- Fuelling properly is one of the easiest things
that you can do, but will have a massive
impact on your performance.
And the longer your ride is,
the more important fueling becomes.
So if you're just going out on a long, winter,
base-mile ride, or that big, huge sportive
that you've been preparing for for a long time,
or just some long summer rides.
We're going to show you what to eat
and when to eat it.
But before we do, make sure you subscribe to GCN
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(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Now the first thing to know
about fueling for a long ride is that your fueling
doesn't start when you get on the bike.
You need to think about your pre-ride nutrition
and that starts with your meal the night before.
You want to eat a solid, carb-heavy meal.
Maybe something with pasta, rice, or even quinoa.
But don't make the classic mistake of overeating.
Although carb loading is good thing,
you want to fill up those carbohydrate reserves,
but if you eat double what you'd normally eat,
you're just going to feel bloated
and sluggish the next day.
Try to eat slightly more carbohydrates
than you usually would.
Now what you eat the morning of your big ride
is also super important.
You really want to have a hearty, low-GI, low-fat breakfast.
So something like porridge, a Bircher muesli,
or some overnight oats would be ideal.
This will give you a good amount of carbohydrates
for energy but the fact that they are low-GI carbs
mean that the energy will be released slowly.
So you will feel the benefits for longer.
And you want to avoid fatty foods as they will delay
the absorption of much-needed carbs into your system.
So unfortunately, a full-English fry up is probably not
the best option before a big ride.
(slow techno beat)
- Simple things first.
If you're going on a long ride, take two bottles.
Now, 750 ml bottles are really useful
if you can fit them into your frame.
This is actually a 500, but 750s don't fit into
everyone's frame, especially if you've got a smaller bike.
But ultimately, the hydration strategy you go for
is going to depend on the conditions that you ride in.
- [Narrator] If it's really hot,
focus on having electrolytes in your drinks
to replace the essential minerals you lose through sweating.
And if can, try planning at least one point on your ride
where you can refill your bottles.
Also, a pro tip is to take an electrolyte tablet
or a sachet of drink mix in your pocket or saddlebag
ready for when you refill your bottles.
Now in summer, I quite like to have water in my bottles
and electrolytes to make sure that I'm replenishing
the minerals lost by sweat.
But in winter, I like to put carbohydrate mix
in the bottles and by using a sort of dedicated
product, a sachet of carbohydrate mix,
you can actually get the maximum amount of carbohydrate
that your body is able to absorb in an hour.
The reason for this is that they have the correct blend
of sugars that enable you to absorb the maximum amount
of carbohydrate per hour which can massively help
with your fueling.
(techno music)
- [Narrator] On long-distance bike rides, whenever you can,
take real food with you.
So these could be flapjacks, rice cakes, bananas,
or maybe even little sandwiches.
If you haven't quite got your fueling strategy right
and you're starting to feel tired, hungry and maybe
you might bonk, then one of the best things you can eat
is an energy gel.
Because energy gels just contain what you need: fuel, sugar.
And they're really easy to absorb by the body.
So with that in mind, it's always good to carry
a couple of energy gels on your long rides.
But you're not going to want
to eat energy gels all the time.
You have a lot of them and
they can start to be quite sickly.
But in terms of trying to offset the dreaded bonk,
well, speak to an experienced cyclist
and they'll tell you there's nothing better.
(techno music)
- [Narrator] It's a bit of a cliche,
but if you start to feel hungry on a long ride,
it really is too late.
On short rides, it's not the end of the world,
but if you do run out of fuel,
you're probably not too far from home.
But take it from me, you really, really don't want
to run out of fuel halfway round an epic ride.
It's not fun.
A good guideline if you're on a long, intense ride
is to try to consume some carbohydrate
every 20 minutes or so.
Now that could be half an energy bar, gel, or a rice cake,
or something like that.
And what I tend to do is quite geeky.
Is look at the ride I'm going to be doing
and plan how much food I'm going to need,
and then pack my pockets accordingly.
But then always add on an extra bar
or an extra couple of gels just in case I need it.
For example, if the ride's a bit more intense
than your planning,
or you start to feel like you might bonk,
that's your insurance policy, that's your reserves,
your emergency rations.
I hope you've found this look at what
to eat on long rides useful.
And if you have, then please give the video
a big thumbs up.
You've got no excuse now if you bonk
on your next six-hour epic.
And if you'd like to stay hydrated in style,
then why not head over to the GCN shop and get yourself
some GCN Camelback water bottles.
And if you'd like to watch another how-to video,
click down here.