Crabby Deb

I signed up late for a century ride this Saturday. They were very up front about no T-shirt , so awful. The problem is no food.

What light weight, power packed food would you pack? I leave Friday PM. I have goos, gels and energy drinks. If anyone else is doing the Bike Virginia RiverRide would you please pack me something?

Thanks guys.

CharlieWoo

You only need THIS. Get one of those squeeze tubes that are used to decorate cakes, fill er up and you are all set.

grahny

Water, HEED, gels, endurolites, a plain bagel and a banana - that's my century breakfast & lunch.... if you can fit a cantaloupe in your jersey pockets, I highly recommend them

Crabby Deb

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie....everyone knows a can of Crisco weighs about 750 pounds. Thanks anyway.

Crabby Deb

Grahny, that sounds perfect. Pureed cantaloupe OK?

StupidlyBrave 

Trade for crabs and beer?

Seriously, I wouldn't recommend experimentation for a century.

I don't have anything scientific that I do.

- I 'carb load' the night before. Not that I feel that there is real benefit here, I just like the opportunity to gorge without worry
- Normal breakfast (bowl of cereal) about an hour before. Bowl of oatmeal would be outstanding.
- Clif Bar just before starting
- Snack every 10 or 15 miles. YMMV. Fig newtons, Clif Bar, Power Bar, Oatmeal Bar or other hi-carb food without excessive sugars. Not too much at one time - it's not a meal.
- Water and Gatorade (or similar) as needed.
- Save a Gu in case of energy-related emergency.

Drink before you're thirsty and snack before you're hungry. Good luck and have fun.

Oh, and when you're done, then the crabs and beer. Yum!

Crabby Deb

Thanks SB (I don't want to call you Stupidly). Crabs and beer anytime. The crabs are from my pier and the beer is in the fridge.

I'll be carb loading the night before. That sounds like I can get away with less food than I thought.

orcanova

^grab some food at all the rest stops if you can...pb&j sandwiches, fruit, more Heed sports drink...or whatever they have.

JimF22003

I've done two unsupported century rides this summer. I carried everything I ate with me. I actually parked at the 1/3rd point, so I didn't have to bring anything much with me to start. I had my first meal at my car. But the remainder of the ride I just had stuff I carried with me. I ate apples, bananas, dried plums ("Cherry Essence" brand), almonds, and a Detour bar. I think I brought a couple of GU's with me, but I don't think I had more than one. I could have carried the whole day's food with me, but my jersey would have been pretty pack for the first part of the ride...

merlinextraligh

Eat what you've eaten in training. Your event is no time to experiment.

That said, if you've got carry all your own food, gels are the answer, 2 per hour on the bike will be more than enough, and it's not that hard to fit 10-20 gels in your jersey pockets.

As for amount of food. The general rule of thumb is 200-300 calories per hour. YOu'll burn more than that, but 300 calories per hour is about the limit of what you can absorb.

Start eating early and often in the ride.

Mooo

I prefer food.
For a solo 100 mile day, it'd look like this:
Brekky: Wheaties, milk, toast
20-25 miles: PB & honey sandwich, maybe a banana
30-35 miles: Granola Bar
50 miles: another PB & H, maybe a small payday bar. Small bag of chips.
60-75 miles: another banana, maybe a Subway veggie sandwich or something similar. Not too heavy. Maybe some chips or pretzels.
80-90 miles: granola bar, another small candy bar. Maybe a 12 oz Coke. maybe a banana.

Probably a couple of lemonades or a couple of pints of gatorade splashed in there, plus maybe 2 gallons of water.

I have gone 60 miles on breakfast and two bottles of water, but it was a quick ride and I didn't feel like stopping.

I like Baby Ruths and Paydays. Not too sweet, and with nuts.

I've heard some people drink chocolate milk. I understand the logic, but haven't tried it.

Fixitman

No shirt, no food. Do they provide water? Or do you have to hope it rains and use your jacket to catch enough to funnel it into your bottle?
I definitely agree that the experimenting with food is best left for training rides and should be worked out well in advance of an event. Stomach or bowel distress is no fun on any ride, but is torturous on a long ride.
As for me a gu gell every hour, 3 scoops of perpetuem consumed over two hours, repeat perpetuem every two hours, and a Fig Newton here and there, 3 enduralites per hour. I carry the perpetuem in zip lock bags and mix it up as needed.

senatorw

Solid in, solid out, I say. Completed my first century a week ago with an eGel (150 calories plus electrolytes) every 1/2 hour. Had a little extra in the Heed to get to 350 an hour. Took 7 hours and made it without any hunger pains or intestinal distress.

