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I would like to do some long, physical rides in the colorado mountains this summer and I wonder what most people take to eat on rides in the 5-6 hr. range. I know some power bars/gu are a good idea but when you are out for this long I would think some occasional "real" food would be a good idea if not necassary.
I know dried fruit/trail mix is good but what are some other ideas?
What food do you pack for a full day of riding?
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If I’m in the mood for something other than cliff bars, I’ll bring a couple super thick extra peanut butter, PB&J sandwiches and a piece of fruit or two.
PB&Js can pack a lot of calories and energy for the punch. -
I agree with Eric. I really don’t like most "energy bars" and would rather eat something, anything, else. Honestly, I usually buy some candy bars (calories) that have nuts (more calories, with some unsaturated fat and protein), like Snickers, Baby Ruth, Salted Nut Roll, etc., whatever is on sale at the time If it is a full day ride you can’t beat pbj. I put the peanut butter on both sides so that the jam doesn’t soak into the bread and I pick a dense, high-cal bread like Orowheat Winter Wheat or home-made. I also like to bring dried fruit and/or jerky.
I also don’t mess with fancy drinks. These days I usually just drink water, but I have had good success from low-acid, no pulp orange juice, cut by half with water or ice. Tastes good and has lots of good nutrients.
All that fancy crap costs a fortune, tastes like cardboard, and in my opinion doesn’t provide any significant advantage over simpler, cheaper stuff you can find in your kitchen.
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The Campbell’s soup at hand things are really convenient on the trail. I also keep a pocket full of tootsie rolls or star burst for quick energy. Beef Jerky works nicely in a pocket, too. Bananas are probably my favorite trail food. But, it’s a real bummer when I am getting ready to enjoy a banana and I find that I have smashed it. I hate gishy bananas! I am not a fan of energy bars either. I find them to be really over rated. Here’s a nice read on the subject. http://www.nbwclub.org/columns/kit/kitc … r-may.html. I might replace my star burst with raisins after reading the article.
As far as energy drinks go I find them more useful after a ride, especially when driving. They help me cope with the post ride adrenaline crash.
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I love to take a bagel, which is high in cals, something like 270 per. and a couple of bananas which has potassium which keeps me going and i love the taste. aside from that Clif bars are what i usually take as well as maybe some trail mix depending on if i feel like it.
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i like to get the best of both worlds when it comes to the three B’s. Take a banana (b one), crush it up and spread it on one side of a bagel( b two), and i put peanut butter on the other half(b three, sorta), and bam. I also like trail mix as well, you really cant beat the extra energy assorted nuts and some m&m give you.
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I am a PB&J sanwhich man and I also take along a banana. I usually eat the sandwich before the ride and the banana around 2/3s of the way into the ride. This works for me but I don’t usually ride over 20 miles. Sometimes I don’t eat the banana until I am in my truck and driving home.
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The food I bring mt biking is the same I bring hiking or x/c skiing
Trail mix, bannanas, sandwhich of some sort ( pbj or a bagel w/ pepperoni and cheese) and snickers. I stay away from the power bar things. Snickers have about the same carbs/calories as them but cost less and taste so much better.Anything under 2 hours I seldom bring anything though. I do have one or two granola bars in my ba just in case though.
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I take along the "travel" tuna packs you can get at any local grub store. They don’t smash like banannas or PB&J. They are quick, light to carry, good, and plenty of protein!
Ride or Die!
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I’ve always been the type that enjoys beef jerky so I’ll typically whip some up when I know I’m heading out on a long ride in a day or two. It’s cheap and easy to make and my homemade stuff has none of the preservatives/MSG/salt salt content that the store bought jerky contains.
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For longer rides, 35 miles or more, I love to bring a raisin bagel smothered with peanut butter and honey.
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I’m not sure if it’s the high altitude or the exertion, but whenever I pack ‘real’ food on an epic ride, I can’t even stand to look at it when on the trail.
I carry gu and/or hammer gel, Clif Shot bloks, (cranrazz and margarita) M&M’s and maybe a clif bar.
The length of the ride determines how many of all those.
I also carry straight water in my camelbak and poweraide in my bike bottle.
With this strategy I have ridden Monarch Crest and Kenosha Pass to Georgia Pass. Of course I carry lesser amounts of these same things on shorter front range and Moab rides too.
Hope this helps!
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I usually take a Nature Valley bar or two and water on shorter (up to 4 hour) rides. But think I’m going to try the Tuna pack idea this summer.
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I don’t like to eat when I ride. Eating real food usually means stopping.
I use an energy/electrolyte drink mix in my camelbak, so I’m constantly getting calories and electrolytes while staying hydrated. I’ll take a few gel’s an energy bars to eat while on the roads connecting the singletrack. I try to get most of my calories in liquid form. I’ve used GU02 (good flavor, not too strong), and am now using HEED (I think it works better, but not a strong enough flavor) but am going to try some Perpetum (sp?) soon. Watered down gatorade works in a pinch.
A tip on using candy – remember, just because the number of calories are the same as an energy bar doesn’t mean it’s the same type of calories. I read about half of this book a year and a half ago, and they went into great detail on the different types of carbs (aka sugars – what your body uses as fuel). I don’t claim to remember, or understand, all of it. But, they did say that simple sugars (which you’ll find in candy) aren’t good for endurance sports. I forget what the mechanism is called, but basically they spike your blood sugar too quickly, and your body reacts to lower the blood sugar. Basically you quit processing the sugars – so no more energy. It’s like your body panics and hits the kill switch.
Complex carbs are better because they take a little longer to get into your blood and don’t cause the big spike in blood sugar that makes your body shut down. But you have to take them in regularly to keep a steady supply.
Hopefully there’s someone out there who understands this stuff better than me and can explain it better…
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I have a few fast friends who ride long distances.
One guy used to cook chicken and broccoli and put it in bags. During a 13 hour solo event, he would just put the bags of chicken and broc into his jersey pocket and pull out the bite size pieces and eat them. It worked.
I have taken turkey/cheese wraps on long rides. They’re great. I’ve stashed coolers in the woods for long rides and had full on pasta, chicken, fruit….a regular meal. Of course we stopped for this one.
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I like to eat an apple on the way to the trail, some gels or candy bars on the trail, and for shorts stops along the trail I like to mix Honey Nut Cherrios, Roasted Peanuts and Raisins. Yummy
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