Sugary sweets while riding

[JohanDiv]

At the end of the day nutrition is like a saddle or bib..everyone prefers something personal, and what works for me isn't going to work for the next guy. If I'm training to do 6hr + races I need to get out there on long training rides and test what nutrition works for me personally and not wait until race day to try something new. I've made that mistake before and at every waterpoint had to ask the guys "Where k@k a man?".

 

You can still make nutrition mistakes in 4hrs of racing and get away with it in a sense, not so much when you get to 8-10hrs. 

[ChrisF]

..... A good buddy of mine's brother is a pro cyclist in Europe and when the oke still rode competitively in SA he once shared a valuable and very sensible opinion with me. He said that in his opinion, amateur and recreational riders almost always over nutrition during rides - adding that the kinds of one-day events and rides that most SA cyclists do, do not (at all) require the amounts of fuel that people consume and that those kinds of (often scientifically formulated) nutrition is aimed at pro riders and multi-stage events. This is often the result of clever marketing by the sports fuel guys .

 

......    

 

I started cycling again after my Type 2 diabetes diagnoses.  By then I was used to my my small meals, and snack times between meals .... nicely balanced little routine ....

 

When I started spending 2+ hours in the saddle I went back to the dietitian .... she was most diplomatic about it, but the punch line - for our typical trail riding there is no need to alter our diet.

 

3+ hours pose a bit of conundrum for me ... as this would span a snack or meal time, and skipped this do lead to sugar low.  BUT, gels and most of the suppliments are an absolute overkill, and leads to sugar spikes.

 

I now plan my longer rides to have a coffee stop at Bloemendal or Dairy Shed .... coffee and a snack.  BUT, the muffins at Dairy Shed is way more than I need .... the energy bars at Bloemendal also more than needed ....  Still looking for that magic formula, keeping my sugar from tanking without taking in way more than is needed.

 

 

Maritz and I was speaking to a gent at Bloemendal 2 weeks ago .... He was filling his bottles, and adding his energy pouches to the drinks.  He was doing something like 15 repeats of the Traverse, as practice for an upcoming event.  He explained to Maritz what was in his drinks, gels and food in his pouch .... Clearly this gent has done his homework, and is training his body for a stage race.

 

 

And obviously the answers differs widely between "weekend riders" and the dedicated multi-day stage riders.

 

 

 

All that said .... Maritz dont eat a big breakfast.  And when we do 20+km he bonks ....  So I take some food along on the ride and make sure he eats something after the first 10km ....

[Shebeen]

I was reading a cycle magazine today and they had the following tip: eat a couple of jelly beans at the base or start of a climb. Would a couple of jelly beans really create a quick release of energy?

The pros love Haribo.

I dig enerjellies

[Karooryder]

At the end of the day nutrition is like a saddle or bib..everyone prefers something personal, and what works for me isn't going to work for the next guy. If I'm training to do 6hr + races I need to get out there on long training rides and test what nutrition works for me personally and not wait until race day to try something new. I've made that mistake before and at every waterpoint had to ask the guys "Where k@k a man?".

 

You can still make nutrition mistakes in 4hrs of racing and get away with it in a sense, not so much when you get to 8-10hrs. 

This is true...nutrition is a very personal thing and it takes time to find that fuel sweet spot.

 

I do think it is SUPER important to remember that nutrition is no substitute for fitness. I think many many riders fall back on gels, goos and syrupy fitness drinks to compensate for a lack of base fitness. This is a recipe for disaster as the fuel will wreak havoc in an under-prepared over-revved metabolism.     

Edited November 10, 2020 by Karooryder

[MrJacques]

For me: Short morning rides - fasted. Longer rides, take a banana with me bc it digests well and doesn't give me stomach cramps.

Edited November 10, 2020 by MrJacques

[Frosty]

For me: Short morning rides - fasted. Longer rides, take a banana with me bc it digests well and doesn't give me stomach cramps.

We (club) had a nutrition talk from a sports brand (that I won’t mention), and he said a banana can take up to 2 hours to fully digest. From that day on, many guys joke about taking a banana half through a ride, and say, “fueling for the couch, hey?”.

 

For some reason, my “water & electrolyte mix” and bananas don’t mix well, as I’ll get stomach pains shortly after eating the banana. Took many rides to figure out what contributed to the cause.

[The Ouzo]

I started cycling again after my Type 2 diabetes diagnoses.  By then I was used to my my small meals, and snack times between meals .... nicely balanced little routine ....

 

When I started spending 2+ hours in the saddle I went back to the dietitian .... she was most diplomatic about it, but the punch line - for our typical trail riding there is no need to alter our diet.

 

3+ hours pose a bit of conundrum for me ... as this would span a snack or meal time, and skipped this do lead to sugar low.  BUT, gels and most of the suppliments are an absolute overkill, and leads to sugar spikes.

 

I now plan my longer rides to have a coffee stop at Bloemendal or Dairy Shed .... coffee and a snack.  BUT, the muffins at Dairy Shed is way more than I need .... the energy bars at Bloemendal also more than needed ....  Still looking for that magic formula, keeping my sugar from tanking without taking in way more than is needed.

 

 

Maritz and I was speaking to a gent at Bloemendal 2 weeks ago .... He was filling his bottles, and adding his energy pouches to the drinks.  He was doing something like 15 repeats of the Traverse, as practice for an upcoming event.  He explained to Maritz what was in his drinks, gels and food in his pouch .... Clearly this gent has done his homework, and is training his body for a stage race.

