Nutrition for 3 hour *hard* gravel ride

[C40_guy]

Yea, I know...natural food is best...but...

For supplemental calories, what are people using/suggesting?

UCan
Honeystinger waffles
gels
goos
Oreos?

Thanks!

[AngryScientist]

I'm not at all serious about cycling, so take this with a grain of salt, but my on-bike snacks lately are:

fig neutons
rice crispy treats
welches fruit snacks

and nuun tabs in the bottles.

Aside from the tabs, these are all found easily in any grocery store, gas station or bodega around the country, they taste good and are easy to eat.

[glepore]

Liquid- 2:1 maltodextrose and fructose, touch of citric acid (or not) add endurolyte for flavor and electrolytes. I mix at 60/g per bottle/hr but you can go higher if you acclimate.

[GregL]

It depends. Will there be opportunities to slow down and/or stop and snack, or will it be a non-stop hammerfest? Depending on how technical the route is, you may not be able to take your hands off the bars very long. If stops or slower-paced sections allow, bring your favorite “real foods.” I’m a fan of Fig Newtons (inexpensive & easy to eat on the go). If the ride is fast with little or no respite, then gels and energy drinks.

Greg

[Nomadmax]

Hammer Gels, only, nothing but water in my bottles and Camelbak. Usually two per hour @ 90cal each.

[earlfoss]

I've been using these for racing and key hard wkos this season. Each one contains 50g carbs. Makes it easy to take in 100g carb/hour. They made a big difference for me at Hincapie's Bangor Fondo and Dairy Roubaix, 85 and 120mi respectively. One every thirty to forty minutes was my routine. Zero GI issues. They nailed the formulation. There are some homemade concoctions that I could've done for my bottles instead but this stuff makes it so easy. They're calorie dense and one may think that's a drawback but it's not, especially if your ride involves a mid to high level of output.

https://thefeed.com/products/carbs-f...MaAk3gEALw_wcB

[reuben]

Fig bars (Nature's Bakery)
Water
Nuun

[azrider]

Bowl of oatmeal, and triple venti two hours prior to ride…..two waters and an electrolyte drink in jersey, two gels. I prefer hammer energy Huckleberry flavor….GU brand doesn’t, ahem, agree with me

[christian]

For Z2 rides I just use water and a couple fig bars.

For hard rides, one bottle water one bottle solution, Clif Blok Sours. 60g carb per hour works for me and really helps with recovery too.

[Tandem Rider]

For me, it would depend on the weather and what you mean by "hard". If it is a no stops, rip each other's legs off, then a couple of gels for bailing me out of a jam, a few fruit bars like fig newtons or a banana, and one bottle with some mix, one with water. Small bottles unless it's hot, then big ones. If it's going to be less intense then I like some protein as well, like a simple (slice of meat and thin slice of cheese, simple condiment) sandwich cut in 1/4s and wrapped separately in waxed paper so I can eat each 1/4 in a couple of bites. I learned this in the 80s and it has gotten me through countless 5 and 6 hour training rides and 100+ mile road races. I find that when I start taking in simple carbs I have to stay with them until the end and for me they get hard to choke down after a while.

[flying]

Dates
Bananas
Banana bread
Coffee (In Hammer Nutrition Flask)
Water

[Jdm]

3 hour hard gravel ride -> 90g of sugar per hour as 50 grams maltodextrin and 40 grams fructose with a pinch of salt or nunn tab. (90 grams of regular sugar works, but it’s too sweet for me). Divided into 1 bottle of water per hour. 2 sugar water bottles on the bike. Two servings of sugar in 2 sandwich bags to add to water at refill stations (1 to use for hour 3 and 1 for backup).

[tellyho]

Love how different everyone's recommendations are. I bet they all work. For me, 3 bottles of Perpetuum.

[bigbill]

I wear a Camelbak on my gravel rides. On longer rides, 3+ hours, I put a double scoop of some kind of energy drink in a water bottle. The CamelBak always has water. A slug of syrupy energy drink and a water chaser. My Camelbak has two gels in the pocket in case I bonk.

[C40_guy]

Thanks for all the input so far...

This is the PMC Unpaved gravel ride in the Berkshires in late September. It's 30 miles of gravel and some pavement, with six or seven pretty significant climbs. There are water/rest/food stops every ten miles (but...I never trust rest stops to have anything more than water and maybe a green banana!)

For me, it's 4-5 hours, elapsed.

This is a fairly hard ride, but it is not a hammerfest (for me!)

I've carried all sorts of things on the bike in the past...I vaguely recall that Perpeteum was as good as anything...

Preflight meal is oatmeal with fried eggs on top and a banana...

Liking the idea of fig newtons.

...and carrying a couple of Nuun tablets is a good idea! I mostly use those post ride...