Gels etc

[Fnaar]

Was reading a review from a link off Facebook for some Wiggle gels....

quote: "Each gel provides 22g of carbohydrate (from a 38g sachet), which is generally enough to supplement your fuelling at regular 20 to 30-minute intervals over the course of a three to four-hour ride"

Do people really do this? I take a banana and some water for a 3-4hr ride. More than that and I'll prob'ly stop for a bacon butty or a pie, but I certainly don't supplement every 20-30 minutes... OK, I'm no Brad or Froome, Cav, etc, but....

 

[Spinney]

Nope.
Well, I may use the excuse of exercising to stuff my face with jelly babies, galaxy minstres, bites of mars bar etc at regular intervals - but that is as much as the need for nutrition!

Not that I am the speedy kind of cyclist that might need such regular feeding...

 

[Citius]

Gel makers are primarily interested in selling gels. They are not going to say "you don't need them"....they are going to say "buy them in big boxes and eat them every 20 minutes"..."and then buy another big box"....(continue ad nauseam, or until you throw up - usually both)...

 

[Spinney]

I tried a gel once - given away on a sportive. Really hated the texture of it. It wouldn't have taken more than one to make me want to throw up!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Yes people really do "do" that which is sad in general but a great money maker for the producing companies.

 

[Tin Pot]

Was reading a review from a link off Facebook for some Wiggle gels....

quote: "Each gel provides 22g of carbohydrate (from a 38g sachet), which is generally enough to supplement your fuelling at regular 20 to 30-minute intervals over the course of a three to four-hour ride"

Do people really do this? I take a banana and some water for a 3-4hr ride. More than that and I'll prob'ly stop for a bacon butty or a pie, but I certainly don't supplement every 20-30 minutes... OK, I'm no Brad or Froome, Cav, etc, but....

They weren't designed for fun, they were designed to overcome the problem of digesting food whilst exercising hard - something we have not evolved to do. We naturally stop to eat, and blood is diverted to the digestive system and away from limbs.

If you're burning 2,000 calories an hour for ten or more hours, you'll want to squeeze a few grams of carbs in and gels and liquid carbs are a good way to achieve this.

Personally I think people who can't stomach a few gels are a bunch of pussies and need to HTFU. What are you, men or delicate flowers? Pfft.

Bananas are fine for going out with a few mates for three or four hours.

 

[Spinney]

Personally I think people who can't stomach a few gels are a bunch of pussies and need to HTFU. What are you, men or delicate flowers? Pfft.

 

[MikeW-71]

Was reading a review from a link off Facebook for some Wiggle gels....

quote: "Each gel provides 22g of carbohydrate (from a 38g sachet), which is generally enough to supplement your fuelling at regular 20 to 30-minute intervals over the course of a three to four-hour ride"

Do people really do this? I take a banana and some water for a 3-4hr ride. More than that and I'll prob'ly stop for a bacon butty or a pie, but I certainly don't supplement every 20-30 minutes... OK, I'm no Brad or Froome, Cav, etc, but....

They're for racing really IMO, or if you're really pushing it and can't/don't want to stop.

If you are really pushing it, then every 30mins is probably needed. The thing is that most of us leisure/pleasure riders aren't really pushing it (much as we might think we are) and we'll do absolutely fine with a banana and some water (or whatever you prefer)

I do sometimes take them with me, but I don't buy them, I take advantage of freebies. I put one in a pocket for "emergency", and it has always come back with me uneaten so far.

 

[Bollo]

I thought this thread was going to be about posh young ladies.

 

[BSRU]

Whilst watching the mens world road championships in Richmond Chris Boardman talked about food stating he ate real food for the first part of the race but changed to gels only when the racing got serious near the end. He also didn't understand why sportive riders used gels at all.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Whilst watching the mens world road chanpionships in Richmond Chris Boardman talked about food stating he ate real food for the first part of the race but changed to gels only when the racing got serious near the end. He also didn't understand why sportive riders used gels at all.

One sportive I did here a few years back had a marquee lined with tables, the tables were stacked with clif bars***/bloks/shots etc etc, 2000+ cyclists passed through, try making sandwiches or buttering pancakes for those numbers with a small group of volunteers.

***Most of these were full of nuts so off limits to me. 90miles @19avg that day with no food was the result.

I've driven support car for my clubs Ulster 100Mile TT riders, 1 bottle every second lap, each with 2 gels attached. Two weeks later I drove one of 2 support cars on my clubs sportive, the feed station was resplendant in sandwiches, fig rolls, flap jacks, bananas etc.... Not a gel in sight ( I had them + gallons of water to give out at a certain point for riders doing the longer harder route)

 

[helston90]

I like the convenience of gels, you can stuff a load of them in your pocket without too much effort, would always take proper food- one sportive I did last year had a feed station at a National Trust garden- there was pasta pots, home made quiches, flapjacks, it was great- but the fork and pot didn't work too well whilst riding along. (they were also fully stocked with banana's, gels and bars to take away).

 

[Fnaar]

I suppose it's all relative, I'm guessing my ability to keep going towards the end of a ride isn't like Boardman's And I'm not racing, of course, except against my own concept of a decent time.
I've only ever used freebies, two sachets of which sat in my cupboard for a year before I thought of trying them out.

 

[Tin Pot]

I suppose it's all relative, I'm guessing my ability to keep going towards the end of a ride isn't like Boardman's And I'm not racing, of course, except against my own concept of a decent time.
I've only ever used freebies, two sachets of which sat in my cupboard for a year before I thought of trying them out.

It is relative - to the effort, not to the fitness.
.

 

[Bollo]

Personally I think people who can't stomach a few gels are a bunch of pussies and need to HTFU. What are you, men or delicate flowers? Pfft.
.

Which makes me a delicate woodland orchid with my own SSSI. I have a huge problem eating on rides as my guts just shut down. I can bang out a hardish 80miles on water and weak sports drink, but after that I start to have problems. I can't stand bananas and gels make me gag. I'd love to stuff a bacon buttie down my chops but that would threaten both ends. About the only thing that works is a Marathon (aka Snickers to the young' ns) where my love of sh1t chocolate just about pursuades my stomach to play nice.