Nourishing an Extra Long Ride

When asking a group of cyclists about their eating and drinking habits during rides, you are bound to receive a variety of responses as unique as the riders themselves. Because cycling nutrition and hydration needs differ from person to person, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Nonetheless, there are some fundamental principles that cyclists should consider as starting points, especially when taking part in high intensity extra-long rides.

Cycling Nutrition Principles to Remember:

Maintaining proper hydration is essential for an effective cycling nutrition strategy.

Regardless of what and how much you eat, dehydration can slow down the energy transfer to your working muscles or lead to nausea. Dehydration can also slow down gastric emptying and gut motility, which can be a problem that worsens as you become more dehydrated.

Carbohydrates are vital for high-intensity cycling workouts.

Low carbohydrate stores are suitable for specific training, but during interval workouts or competitions, high-intensity efforts require carbohydrates. If you don't have enough carbohydrates, your power output, ability to repeat hard efforts, and likelihood of success will decrease. Cycling is an intermittent-intensity sport, meaning that low-to-moderate-intensity efforts are primarily fuelled by fat, but high-intensity efforts that require carbohydrates are crucial in group rides or competitions. Carbohydrates are also essential for interval workouts that improve fitness for high-power efforts.

The duration and intensity of a ride affect cycling nutrition during the ride.

Standard sports nutrition recommends consuming 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour of aerobic exercise, as most people can only absorb about 1 gram of carbohydrate per minute. However, you don't always need to consume the maximum amount you can process. Aim for the high end of the range only when your rides are long or strenuous enough to deplete carbohydrate stores. I recommend gauging carbohydrate intake by a rider's hourly kilojoule output. Consuming enough carbohydrate calories to replenish 20-30% of the kilojoules of work you're doing per hour is the ideal approach. For example, a medium-sized, moderately-fit male cyclist riding at a sustainable endurance pace and doing 500 kilojoules/hr should aim for 100-150 Calories of carbohydrate (25-37 grams) per hour during rides longer than 90 minutes. For a rider in a fast group doing 800 kilojoules of work per hour, 40-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour may be necessary.

Overeating is worse than eating too little

During longer rides, overeating is one of the most common mistakes that cyclists make. Eating more than you need or can process quickly means food hangs around in your gut for too long, leading to nausea. It's better to err on the side of being slightly hungry, which allows you to quickly and easily fix a slight caloric deficit by consuming about 20-25 grams of carbohydrates, provided you're well hydrated.

It's essential to separate energy from hydration

Carbohydrate-rich sports drinks can be helpful, but you should consider how much you need to drink. If it's hot out, your hydration needs will increase dramatically, but your ability to absorb carbohydrates will not. Separating hydration and food energy ensures you can adjust your intake independently based on the temperature and intensity of your ride.

Cycling Nutrition for Extra Long Rides

When it comes to cycling nutrition during ultra-endurance rides, the big challenges are food boredom and GI distress. In order to address these, it is recommended to have a variety of flavours, textures, and craveable foods available. The intensity of very long rides is generally moderate, so the ability to absorb carbohydrates fast enough is rarely a problem. It is important to be conservative with caloric intake because it is easy to overload the gut as rides get very long.

Hydration

It is preferred to have a combination of water, electrolyte drinks, and carbohydrate drinks. It is important to separate energy from hydration when anticipating hot weather or high intensity.

Calorie Intake

It is recommended to consume 20-30% of hourly energy expenditure if known. If energy expenditure is unknown, it is recommended to consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. It is also recommended to choose calorie sources that work for you and will motivate you to keep eating.

Post-Ride Nutrition

The big thing is to stay present and engaged long enough to actually get a good meal. Oftentimes, riders shut off their brains at the finish of an extra-long ride. Instead, it is suggested to wait until you change, shower, and eat before considering the ride finished. Push through and stay focused until those tasks are complete, and you will feel a lot better the next morning. Additionally, it is suggested to consider a pre-bedtime snack to fuel muscle protein synthesis overnight.