Machka 

+1 again!

coasting 

ride to eat.

Machka 

And +1

The only additional thing I would emphasise in all that is ... move more. Get active. Sitting upright burns more calories than lying down. Standing burns more calories than sitting upright. Walking burns more calories than standing ...

Urymoto

I dont buy this. I ride alot with my buddy who is an ex pro. Even after 1hour i find myself helped by gels or other stuff. After 2 hours, no food at that tempo, i would bonk.
even my friend eats a bit after 1-1.5 hours.

Perhaps some are better at storing glycogen?

hhnngg1

Placebo effect, unless you're intentionally starving yourself before your ride so you're going in depleted.

If humans were so fragile that we depleted all our glycogen in 2 hours and bonked out, we'd have died out as a species long, long ago.

Also note that a lot of people especially those that don't train regularly or hard, confuse bonking with lack of muscular endurance. If you take an off-the-couch nonathlete, they will likely have a hard time riding 2 hrs even at super easy pace, and if you make them ride at their zone 2 aerobic pace (still conversational but not super relaxed), they'd be unable to ride 2 hrs (if even 1 hr) because their legs would fatigue too quickly. A lot of folks equate leg fatigue to bonking; it's not. It's actually almost by definition impossible to bonk (truly burn out your glycogen) in a 2hr ride, even if you're going all-out.

Yes, it's been studied by scientists. And the more in shape you are, the better your body is at burning stored fats rather than carbohydrates at higher speeds. It's why people who are in shape can ride 5 hour centuries no problem with nothing but water and run 30+ mile ultramarathons on nothign but water.

(Before the 1960s, the esteemed Boston Marathon, which had hundreds of competitors each year, had zero water stops and zero calories stops, and the average finish time was a very impressive 2:50, or sub-7 minute miles, which is much faster than the average finish time today - granted, the qualifying times are also a lot slower which likely accounts for this, but in either case, people weren't keeling over and bonking left and right even with those all-out near 3-hr efforts.)

pgjackson

It is amazing what people used to be able to do. It is also amazing what people THINK they need to do to be better.

plodderslusk

It's probably genetic, some of us killed bears, some of us ran down gazelles. If you had not eaten for some days and a hunting party was going on you would be made redundant pretty fast if you could not put in a serious effort on an empty stomach. It is pretty trainable also for us modern **** Sapiens. I go on long rides with nothing but water now and would have bonked on the same rides ten years ago.

Dudelsack 

****? Nttawwt.

Dudelsack 

I believe this is the earliest recording of a bonk in antiquity, and these guys were tough:

And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were faint. Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.” (1 Samuel 14:24-30 ESV)

digibud

I got back to cycling at 285lb. Not surprisingly I did not need to eat for a two hour ride. It simply made no difference to me. Past that I did need to eat a bit. Now I'm 190 and have had a heart attack and am a no oil vegan. If I go on a one hour ride I will need to snack after 30min. I won't bonk, but I will notice the need. I need to eat every thirty min or so if I want to work at riding a good pace. We're all different and my today is different than yesterday.

Urymoto

Is it not better to start fueling earlier?
i mean im not a couch potato and consider myself to be a pretty good cyclist, and eating a little something even 1 hour in makes me feel a bit better. Do t know, maybe it is placebo, maybe its the caffeine in the gels..

surgeonstone

Nope. Placebo effect. You just don't need that much.

TMonk

I generally tend to agree with surgeonstone and Machka. I think that most cyclists (and people in general) simply consume too much. I routinely perform my morning training on a banana and some coffee, provided I had a dinner that was sufficiently large.

Like many cyclists, I like to participate in high-intensity racing events, like criteriums, circuit road races, and endurance races on the track (points, scratch, etc). During these events, or training sessions that mimic the intensity of these events, it's not wise to skirt on the edge of hunger.

If there ever is a time to be liberal with your carbohydrate and food consumption in general, it is during the hours before and after an event like this, and possibly during if it is long enough.

Having said that, most of the riding/training the cyclists do (unless you're a track sprinter) is performed at much lower aerobic intensities, where the constant stream of gels, bars, sports drinks and other random crap isn't really necessary.

Otherwise, I think that this is great advice with respect to diet and consumption habits in general:

Don't eat till full, eat till you're not hungry. A cyclist in the racing sub forum mentioned that he likes to eat food 1/2 plate at a time, with a glass of water between plates. He will only grab the next 1/2 plate if he is still hungry.

TMonk

Also

yep. ill ride harder then "you" for 2 hrs without eating and be fine.

Smokehouse

THIS. 100%

I know I've stated this before but I'll say it again…weight loss is simply diet THEN exercise…not the other way around (and I meant "diet" as in what you eat…not necessarily some plan or gimmick).

