any good ideas on staying fueled up

[mtbordie]

I have a hard time eating often enough to stay fueled up.  I often find myself needing to eat and tell myself I'll stop at the top of a climb to grab something but then I get to the top and feel good and start down and find myself in the same situation again on the next climb.
So looking for some ideas on how you all keep your intake on schedule.

[eec]

I have the same problem. I hate to eat while riding, so I just carry a bunch of Gu packets and down one every so often. They're easy, and just enough until you're ready to eat a full meal.

[metalartgate]

I carry a cheap Timex watch with, a, as they call it a hydration timer. I set it for 59 min, the max it goes to, every time it goes off I eat something.

[Iowagriz]

I will look for a spot each hour or so, usually on a somewhat steep climb.  Even if I could ride it, I'll force myself to jump off and walk it and eat at the same time.  I figure the forward movement is good, rest the legs somewhat and keep myself out of the red zone.

[eec]

I will look for a spot each hour or so, usually on a somewhat steep climb.  Even if I could ride it, I'll force myself to jump off and walk it and eat at the same time.  I figure the forward movement is good, rest the legs somewhat and keep myself out of the red zone.

Is there a compelling reason to get off the bike, even though you could ride it, to walk and eat? Why not ride and eat? Unless resting the legs is the real reason?

[Iowagriz]

Primarily resting the legs and stretching, but a good excuse to keep the hr below zones 4/5. I also found that it allowed me to easily access the bags and food while still moving.

I'll certainly try to nibble at other times as well, but this started during my fast tour test of the Tour Divide route. Mostly easy roads to eat on, but my test was being able to move forward for 12+ hrs. To do that, I wanted keep my hr low. Thus if I found a pitch that was sustained over 9-10%, I'd walk for 5-10 min (even more of I hadn't gotten off in a few hrs). The goal was to keep fueled and moving for the majority of the day.

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[mtbordie]

thanks for sharing, i know I need to be specific about staying fueled.  I like your tip iowagriz about eating on the steep hills.  Have to put that to use

[Enjoying the View]

For me it is usually a combination of snacking while riding. I like having some of my “yummy” snacks readily available in my feed bag or top tube bag. For example peanut butter M&Ms or dried fruit. And then stop for a short break every few hours for something more substantial. This is for non race mode as I’m not much of a racer. I do like to be efficient with my time though. When I do stop I try to make sure I’m doing other things like filtering water or what ever. I also make it a point that when ever I stop or get off my bike I’m also eating something immediately.

If I were racing,  since this was asked in the racing category, I probably make a point to snack regularly and then every house or so pound down something more substantial using a timer or an on the hour kind of idea.

For me I often find that I’ve been slacking on drinking enough water. I think I drink regularly enough just need to take more in.

[EndoAgain]

All good advice on staying fueled. I will get to another tactic but on fueling I have used powder mix in small baggies to add to water bottles and find mixing calories in the bottle helps keep bonking at bay on my training rides. I use this for long training rides and endurance races too. Have also used high sugar snacks like sour patch kids in the feedbag to keep going while bike packing. But...last year while trying to lose a little weight I discovered what some others have hinted at, if I train myself to burn fat and stay in low heart rates I will not bonk. For training start rides without eating or go for a short run in the morning while fasting. Practice rides progressively longer too without eating and don't snack through out the day while you are not riding too. I found that when I was dieting I could go on 5 hour rides without eating and felt fine. Totally expected there was no way I could do that but did it easily. Have another friend who while dieting also found he could start riding 5+ hour rides without eating. Get your body used to burning fat and check our fasting ride training online. Even if not dieting let your body get hungry during the day between meals...don't snack. If always snacking your body will start demanding constant food. Good experiment to try.

[mtbordie]

Thanks for all the tips guys      Ill have to try you ideas Endo   as i definitly need to lighten up before race time

[evdog]

I will get to another tactic but on fueling I have used powder mix in small baggies to add to water bottles and find mixing calories in the bottle helps keep bonking at bay on my training rides.

Don't seem to hear about it much for bikepacking but a lot of guys I know swear by mixes like Tailwind and hammer nutrition for fuel.  To the point where doing full day endurance rides that's all they'll take in.  They don't seem to get hungry at all, or can get by with just a couple bars during the day.  I've tried them but not as a sole source, I still don't see how you don't get hungry and I'm not sure this would work for multi-day racing.  But it could be something to augment your nutrition as you could easily take in calories without having to stop.   

