BearsysRevenge

That's the meal plan my PT has me on, the total amounts of each type every day has to balance out.
So far I haven't been able to find anything that supplies the nutrition balance I need as well as portability to take on the road.
I usually do a cup of nonfat yogurt, some granola and almonds for a nice energy boost, but there's no way I could bring that with me.
Any ideas?
Also the ability to home-make them cheaply is a plus, as I'm a broke college student crashing at my dad's house right now.

The lack of portable snack isn't a problem right now, as I rarely do more than 5 miles in a trip. But I'm trying to increase both my speed, distance and time on the bike every week. And pretty soon I'll need them.

late

You don't want to eat fat when you're riding. One of our faves is pretzels. Real pretzels have no fat, these days some have a lot, avoid them. But a little bit of fat is
OK. A banana is good, comes prepackaged.

BearsysRevenge

Thanks for the reply... why shouldn't I eat fat when riding?

Neil_B

It's often hard to digest.

Then again, folks handle things differently. When I'm on a tour and putting out 40-50 miles a day, I can throw 'most anything into the furnace and it burns. Even foods I can't normally consume, such as eggs, don't bother me when riding on tour.

Back to your OP. Carry granola, pretzels, and a banana with you. You can get yogurt at markets if you must have it on a long ride - simply make the supermarket your rest stop.

jaxgtr

+1. Banana's and sometimes fig newtons are a great snack when needed.

timmythology

Jerky and triple threat bars for actual rest stops. Bananas and powerbar energizers for short water stops, usually at the top of the hills, those darn hills I also have talk to riders from a local club that add protein powder to their Gatorade, I have not tried this yet, but have considered. ymmv

CliftonGK1

Honestly, I wouldn't start bringing food until the time on the bike is over 90 minutes. If, as you start heading past the 90 minute point,you feel that you could use something to eat then consider bringing something to pick at while riding. (Zone bars are portable, and IIRC the 20/40/40 combo is the Zone Diet).

When I started back into riding, I was doing 10 to 15 miles. When I built up to doing 30 miles on the weekend, that took around 2 hours of riding time and I'd bring a banana or a Clif Bar for my break at the turnaround point. Now, I can ride 40 - 50 miles and bring only a Clif Bar and a bottle of Accelerade (if I'm only going that far.) If I'm doing a long ride (200 - 300k) then I bring 250 - 300 calories per hour, and I start eating after the first 90 minutes; but I start out with a big breakfast before a ride of that magnitude.
Like The Historian mentioned, on long days you can throw just about anything down your maw and turn it into kilometers. I have a friend with my randonneuring club who swears by gas station microwave burritos.

Shimagnolo

Tell that to the RAAM riders:

https://www.ultracycling.com/nutritio...iders_eat.html

CliftonGK1

Look at the OP's starting point: 5 miles. About 3018 miles shy of this year's RAAM course. I think the dietary advice of not eating fat on shorter rides is pretty solid.
I don't start throwing a reasonable amount of fat into my grub until I'm going 200k or more. Anything under 8 hours, and it's just not very necessary.

Shimagnolo

Well, I've had plenty of experience with exercise-induced nausea, but a couple of my favorite snacks when I encounter a convenience store on a 4+ hour ride are whole milk, or an ice-cream bar, and I've never had any problem with either one.

bautieri

Pretty much what CliftonGK1 said regarding distance and fuel required. At a sub 10 mile ride your energy snack would negate any calories burnt during the ride if not put you into the red altogether. But if having a snack is what encourages you to do another loop or go an extra mile or two then have the snack. I'd suggest something light like a fig newton or two.

If you are interested in a snack that meets the ratios you are looking for then I would suggest some homemade trail mix. You can tinker with the ratios to get it just right and homemade is soooo much better than anything at the store!

racethenation

+1
I did not start adding any type of snack to the middle of a ride until I started getting longer than 30 miles (about 2 hours). Even then, it is a fine line between keeping energized and undoing the weight loss benefits of the ride.

Redskin8006

+1
I find that I don't need food for anything under 40 miles. Most of my rides are 25-35 so I only take water. For longer rides, I'll bring a bar and eat during a stretch break. Clif and Balance bars work well for me. I think Balance has the protein/fat/carb ratio the OP is looking for.