Originally Posted by
PeteHski
Yep, 3 gels per hour is about my going rate for a hard ride, alongside a bottle of carb mix. I go easy on the broccoli florets 😂
It is practically impossible to over-fuel if you are riding hard. But you can certainly eat the wrong things or under-fuel. I’ve learned to keep well away from “party” food at feed zones. Although I might chomp a few Jaffa cakes if I see them.
I was being a bit facetious, but I did get lectured on here before for my ride nutrition. I guess it was unacceptable to use simple carbs to fuel my way through a 5000 calorie ride
. For a certain individual, they couldn't understand how my normal diet and my ride nutrition could be 2 separate things.
Anyway, I totally agree about how it's almost impossible to overeat during a hard ride. The caveat I'll give to that, is if someone hasn't trained themselves to eat that much during a hard effort. My nutrition strategy definitely changes with the event. If it's a non-racing event, or the race is broken down into timed stages, I'll definitely peruse the feed stops. I might not be as regular with my gels, but I'm still getting the calories in. If it's a long race that's timed from start to finish, I typically forgo the feed zones(except to chug a coke) and stick to the gels I have on me. With my recent MTB race, I could set up my own feed at the start of lap 2, so I just went that route instead of carrying a dozen gels on me...I was in and out of that feed zone in less than a minute.