Nutrition Tips: Get your nutrition right for long rides

A 3-4-hour ride can be hard enough as it is, especially during the cold winter training months, but how you fuel before during and after is ultimately what will make or break your progress as an athlete.

During a long ride you are going to burn a significant number of calories and energy. The main source of that energy is carbohydrates. Your body only has a limited amount of these before you need to replenish these to extend your endurance performance. If you don’t your body will begin to break down and won’t have enough energy continue (or as it’s known in the triathlon world ‘THE BONK’)

A sports drink can also play a key part in your nutrition plan. Most sports drinks contain electrolytes (minerals consisting of potassium and sodium) and sugars which replaces what the body has lost through sweating. Water alone is not enough! The amount you sweat is determined from the conditions you are cycling in so this will determine how much you need to replace. However, it’s easy to be deceived as to how much you are actually sweating in the colder conditions, so it’s important you bear this in mind in the winter.

Pre-Ride:

It is important that if you are riding soon after you have eaten that you don’t eat too much beforehand. You need to allow your food to digest If you have eaten too much, this will cause you to feel lethargic during the start of the ride which you don’t want. Porridge is a great pre-ride meal as it contains slow-release carbohydrates which will set you up well for the start of your ride. 

During Your Ride:

Down below are some examples of what food and drink you could have during a long ride.

What to eat:

• Dried apricots 
• Malt loaf 
• Bananas 
• Raisins 

What to Drink: 

Top brands include

• HIGH5
• Torq
• SiS
• Precision Hydration

When to eat: You should drink small sips regularly and eat on average every half hour. Make sure you do from the very start of the ride even if you don’t feel like it because this could work against you later on.

Recovering from Endurance Rides:

This is one part that people regularly neglect… the recovery! Your glycogen stores will be very depleted and it’s essential that you replenish these as soon as you can once your ride has finished. Try to do this within half an hour of when you’ve finished. Many athletes easily go straight to the rubbish foods once they finish their workout and consume unnecessary calories because of this. It’s important even here to keep your foods healthy.

Some good examples of post-ride foods include: 

• Avocado 
• Greek Yogurt 
• Fish 
• Chicken 

There are many other options here, but it is important to continue maintaining a balanced diet with natural and non-processed foods. Rebuilding muscles after putting them through a rigorous endurance ride is key to injury prevention and avoiding fatigue. 

Article written by Luke Howard