OK, we’ve covered training plans and getting ready for a big ride, so I thought I’d cast a little light over what to eat during the ride, as I regularly see riders eating the wrong things, or the right things at the wrong times!

The key to a big ride is fuelling your body well. This starts before the day of ride. You need to stock up your carbohydrate stores (pasta and rice are the usual favourites), then continually keep restocking them throughout the duration of the ride, being careful to never to let them get so low you ‘bonk’ as you will struggle to recover and ride anywhere near your potential.

Start the day off with a good breakfast. Carbohydrates are key, but also make sure your carbs are low-average GI foods (which take longer to get into the blood stream) e.g. beans on (wholemeal) toast, porridge, muesli, cornflakes, rice Kripsies, cereal bars, scotch pancakes. A chocolate bar before the start of a ride (which seems to be pretty common) is not really the best thing!

NOTE: A fried breakfast isn’t the best as it is high in fat, but if you can’t resist it (like me), go big on the beans and wholemeal toast!

On the ride, energy bars, gels & drinks are great, providing the right mix of ingredients but they are expensive and can be too sickly in large quantities (and play havoc with your digestion), so include some real food such as sandwiches (sweet or savoury). Basically you want some (calorific) foods that provide a mix of fast & slow release energy to help sustain performance without aggravating blood sugar levels. As a rule of thumb, look to eat 1g carb per kg body weight, per hour, so 70g of carbs for a 70kg person. An average male uses around 2,000kcal in a ‘normal’ day, but cycling will use around 500 calories per hour, and these will need to be replaced.

Here are some of our favourite trail foods (and their nutritional values) in the sort of quantaties you might eat:

Chelsea bun (85g serving). Good amount of carbs and easy to make yourself, and rucksack safe. Calories 255, Fat 4.9, Carbs 46.9, Protein 5.5

Sesame Snaps (30g). They stick to your teeth, but are small, handy and cheap from Pound shops. Calories 157, Fat 8.8, Carbs 14.8, Protein 3.7

Rice Krispie square (28g/1 bar). Light, durable, readily available, tasty, good value and good nutritional value. Calories 118, Fat 3.5, Carbs 21, Protein 1

Malt Loaf (64g/2 slices). Great value & nutritional properties, but can stick to your teeth. Best with butter. Calories 220, Fat 6.4, Carbs 36.5, Protein 4.1

Jelly Babies (25g). A favourite pick-me-up for near the end of a ride. Calories 84, Fat 0, Carbs 20, Protein 1

Eat Natural (1 bar). Great taste, easy to find and good value. Calories 228, Fat 14.4, Carbs 26.4, Protein 2.9

Clif Bar (50g bar). Our favourite energy bar, as they taste yummy and have good texture. Calories 193, Fat 4.5, Carbs 29.5, Protein 9

Banana (1 medium). An excellent, healthy energy food, but they get squashed very easily. Calories 105, Fat 0.4, Carbs 27, Protein 1.3

Sun dried banana (50g). From www.tropicalwholefoods.co.uk Chewy, tasty, fresh banana supplement. Calories 110, Fat 0.2, Carbs 26.1, Protein 1.1

Fig Rolls (36g/2 biscuits). Easy to eat on the move, but dry, so requires some water. Calories 122, Fat 1.8, Carbs 24.4, Protein 1

Flapjack (28g). Homemade or shop bought, these are great high calorie trail food, but crumbly. Calories 140, Fat 7, Carbs 16.8, Protein 1.1

Fruit cake (80g). Best enjoyed on a break, with a cup of tea. Christmas cake is a favourite variation in January. Calories 290, Fat 9, Carbs 49, Protein 3

Energy gel (25g). Quick & easy to consume, if the texture doesn’t make you gag. Have a swig of water after. Calories 88, Fat 0, Carbs 22, Protein 0

My favourite for a powerful kick up the bum is a Clif Shot or the Shot Bloks.

Energy Drink (1 serving in 500ml) . A very easy & effective way to take on energy, especially in hot weather. Calories 189, Fat 0, Carbs 47, 0 Protein

Another good and favourite trail food (as it is cheap, can be made at home, packs well and has good energy properties) is a peanut butter and jam sandwich on wholemeal bread.

TOP TIP: Avoid fatty foods and high GI  foods e.g. sweets & chocolate, which boost your blood glucose level right up, but then drop heavily, leaving you tired & lethargic.

After the ride:
Consume a ‘recovery’ drink or something like a chocolate milkshake asap after you finish riding is perfect. Follow this with a proper meal when you can though. Look to consume 1g of protein per 1kg of bodyweight (lean meat, fish, etc), but don’t go silly with the fat or it will hamper your recovery as it slows digestion and absorption of carbs.

NOTE: It is important for multi day rides to recover as best you can for the next day’s riding. Special protein / recovery bars and drinks are easy and practical to consume directly after a ride, then get some good old fashion food down you afterwards, when you’re all cleaned up etc.

DRINKING
DRINK LOTS! Staying hydrated is vital, and your performance will deteriorate very rapidly if you don’t drink enough. As a rough guide, aim to consume about 1 (750ml) bottle per hour. We often ride with an ‘emergency’ water bottle (or two) on the bike to make sure we don’t run dry and always have some  Nunn tablets on us (undoubtedly the favourite hydration tablets available).

TOP TIP: You can make your own cheap & simple hydration drink by using 1/3 fruit juice, 2/3’rds water and adding a pinch of salt.