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rafab

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Hi there! I am about to attempt my first 100km (60m) ride and I am unsure what food to bring, and what to eat afterwards. For context, I usually do short rides (20~40km) at a rather slow pace (25 km/h or 15.5m/h average), on a rather flat terrain. I usually only drink water during these rides, maybe a banana or granola bar if I feel hungry.

What would be a good, safe, set of food and drinks to bring? How often should I eat?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions you may have!
 
60 mile mtb ride is no joke! There's lot of opinions out there and you should definitely experiment with what works for your body.

My overall nutrition for a 60 mile ride looks like this:
  • Water in Camelbak
  • Bottle with calorie mix on bike (I use either Skratch Super-Fuel or Roctane and double the recommended amount as it's my primary food source)
  • Every hour I'll either eat a sleeve of Bloks or a Honey Stinger waffle
  • I'll keep a stash of snacks in my pack as well if I really need a hit of some non sports food. Normally some goldfish crackers, string cheese (whatever my kids have laying around the house)

That's about it. A 60 mile ride for me is more of an eating competition; experiment and find what works for you! Post ride for me is normally a whole pizza and some sour gummy worms so I won't speak to actual recovery food ;)
 
I did a bikepacking trip where we did several of these on weighted bikes day after day. Honestly we were powered by gummy bears and tim hortons donuts. It can get hard to get the calories you need to avoid bonking (IE your body is out of sugar and starts to feel really heavy). Probably the best thing is energy bars and plenty of water. You will need carbs/sugar, so don't avoid them. Try to eat often as you'll be burning a lot of calories. If you start to feel like you're hitting a wall, stop, rest and eat/drink. Good luck and have fun!
I hear one of the best recovery drinks is chocolate milk. Lots of sugar and protein.
 
In my experience:

Drink before you're thirsty-water is your best friend.

Eat before you're hungry-^^yes, those honey waffles are great. Tear a few open before you start the race.

Carry something for leg cramps-mustard packs do the trick for me, not just a wives tale.

And...

I swear by these:

Image


Good luck.
 
Definitely bacon cheeseburger or pizza for post recovery
 
I find that some of the typical energy bars and gels aren't very appealing several hours into a ride on a warm day. I suggest experimenting with other foods like gummy candies and pretzels to have more options. At some point the best fuel becomes whatever you can eat.

I am a fan of Clif Bats since they come in a bunch of flavors and aren't too pricey. I also use gel packs but save them for the last half of the ride when I need to get the energy in my system quicker. I carry water in my Camelback and Skratch iny bottles. I usually mix the Skratch a bit strong and drink water after it.

I also make a conscious effort to eat every 45-60 minutes to keep my energy level high. It's easier to stay fueled than to try to recover when you run low.
 
Are you road cycling? or maybe flat gravel cycling? 25kph is crazy fast for actual offroad mtb.
I'd expect a fast pace off road for 100km to 12kph. Expect to be out there for 8 hours.

Can you refill water while your out there? or are you completely self sufficient for that ti?
I'd allow at least 800 ml/hour of water. I also take a packed lunch and some snacks.

Personally I would start the day 1.5 hours before riding with a solid bowl of porridge with bananna, fruit and some dates/prunes.
During the ride i'd snacl with nuts/trail mix or make some bliss ball. For 100km id roll 4 flat bread roll with avocado, egg, tomato, letuce, aolli and either bacon and or chorizo.
Afterward i'd likely smash a hearty pub meal with mmy mates to discuss the legendaryness of the 100km day.

Obviously this is for a day of riding where you stop and eat. Racing without stopping at a higher speed will require a shittier meal plan with energy bars etc
 
Have no idea what kind of riding you are doing averaging that speed. Can only benchmark, but for your typical ride of 1-1.5 hours, I would typically only need to hydrate. If longer stuff, the rule I use is electrolytes every 30 minutes, carbs every hour. I've used gels as my carbs, and previously I've used Skratch, but I now prefer Liquid IV.

One other poster touched on this, but I think what you are doing the weeks prior to is going to be every bit as, maybe even more, important. Start taking potassium and magnesium supplements. Do it well ahead of time, magnesium can upset some people's digestive system. Also carry something for cramping, I've had Base Salts take me from having to be pulled out of the water (long swim) to being fine in a few seconds (literally).

All that said, my endurance racing stuff is limited to swimming, not riding - so hopefully if it does not translate, someone will call BS on my post. And I tend to be faster and be able to hold a higher heart rate than most people, so I was more prone to cramping than most, but also less reliant on refueling than most. For longer recreational rides with peers, say 2.5 hours, I've been fine with just a few liters of water (more for MTB, less for gravel and road), and a 200-ish calorie bar with a mix of simple and complex carbs. But, getting your salt levels up well in advance of your event is not going to hurt you, and may be a bit help, so I'd still do it.
 
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