Nutrition/ Hydration

Our Energy-Food Tips For Riding Stronger & Longer

1. Your body can store roughly an hour-and-a-half to two-hours worth of glycogen (muscle fuel). So, if you're riding longer, you need to carry food (or stop to purchase it) and consume enough calories to keep from developing a glycogen deficit and running out of energy.
2. It's best to carry energy drinks (versus water) because they are easily consumed and provide fuel in the form of steady complex carbohydrates, as well as replenishing electrolytes and minerals lost through sweating.
3. Start drinking before you're thirsty because by the time your brain signals thirst, you've already lost one percent of your body weight in sweat!
4. You should carry an energy drink you enjoy because if it tastes good, you'll drink more. And, if it tastes bad, you won't drink enough, if at all. Be sure to taste test while riding because the drink may taste differently than it did at home.
5. Cold liquids are absorbed by your system more quickly. Keep your drinks cooler longer by inserting ice or by freezing half-full bottles the night before the ride and topping them off in the morning. You might also consider using insulated bottles. If you're using a hydration pack, adding ice will keep your torso cool, too.
6. When you're carrying energy drink in two bottles, lower the concentration in your second bottle because as you fatigue and heat up, you'll likely prefer less flavor and sweetness.
7. If you're riding hard, it's also important that your energy drink isn't too concentrated. Too rich a mixture can upset your stomach and even slow down or prevent absorption.
8. To make sure you're properly hydrated before an event, check your urine. It should be pale yellow or clear. Dark yellow and strong-smelling urine is a reminder to drink a few more glasses of liquid, although vitamin pills can have a coloring effect as well. Another key sign of proper hydration is having to get up during the night before the event to urinate.
9. Jersey pockets are designed to carry energy bars, fig bars, fruit and energy gels. Plus, it's easy to reach the food stored this way so you're more likely to eat it.
10. For competition, when it can be hard to retrieve food from a pocket, racers sometimes use electrical tape to stick packets of energy gel to their top tube or stem for easy access.
11. For high-intensity events or rides, energy gels and drinks work better than energy bars. They can be swallowed in seconds (chewing an energy bar can interfere with breathing) and the ingredients enter your system quickly.
12. Twenty miles into a century is no time to find out that the energy drink your training partner recommended upsets your stomach. So be sure to experiment in training or on rides that are not as important as your big event to make sure that your food and drink choices are right for you.
13. Energy drinks specifically formulated for pre-workout provide easily digested liquid calories designed to enhance endurance. Look for an all-purpose supplement that supplies healthy complex carbohydrates and protein with low sugar and fat. The carbos replenish your energy reserves, while protein helps your muscles recover and rebuild from the trauma of hard efforts. You may find that energy bars, fruit and cereal make good pre-workout meals, too.
14. Eat within one hour of your workout/event and you'll recover fastest. During this hour the muscles absorb the most nutrients and glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently.

Eat Right To Ride Stronger & Longer

One of the wonderful fringe benefits of bicycling is having a great appetite and being able to eat what you like (within reason, of course). This doesn't mean, however, that you should bring along your own food log like the guy on the right.

Instead, we recommend carrying energy drink and bars or gels, which are far more convenient, much easier to digest and surprisingly tasty, too. Here are some guidelines on practical eating for cycling.

Keep in mind that the heavier you are and the harder you ride, the more calories you burn. Your body can store roughly an hour-and-a-half to two-hours worth of glycogen (muscle fuel). That's all. So, if you're riding longer, you need to carry food (or stop to purchase it) and consume enough calories to keep from developing a glycogen deficit.

Also, depending upon your sweat rate and the weather, you lose anywhere from 1 to 2 quarts of perspiration an hour. On rides, you must replace this fluid loss with more than just water because you're not only losing H2O, but also vital nutrients.

Beating The Bonk

This glycogen deficit and mineral loss can cause a miserable condition that's known as the "bonk" or "hitting the wall," which feels like you've run out of gas. Your legs feel incredibly weak and small hills become Mt. Everest. You may experience a pins-and-needles feeling in your arms and lightheadedness, even nausea. If you stop for a while, you may get back on the bike and feel fine, only to have the bonk return in just a few minutes. You can even become disoriented and dizzy, which can lead to a crash.

Eat And Drink Right Before, During And After Riding
Eating properly while riding ensures you don't run out of energy and bonk. It's equally important to consume nutritional food before and after rides so that you're ready to ride and recover quickly. Here's an overview of the three types of eating for cycling with suggestions:

1. Pre-Workout Energy

Exercise and heavy eating don't mix, but you need calories to fuel your workouts because not eating can result in you quickly depleting your energy reserves. Plus, some athletes get upset stomachs exercising on empty tanks.

An energy drink specifically formulated for pre-workout can provide easily digested liquid calories designed to enhance endurance. Look for an all-purpose supplement that supplies healthy complex carbohydrates and protein with low sugar and fat. You may find that energy bars, fruit and cereal make good pre-workout meals, too.