 

 

And obviously the answers differs widely between "weekend riders" and the dedicated multi-day stage riders.

 

 

 

All that said .... Maritz dont eat a big breakfast.  And when we do 20+km he bonks ....  So I take some food along on the ride and make sure he eats something after the first 10km ....

have you investigate the 32gi products for your diabetes ?

I dont know enough about diabetes or the nutritional make up of the 32gi gels, but they are supposedly low gi and should not cause spikes etc.

 

 

As for my intake on the bike, I wont make recommendations as I bonk to often.

I normally have 32gi endure in one bottle, plain water in another and then some 32gi gels wich I'm supposed to take every 45min or so.

I tend to forget in the hear of the moment and then land up bonking. 

[WaynejG]

Some very interesting replies. I only do day type events of which the longest has been 70km. Normally have a bottle of water and a bottle of game on the bike for longer rides. Will also include a energy bar of sorts to eat after about 2 hours of riding.

 

Keen to try the Racefood energy bars.

 

Mainly I was curious about the article that I read.

[MDWolff]

Hi all I am coming in at the back end of this but if you need any guidance on the sports nutrition aspect and insight into the various carbohydrate compounds, uses, reasons for uses etc more than happy to give some input. I do need to mention I founded 32Gi but am also very qualified in nutrition, sports nutrition and physiology so will keep my distance from brand association. 

 

Based on what I read above in the thread I need to point out that whatever type of fuelling regime you embark on it needs to support the duration and intensity of the session you are doing. Short sessions less than 90min sitting in lower zones will not need much attention to fuelling at all only hydration, higher intensity sessions such as FTP tests, threshold pushes etc for these sessions you will benefit from fuelling correctly to aid performance and aid a better recovery. Longer sessions need more attention to energy and hydration and you always need to distinguish between the two meaning hourly caloric needs and then fluid requirements (hydration) based on weather, temperatures, humidity etc. A long low intensity Z1-Z2 effort again wont need much from a quick releasing carbohydrate perspective mainly due to the fact that you are sitting below aerobic threshold and you want to maximize fat oxidation so this can be done in two ways, firstly fasting in the first 60min of the session then introducing the carbohydrates in small frequent amounts or using a slow releaisng stability carb from the onset. It has been shown that during exercise regardless of carbohydrate ingestion inuslin is pretty much supprressed again this will depend on intensity of the session. Higher intensity sessions over longer perods of time so Z3 or higher efforts will require a higher carbohydrate demand and in this case a multi-transporter carbohydrate would be best to ensure a higher gastric empyting rate and lowered risk of GI distress as well as required energy system support.

 

When going long 3-4hrs or longer I also advocate some protein intake as well in order to help with satiety, reduce the risks associated with muscle fatigue due to gluconeogenesis of muscle protein and overall feeling of stability. It tends to work very well.

 

Most important for any fuelling solution you choose. Digestive comfort, palatability, convenience and the correct amount and type to support your effort should all be taken into account.

 

I did see a mention of dietary fibre on one of the posts this should be avoided as it can lead to the onset of GI (gastrointestinal distress) and it plays no role in the energy system. 

 

Hope that helps, ride safe all

 

M

[Frosty]

Hi all I am coming in at the back end of this but if you need any guidance on the sports nutrition aspect and insight into the various carbohydrate compounds, uses, reasons for uses etc more than happy to give some input. I do need to mention I founded 32Gi but am also very qualified in nutrition, sports nutrition and physiology so will keep my distance from brand association.

 

Based on what I read above in the thread I need to point out that whatever type of fuelling regime you embark on it needs to support the duration and intensity of the session you are doing. Short sessions less than 90min sitting in lower zones will not need much attention to fuelling at all only hydration, higher intensity sessions such as FTP tests, threshold pushes etc for these sessions you will benefit from fuelling correctly to aid performance and aid a better recovery. Longer sessions need more attention to energy and hydration and you always need to distinguish between the two meaning hourly caloric needs and then fluid requirements (hydration) based on weather, temperatures, humidity etc. A long low intensity Z1-Z2 effort again wont need much from a quick releasing carbohydrate perspective mainly due to the fact that you are sitting below aerobic threshold and you want to maximize fat oxidation so this can be done in two ways, firstly fasting in the first 60min of the session then introducing the carbohydrates in small frequent amounts or using a slow releaisng stability carb from the onset. It has been shown that during exercise regardless of carbohydrate ingestion inuslin is pretty much supprressed again this will depend on intensity of the session. Higher intensity sessions over longer perods of time so Z3 or higher efforts will require a higher carbohydrate demand and in this case a multi-transporter carbohydrate would be best to ensure a higher gastric empyting rate and lowered risk of GI distress as well as required energy system support.

 

When going long 3-4hrs or longer I also advocate some protein intake as well in order to help with satiety, reduce the risks associated with muscle fatigue due to gluconeogenesis of muscle protein and overall feeling of stability. It tends to work very well.

 

Most important for any fuelling solution you choose. Digestive comfort, palatability, convenience and the correct amount and type to support your effort should all be taken into account.

 

I did see a mention of dietary fibre on one of the posts this should be avoided as it can lead to the onset of GI (gastrointestinal distress) and it plays no role in the energy system.

 

Hope that helps, ride safe all

 

M

Nice reply Mark.

 

I mentioned fibre, only because it is listed on the label as a Carb, eg. 0.65g per 2 scoops. For those that don’t know, the body doesn’t digest it and passes it through while cleaning parts of our internals.

 

Are those trace amounts from the raws used in the processing, or do you add it to your product?