A Quick Guide to Cyclist Nutrition: How to Fuel for Rides of Every Length
COFFEE RIDES, TRAINING RIDES, EPIC RIDES—HERE’S HOW TO EAT AND DRINK TO KEEP THE ENGINE ROARING.
BY SELENE YEAGER
At a past cycling camp, I was talking with Dave, a 50-year-old father of two who was training for an annual cycling weekend with friends. He was making progress, but was frustrated with his performance during long rides—once he passed three hours, he started having stomach trouble. As he rattled off a list of what he consumed each hour on the bike—half an energy bar, one gel, a bottle of sports drink and a bottle of water—I realized that despite riding for years, he was eating and drinking too much. He needed to revisit his cyclist nutrition plan and how exactly he fuels for each ride.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour of exercise, but few athletes understand the reason for this amount. The average person can process, or oxidize, only about one gram of carbohydrate per minute, no matter how much is consumed. The bottleneck isn’t your muscles; it’s your intestines, which can transport glucose from food you eat into your bloodstream only so fast. Dumping more carbohydrate into your gut doesn’t necessarily increase the absorption rate, but it can increase your chances of an upset stomach. It’s easier than you think to overload on carbs. Take Dave as an example: His half an energy bar (23 grams of carbs), one gel (27 grams of carbs), and bottle of sports drink (about 50 grams of carbs) meant he was taking in about 100 grams of carbohydrate every hour. Early in his rides, he was doing great because he was getting all the fluid, energy, and sodium his body could handle, but after a few hours the excess carbohydrate sloshing around in his system was making him nauseous, bloated, and ill.
One of the easiest ways to optimize your carbohydrate intake during rides is to drink a low-carb, electrolyte hydrating drink while you’re eating light, digestible snacks, like fig bars and bananas. Simply separating these two categories—hydration and solid food—typically brings people back into the range of 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, while also ensuring they get adequate sodium and fluids.
Also, research suggests that by consuming energy foods that contain a mix of sugars (such as glucose and fructose, or glucose and maltodextrin) instead of just one type of sugar, you can bump oxidation to as much as 1.7 grams per minute. Translation: The sugar leaves your gut and enters your bloodstream faster so you’ll have more readily-available energy when you need it most.
Over the course of three days at camp, Dave made subtle changes to his on-bike eating habits. He set an alarm to beep every 15 minutes as a reminder to drink, instead of guzzling an entire bottle at once. He added granola bars and fig bars to his stash of energy bars and gels for variety. As we rolled past the four-hour mark, Dave was taking long turns at the front and chatting happily in the paceline as if the ride had just begun.
To find the same success as Dave, here’s an overview of the best cyclist nutrition—what to eat and drink on rides of various lengths—so you can pedal farther, faster, or ideally, both.
How to Fuel Short Rides
Ride Duration: 1 hour or less
Primary Concern: Fluid replenishment
What to Drink: Plain water or a low-carb, electrolyte hydration drink
What to Eat: Most people start with enough stored energy for a 60-minute workout, but carry a banana just in case you’re out longer than expected or you start to fade.
Bonus Tip: For optimal recovery, eat a full meal within an hour of finishing an intense workout.
How to Fuel Medium-Length Rides
Ride Duration: 1 to 3 hours
Primary Concern: Carbohydrate replenishment
What to Drink: 2 bottles low-carb, electrolyte hydration drinks, at least
What to Eat: 30 to 60g of carb per hour from food.
Bonus Tip: Don’t wait until you’re hungry or thirsty to eat and drink. Take small nibbles and sips from the get-go.
How to Fuel Long Rides
Ride Duration: 3 hours or more
Primary Concern: Carbohydrate and electrolyte replenishment; food boredom or palette fatigue
What to Drink: 2 bottles low-carb, electrolyte hydration drinks, at least
What to Eat: 30 to 60g of carbs per hour, total. Digestion can get harder as rides get longer, so eat more solids at the beginning of the ride, and switch to blocks, chews, and other easily-digested foods during the final part of the ride. Just be sure to drink plenty of fluid to chase down gels, so you don’t get GI upset.
Bonus Tip: Supplement bars and gels with carb-rich, low-protein, moderate-fat “real” foods. Don’t worry about specific amounts of protein or fat; just eat what tastes good so you keep eating.
