I am coming back after a decade off the bike. During that time, I didn’t take care of myself and put on about 40 lbs.
For a while, I was doing intermittent fasting and that jump started some weight loss, but as we know, there was also muscle loss.
So I have been trying to do a bit of both. Training and fasting which has been… rough. Then listening to “Ask a Coach” yesterday, I kept hearing about 100g / hour of carbs.
Here’s my question. Back in the day, I was using Carbo-Pro. I don’t even know if that’s still around.
So what are some people’s favorite on bike foods for fueling?
Pick any topic; Nutrition, Sweet Spot vs Traditional Base, Ramp Test vs. FTP Test, Aero vs Weight, Wax vs Lube and on and on. No matter what you’ll be neck deep in a milieu of minutiae about shit you had no idea about! Deep dives ain’t got nothing on the asberger-y interactions we have with topics in this forum.
You want advice? Do what @anon67840561 says. Then delete this topic, don’t do more research, don’t ask more questions, just BACK. AWAY.
Or you’ll be measuring CHO and Protein with an Electron Microscope while adding Maltodextrin to your Chocolate Milk in a Shaker Bottle with a pinch of protein powder, dash of tart cherry juice, smidge of maple syrup, and a helping of paprika (cause? why not?).
Bananas for me, I find them easier to open on the move. I quite often just have carb drinks in my bottle especially at this time of year when I would rather concentrate on the road than trying to get something out of my pocket with winter gloves.
Sugar free squash with maltodextrin (and electrolyte powder if it’s hot).
And jelly babies. Sometimes caramelised nuts.
In a pinch I go to the old-school UK roadies staple: coca-cola, left overnight until it’s flat, and add half a pinch of salt (sodium) and half a pinch of lo-salt (potassium). Hi tech it is not, but it works.
I haven’t found a better value for me than tailwind. Works well with my stomach, tastes good enough (it’s pretty mild except in really heavy doses), and I don’t have to do any thinking. I supplement this with some fig newton type biscuits or whatever is around. Makes it pretty easy to get to 100g/carbs an hour for little money and pretty much no thinking.
@jasonm71 welcome back! I’ve been meaning to ask if anyone uses Carbo-Pro! Found that stuff this past summer. Helped me get through 460mi in 4 days for Relay for Life as well as a 7hr mtb ride! That and homemade rice cakes!
Powdered gatorade, maltodextrin, and fructose can be mixed to create an ideal glucose/fructose ratio. I have all my calories in bottles outdoors in the summer.
On the trainer, I supplement with candy…because, why not? It’s basically same stuff you get in ‘bike’ food, for a fraction of the cost, that tastes twice as good. I’ll have plain gatorade with a bowl of jelly beans, sour patch kids, swedish fish…any non-chocolate pure sugar type candy. I’ve noticed gummy bears are actually a bit more difficult to chew than other stuff…sour patch kids go down much quicker, and I like them more as well.
Now, outdoors, in cold weather I do use bike food, because I just dont take in enough liquid to really make bottle calories feasible on their own. I like Clif Bloks. Palatable, way less disgusting than gels, and the packages, as long as you cut it open pre-ride, can be fished out of pocket and eaten with heavy gloves on.
