Rockrivr1

Ok, so I've just transitioned from riding my MTB all the time to riding a road bike and I'm obviously doing something wrong. When I'm on my MTB I'm obviously in the woods for hours bouncing around all over the place. The only thing I do is drink straight water out of my CamelBack. Never had a problem.

Now on the road bike I ride for the same amount of time. (2-4 hours at a time) The problem though is that I'm hitting a wall around the 30 mile mark. By wall I mean I'm completely out of energy, feeling weak and having a rough time making it back home.

I don't get it. I ride full out on the MTB during this same kind of timeframe with no issue, but run completely out of energy when road riding. I would think if anything it would be the other way around. I do have to say that hitting hills out of the seat is beating my legs up much more on the road. No sprinting like that on the MTB, which I guess could be part of the cause.

As I read posts in this forum, it's obviouse to me that I need to start taking in some food and drink for energy. Never done it before, but I guess for me I'll need to take in an energy bar or something around 25 miles to keep the energy going. Plus some kind of drink that is discussed to keep my going as well.

My question basically is this. What is more important as a gauge as to when I should take in some additional nutrician, miles or time? Or is it better to try and gauge how your legs feel to dictate when you need a pick me up. Also, is there anything specifically I should not eat/drink as it could work against me during a long ride.

I'll need to get this worked out right as I will be doing the Pan-Mass challenge next year, which is a two day 200 mile charity ride from Central Mass to the Cape. I'm looking forward to it and am working to get myself in shape now for it. I'd better get this nutrician part work out to or I'm going to be toast before the first day is done.

Thanks for any advise.

iamjacksbike

Unless you plan on mainlining adrenaline from a needle I would have to say time would be a factor in when to intake food/calories to combat fatigue because its going to take a while for the nutrition to be broken down, digested and turned into something your body can use. You're going to want to do that before you start getting tired or your legs sore. Since you seem to have a pretty good feel for when that happens then plan accordingly. Personally I like to have something that is soft, high in energy, and quickly digested because when you put food in your stomach the blood will have a tendency to go there (and to your GI tract), instead of to your arms and legs where you want it. Soft because there is nothing worse than a stomach cramp when riding, as I have found. Me, I like bananas. Potassium prevents muscle cramps. I also like to load up on creatine monohydrate before a long ride which also aids in the muscles' ability to maintain that explosive power and helps healing afterwards, or so I understand it.

Just my $0.02. Not all advice is good.

ericgu

It's pretty simple. Aim for 250 cal/hour and start right at the beginning of a long ride (say 2 hours or longer). Mostly carbs, perhaps with a bit of protein works well. Can be real food, or a hydration drink with the carbs/protein in it.

Mistakes you can make?

1) Eating too much. 250 calories isn't very much.
2) Eating a lot of fat or protein. It's harder to digest.