Originally Posted by rafael
Last year (my first randonneuring) I used Gatorade, but I find Accelerade less tiresome and more satisfying. I am finding that Tomato or V8 juice at controles is helpful. I rode my first 400k this weekend and relied more on sandwiches at the checkpoints than on the Clif Bars I brought along. They are much too sweet for a steady diet.
A question to seasoned randonneurs: do you find it easier to tolerate solid food when you are not on the move?
Yes ... in fact that brings me to another point I should have made in either this discussion or the discussion in Carbonfiberboy's 300K thread. On rides where I know I will be taking a longer break ... such as when I'm napping on a 600K, I will make a point of eating as much as I can (and mostly protein) before I go to sleep. Often "as much as I can" is a can of ensure and some salted almonds, but if I can eat a sandwich or a slice of pizza that works too. My body then had 2-3 hours to digest the food and I can get up and go feeling quite good.
Now, I may be alone in this, but after a lot of trial and error, I've discovered that getting up from a nap on a 600K+ ride and trying to eat something before heading out on the bicycle again does NOT work for me. I have to eat when I get in, nap, and then just ride. An hour or two later I'll be hungry for breakfast, and breakfast could very easily be something like eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast topped off with orange juice and coffee. But I just can't eat right after I wake up ... it's like my stomach has to wake up first. Forcing it, like I did the first few years, just caused me to throw up in the ditch. Now I know not to worry about it ... to just ride till I feel hungry and then to dig into a big breakfast. And then I take off like a rocket!!
So ... sometimes you've got to experiment with the foods and timing to find out what works for you.