What you need to know - Ride Nutrition

This is a common question from new riders as well as teammates that have ridden for years and just starting to ride longer rides...

If you are riding longer than 2 hours, you will need to consume calories, carbs and electrolytes or you may "bonk" when your glycogen stores are used up. Trust me, if you have "bonked" you know the feeling, it's no fun. Plan your ride nutrition by bringing along sports drinks, gels, or other healthy snacks such as fig cookies, bananas or energy bars. That's why our OUT Spokin' jerseys have those wonderful pockets, a.k.a. pockets of requirements.

In general, an intake of 240-280 calories per hour is sufficient for most riders. It is important to figure out what works well for your body and your riding style. This is best done during training rides and not on special events. Calories can be obtained from sports drinks as well as ride food.

In the 1985 Race Across America (RAAM), Jonathan Boyer rode to victory using a liquid diet as his primary fuel source. Since then, liquid diets have become the norm for endurance athletes. Liquid nutrition is the easiest, most convenient, and most easily digested way to get a calorie and nutrient-dense fuel. Solid food, for the most part, cannot match the precision or nutrient density of the best liquid fuels. In addition, too much solid food consumption will divert blood from working muscles for the digestive process. This, along with the amount of digestive enzymes, fluids, and time required in breaking down solid food, can cause bloating, nausea, and/or lethargy.

Experts generally recommend that you drink between 17-25 fluid ounces per hour. This fluid can be good ole water, or some kind of sports drink. Sports drinks can be carbohydrate based; however, for longer rides it is important to consider ride drinks that include some protein, this will also help you supplement your calorie intake.

When exercise extends beyond about two hours, your body begins to use protein to fulfill some of its energy requirements. Your body's use of protein helps to satisfy anywhere from 5-15% of your energy needs. If you fail to include protein in your fuel, your body will actually draw protein from your own muscle! This process affects performance through muscle deterioration and increased fatigue, and also negatively affects the immune system and recovery. The longer your ride the greater these problems are compounded. So while carbohydrates are still the primary component of your fuel, it should include a small amount of protein when training sessions or races last longer than two to three hours. Take a look at your fluid selection, some performance drink mixes include protein and this is a good way to add protein to your ride nutrition.

About every 15 to 20 minutes, consume some liquid, and about every hour have a snack. By using a drink mix which provides both calories and protein you will be supplementing your calories with fluids. This is a nice way to spread out your calorie consumption, vs. eating the entire 240+ calories all at one time. This may minimize stomach problems if you have problems eating while riding. If you find it hard to digest solid foods, consider using some kind of energy gel for calories. Pay attention to how many calories you are consuming. If you fall behind the 240+ calories in the hour, don't try to make up the missed calories, this can cause digestive problems as this can be too many calories for your body to digest while exercising.

Remember, you can get water along the route; however, finding your preferred sports drink is not as easy to find. If you are using a powdered drink mix, carry some mix in a plastic bag, then add the mix to your water when you refill your bottle. It is also a good idea to keep one bottle that is plain water and one bottle that is mixed sports drink. If you want plain water you have it with you, if you run out of the sports drink you can make more.

For rides shorter than 2 hours, water is usually sufficient(maybe a small snack, you be the judge).

• some information obtained from http://www.hammernutrition.com