ROJA

I see lots of local club/group rides that stop for lunch sometime during the ride. That doesn't seem right to me- I like to eat gu, gel, powerbar, etc. as I ride and drink my Cytomax (depending on ride length), but sitting down and eating lunch seems like it would kill my body and my spirit. I would rather push through and finish the ride and then enjoy a nice meal and adult beverage of choice.

Which is the better technique? Any pros/cons of eating a meal during a ride?

Thanks.

Sprocket Man

They stop for lunch for social reasons, not performance reasons.

draxine

no big lunch breaks for me. I have a fast metabolism so eating ****loads in one go doesn't do anything for me except slow me down.
eat little and often, that's what I say.

Nachoman

Snacks work better for me.

kmac27

Eating in the middle of a ride and stopping to socialize is not really going to help your performance. It will most likley inhibit your performance. On the other hand eating duirng your ride is perfectly fine, the body can digest food as long as you are below %70 of your heart rate max.

Az B

If it ain't a race, and it's a long ride, I prefer to plan a lunch stop. It makes me feel much better at the end of the day, and I have no problems digesting.

I would much rather have a nice lunch than eat crap like Gu.

Az

cyccommute 

It depends on the person. Just a few grams of fat in a meal can make me feel like doing a technicolor yawn within 15 minutes of lunch on a ride. I have to keep food intake to simple carbohydrates. It can be a real chore while on tour to avoid eating stuff that won't make me feel real queasy. I ate a slice of pizza in Twin Elk, South Dakota on day 2 of a three week tour and, I swear, I was belching pepperoni for the next 19 days

Worst ride I've ever been on...outside of that 19 days in the Midwest...was a social ride to lunch from Golden, CO to Morrison where we ate at a Mexican restaurant. We had to climb back out of the Bear Creek Valley (I was pulling a trailer with a baby in it) and I didn't think I was ever going to get to the top of that hill. The downhill on the other side was a blessing!

BigSean

I like to eat, but I wouldnt say a big lunch is for me. On a long ride its easy to stop and get something to eat, rather then carry alot of food with me. Energy bars only do so much for me, so if I can get a half sandwich and a banana in the middle of a long ride all the better. Also a great time to refill bottles. Eat too much and I have a hard time getting going again.

CastIron

If you have some sense about what you eat, stopping for real food works pretty well.

Retro Grouch 

I'd agree with that. What are you trying to accomplish? Raceing or training - no. Social riding - yes. I'm basically a restaurant-to-restaurant rider.

big john

Can't stand gels, too many bars gives me nausea, as does too much Cytomax. On a long, climbing ride nothing works as well as regular food, ie sandwich, banana, baked goods. Just not too much before the next climb.
If there's no climbing, I can eat large meals, no problem.

roadfix

+1

I can go either way, a full lunch or stick to energy supplements. But I prefer real food especially if it's a very long day ride like a double century, for instance.

BarracksSi

+2.

mattm

depends on the length of the ride - i can only eat odwalla bars for so long, same with my peanut/raisin trail mix.

so if it's over 200km (120 miles), i'll usually stop 1/2 way for a subway sandwich or something hearty. for the 600km ride this summer i'll surely have more than one real meal, if not i'd shrivel & die.

garysol1 

Most people store about 2 hours worth of glycogen. If the ride is less than that then really no food is necessary.

Machka 

Yes, eating lunch in the middle of a big ride works. In fact, for many it is a necessity ... after about 6-8 hours of riding, even if you've been keeping up with the 300 calories per hour, your resources will be depleted and you will need to eat.

botto 

exactly.

last year a group i was riding with stopped, and for some reason we ordered spaghetti bolognese.
i guess it was better than getting steak frites (we were in the ardennes).



half of us were fine, and a few of the others ended up blowing chunks on the top of the Stockeu.

Murrays

Why stop at just lunch? Throw back a couple beers and maybe a shot of Jägermeister or two (been there done that).

Try RAGBRAI sometime and you'll never view stopping for "lunch" as a thing to be avoided

-murray

Machka 

Ride with the CTC in England sometime ... those rides are pub crawls!

Murrays

Probably a lot better beer than the Bud Light you get in Iowa too!



-murray

botto 

and if the ride is a little more than that, no food is necessary.

it seems to me that most people eat WAY TOO MUCH on rides.

if you're not racing, a good breakfast, and a couple of gels is more than enough for a 4 hour ride, add another gel if longer.

rufvelo

For your 4 hr trip to Starbucks and back?

botto 

they don't have starbucks in NL.

next time put a little effort into it.

ncherry

Depends on how long the ride is. For me, 50 miles or less then nothing (just the Gatorade in my Camelbak), 50+ - 70 snacks, 70+ anything I want. I did a hilly 70 Saturday and just had 2 rice crisp bars, a 16 oz. Coke and my Gatorade (<50% mix). When I ride down to the Pine Barrens in a few weeks then I'll order a full sub and eat half at the midway stop and finish after the ride. I've learned that I can eat what ever I want except fast food (that doesn't sit well).

big john

We used to go to Santa Barbara over the hills and take the flat route back with a 6 mile section on the freeway. My friend Mike, who was the strongest ox around, would eat lunch with a pitcher and a half of beer, then lead the group at 28-30 mph on the fwy section.
Saw the same guy eat 8 Danishes at Svenhards in Solvang, then drop all of us on the hills outside of town.