RFR: cycling nutrition book or website

[fierte_poser]

I seem to have lost my 'reference' text on how much to eat/drink while cycling.

Can anyone recommend their favorite on this subject?

BTW, my general guideline has been 60g carbs/hr and 1L water/hr. Is that way off?

One more question... what is harm in overconsuming carbs while cycling?

The type of riding is, say, a century at 75% max HR.

Thanks,
Kent

[b.domansky@att.]

:beer:

[b.domansky@att.]

Your general guideline should work fine. :) I find myself using that for my rides. I would recommend using a 50/50 mix of H2O to Gatorade Liquid or other drink. I found that the reduced mix eliminated the upset stomach and allowed the salts to more easily move into the bloodstream and cells. :banana: Using straight GA I was always cramping around 30 miles. :no: I also carry a 2nd bottle of straight water as a backup. On long rides I'll eat what the ride provides at rest stops or else I bring a few PowerBars along in the bag.

As a Type 1 diabetic, I use an insulin pump which has allowed me much longer and safer rides. There is one book I use which I do not see why it would not be useful to you. It is titled The Diabetic Athlete by Sheri Colberg, Ph. D. It covers all the basics of exercise physioogy and nutrition in the beginning and also recommendations of carbs during and after a session for many types of exercise. You can get in on Amazon.

Hope this helps. :beer:

[ashwinearl]

Sports Nutrition for Endurance Atheletes by Monique Ryan
http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Nutrition-Endurance-Athletes-Monique/dp/1931382158

is pretty good.

The general guideline is 30-60grams carb/hr. With some caveats.
-Suggested that liquid solutions consist of a 6-8% mixture which seems to clear from the stomach the fastest

-Gels need water in order to dilute them to the proper concentration while in the stomach.

A big mistake people make is downing a gel then swigging some energy drink. Or eating a power bar and drinking energy drink at the same time. Of course those with strong stomachs can handle it fine, however for others these combinations create a carb mixture that is too high for the stomach to clear effectively.

The 30-60g/hr is highly variable depending on the invidividual and the intensity ridden. In addition MTB or rough road riding can shake things up.

As an example for XC mtb racing 30-40g is all my stomach can handle. However a long road ride requires 60+g/hr to stave off a bonk.

Here is a great article that was in a Roadbikerider.com newsletter. Good tips for eating for a century:
Cycle through your ride foods.

We subscribe to the nutrition e-newsletter published by Carmichael Training Systems. In each issue we find interesting and helpful information about eating for better performance.

We particularly liked a recent article by Kelly O'Boyle, a registered dietitian who works for CTS. Titled "Make It a Buffet," the article speaks to a problem most of us face on a long ride. That is, eating enough when our stomachs say they're getting sick of the stuff we're sending down.

O'Boyle calls it "food fatigue." It happens when we stick to the same type of food. After a while, taste buds don't like it and the digestive system can't handle it.

The solution, writes O'Boyle, is to cycle through a different nutrition product each hour. Here's her example of an eating plan for a six-hour ride (feel free to substitute foods you like better):

1st hour: 1 bottle of sports drink (20 oz.)
2nd hour: 1 energy bar and 1 bottle of water (20 oz.)
3rd hour: 1 energy gel each 30 minutes and 1 bottle of water (20 oz.)
4th hour: 1 bottle sports drink (20 oz.)
5th hour: 1/2 energy bar and 1/2 bottle of water (10 oz.) plus 1/2 bottle of sports drink (10 oz.)
6th hour: 1 energy gel each 30 minutes and 1 bottle of water (20 oz.)

Caution! "Don't shovel down more than 60 grams of carbs every hour," O'Boyle warns, reminding cyclists not to treat sports drink like calorie-free water. "If you down too much fuel, you'll more than likely experience some uncomfortable gastrointestinal stress.

"This condition kicks in whenever you overdose on carbs, since the stomach can only absorb roughly 50 grams an hour. Any significant excess sits in your stomach waiting to be processed and can leave you feeling like a bloated cow."

Of course, everyone is different. Experience will teach you how many grams per hour your system can handle.

Finally, O'Boyle emphasizes water's importance for digesting gels and energy bars, as well as for staying hydrated. During a long, hot ride, drink more water than the above schedule calls for.