Of course there was a lot of pizza a few hours later.

Good luck.

mrmatta

I did my first century in June and had a normal breakfast of whole grain cereal, a banana, and a homemade granola bar (all regular, well-tested training foods for me). I ate another granola bar pretty soon before the start and was a bit intimidated because it was a "century" and I needed to "eat before I was hungry". It was hot, I projectile vomited on the second climb (around mile 20) and then settled into a nice groove. A Pb & J or banana every 20 miles or so and plenty of water/electrolytes. The 2 Clif bars I had in jersey pockets went uneaten and I wasn't especially hungry afterwards.

In retrospect I was so afraid of falling into a deficit that I overate early on. If I'd eaten a normal breakfast and then not worried about food for the first few hours I'd have had a much better ride.

chill123

bagels are my friend. i like to mix it up: bagels, bananas, gels, energy bars. stick to what you know though.

botto 

smart organizer.

you're set.

NoRacer

Pie!

I use century rides to indulge my sweet tooth--pie, brownies, cakes, dextrose tablets, jelly beans, and on and on and on.

kensuf

On the last two centuries I did over the last two weekends I ate the following:

3-4 gels.
4 bottles of sports drink (heed)
2 bottles of water (good for washing the head in the Florida sun)

For breakfast both days I had a scone.

redirekib

Breakfast? A pile of white rice with 4 sunny sideups busted open over the top, really, and PB&Js during. Hydrate with a sports drink every other bottle. Real food during the ride really helps. After so many gels and power bars you just want to slit your wrists.

merlinextraligh

This goes back to eating what, and how, you ate in training. You have to find what works for you.

However, the idea of not eating the first few hours is going to be a very bad idea for the vast majority of folks, particularly if you're working at a high level. If you're doing say a six hour ride with some intensity, If you don't eat the first 3 hours, its almost inevitable you will bonk, and be in a deficit that is impossible to recover from. This is a recipe to make the last couple of hours of the ride a slow grinding hel!.

dcvelo

Hey Deb, I'm doing that ride....are you saying that because you signed up late they said you can't eat at the rest stops? I can understand not having enough t-shirts, but food? How would they even monitor it?

The route is very rural for the most part and there aren't many convenience stores along the way. Only in the towns (Heathsville, Irvington, White Stone and Kilmarnock) as far as I know. So you'll want to plan carefully but, again, I can't believe you wouldn't have access to the rest stops...?

Sounds like we'll have nice weather.

Homebrew01

Holy Smokes !! That's enough food for 500 miles !!

I haven't done a century in a while, but I've done a few 75 mile rides recently, and for me a banana and a 3-4 fig newtons is enough. For the extra 25 miles to make it 100 I'd probably have a 2nd banana and another 3 or 4 newtons.

Troop

Camelback of H2O, two bottles of Cytomax, two Cliffbars and stuff my jersey pockets with seedless grapes. I don't get real crazy, it's not like I'm running the Ironman. The grapes seem to keep me fresh more than anything else.

littlewaywelt

I've really enjoyed powerbeans on runs more than 2hrs and rides more than 3.
They aren't quite as efficient as gels in terms of what they have, but I find them appetizing, easy to digest, and most importantly a nice treat/break from gels. I bring them to supplement gels when I know I'll be eating enough gels for them to become unappetizing. I typically bring a sandwich or two for rides in the 100+ range. Peanut butter & honey on a multigrain is a nice treat, easy to digest and has plenty of calories in a small dense package that surives sitting in a handlebar bag or jersey pocket well.

For my last ride of 120miles, I ate two sandwiches, had four gels, three powerbeans, a banana and a cliff bar. Went through 11 large bottles and 4 small bottles of powerbar endurance. Never bonked or felt sick to my stomach. I did that ride carrying all my own food. I used a small handlebar bag and a large profile stem bag/bento box.

Mhendricks

Totally agree on this one but I have a couple to ad:

Roasted Red potatoes in sea salt
Mixed Nuts