[Majcolo]

Don't seem to hear about it much for bikepacking but a lot of guys I know swear by mixes like Tailwind and hammer nutrition for fuel.  To the point where doing full day endurance rides that's all they'll take in.  They don't seem to get hungry at all, or can get by with just a couple bars during the day.  I've tried them but not as a sole source, I still don't see how you don't get hungry and I'm not sure this would work for multi-day racing.  But it could be something to augment your nutrition as you could easily take in calories without having to stop.   

I'm one of those guys; Hammer stuff basically saved my endurance career. I've used Hammer Perpetuem for years, and Sustained Energy before that. Mixing the powder can be a pain, but I haven't had stomach, bonking, or cramping issues since 2001 and I can go all day with no solid food. I actually prefer to be all liquid on fast rides. I suffered mightily with stomach issues and cramping during the Cytomax/Gatorade/Powerbar era of sports nutrition.

Perpetuem Solids are a godsend in hot weather because you get the same kind of easy to digest nutrition without having to drink a hot sports drink. Plain water is better than any mix when your water is warm.

It also helps if you don't get all emotional about your food while you're moving. I want the mildest, most tasteless stuff possible when I'm trying to make time and Hammer fits that bill. Sweet stuff makes me want to puke. I still have nightmares about Powerbar Harvest Bars from the White Rim in 1998.

Solid food when you stop for the night is a good idea though. And on tours.

[clancy]

Used Hammer Perpetuem on Tour Divide 2016 and it worked great. Could go all day and not need anything else. I use it on long training rides and will use it again on the TD northbound this year. I find drinking my calories a lot easier than chewing, I eat a variety of solid food before and after the days ride. It is a great way to keep blood sugar at a constant, no bonking.

My brother, David Jones, RAAM record holder used it almost exclusively while racing. Everything else we tried on earlier endurance races caused all the usual problems, bloat, indigestion, bonking etc.

I also want to recommend Hammer's Recoverite for end of day. Makes a big difference on how you feel the next day.

[mtbordie]

i use Hammer products but have never tried a liquid exclusivley.  I'll have to give that a try on one of long training rides here pretty quick
to see how that works.  I've been more aware of how much and how often I drink and eat, as each hour passes and it has been helping .
Thanks everybody for all your ideas and what works for you.

[clancy]

One of the best things about using a liquid diet, besides being easy to consume and easy to digest ,is it saves a lot of TIME on stops in stores for food. 

[Sithe1982]

since i have the same problem as OP, (i also have with injectable steroids but that's another thing) I'm super thankful to everyone who shared their ideas here as it sounds to be really helpful to me! i also have some wheels issues but i guess i'm going to make a new thread about it. thanks a lot for everything people!

[hanyo66]

Used Hammer Perpetuem on Tour Divide 2016 and it worked great. Could go all day and not need anything else. I use it on long training rides and will use it again on the TD northbound this year. I find drinking my calories a lot easier than chewing, I eat a variety of solid food before and after the days ride. It is a great way to keep blood sugar at a constant, no bonking.

My brother, David Jones, RAAM record holder used it almost exclusively while racing. Everything else we tried on earlier endurance races caused all the usual problems, bloat, indigestion, bonking etc.

I also want to recommend Hammer's Recoverite for end of day. Makes a big difference on how you feel the next day.

I'm going to check this product out. I always have a hard time to eat solids when running / cycling, I end up just chewing bites of whatever in my mouth for an infinite time and it's so hard to swallow.

How many times in a typical long distance cycling day do you mix up a new drink?

[chainagent]

How many times in a typical long distance cycling day do you mix up a new drink?

That is a question I am also interested in. During the TD 2013 my legs were always empty from day six until I reached Antelope Wells on day 25. And it didn't matter what kind of food and how many I ate.

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: When to eat?
I force myself to eat something, even it's less than 100 cal, every hour of moving time. I use the ride time function on my bike computer to keep track. Before I started doing this, I'd often lose track and wait too long. For ultras, it's very easy to mentally lose track of time. Especially at night. It seems like the more tired I'd get, I would keep expanding the intervals between refuels. Low blood sugar makes for poor decision making. I try to aim for 150-300 cal per hour. About the only time I break the 1-hr rule is for 12/24 events which lap, when lap times always seem to be in the 1:15-1:30 range...
Re: What to eat?
I'm also a Perpetuem addict. My body can just live on that stuff. Caffee Latte flavor is to die for! It's awesome for 12/24 endurance lapping events. I carry bags of it on multi-day rides and then run out about the 2nd day. So sad. Next best thing for longer rides is real food. Gu/gels are great for short rides, but my body shuns them for multi-day rides. Anything sweet seems repulsive. My body craves additional protein and fat for long rides and that's what I try to give it. Also, for multi-day rides, my body seems to perform better if I try to eat two additional meals a day, larger than the normal 200-300 snack.
-B