Best Portable Nutrition for Gravel Century
 

I'm Cliffed and gelled out! What are people eating on 4-8 hr rides other than energy bars and gels?

Kind squares
cutie orange
apple sauce(packet)
fruit leather
protein bar

Mostly natural sugars and grains.

I don't eat much - I use Infinit Nutrition - calories in your water bottle - I use it for all my Century and longer rides.

I mix up single serving ziploc bags of maltodextrin and protein powder (7:1 by weight) and put it in my water bottle for long rides.

There is a product unlike anything on the market. Its called UCAN. It is unique in providing a steady flow of energy no matter how much you take.

With pretty much everything on the market, if you eat/drink twice as much you get twice as much boost, but over the same duration.

With UCAN, if you eat/drink twice as much, it you get the same energy level, but it will last twice as long.

It was initially made for a medical application, but is invaluable for endurance sports. It metabolizes at a steady rate and pretty much ensures that I don’t bonk when on a long ride. Read “our story” for more details: https://www.generationucan.com/our-story/

I hate to sound like a shill, but I hate getting 2-3 hours into a ride and bonking. By then it is too late to recover, and its just a sufferfest. Ucan doesn’t give me a burst of energy or make me feel like superman – it ensures I have a steady energy supply.

Besides that, I usually eat something natural, like a Kind Nut bar, and make sure I'm taking electrolytes (NUUN works good)

Snack size Payday bars. Protein, fat and carbs.

Cheaper than any of the other stuff on the market.

I also bring along some cured meat (jerky or sausage) for the salt and protein.

Probably going to add some figs and dates into the mix as well.

RX bars, but my body usually craves Fig Newtons, pickles and coconut water!

Rice Crispy treats (or equivalent cereal marshmallow things) works for me. Second is something like Fig Newtons or any type of granola bar. If there was an easy way to carry jelly donuts, I would. Me and nuts don't seem to get along anymore so I skip those. Something that packs a punch, is cheap, has a wide variety is fruit cake but in my house it's all gone by January. On my last century I supplemented those above with a stop at McDonalds and a few things from the $1 menu. Nothing is magic and there is no miracle food or product that can give you super powers. Only convenience and friendly packaging and possibly some slick marketing.

I'd never heard of UCAN before. A little research reveals it to be hydrothermally modified starch. For $60 I can get a 24.7 oz tub of UCAN (20x120 cal servings) or a 50 pound bag of maltodextrin (over 700x120 cal servings).

yeah, you could just buy a bag of corn starch too. But maltodextrin’s glycemic index is higher than table sugar, ranging from 106 to 136. This means that it can raise your blood sugar level very quickly. That is key. Nothing you can purchase has the long release cycle of Ucan (no blood sugar spikes). If that isn't valuable to ya, don't get it. The processing to make UCAN isn't quick or cheap.

You can always carry food and stop to eat every hour. KIND makes some high protein nut bars. PB&J, nuts, honey, figs, apple sauce packets work too. Those require carrying, stopping, smelling the flowers, digesting.

Lots of options. Pick what works best for ya. Personally in Michigan summers, I just stop off at a farmer's stand, drop $$$ into the jar, and eat a pint of cherries. In the fall, cider and donuts or a caramel apple works well (although that will spike my blood sugar, lol).

Beat me to it, modified cornstarch = maltodextrin. Bunch of marketing nonsense about extended energy etc

Excellent points. On long rides I consume maltodextrin every time I take a drink.

Peanut butter sandwich
An Orange.

If you can get out where you are allowed to build a fire,
a burrito is good.

I'd hate to slam something I've never used. Maybe you didn't understand my post above? It is a unique alternative. If you don't need it, don't use it, lol. UCAN is useful for racing or for events where it is hard to stop and eat. It is not something "you have to use," simply an example of an alternative answer of the type the OP was looking for.

Either way, modified cornstarch is at the bottom of my nutritional choices. For a century ride where I'm not in a hurry, I'm going to eat something natural with a good mix of complex carbs and protein. My goal is not to spike my blood sugar.

if it is a shorter endurance thing where blood sugar isn't such an issue, there are things I would rather eat than maltodextrin. My favorite is simple honey:

I can understand if honey is too expensive for ya though...

Convenience stores in the south sometimes sell these. They are great toward the end of a hot ride.



https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3d5e5cf23a.png

What? I lose like 25% in crumbs if they've been in a jersey pocket for more than 5 mins haha

​​​​​​Similar to a Stroopwafel? I associate those with flying on United... They switched to pretzels last year but enough people complained and they are bringing them back. Some regional United Express had some knockoff brand leftover but just not the same. First world issues.

Yea, I buy the trader joes mini stroopwafels and stick some in a ziplock. They are bite sized so I can shove em in my mouth on the fly and they are way cheaper than the stinger waffles.

cool, they are on my list.

Really?? Is it maybe certain flavors I wonder? Or temperature? The only one that was crumbly was seriously old and had been found in a backpack pocket after many summer trips and travels it was still however eaten, haha! I hope my non-crumbly streak continues!

I like Stroopwafels the only problem I've had is in the cold weather. They turn solid. :(

Longer rides need something more like actual food. Bring a bag of beef jerky....if you run out, most convenience stores sell the stuff.