Long winter rides - nutrition tips

Fluid work for me but Ive never been in as continuously cold temperatures as the OP.

I haven’t spent much time looking at the science, however in 2016 and 2017 I did a lot of hard long rides, a few being centuries completed at upper tempo, and experimented with:

  • liquid carbs only
  • liquid+solid
  • electrolytes+solid fueling

And then after some forum and podcast discussions, experimented again in 2019 and 2020.

My conclusion is that some amount of solid food leads to better performance.

Independently, early in working with my coach (was a continental pro) he started asking questions around fueling. He is of the opinion “do what works for you” although his personal experience and opinion is to keep your hydration and nutrition separate.

This is very much an N=1 thing, but for me long winter rides means lots of Z2-3, not much above that. Which gives me a lot of latitude in what I eat, since at those lower intensities I’m not working hard enough to be bumping up into limits of what I can digest. In those intensities in the cold I’m also not sweating much so liquid nutrition doesn’t really work. So I tend to go for solid and tasty food. Sandwiches, flapjacks, cereal bars, a coffee and cake stop. If it gets cold enough that those foods get frozen and hard to eat, I’m not riding long anyway!

Bagels with peanut butter, almond butter or cream cheese. I do the same in warm weather too. I really only use gels and chews for events.

Interesting. Do you mind me asking for your perception as to why this is the case for you?

Greater satiety?

Steadier blood sugar feel?

Did you use identical carb-fueling rates when testing some solids vs. liquid-only approaches?

What percentage or range of percentages of each did you land on?

Haven’t approached this one with the level of A vs B testing that some of your questions ask/imply. For maybe the last 40+ years I’ve found sugary drinks to lead to varying levels of gastric distress. After about 4 hours I find a layer of food in the stomach makes me ‘feel better’ and therefore perform better. For these rides I use on bottle of Gu Roctane and one bottle of water, plus some food, and refill roughly every 2 hours.

1 Like

I make my own up for winter, homemade flapjack with syrup, crispy caramel bar, banana, fluids (light CHO) drink. look at what calories I utilised then add in what I took. It still adds up to eat the fridge when I get back after a 4-5 hour L2 ride. During the winter I usually stop and make a fresh cup of coffee from my stove, takes about 4-5 mins to make on a jet boil type one.

Winter training should incorporate this, as its fun too. Serious miles, and a bit of stopping to have a cuppa. Refreshing at least.

I wouldn’t buy these energy bars, as they are expensive, make your own up ,lol.

Safe cycling,
Allan

1 Like

Gotcha. Always looking to learn from real world scenarios and practices. :slight_smile:

Ate a lot of fig and granola bars this year LOL experimenting with those as carb sources.

For 3+ hour hard rides/workouts I’m more or less settled on:

  • 2 heaping scoops of Gu Roctane Grape (no caffeine) which is about 300 calories and 70g carbs
  • 1 bottle water with some electrolytes: from a bag of sodium citrate
  • eat the remaining calories based on kJ burned
  • being prompted by Garmin reminders and adjusting as necessary based on several factors

with refills every ~120 minutes. On hot rides I pack a 3rd bottle of water in my jersey.

The long training rides are endurance plus ‘stuff’ and this past year I’ve been more focused on foundation work and only did two 3+ hour rides above IF of .80.

2 Likes

I need to set this up. I don’t feel hungry when exercising or racing so I’m always forgetting.

Neither do I but I prefer to take my cue of other rider than have my Garmin make another beep :rofl:

While I don’t ride my bike in that kind of weather, I spend a lot of time outside in much colder temperatures in snowshoes, XC skis or hiking, so eating and drinking in those conditions is familiar. The peanut butter sandwich (with whole grain or multigrain bread) is a classic, works down to arctic conditions; bars are generally bad, they all freeze to become chewing muscle workouts, and I replace them with trail mix with whatever I want in it (nuts, grains, dried fruit, chocolate). Drinks are always a problem with those cute valves freezing up, a wide-opening screw-cap bottle is more complicated to use but works to -20C - until the contents freeze. Longer days, a small stainless steel thermos bottle with sweet tea will last a whole day in polar conditions.

I have a USWE ski hydration pack which is great on the fat bike too. No reason it couldn’t work on the road as well. They also have a version with less storage volume, and winter hip hydration packs as well.

Great video on the product – and firing me up for ski season!

1 Like

I love date balls for this reason! Here’s a link to the recipe I use. They are not too sweet and have enough protein to keep me satiated during long winter rides, below freezing and for 10+ hours.

Just tried out sandwiches made of 2 waffles held together with PB. Pretty tasty and stays soft in the cold. Not the best nutrient density, but a good start nonetheless

1 Like

I have been eating plain bagels on long rides lately. They work great bc they have some added sugars, are quick to digest, and have high sodium. Also they are somewhat chewy so they are easy to get down.

I like fig bars too but sometimes the sugary taste makes my stomach feel a bit off if I have too many

Has anyone discovered any tricks for keeping bottles from freezing? I sometimes stick them inside my jersey against the skin of my back, which is a pretty terrible experience and also not that effective, But I’ve been able to eek by with that.

Add more salt. Kosher salt works well

1 Like

Wouldn’t blood sugar going up be the expected result of consuming sugar while exercising and then going back down as your muscles absorb it? Did super sapiens suggest that this wasn’t optimal? I’m just curious.

Insulated bottles will help…everyone always thinks of them as ways to keep liquids cold, but they work in reverse as well.

On really cold rides (which I refuse to do anymore😜), I have done warm tea in my insulated bottles Drinkable whether hot or cold, a warm liquid feels great while you warm up and can also provide a little caffeine boost.

2 Likes