I was 265+ back in 2011…now I'm 170. I didn't do a lick of cardio until June 2012. At that time, I was down to 220 simply by a controlled, moderate diet and simple floor exercises. I didn't use drugs, I didn't starve myself either. Once I dropped to a lower weight…I began the cardio. I managed to drop 50 more lbs by cycling…AND having a controlled diet.

Like others have said…when I'm in full summer swing…I want to eat everything in the kitchen. I know some that do. They'll ride 75 miles a week and take in 20K calories/week while doing it using the cycling as an excuse to binge like that.

I did a group sponsored ride last summer, it was a 25/50/75/100 mile supported ride with stops along the way that had all you could eat food. Burgers, pizza, cookies…all kinds of trash. I ate trail mix, took gels, ran HEED in my bottles and drank often while other stuffed their faces. A few couldn't finish their goals due to popping along the way (it was HOT that day too).

Weight loss is simple…more calories out than in = weight loss. More calories in that out = weight gain. Some can't figure that out.

Reynolds 

As a wise old man said long ago:

"We're all too fat for this sport".

aquateen

As a medical professional, don't you think this person's issue MIGHT be mental illness? This thread bums me out. Stop judging other people for riding bikes and live your own life. Complaining about overweight people in lycra just shines a light on your own insecurities anyway.

jsutkeepspining

I like eating. I like sweets. I like biking. If being 145 versus being 155 during the off season means not noming on sweets, i'll take being fat (btw im 6 foot 1). Ride your bike more slowpokes

hiyer1

diet

if you're riding a century but eating burgers and ice cream after you're not doing yourself much good. I've ridden with guys who were very heavy eaters and drinkers, and they didn't stay with me for long. I think you "feel" the effects more if you're a runner or something, so you keep your diet in better check. With cycling all that extra grease hurts you on a climb, but helps you blast down hills. Also if you've ever done distance running you may find how quickly the body sheds every excess pound to put less strain on your feet and joints. With cycling it seems the body doesn't make the same adaptations because its a biologically foreign activity - that's just my best guess though.

Also as a former fatty I can tell you that I had much more success losing weight running vs cycling, even keeping calories in/out consistent - it's almost like the body knows what it needs to do. Even now, when I run just 60-90 minutes at 7min/mile it tightens everything up much better than even 700 watt-hours on my bicycle. btw Here's an actual study that found similar results: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12800102, though they weren't able to say why exactly

In short, keep your engine clean and the rest of the machine follows suit. And if you're trying to shed a few stubborn pounds try throwing a run into your training schedule. The cross training benefits of strengthening your tendons and feet from running are also pretty significant.

Urymoto

as a mediacal professional, he is absolutely correct.
mental illness? really? sorry, no

this thread is a actually really interesting, even tho it does bum you out. We do really eat too much, and some of us cycle just so that we could eat and drink as much as we want. its insane.

DaveWC

At 130-160w your caloric burn would be about 465-575 cals. I'll bet your power is overestimated by Strava, making the 600-700 cals even more out to lunch. With a power meter I find my Garmin 500 underestimates calories.

aquateen

100% agree we as a country eat way too much. the part that bums me out is how quick many here are to judge overweight people and shame them out of exercise. so what if someone doesnt look grest in their kit? also i HIGHLY doubt someone who eats so much that they cannot live without assistance is what i would call mentally competent.

surgeonstone

1)I am not complaining about fat people in lycra.
2)With regard to weight, I have no insecurities.
3) I am not shining a light on cyclists that are overweight, , quite the contrary, I applaud their efforts at cycling and weight reduction.
4)It's all a mental condition, why we eat, how we eat, who cares. The point is one can control what one eats. This is transformational time. We hear talks about genetics being the culprit, how we are not to blame, how no one chooses to be obese, all this other shifting blab. But take a very quick look down memory lane. Look at photos of our cities from a mere 80 years ago.....amazing....no one is fat. No one.
I recently saw a photo of T.E. Lawrence, Prince Faisal and 4 other men on the steps 0f a building in Paris at the conclusion of WW1. Not an ounce of extra fat among the 7 men. Same professionals today would be carrying an extra 300 lbs between them.
We can debate the complexities of why but know this, our genetic pool has not changed quick enough for this blubberification of society.
And read carefully my friend, there is not nor will there ever be a criticism of an individual, heavy or not for wearing lycra and cycling from these lips or these typing fingers.
Now, on that note i am hitting the evening road for a nice ride.

aquateen

1. I wasn't referring directly to you judging overweight cyclists in this thread although since I was quoting you I can see how that came across.

2. Your example of your patient shows that you might want to review your med school notes on mental health. Here is a study that might interest you.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734744

3. Enjoy your bike ride. I got my miles in this morning

Pedaleur

Whew. I don't have to read eight pages of drivel when the answer is in post #4 .