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What not to eat while riding

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Old 11-13-07 | 06:54 PM
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What not to eat while riding

I usually don't have problems with food while riding but on the club tour last weekend I found one I'll never eat again while on the bike. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and one of their specialties was corn bread and beans. I probably would have been okay if I hadn't used the small serving of chopped onions they served with it It was 28 miles from the restaurant to our cars and I kept eating those onions with every turn of the crank. Never again......

Today I found another food that seems to have the same effect.....wasabi peanuts! I ate Tums like M&M's before the ride tonight but nothing could quiet those peanuts. Now I have two foods that don't mix with biking. Anyone have foods that make it almost impossible to ride after eating them?
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:00 PM
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I had a McDonalds quarter pounder w/cheese and fries for lunch one day. The ride home dragged as if both tires were flat.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by robtown
I had a McDonalds quarter pounder w/cheese and fries for lunch one day. The ride home dragged as if both tires were flat.
And you committed this foolishness because ...

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Old 11-13-07 | 07:03 PM
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Raw onions and wasabi are two that I can't handle. I have an allergy to raw onions and even one bite of them gives me heartburn.

Sometimes greasy foods give me problems, but not always. I have eaten large hamburgers, and at other times 2 slices of pizza, in the middle of 25+ mile rides without any problems.

I can't handle hardly anything that is spicy hot. There are lots of spices that I love, like garlic, freshly ground black pepper, ginger, curry, etc. But my tongue is extremely sensitive to hot spices. What is mild to someone else can set my mouth on fire. Others think that I can't handle the heat that they can barely detect, but what is really happening is that they might barely detect it, but it is a 5-alarm fire in my mouth. This has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years or so. My wife recently made 4 quarts of corn chowder and put 1 jalapeno in it, and I could barely eat it.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:14 PM
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Eating crap on a ride and not getting sick is all about practice. All Junk all the time or the sudden influx of new poisons will mess you up.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:26 PM
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Anything spicy........how about Mexican food including Taos Woman's "Christmas Salsas" in New Mexico??

Green Peppers do me in......

I've even found that I can tolerate some Cliff Bars better than others.........the ones with expiration dates prior to 2000 really seem to irritate my stomach.......
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:27 PM
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I sometimes take a Zantac 150 before a ride to prevent heartburn.

Eating fruit at rest stops will screw up my stomach. I prefer energy bars, PBJ, cookies, candy bars, etc. to carry me through a long ride.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:29 PM
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Ok, y'all are bolder than me. I get most of my riding carbs from my maltodextrin drink, and the boldest thing I've eaten in the middle of a ride was a BMT sandwich from Subway. Usually, it's just bananas and granola bars.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:42 PM
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I've been known to eat most anything during a ride, but now I am becoming a little more picky. I passed on the hot dogs offered at one rest stop during the century I did Saturday.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:53 PM
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In my much younger and stupid days I went on a fast ride to "The Cheese Factory" and had cheese and wine for lunch.

It was a long, slow, lonely ride home.
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Old 11-13-07 | 07:57 PM
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A vegetable sandwich from Subway is about the easiest thing for me to eat during or before a ride. I avoid fatty foods like the plague on the bike. Sometimes I will take a Pepcid to prevent stomach problems before riding if I'm going to be cranking hard or riding for a long time.
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Old 11-13-07 | 08:05 PM
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I ate a lot at lunch in Italy and got back on the bike. The biggest lunch was risotto and wild boar in chocolate sauce. I was never sick but warming up the engine after lunch seemed to take a little longer. On normal rides, I eat very little and prefer water and protein bars.
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Old 11-13-07 | 08:43 PM
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The greasy hamburger and chocolate malt I ate, mid-ride just prior to a 9.5 mile climb, sat in my stomach, gave me no energy, and made me feel as if I had swallowed a sack of rusty bottom brackets. Then there was the grilled chicken sandwich at a fast food place during a 73-mile ride...
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Old 11-13-07 | 09:05 PM
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The one food I can't eat before riding is tuna. They never seem to lose the instinct to swim upstream, even after being in a tin can for a while. And almost nothing else ever bothers me.
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Old 11-13-07 | 09:36 PM
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Bean dip. I was riding across the Mojave Desert (Las Vegas to LA) and found that the wife had packed bean dip for me thinking it was an efficient, concentrated food. The stuff was so salty I couldn't choke it down.
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Old 11-13-07 | 09:37 PM
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I'm laughing as I read what some people are eating. I can't imagine putting down fried meat, wild boar (!), greasy pizza, or jalapenos......and then riding off. I stick with fruit for its moisture and mild sweetness, cookies and other baked items (PIE!), and the usual energy stuff. And.......I'd ride a 5 hour century if I knew there was a barrel of Nutela at the end.
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Old 11-13-07 | 09:55 PM
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Yeah, it's interesting what people are able to eat before or during rides. I should not ride if I drink milk without taking Lactaid. I guess ice cream would fit in that category for me.
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Old 11-14-07 | 12:12 PM
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Granola bars- About the only thing I will never try again and they go on the same list as Powerbars in the uneatable stakes.

