SaddleBags

It doesn't meet the large can requirement, but my pre-ride choice of beverage (on top of the cups of jo in the morning) is a drink from some multi-tier, Amway-esque, marketing company. It's called XS***. It contains no sugar (no carbs either) and packed full of Vit B's, caffiene and other natural uppers. Comes in caffienated or decaf versions.
It's about $2/can.

***But forewarning, you may be subject to the following:
"You look like you workout. Have you ever tried _____ ...it's all natural and contains no sugar..." "....and if you want to be a reseller of this fine product and make money....." ".....an associate who just started made $____ in his first month, bought a new (fill in some lavish luxury item here) and he didn't have any sales experience..."

viter

Dates, figs and dried apricots work best for me. Gel is good to have with you just in case you need something fast.
I usually take some kind of energy bar (power, cliff, etc.) but can only eat it if there's a rest stop. The problem is my mouth is too dry when riding so they just turn into a glob of paste that sticks in my throat.
Does anybody have other ideas for high energy food that is easy to swallow? I don't care much what it tastes like.

mezzpezz

Graham cracker sandwiches!

I had these on a trip I did a couple of years ago. They were two sheets of graham crackers with PB &J in the middle. You can also do PB & Bananas, or Nutella, or any combo you want. I liked how the crackers didnt get soggy like bread does.

NDG

Dried figs are really one of the best choice. For a dollar or two, you can get quite a few. They will work to keep your energy level high for quite a long time.

cyccommute 

Granola bars (Nature Valley) have 180 calories versus 230 for Powerbar and 240 for Cliff. That's only 50 and 60 calories more, respectively. Compared to Powerbar, they are far more palatable. Also try eating a Powerbar at 12000 feet when the temperature is 45 F and your jaw just won't work. I just finished a tour of 3 weeks where if we had tried to eat Cliff bars or Powerbars, I'd be bankrupted. Granola bars provided me and my daughter with all the calories we needed for 6 hours of riding per day.

The Cliff bars I've had leave a funny aftertaste.

And the granola bars use pretty much the same ingredients as both Cliff and Powerbar. Maybe not the same as Powerbar . I think the Powerbars are silly putty mixed with some sugar and puffed rice. Yuck!

joejack951

I realize I'm being a pain but you specifically mentioned Quaker granola bars which I just confirmed on their website to only have 120 calories. I know these are cheaper than Clif Bars per unit but the calorie difference evens out some of that. I prefer the taste of Clif bars so I don't mind the extra pennies for the Clif Bar. I used to eat the Nature Valley bars and enjoyed them but I find them somewhat bland compared to Clif's. Personal opinion obviously. I have eaten a Clif bar on the way down a 600 foot descent at 40F in the middle of a solo century. It froze everywhere that my hand wasn't covering it but it was still edible.

late

Hi,
there are a couple tricks to eating lunch. The first is to eat a relatively light lunch.
I had a turkey club with no mayo. Then linger over a cuppa or some iced tea.
Just shoot the breeze, sip something cool, and let it settle for a while. And then when you get back on the bike, start gently, and build the effort level up slowly over a half an hour.

cyccommute 

Even a light lunch can send my stomach into trying out for the US Olympic Gymnastics team! I've always had a problem with eating and riding. Mornings aren't a problem but eating heavier stuff the rest of the day is. One of the joys of touring is being able to eat pretty much what you want but I usually have to be careful because if I have more than just a few miles left for the day, I can't indulge in those yummy things like ice cream. That will just leave me lying in a ditch! That's why I eat a lot, and I mean a LOT, of granola bars and breakfast bars while on tour. They have lots of carbs and simple sugars, not too much fat and they are small and cheap.

Unfortunately, the places I've been riding lately don't have too much in the way of cool places to sit and shoot the breeze. Nor do they have many places to even find food! Luckily, many years of touring experience have trained me to almost enjoy granola bars by the gross Don't know if I'll ever get used to hot Gatorade however. It's just nasty! Necessary but nasty!

cyccommute 

Not Quaker granola bars but the oatmeal breakfast bars. Those have about 220 calories. Personally, the Banana bread ones are quite good. One every couple of hours will fuel me for the whole day.

I find my sense of taste tends to be heightened when I do long rides and so I look for things that have a toned down taste. After a couple of hours full strength Gatorade is like sucking down pancake syrup. I usually have to dilute it before I start or I can't drink it. Same goes for either granola or energy bars.