The Best Post-Workout Meals for Better Recovery
FROM SANDWICHES TO FRUIT SMOOTHIES, GETTING THE PROPER NUTRIENTS WILL BENEFIT YOUR RECOVERY AND EVEN SUBSEQUENT RIDES.
BY DANIELLE ZICKL
Apr 27, 2021
We know that fueling the right way before and during a ride can really make or break your performance—there’s nothing worse than a ride taking longer than expected and praying you find a gas station for emergency gummy bears before you bonk. But your post-workout meal is just as important.
Taking in the proper nutrients after a ride of any length or intensity can benefit your recovery and even subsequent rides, says Melissa Majumdar, M.S., R.D., a dietitian and a certified specialist in obesity and weight management at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia.
Below, we outline everything you need to know about what to eat after a ride or post-workout, and what might happen if you don’t refuel your body properly.
Carbs and Protein Are Key
Whether you just got back from a 45-minute spin to help clear your mind or a hilly four-hour long ride, carbs and protein are the most important nutrients you need to refuel. It’s best to get something in your system between 30 to 60 minutes after exercise.
Majumdar explains that carbs are used for glycogen repletion, and if you don’t replace the carbs you used up on a ride, you can feel sluggish, weak, and sore in the coming hours and days, including on your next ride. Protein is used to repair and build your muscles, she says, so if you don’t consume enough after the ride, your muscles’ recovery process can be impeded.
However, your length and intensity do play a role in the amount of carbs and protein you need to consume. During your ride, Majumdar advises to aim for 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour, and on the higher end of that for longer or more intense rides.
As far as protein consumption goes, Majumdar recommends spreading your intake out over the course of your day, since your body can only absorb so much protein at one time (around 30g). Cyclists with a goal of maintaining their muscle mass should consume 1.3g to 1.7g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight during your day, according to a 2019 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) consensus statement.
Majumdar notes that it’s best to curb your fat or fiber intake directly after a ride, since it can hamper your body’s digestion process.
Is Eating Something Unhealthy Better Than Eating Nothing at All?
Let’s say you’re absolutely starving when you get back to your car or home, and you can’t wait to eat, or you won’t be able to refuel within an hour. Do you stop at the first fast food chain you see just to get some food in you?
A 2015 study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that fast food from McDonald’s is just as good for recovery and subsequent performance as other foods meant for those purposes. The study compared foods such as fries and hash browns to energy chews and Power Bars, and measured a large number of variables related to recovery—from blood cholesterol to thigh-muscle glycogen content to time-trial performance—and couldn’t find any significant differences between the two refueling approaches.
“I haven’t yet seen a study where a commercial supplement outperforms real foods,” says Nancy Clark, R.D. “The supplements may seem impressive because they offer a precise ratio of carbohydrates to protein, but you can get the same from tastier, less pricey, real foods with adequate carbs, protein, and calories.” Majumdar agrees.
“After a long, hard ride, something is better than nothing—as long as it’s higher in carbs and lower in fat” she says.
Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s will usually have healthier options such as a grilled chicken sandwich, a side of fruit, yogurt, chocolate milk, or juice—and you can always ask for an extra bun to increase your carb intake, Majumdar says.
But if you’ve just completed a shorter, slower ride, Majumdar says it’s better to wait a little longer for a healthier option.
What If You’re Not Hungry After a Ride?
It’s not uncommon to not feel like eating after a bout of exercise, especially if you’ve been out riding in hot, humid weather. But as we previously mentioned, something is better than nothing—even if it’s small.
“Liquid can be easier to stomach,” Majumdar says. “Chocolate milk or a fruit smoothie can be cold, refreshing, and easy to digest.” (Boost the protein in a smoothie with some plain greek yogurt.)
Majumdar also suggests pre-planning or pre-making a post-ride snack—such as the above-mentioned smoothie, a banana and peanut butter sandwich, or even just keeping fresh fruit within reach—so you can easily munch on it as soon as you return. No cooking or guesswork involved. Pro tip for smoothies: You can freeze them overnight and leave them in the car, so they’ll be perfectly defrosted by the time you get back.
The Bottom Line:
Carbs are your friend, and are an integral part of your post-ride recovery. Protein is also an important component of your body’s recovery, and it’s best to aim for a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein within 30 to 60 minutes after you get off the bike. Any food is better than none at all, so consuming a fast food sandwich or even just nibbling on some fruit will jumpstart the recovery process so you can tackle your next ride as strong as possible.
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