In rolling hills in moderate temperature, I can do 60 miles with no food. I tried doing 80 and I bonked. This was a controlled experiment.

Like a few have alluded to, how one fuels up on a ride depends on what you eat before and after (throughout your week of workouts). Provided you have a good diet with enough carbs I submit that it would then depend on mileage and your route (effort). I have taken to bringing a bar or fig newtons or something along just in case.

I still consider myself a new rider learning all the ins/outs, but have been into general fitness since my mid-teens (I'm 45). I have found that my previous weights and ~30-45 minutes carido interval training diet does not support my new cycling needs (I have been generally following the Abs Diet-type approach). Last Monday I followed my normal diet and only packed water for my 30 mile ride. Halfway in I really started feeling sluggish. My buddy kept slowing down to pick me back up. Not sure a few carbs during the ride would have really helped. Next ride two days later I modified my diet to include about 30-45 grams of carbs with each meal and snack. I also filled one of my two water bottles with Powerade. My buddy could not keep up! I had crazy energy! Now I am just trying to sort out a complete approach that is "just enough" so I don't actually gain weight yet have plenty of energy.

100g of carbs for a 2hr ride in brutal heat and rolling hills.

Today, I forgot about the banana in my pocket and I squished it. I couldn't understand where the thick sticky slime on my saddle was coming from.

Probably sounds strange, but I've started freezing oranges. Take one with me and in 80+ degree heat is thawed out, but still cold in an hour. I think it makes for a nice treat. On the other hand, I really need to work on my endurance, and don't need to be stopping that soon...

I hope this fall and winter, that a couple frozen oranges will work for long rides.

Tried freezing bananas. Will only work if you like to eat mush.

Depends on the type of ride. If I'm on a fast group ride (usually 45-50 miles), I'll take a gel and maybe some GU chomps. I'll take in most of it. If I'm riding solo, less than 40 miles, no food. 40-50 miles, a gel or honey stinger. 50-75 miles, a gel and a honey stinger. I don't really ride more than 75 miles very often.

Wow, seems like I eat a lot more than a lot of you guys (from the first page at least), I usually take a couple of muesli bars and an apple if I'm going more than twenty miles. I normally only eat one bar and the apple but I'm trying to push my average up at the moment so I like to keep stocked.

As I mentioned earlier, for rides over 2 hours, aim for 200-300 calories per hour.


On rides less than 2 hours, if you're eating normally during the day, you shouldn't need any extra calories. It is a good idea, however, to bring those muesli bars with you, just in case.

Always have 2 gel packs in the seat bag and 2 water bottles in the cages.

I almost always bring a snack, there is no rule for me other than, eat before I'm hungry and drink before I'm thirsty. I have done 30 miles/2 hours in the hills of New Hampshire without eating.
Pirk

I always pre-ride snack a Honey Stinger waffle about 15 mins. prior to taking off on a 20-25 miler. If I do long rides like a 40 miler + then I take an additional one. I am prone to being or having symptoms like hypoglycemia or low blood sugar if I over exert without intake of foods. Now I am not diabetic by any means but if I don't get something in my body I start getting anxious and the shakes like a crackhead for a fix. You throw one thing like a milkyway my way and I am a-okay.

So in effect I never know when it may hit but usually if I pre-load I am okay.

So my routine is to pre-load on small routes but take an additional on longer routes. If I am riding a sponsored ride they have rest stops always that have snacks so I just pre-load only.

Always carry a gel and glucose tabs in my bag. Sometimes my short rides end up longer than I plan.

Pretty much everyone experiences that. It's called bonking.

Hence ... 200-300 calories per hour on rides over 2 hours.

Mine is a little more than just exerting all the time. I can also get this for no known reason even with intake. It is rare but it does happen. I understand bonking and hitting the wall on rides which has or hardly synonymous with bonking in terms of nutrients. I also get severe headaches from lack of intake too that can last well over a day even after eating. I would not do too good on starvation diets
for sure!

pdedes,
Sorry, had a sitting assignment, where there was no Internet. No, I am healthy all the way around. Since, I travel to work at mid-day or later and in South South Florida, I have that much water around, in case I get thirsty. I usually do not drink it all by the time I get home, let alone the ride to work, but like I said I already drank 9 or more-cups of fluids that morning, probably a lot less still in my system by the time I leave.

