Best nutrition for cycling

CK61938 · 7 Mar 2017 at 14:01

Last week I bought myself the High 5 race pack. I took a few energy gels and electrolytes on Sunday and did a nice 30 mile round trip! It was the first time I had even done such a distance for over a decade, so I felt pretty chuffed! I was still on a high when I got home, that I could have gone back out and done another 10-20 miles!

Anyway, the energy gels and such are great and I am now wondering why I never took them before now! So I was wondering, what do you guys use when going on long rides and what's the recommended usage for such things?

When commuting to and from work, I have found it's best to have a gel as just as I set off in either direction and have a bottle of water mixed with an electrolyte to drink along the way. This stuff definitely gives one the energy boost needed where it counts!

I plan to take part in an event sometime in the future (The Great North Bike Ride seems like a good shout!), so would like to get myself fit and ready for something like that.

As always, thanks for your suggestions and advice!

CK61938 · 7 Mar 2017 at 21:18

Thanks for all the input guys. I am definitely going to invest in bars. I've taken some Eat Natural bars and they are definitely nice! I'll see what else I can grab to help me. Riding to work is not so much of a chore now as it used to be, given I had no idea of what was needed to consume whilst riding besides drinking water!

CK61938 · 7 Mar 2017 at 21:58

Excellent stuff. Thanks for the input guys. Really appreciate it.

CK61938 · 8 Mar 2017 at 08:27

BennyC said:
How far is your commute?

Just over 18 mile round trip. Roughly 40mins each way.

CK61938 · 8 Mar 2017 at 11:33

BennyC said:
If you've eaten breakfast or had a snack in the late afternoon (or a decent lunch) you shouldn't really need to eat at all on such a short ride. Unless of course cycling & commuting is relatively new and your don't have much conditioning currently.

You'll probably find as time goes by you can push back when you need to eat on your commute and eventually do away with it all together

Yeah, I have corn flakes or bran flakes with a banana before I set off in the morning. I have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch at work as well. Then when I get home, the missus cooks a variety of meals for dinner. But since Sunday, I have been on a high of late with lots of energy. So I guess this has been helping with my cycling to and from work. I will just be taking electrolytes with my water bottle during my rides. One to work and one for riding back home.

But when it comes to longer rides, then obviously, I will need to take a few bits with me.