I wouldn't have a problem with Clif bars in the cold. It's Powerbars that are difficult to eat when it's really cold. People can hear my jaw popping from a half mile away

Chucklehead

pizza.

Streetdoc

Funny, I always have preferred the orange Gatorade over anything else.

The_Guru

I went on a group ride this evening - left from the LBS.
I realised after leaving home that my bottles [containing just water] were still on the kitchen counter. So I bought a bottle of "Powerbar" energy drink at the LBS to take with me - berry flavour.
Was pretty good, too.. I reckon I may go for something like that again, in one bottle cage, with water in the other ...
Other than that, mixed dried fruit is pretty tasty and has most of the right stuff... and sometimes I also take a chocolate candybar.

Urban Shooter

Another homemade power food that I like to take on long rides is plain pasta rolled up in plain wheat bread spread with some butter.

sth

A big heavy multi-grain bagel with butter and peanut-butter, a bag of natural trail mix (ie: no smarties, m&m's etc; just nuts, seeds, dried cranberries etc) and a banana or two. All nibbled bit by bit along the way. Used to use Power Bars but grew to hate 'em, especially in the winter(i value my teeth too much). Clif bars are good and tasty but I decided that all of those commercial bars are just too expensive for what you get. Gotta admit though, at the end of the ride I really crave a Coke.

krazyderek

1 cookies & creame powerbar (that only flavor that doesn't taste like gag), and a special K cereal bar. Sometimes some watered down red gatorade, but mostly just 750ml (24oz) of water. That's enough for 100k (60 miles), there is a full standard century 160k (100mil) soon though and i think there are going to be 3 food stations setup, so maybe i should start eating more ?? lol

DannoXYZ 

Yeah, my favorite too. I usually order a medium pizza and have the kid meet me at the top of a hill in Summerland at the 50-mile mark. I'll usually have it finished off by the time I get back.

Goncalo Alves

Ditto fig bars. I use either Whole Foods brand or sometimes I'll splurge and buy the Fig Newmans. On longer rides I might also carry a Clif bar and a couple energy gels. I like the GU plain or vanilla flavors. Flavored gels are too sweet; Hammer gels taste like liquid death to me.

Urban Shooter

I always do well on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, two every 25 miles keeps me going strong. Another homemade power food that I like to take on long rides is plain pasta rolled up in plain wheat bread spread with some butter.

lokerola

old thread, but here goes:
gatorade
cliff bars
toasted bagel
pretzels
banana

robow

1. Bananas
2. Red licorice
3. Fig Newtons
But let me ask a question, do carbonated drinks in the midst of a long ride give you problems? I once started cramping badly on a century after downing a large diet-Pepsi and was told by someone who was supposedly knowledgeable that the carbonated drink was the culprit. Not sure if there is any data to support his claim or was it just coincidence? What do you think?

spingineer

I'd have to give the nodd to Cliff Bars. However, if you gave me Powerbars to take on the ride, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I really don't have a disgust with Powerbars.

I generally like the taste of Cliff Bars better. I'm wondering if Powerbars help me recover better though. Kinda hard to tell.

ajst2duk

I kick off with a couple cans of chocolate creamed rice, take a handful of gels, then hope that there is a pie shop somewhere on my route. A nice steak & cheese does it. No bread - no way - gives me the big yeasty stomach. A couple of cold beers afterwards rounds off a good ride.

thewalrus

i hope you don't have too much trouble washing the pizza stains out of the jersey pockets - that conjures up a pretty funny mental image...

friscokid

[QUOTE=oboeguy]I like the taste of Powerbars...

Anyhow, I will tank-up with a nice bowl of oatmeal (with a little brown sugar). On the ride, Powerbars, Accelerade gels, and, my specialty, PB bagel quarters. Eh? What's that you say? I've described them here before: slice a bagel, schmear a thin coat of PB on the inside, put it back together, quarter it, wrap each quarter with its own piece of Al foil. Instant road snack! I suppose if you wanted you could put some jelly on their too for PBJ bagel quarters, but I think that would get a little messy.

This guy recommended the PBJ quarters in another thread and I used the idea with wheat Sara lee bagels at the hotter than hell. Kept a few in my jersey pockets with a banana and a couple in the bottom of my camel back to keep em cool.
YUMMY!!! Not too chewy not to big. Just remember DONT LITTER the foil, or power bar and gel wrappers, on the road.

BayAreaRider

during the early days of the TdF, riders would swig de-fizzed coke/pepsi. not sure if this is a valid datapoint, but interesting nonetheless.