The further I cycle, the more I find myself reading about nutrition and the more I’ve learned the necessity to eat during a ride to fuel the ride. But I’m also trying to avoid heavily processed foods such as the various cycling gels and bars you can get; the same goes for Snickers, as ubiquitous, and popular, among cyclists as they appear to be.
So far I’ve opted for bananas, Costco oat bars, and, yes, Snickers. But I’m thinking about dropping the oat bars and Snickers and taking jelly sandwiches instead, which I’ve seen recommended.
I’ve seen some sources recommend dates, but they’re hard to source in Taiwan and very expensive.
I had a large sesame mochi from a local bakery and halfway through it I started wondering if that might actually work: it’s mostly glutinous rice (carbohydrates) and sugar, as far as I know.
I’m curious to know what the rest of you take on a ride to keep you going.
Depends how hard I’m riding. If I’m taking it easy I’ll stop and have a sandwich or a reasonable sized meal in one go. If I’m riding hard then stuff like bananas, fig rolls, oat type bars or other relatively easy to digest things in small amounts is ok for me.
Didn’t know fig rolls were available here. Where do you get them?
Technically they’re heavily processed (I think), which is something I’m trying to avoid, but then again heavily processed doesn’t automatically mean it’s got a lot of unhealthy/dodgy ingredients, so I’ll consider that as a possibility. Until I see the ingredients list on the packet, anyway.
They had some in the breeze shopping centre by Taipei arena when I was back 2 months or so ago.
I think you need to just try and figure out what works best for you depending on how hard you are riding. If I’m riding hard my stomach can’t take heavy carby stuff.
Well, that’s what I’m doing - figuring out what works.
Actually, one thing I was thinking of trying (and I’ve seen people use) is the dried mango strips in Costco. Completely forgot about those before I posted here.
Is just basic solid protein not a thing now a days? I don’t ride anymore but when I did a lot of uphill type mountain biking, protein was key. Hibestly, kond of disgusting quantities. With some fat, stringly avoided the usual take out food type oils. Then some snacks for the road (for me mostly vitamin/electrolytes and nuts with some dehydrated fruits for carbs/sugars.). That worked well for day trips. Multi-day trips while camping required more processed foods just for food safety, but it remained extremely concentrated on protein. I was a big jerky fan back in the day. Protein, fat, salt all in one and pack a lot of water and some dried fruit and nuts.
Not sure if you mean protein after a ride, as opposed to during it? I’m still a beginner in all this, but I’d got the impression protein was hard to digest and tricky during a ride, and carbs should be prioritised. For now, I’m focused on what can keep me going while I’m on the move.
A word about banana, I always eat it before a ride to prevent muscle cramps, but if I eat it too early, it doesn’t work. I now eat it right before I head out, instead of eating it with breakfast before I do my business.
dried mango, fresh banana, electrolyte drink with lots of sugar. you want something that you can easily deal with using one hand and swallow fast. no fun having to descend suddenly with a handful of food or a mouthful about to go down when you hit a grate or dodge a hole.
I’m not so sure about protein during the ride, unless you get a chance to actually stop for a decent lunch and time to let that digest a bit.
but then what do I know? I’m old and fat and slow now (see, you can have all three corners of the triangle at once!).
I had no idea about it helping muscle cramps. I often eat a banana just as I’m about to head out somewhere between 4am and 6am, basically I think because I’ve trained myself Pavlovian-style to want something as soon as I’m about to get on the bike. I only occasionally manage to save it for later, until I’m maybe an hour in.
I’ll add I use these soluble electrolyte tablets from a local pharmacy, and was thinking also of mixing some sugar in next time to see what effect it has.