I eat anything I fancy on a ride- but after about 6 hours- It has to be moist so it does not stick anywhere. Pasta- Creamed rice- Gateaux. I don't ever fancy junk food till after a ride and then it has to be good quality junk food. Like KFC and not McD's
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Old 11-14-07 | 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by europa
And you committed this foolishness because ...

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What can I say, I was weak....
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Old 11-14-07 | 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Hermes
I ate a lot at lunch in Italy and got back on the bike. The biggest lunch was risotto and wild boar in chocolate sauce.
I had wild boar stew (Chingiale) for lunch on my bike tour of Tuscany. It was great and didn't spoil the afternoon ride at all. But then, I would like most of the things people have mentioned - just not in huge volumes.
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Old 11-14-07 | 02:02 PM
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On one 40 mile ride this past summer, I stopped at the 20 mile mark to eat a BBQ Pork sandwich, a piece of cherry pie, and washed it down with a glass of milk. No problems at all on the 2nd 20 miles.

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Old 11-14-07 | 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Beverly
I usually don't have problems with food while riding but on the club tour last weekend I found one I'll never eat again while on the bike. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and one of their specialties was corn bread and beans. I probably would have been okay if I hadn't used the small serving of chopped onions they served with it It was 28 miles from the restaurant to our cars and I kept eating those onions with every turn of the crank. Never again......

Today I found another food that seems to have the same effect.....wasabi peanuts! I ate Tums like M&M's before the ride tonight but nothing could quiet those peanuts. Now I have two foods that don't mix with biking. Anyone have foods that make it almost impossible to ride after eating them?
I found a burger, fries, and two microbrews was too much, but I think it was mainly bloat, not indigestion. Once I got home, I was fine. Sure took a long time, tho, at 5 mph!

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Old 11-14-07 | 03:02 PM
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I can remember in the olden days, when I had to walk 20 miles to school, in the blowing snow... oK teasing, but when I was younger, I could eat anything. We used to routinely ride out to this hamburger joint have burgers or BLTs, french fries and shakes and I would be good to ride home.

As I get older, my system gets more and more fragile and pretty much I am afraid to eat on a ride. I have stuff, like a Balance Bar or a Peanut Butter sandwich (no jelly as the sugar upsets my stomach), but now I have to wait until after the ride to eat well.

Last year a group of us rode from Ventura to Ojai. It was a lovely ride and we had this great lunch in Ojai. Not 2 minutes on the bike I knew I was in trouble. I think I averaged over 25 mph (it was slightly downhill) the whole 20 miles back to Ventura looking for a restroom. I did not feel so well.

So now, no eating if I need to sit on a bike for any time. I have to stick with the stuff I know won't upset my stomach. It sucks getting old I tell ya!
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Old 11-14-07 | 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by stapfam
I don't ever fancy junk food till after a ride and then it has to be good quality junk food. Like KFC and not McD's
Only in England is KFC considered to be good quality food...
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Old 11-14-07 | 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by doctor j
Then there was the grilled chicken sandwich at a fast food place during a 73-mile ride...
Amen to that one. And NO DAIRY for me. I am likely as not to see anything dairy again if I am in exertion mode.

Simple bland easily digested in small quantities, especially if it is hot. Bananas work real real good, so does PBJ on whole wheat. high protein or high fat = high discomfort
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