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Nutritional Information
Our diet's will play a massive part in making sure we have enough energy to continue. Below is some information from various parties pertaining to food.
"On food, I have a mate who's in to mental cycling, and he has this carb gel stuff, which you can eat, it fills you up, and has shedloads of calories, but in the evenings you'll need a proper meal, or you'll get protein deficient, if you go to a camping shop they have boil in the bag stuff which will do. How long are you taking between resupplies, cos all the kit you need for 2/3 days is very heavy, unless you buy expensive stuff, so on that note, try training with a bag full of rocks, unless you're planning daily resupply. Also, take loads of tupperware boxes, cos then if you need to resupply with food, you can ditch the heavy jars and tins, and keep it in the tupperware, which will be half as heavy. On hydration, try and find some isotonic mix. If you drink shedloads of normal water at once, which you're gonna do cycling through the desert, it just sits in your stomach, and isn't absorbed. Isotopic drinks aviod this, cos they're the right concentration, but I won't go into the biology. You can also get the same stuff, but with loads of carbs in it, so it's like eating through a camelbac. Thats all I can think of for now.
" - Urb
"Carb's! pasta,pasta,pasta along with rice, spuds, ricepudding for b.fast, eat well at breakfast and a solid evening meal, even if you dont feel like it. On the bike while riding good tip is jellybabies easy to eat and full of suger, but...watch for the suger rush!! You can find yourself banging the peddles like a mad man only to come off the high with a bang and struggle in a world of hell; this tends to happen just as you hit the mother of all hills. Flat coke, make sure its flat!!! Best in one bottle and water in the other, just water is nice it takes that claggy cotten mouth feeling away, again flat coke will give you that suger boost, but watch it!! but can keep you going when you think you can't go any further!!! and you WILL feel like that many times. " - Bosen
Nutrition for long distance rides
Lisa Piearce outlines the fundamental principles of nutrition for successful long distance cycle rides.
(C) http://cycling.timeoutdoors.com/health/3MTBLMP01061401E.htm
For the most part energy production during a long-distance ride happens at a relatively low rate, and it comes mostly from carbohydrate and fat with just a small contribution from protein.
Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel for working muscles and is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. If you have not packed your muscles with glycogen (by consuming carbohydrate) before a ride, and replaced it during the ride and at the end of each day of a multi-day ride, the lack of carbohydrate can be a limiting factor on a long-distance ride.
Fat is also used, to a lesser extent than carbohydrate, but does not need to be replenished, as, unfortunately, your body's capacity to store fat is not limited in the same way as storage of carbohydrate is.
The involvement of protein in energy production is never more than 10% of total energy expenditure, but it does result in a significant amount of protein being used from your body's protein stores. Protein is used as an energy source during the latter stages of a ride - when your body's carbohydrate stores have been depleted. During long exercise duration, if exercise continues beyond a certain point, it is more likely for protein to be used as an energy source. When protein is used as an energy source, it can exacerbate dehydration, as urine production is stimulated to speed the excretion of the waste products from protein (amino acid) breakdown.
It is advisable to eat some form of protein (meat, fish, and vegetarian alternative) twice a day, with lunch and dinner to meet your protein requirements. You do not need huge amounts of protein, even if you are trying to put on muscle mass. Female endurance athletes in particular are sometimes lacking in protein in their diet.
During exercise your body will actually attempt to keep its muscle glycogen stores intact and use some fat instead of burning carbohydrate whenever possible. However, during a long-distance ride at a steady pace, you will not be able to continue at the same pace if your carbohydrate stores run low. Fortunately, with training you can delay the point at which this occurs.
Most cycling is aerobic and it uses both glycogen and fat but, perhaps when climbing a steep hill, anaerobic energy provision may momentarily replace it when the aerobic energy production is not quick enough in providing the necessary fuel. Anaerobic activity uses just glycogen.
Importance of hydration
During a four-hour ride it is easy for you to lose 4-8 litres of sweat, which if not replaced will have a huge detrimental affect on your cycling performance. Isotonic sports drinks (i.e. those 'in balance' with your body fluids) will provide fluid faster than any other type of drink. If you do not like these then you could alternate between sips of water and sips of a higher energy drink but you will also need a source of salt from a snack to facilitate fluid absorption. Don't wait until you feel thirsty before having a drink, you will already be dehydrated by then.
Balanced diet
Fat intake needs to be kept low for two reasons:
- It is not necessary to replace fat stores between bouts of activity
- Less fat in the diet means that you are more likely to eat more carbohydrate foods and avoid unwanted weight gain.
Unless you are following a vegetarian or low-energy diet, it is more likely that you are eating too much, rather than too little, protein. It is important that you do not consume an excess of protein over a long period since the excess protein calories are stored as fat it can easily lead to unwanted weight gain.
- Do eat plenty of carbohydrate rich foods
- Avoid too much fat
- Eat 'normal' amounts of protein, i.e. not large quantities of meat, eggs and milk.
- You do not need to supplement minerals lost in sweat. These can be replaced with a normal, balanced diet.
Suggested food & drink for training/riding
During long-distance rides you have a greater choice of foods, as you will be consuming a greater proportion of your energy consumption for the day on the bike. Suitable foods include banana, jam or other low-fat sandwiches, cereal bars, flapjack, malt loaf, scones, bagels, low-fat cake bars, low-fat biscuits, Snack-a-Jacks, currant buns and teacakes. Milkshakes can also be useful if you find it difficult to eat on the bike.
Timing of eating
Aim to eat and average of 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour, to maintain your performance level. This is equivalent to 1-2 cereal bars, or 1-2 large bananas, or 500-1000ml of an isotonic sports drink.
'Carbohydrate loading' is an eating regime, which aims to pack muscle glycogen stores to the brim before exercise. This involves tapering training over the days leading up to an event, to cut down on muscle glycogen utilisation. At the same time the amount of carbohydrate in the diet is increased to supply the muscles with glycogen. However, athletes do report mixed reports on its effectiveness.
Foods to avoid
- Be careful with the amount of high-energy drinks you consume. These drinks do not cause problems in small quantities, or when interspersed with water but too much can dehydrate you and upset your stomach.
- Far better are drinks, which are lower in carbohydrate, like fruit squash or an isotonic drink. These will not only provide fluid quickly, but will also supply some carbohydrate. However, you may find that your palate or your stomach doesn't like a particular drink. It's worth trying out different brands on shorter rides before you embark on a long ride to decide which ones you can tolerate.
- Foods such as pasties, sausage rolls, pork pies and Scotch eggs are not good choices for snacks, as they are high in fat and do not provide any carbohydrate.
- Fizzy drinks and cola, or any drink containing caffeine should be avoided, as they will dehydrate you.
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