cyclehen

I believe in the body wisdom... when you're not cluttered up w/ a lot of sugar and processed foods, I think your body pretty much tells you what you need to eat. When I'm on a long ride, I start to crave a tuna melt-- tuna on toasted rye w/ sharp cheese. I can't tell you how good it tastes... I'm in the kitchen even before I shower. I'm wondering what other folks crave after a bike workout.

CastIron

PAstrami on rye w/ dark mustard and gouda. Salt and vinegar Kettle Chips. Beer. Dark chocolate.

cyclehen

The dark chocolate is just a given-- DAILY-- with or without the hard ride. I felt so smug when the evidence started coming in that the stuff is actually good for you. A dove bar a day...

UmneyDurak

Chocolate Milk. Also honey smoked roasted turkey from Costco or Salmon Roulade from Trader Joes on Multigrain Molasses dinner roll from Costco. Delicous!
Of course I always crave something salty, like pretzels or pickles.

JPradun

After a workout: something freaking cold like almost frozen chocolate milk, ice cream, etc.

After a training ride: nothing. Surprisingly, I don't get hungry after an ultra hard ride.

msincredible

I'm the same. After a really hard ride all I want is a hot shower and to go to bed. I usually have to force myself to eat something.

In general though, lots of riding makes me crave whole foods even more than usual - fresh fruits and veggies.

jamesstout

hmm im also keen on salty stuff and cereal! I normally do cereal or rice pudding on return shower then eat some big hunk of something dead and lots of pasta, i really like a rare steak or some fresh tuna but it doesn't happen often. sometimes jamon serrano is good too.

i'm often torn between food and sleep!

NealH

I just like a plain ole hamburger with plenty of catsup. A piece of pecan pie provides a nice finishing touch.

flip18436572

It really depends upon the day. Most times I don't eat right after a long ride. If I ride in the morning or workout early in the morning, I will make my self a breakfast burrito. Green peppers, green onions, jalepeno pepper, a few hashbrowns with a little salsa and I heat that up, then add an egg or sometimes just the egg white. Put it in a tortilla with some homemade salsa mixed in. I am good for about 5 hours after that.

If I have just cut up a fresh pineapple, then I will eat some of that after a ride. I love the taste of freshly cut pineapple. The crappy canned stuff isn't worth it for me.

DataJunkie

A rice bowl. Or just rice.
That or various types of Italian breads or any breads for that matter. I love bread.

Nickel

Ice cream, or anything that requires minimal chewing and increases transit time to my stomach!

UmneyDurak

Don't want to hijack the thread, but just want quickly mention that post ride recovery nutrition is very important to improving.

caloso

After a hard ride, I crave protein and nothing satisfies that craving like a T-bone:

VanceMac

I ate almost no meat for 3-4 years prior to biking. Once I started biking seriously, though, my meal after long/hard rides typically involve a big chicken sandwich. We have a place nearby that serves organic, free-range chicken, and they have a Cuban Chicken wrap that is killer -- sweet and spicy chipotle, plantains, goat cheese. Yow.

I definitely crave protein more now than at any other point in my life. But I'm not sure how much of that is psychological. Speaking of dreaming of food -- another aspect that has changed since biking is that for the first time in my life, I will wake up hungry in the middle of the night. I usually pop a few fig bars, and head back to bed.

mateo44

The holy trinity: Beer, hot wings, pizza.

(I could go on-and-on)

mateo44

This is an excellent list. Is it lunch time yet?

CastIron

Where to start with this?

cyclehen

I 've read that too... replacing muscle glycogen is important and optimally happens in the first hour after a workout. I think my interest in some carbs and protein isn't accidental-- carbs to replace the energy and protein for muscle repair. The sleepiness thing also interests me from a nutritional standpoint. Apparently consuming more branched-chain amino acids (found primarily in red meats and dairy) wards off this kind of bonk. I started eating yogurt before a long ride after almost falling asleep on my bike (I know, sounds weird), and I feel much less sleepy after a long ride.

wabbit

when i'm really hungry after a ride, i often think of vegetarian pizza...

sknhgy 

When I'm exhausted I crave a can of beans with bread and lots of real butter. I sometimes carry a can of beans on a long ride in case I get really in need of nourishment. I can get a lot of miles out of a can of beans.

jamesstout

i also get sleepy 1-2 hours after a long ride or a hard ride i eat yogurt, cereal and fruit all mixed but this doesn't help

FatguyRacer

California Tortilla Blackened Chicken Ceasar burritos.

Had one last night after my ride. Ummm Um good!

DataJunkie

I would like to add smoothies to my list.

Now if I could just manage to end a ride at both a jamba juice and a Tokyo joes.

catherine96821

ain't that amazing?

I crave raw Ahi and wasabi and ginger.

My kids crave POI (they grew up here)

maybe I'll try poi, a perfect food:

Poi is made from the popular taro plant: the 14th most cultivated crop on earth. Known in scientific circles as Colocasia esculenta, taro is cultivated both in the dry uplands and in marshy land irrigated by streams. The planters of wetland taro built walls of earth reinforced with stone to enclose the taro patch, or lo`i . Although taro is eaten around the world, only Hawaiians make poi. Traditionally they cooked the starchy, potato-like taro root,

flip18436572

I stretch and shower after a long ride, and then I will eat. If I feel I need to eat, I will usually have a snack (fresh pineapple) after stretching and a shower. Eating immediately after a ride or any other workout, usually leaves me with a very upset stomach. Not worth it to me. If I was a professional athlete then maybe. But since this is a hobby and not a profession, I don't think it is that important as for the timing. Reducing the volume of meat is more of an issue for me, so I am trying to increase the fruits and vegetables, and reduce or eliminate the meat.