Fishrising

So, I am working towards my first ever century this June, and as a Type II Diabetic nonetheless. I've got my base miles up into the 40 mile range without refueling while on the ride. However, I think I need to start refueling somewhere around the 3 hour in the saddle mark (or sooner), and start training with refueling.

Other Type IIs, what do you eat/drink when in the saddle for longer rides? I'm looking for ideas for me to investigate and ultimately try on a ride that cater to a Type II diabetic and see how my body and stomach react to them.

Thanks in advance!

chefisaac

I am not a Diabetic but I will say that 3 hours is a bit too long to wait to refuel on a century, especially if there is challenging terrain. You should try to eat at least every hour. Once your body gets tired and starts to wear out, its all over really and hard to eat enough to get your body moving. Just my opinion.

Fishrising

That is completely fair and is part of my assessment too. So, besides what for me to eat, I need to determine timings. So, do I eat 90 minutes in, then every hour? Or first food is 2 hours in, then every hour? I assume everyone is different, but there must be some "guidelines" to start with and see how my body reacts.

Tom Stormcrowe

hourly, and about 200 cals/hour.

bdinger

On long rides I always - always - eat every hour. And by "long" I mean generally anything over 2 to 2.5 hours. Having bonked a couple of times, never want to go there again.

mprelaw

Organized centuries have a rest/snack/water stop about every 20 miles. That's a good rule of thumb. On your own, no more than 2 hours. I like to eat something with a little protein, as well as carbs. A convenience store egg and cheese on an English muffin does the trick for me.

dave5339

I am a type II who rides century plus distances. Take a read through my blog, (see signature line) for some basic info.

Since we are all different, what works for me, might not work for you..

Personally I am becoming a big fan of Clif Shot Roks for on the bike nutrition. I am really liking the carb and protien ratios as the protien stretches out my sugar curve. As an added plus, I'm finding they are easy to eat, have yet to melt when warm, and my digestive system seems to tolerate them reasonably well.

If I am wanting or needing straight carbs, I generally carry fig newton bars and Clif Minis along with me also.

The thing you need to do though is experiment to find what works for you.

Semper Fi

villi

Low GI, high protein diet bar. They cost a *lot* but really work a treat for me - portable and tasty. In fact I have artificially extended my cycle ride once just so I could -earn- to eat one

Fishrising

Thanks all! I went to a LBS and they recommended:

Food:
Hammer Gels - 90 calls, 2-3g sugars, 21-23g total carbs each depending on flavor
Extend Bar - 150 cals, 4g sugars, 21g total carbs with 19 of those 21 convert slowly with minimal impact to blood sugar

Drink:
GU Energy Labs Brew Drink Tablets - 10 cals, <1g sugars, <1g total carbs

Recovery:
Generation Ucan Protein Enhanced Drink Mix - 180 cals, 4g sugars, 30g total carbs

Also thinking:
Bananas
Almonds / Trail Mix
Crackers w/ Peanut Butter
Nature Valley Berry + Nut Bars

RichardGlover

Gels are quick shots of carbs. But that's pretty much all they are.

If you want something with protein in it, look for Perpetuum. It's a powder you mix in one of your drink bottles. (keep the other one pure water). You can carry extra powder (pre-measured in zippy bags) and add them as you stop and refill your bottles with water.

Most importantly, do NOT try something new on the day of your big ride. Experiment beforehand and figure out what works for you.

bdinger

I'll add a +1 to both Perpetuum and HEED. I've used both on extended rides and they are pure power in a bottle when you need it most.

Also Bananas. Nature does provide for us, and in this case she's done good.

volosong

I'm a T2 diabetic and ride several organized centuries a year as well as a bunch of unsupported metric centuries. As Dave5339 says, we are all different and what works for me may not work for you. What I normally do for organized centuries is carry two large water bottles, the 24 oz. size. One is filled with H2O and the other with electrolyte replacement mixed in with the water. I'll top off my bottles up at every rest stop. If I went through the electrolyte bottle, I'll drop one of those fizzy tablets in to make another batch. Also, at every rest stop, I'll have a banana or two and a peanut butter sandwich, (without jelly). That's usually enough, but I'll carry two Quaker Oats reduced sugar granola bars with me, just in case. On an organized century, I'll rarely use them.

On my unsupported metric centuries, I'll usually ride non-stop to my turnaround point, which is at the 30-35 mile marker. I'll take about five to ten minutes to top off my water bottles, (no electrolyte on metric centuries), and eat one of those granola bars mentioned above. The last metric century I did the other week had over 5,300 feet of climbing, so I also stopped at about the 15-20 mile marker to down a granola bar and one of those GU type gel packets. There are not GU brand, but something similar that Walmart carries in their over-the-counter medicine department. I'm not too worried about the sugar content in them because I'll burn it off pretty quickly; within about an hour anyway. I may have two of them if it is an especially hilly metric century, but at different times in the ride.

On that last century with the 5,300 feet of climbing, after I left the turnaround point I didn't have anything, (except water). It was mostly downhill on the return route, so I didn't expend too much effort getting back home. One thing I need to do is remember to carry a cooler with water so that when I get back to the car, I'll have a bottle or two of cold water to drink.

I haven't bonked since I started this "routine". Now, if I can just figure out how to mitigate cramps. (I don't cramp all the time ... just when I'm really pushing it, and then only after about the 35 mile mark. Makes the rest of a century miserable because I'll have to go easy to avoid cramping again.)

Fishrising

Thanks all!

I just did a 45 mile ride yesterday, and ate 2 Hammer Gels every hour and drank a bottle of water water and and a bottle of water with 1 GU Energy Labs Brew Drink Tablet in it. Temp for ride was about 55*. Stomach was fine. Energy level was fine. And I still had some gas in the tank.

Need to keep experimenting as I do longer rides leading up to my century.

Also passed through a village with a heck of a name, sure wouldn't want to have to write this name on my mail...




Here is the ride on Strava.