2. Energy Replenishment During Workouts And Events

While it's essential to carry food or stop for snacks while riding, what you eat and drink depends on what works for you. Energy drinks are easily consumed (sipping is easier and faster than chewing) and provide fuel in the form of steady complex carbohydrates, as well as replenishing electrolytes and minerals lost through sweating.

You'll also want solid food. Energy bars require more effort to eat than drinks or gels and are best for long, low-intensity rides. Energy gels (similar in form and taste to cake frosting) have become very popular the last few years. These are easy to eat and absorb and provide concentrated carbohydrates that deliver immediate energy during intense efforts. Some varieties include vitamins, amino acids, caffeine and electrolytes.

And remember, that whatever you choose to eat, you must also drink plenty of water, which helps your body more quickly absorb the essential ingredients in energy foods.

3. Eating To Recover

There's a one-hour window of opportunity immediately after workouts when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and when glycogen, the energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. Protein is also important to help quickly repair the trauma your muscles have sustained from firing thousands of times during your ride.

You don't have to eat a big meal, but you should eat something soon after training to recover quickly and store energy for your next ride. Lots of people get good results with a small, high-protein-and-carbohydrate shake. Other carbo-rich foods work well, too, such as a vegetarian burrito. Experiment to see what works best for you.

Taking It With You

It's a snap to take along energy drinks and food. Drinks are easy to carry in water bottles. Or, you might prefer wearing a hydration pack, which carries more liquid and includes a delivery hose to make sipping more convenient.

Jersey pockets are designed to carry energy bars, fig bars, fruit or energy gels. Stashed like this, the grub is easily reached while riding, too. Some people use electrical tape to stick packets of energy gel to their top tube or stem for easy access (a good trick for racing). For high-intensity events or rides, energy gels and drinks work better than energy bars. They can be swallowed in seconds (chewing an energy bar can interfere with breathing) and the ingredients enter your system quickly.

Taste Test

Be sure to experiment in training or on rides that are not as important as your big event to make sure that your food and drink choices are right for you. What works for one person won't necessarily work for you. And, twenty miles into a century is no time to find out that the energy drink your training partner recommended upsets your stomach.

Stay Hydrated

It's hot out there and your body loses more water than you think.

Remember those westerns, where Rowdy Sixgun loses his trusty mount and has to hoof it across the desert? Recall his parched lips, hangdog gaze and wobbly walk? That's how it feels to bicycle in the hot summer sun if you make the mistake of not drinking enough water. At first, you feel cool because you generate a breeze pedaling along. Forget to drink, though, and the sun's rays and your efforts leave you salt stained, rubbery legged and barely able to balance.

Make Mine A Double

Fortunately, you won't ever experience such hardship if you make sure that you carry and drink an ample supply of liquid.

If your bicycle doesn't have them already, you can purchase and attach fittings called "water-bottle cages" that hold bottles next to the frame. Most bicycles will accept two. That's enough liquid for approximately two hours, depending on where and how hard you're riding.

Water bottles are convenient because they are held on the frame, not on the body and they're relatively easy to clean and fill. They typically come in two sizes, one about 20- ounce capacity and the larger model, about 30-ounce. Carry sizes that make sense for how and where you're riding. Obviously, you don't need to tote any more water than your ability to refill the bottles. So, if you're riding where there are stores, you might be able to get away with a single bottle, assuming you don't mind stopping to refill.

There are plenty of water-bottle types, too, from basic models, to those with special tops to insulated models made to keep liquid cooler, longer. Usually, even the fanciest bottles are very affordable.

Hydration Packs

For longer rides and outings far from civilization, an excellent alternative (or addition) to water bottles is the hydration pack. These are water "bags," which you wear on your back or waist. For water delivery, they feature flexible tubes ("hoses") with self-sealing mouthpieces. The mouthpiece rests close to your face for easy access so you can sip whenever you want.

Though more expensive than water bottles, hydration packs have many advantages. The biggest is that they carry more water so you can go further without refilling (packs come in different sizes with capacities up to 70 to 100 ounces of water!). Also, you don't have to reach down and extract a bottle from its holder to sip, which means you'll probably drink more and remain in complete control of the bike.

Some riders feel that riding with water on their backs keeps them cooler, too. The packs provide additional carrying capacity, making it possible to tote a jacket and tools. And, with the pack's water-delivery tube at shoulder height, it stays clean. There's no risk of drinking from a contaminated bottle that's been blasted with germs from the spray off the front tire.

Hydration Tips

Nutrition experts recommend consuming energy drinks rather than plain water because you need the calories and minerals, which are lost in sweat.
The cooler the drink, the more quickly it's absorbed.
Keep drinks cool by adding ice (do this on the ride at convenience stores) or by freezing a half-full bottle the night before the ride and filling it in the morning.
Don't carry too much water because it's heavy and you'll have to work harder to pedal.
Keep your hydration pack, hose and mouthpiece clean to prevent germ and fungus growth. Kits are available that make the job easy.
Practice extracting, sipping from and replacing water bottles so you can do it without taking your attention off the road/trail and without swerving.
Hydration packs often fit inside backpacks, offering handy hydration for other activities.