45 minutes and I need something to eat. if the whole ride is 45 to 75 minutes, then I'm fine. if the walfway point is beyond 45 minutes then I need something at 45 min. when I push to 60 to 90 min for the 1/2 way point, I regret it.

so for me, it's time not miles

also important is did you start on an empty stomach or did you nutrify? I know some guys on this forum will do their morning commute on an empty stomach, but then they eat when they get to work so they are fine.

RumRunner6,

I eat breakfast and most times lunch before I leave (I eat a lot, especially breakfast, so not small meals) and bring small container or some of the time 2 of fruits and most of the time bag of nuts and fruit high in needed exercising nutrient. I eat the container(s) and bag of fruit and nuts on the way home. In every single trip, before each way, I consume all together a half or whole of banana, whole apple and a lot of raisins and I try to have half of a grapefruit and half of a carrot (because I love them). As an Vegan, who has always had a very high metabolism, eating a lot is necessary.

I do not think anyone should skip eating before exercising, I understand that when we wake-up our bodies are full of energy, from the diner and Etc. of previous day. I am not saying people should eat big breakfasts like I do, before exercising, also I am not talking about eating and then like short time later exercising.

If a lot of you guys prefer gels and that type of easy to eat on the go food, how do you get up to 200-300 calories in an hour? Those gels have 100 calories max. I think clif bars are more efficient and cheaper, though you need to wash them down with water after taking a bite.

i ride with a bigger girl who has a rack on her bike that contains a bag with lots of goodies. she's like my richie porte--always there with a snack or to provide me with a bit of a draft.

I try to eat something every 1.25 hours on longer rides. I've found that works best for me. Of course, if I get hungry before that time, I will take in some more food.

Regardless of ride length, I always bring some sort of food, but will rarely eat anything if I know the ride will be sub 2 - 2.5 hours.

My new preferred snack is a jelly sandwich made with french toast waffles.

Simple, quick to make, and not an issue for me on the bike.

Make your favorite french toast batter (or freedom toast if you prefer), soak your favorite hearty bread, and cook in your favorite waffle iron.

I cool the bread on a wire rack. When cooled, I cut each slice of bread into quarters and then fill with my favorite jelly(ies). Each piece of bread will yield two mini-wiches.

My repeated use of the word favorite should indicate how much I like these.

I've tried peanut butter as well as nutella, but I think the jelly is better as it seems to keep the bread moister and is therefore easier to eat on the bike.

Yesterday's ride was 4.5 hours with about 6K feet of climbing. For food, I took a banana and four of these sandwiches (1 PB, 2 grape jelly, 1 blackberry jelly); I ate the banana and 3 mini-wiches. For drink, I took in 2.5 bottles of water and 2 bottles of emergen-c drink mix.

I'm still kind of newb to serious cycling and only up to 30 mile rides but I've never brought a snack and never felt like I wanted to eat on a ride. I generally ride in the morning on an empty stomach. Just a cup of black coffee before I ride and water on the ride. I was into intermittent fasting for a while so I am used to going 18 hours without any food while doing different kinds of activity (biking, hiking, swimming, weights).

Never been over 2 hours or 26 miles so no need yet....

<2 hrs: No food on the bike. (plenty of water)

>2hrs: 100-300 calories on the bike per hour. The longer your ride, the more important it is what you took in 1-2 hours ago. So that means while <2hr rides don't need any extra calories on-ride, for these longer rides, if you don't take calories in your first 2 hrs, you'll probably pay for it at hour 4+, so I start taking in calories in hour one on longer rides.

I use maltodextrin, bought in bulk, in my water bottles.

You can also use gels (take more than one if you need), or even food, but if you want to keep rolling and not stop, liquid nutrition rules.

In the sense that you have to stop to eat or in the sense that you have to stop because you ate? I'm confused. I eat real food on many of my rides and don't stop. I typically only stop to refill the bottles or empty my bottle.

Pretty much my rule of thumb