite is Caffe Latte Perpetuem, but I'm easy to please so whatever flavor they have is fine with me.

I'll add some flavor with Hammer Gel if all they have is Sustained Energy (which is not flavored). Or . . . I'm good with Spiz, Gatorade, or whatever. My stomach doesn't protest (hasn't yet!).

Note: The dark chocolate covered espresso beans are indeed a wonderful treat; I just don't see them too often (rather, often enough).

Rick / OCRR

You're lucky. My stomach gets unhappy for all sorts of reasons. I also have food allergies so I can't eat many flavors of bars. I wind up carrying a lot of food with me, or on centuries, eating things that I know are safe without having to read the ingredients list. I do carry fast acting antihistamines in case I eat the wrong thing but I haven't needed them yet.

Even without the allergies a lot of the commercial foods will make me ill, or just taste plain nasty. I don't know why they have to make things so sweet. When I have been on the bike for 4 or 5 hours, sweet stuff is disgusting. And who needs all that chocolate? Chocolate mint with chocolate chips is dessert, not ride food.

The last few years I have been experimenting with more real food. Here's what I brought for an 80 mile ride with 6500' of climbing last month. I didn't eat the Lara bar, it was backup. The white rice cakes are basically like sushi rice, the round muffins are made with brown rice (from a recipe in Allen Lim's book). The bagel is kind of bulky and would be hard to eat during a race.

http://ericm.lne.com/images/ride_food_s.jpg

Chocolate is nasty to me. It likes to come back up in the form of acid reflux. But that is just me. Now a PayDay....now we're talking. They hold up good in heat and have about all you need. Sugar, salt, protein and ton of calories.

Like many others on shorter rides I bring no food. On longer rides, routes are determined by which diner whose pie I'm in the mood to eat. In addition I'll bring some shot blocks and a clif bar or two.

typical morning ride... have tea and peanut butter on toast for breakfast. I carry a Balance Bar and Shock Blocs and if going some distance, may carry fig cookies, plus nuts and the occasional PayDay. Then I eat lunch after. If on an event ride (usually a century) I eat at the rest stops and try to get in orange slices, fig cookies and pretzels. Just my physical system, I can't have too much in my system before a ride and I can't eat too much during... I just have to get by with small, frequent snacks otherwise my system goes all bad! Late afternoon rides, which generally are shorter, I am OK just having lunch and then a light snack before, only water during. Where I suffer is a ride that starts between noon and say 3 or 4pm. Still haven't got the nutrition down properly for that.

You're lucky. My stomach gets unhappy for all sorts of reasons. I also have food allergies so I can't eat many flavors of bars. I wind up carrying a lot of food with me, or on centuries, eating things that I know are safe without having to read the ingredients list. I do carry fast acting antihistamines in case I eat the wrong thing but I haven't needed them yet.



you and me both! Which is why I have to eat the way I do. Pretty much I stick to what I know doesn't make me ill - I usually never deviant from my usual fuels. I have been able to tolerate Balance Bars for some reason but admit, they taste nasty. Good thing; it forces me to drink lots of water. I like Shock Blocs but can barely do one package - too much sweet for me. But all natural fig cookies or bars seem to be OK; not too sweet but with plenty of sugar and salt to ride on.

I always eat breakfast before a long weekend ride. If it's more than 2 hours, I'll stop at a convenience store and have a breakfast sandwich (egg/cheese and maybe Canadian bacon on an English muffin).

During the week, I ride after work. I have lunch around noon and an afternoon snack about 3-3:30 PM. It's always a 2 hour or slightly shorter ride. I'll have dinner afterwards.

Not to hijack the thread, but, this is along the same lines. Many times after our Saturday club ride, I want to eat all Saturday afternoon. A couple of years ago I started taking Cliff Shot Bloks with me. If I eat 3 of them (half a pack) it does help ... but I still fight the hunger.

Payday bar, water and maybe a few endurolytes. That's good for up to about 75 miles.
After that it's time to stop for a Snickers and a Coke.

A riding friend was given a case (must have been 1000 bars) of the Payday Pro bars, she gave me a couple boxes. I usually have one of those, a couple GU Energy Gels and sometimes a banana if I have them in the kitchen. If I want more than that I'll stop at a market during the ride and get a cookie or an orange juice.

I like the GU Mandarin Orange flavor, it has a bit of caffeine.

Chocolate is nasty to me. It likes to come back up in the form of acid reflux. But that is just me. Now a PayDay....now we're talking. They hold up good in heat and have about all you need. Sugar, salt, protein and ton of calories.

And fat. I know! fat is OK, I'm not afraid of it. But how much fat is too much fat on a long-distance ride? It digests more slowly. I would like to take Larabars but some of them contain 10g of fat, others only 5g. How much is enough, and how much is too much? Does it depend on the pace of the ride?

Also - I've read to consume 200-300 calories/hour on long rides. Most of the suggestions listed above wouldn't amount to that.

I prefer eating real food but I like Clif Bloks and Honey Stinger chews and honey.

Yogurt and hard boiled egg, for longer rides, I'll add a banana & pineapple chunks. Real food. bk

I have so much stored fat around my waist I eat very little. On yesterday's 5+ hour century I had a banana, 4 Lance peanut butter crackers and a 7 ounce can of Coke. They had ice at the 70 mile stop so I put the ice and Coke in a cup. All the other riders started bidding on my Coke!

Learned a new food on yesterday's century - a plain old chocolate chip cookie. They fit very well in the jersey pocket, don't melt (much), and are actually pleasant to eat.

Have found that GU gel is nasty, Heed gel is nastier. Powerbar gels are good in the proper flavors, as are the Powerbar "candies".

Breakfast depends - peanut butter and jelly on toast and coffee, cinnamon rolls and coffee, oatmeal and coffee, bacon and eggs and toast and coffee....all depends on how I feel. But always coffee...

Yesterday - 120k hard group ride: 2 bottles with 300 Cal of maltoextrin each and a little gatorade for flavour. 5 dates to eat as needed.
Today - 100k easy ride: water plus some dates if needed.