Pre-ride snack?

[EasyPeez]

@jefmcg
@raleighnut

Thanks, am liking the flapjack and dried fruit/nuts suggestions. My wife bakes a mean flapjack and various scrummy cakes so I'm going to have to get into her good books and request a weekly bake. Might even get the eggs and sugar out myself this weekend.

You shouldn't need anything extra to ride that distance

Yes, that's what I thought, but I'm wondering if it's just because of when the ride falls in my day, coupled with the fact that I perhaps don't consume much fat, and possibly not enough protein, from day to day. i.e when I do the 8.5 miles in a morning I feel fine clogging it all the way and feel like I could easily do another 10, 20 or prob more miles at that point without refuelling. Likewise I'm fine when doing the short rides during the day at work that add up to another 5-8 miles. So I agree that a 10 mile ride doesn't in itself warrant a refuel, but in the context of my day and my diet I think my body is telling me that it does?

 

[Bodhbh]

I know what you mean, I hate cycling home when I'm starving but you shouldn't need anything special. I tend to go to lunch an hour later than everyone else so I'm not starting to get hungry by 5pm, rather than snacking. It also means I get an hours peace when everyone else has gone to browse the internet and write rubbish like this

 

[Crankarm]

@MickeyBlueEyes
@Crankarm
Thanks for your input.

To try to answer your questions: I'm 10stone wet through, a whisker over 5'8", 36yrs old. Shamefully my route is flat all the way, but in my defence because of the flatness it's very windy round these parts at this time of the year so I am almost always riding into a strong head-wind or at least stiff breeze. Also, for now I'm grinding along on a 10 year old Land Rover Mountain bike with 55mm tyres. It must weigh 16kg+ at least, and was only £200 when new and is now worth pence at best. It badly needs a new chain and new front derailleur.
I get up at 7am, do a 45min workout (press-ups/jack-knives, planks etc), usually have a bowl of muesli with semi-skimmed and fruit juice or 2 slices of marmite on toast and milk for brekkie, walk my daughter the half-mile or so to school then hop on for my 8.5 mile commute. When at work I spend roughly 2.5 days a week behind a desk all day, 1 day cycling short distances to do home visits and another day and a half doing heavy digging, barrowing and lifting all day. I usually eat leftover pasta or 2 sandwiches (4 slices of bread) plus fruit for lunch. I don't snack at all usually. I set off home at 6pm and seem to flag towards the end regardless of what I've spent my working day doing.
By flat out I mean going as fast as I possibly can (traffic lights and junctions not withstanding) all the way. Which on my crud bike into the wind is prob still only about 13mph average over 8.5 miles.
Hope his helps?! Cheers.

I would eat more for breakfast/lunch if you can, if time and facilities allow. Do you have a microwave at work? If so eat something hot, proper lunch if possible. Also beetroot (half a ball each day otherwise your pee turns red, lots of iron), bananas, dried fruit, nuts. Keep hydrated, water, without drinking so much that you are off to have a pee every 5 minutes. Are you getting enough sleep?

HTH.

 

[EasyPeez]

I would eat more for breakfast/lunch if you can, if time and facilities allow. Do you have a microwave at work?

We do have a microwave at work but I tend to steer clear of it as I'm convinced that it's only a matter of time until research uncovers a direct link between microwaves and cancer. I also find that a decent sized hot meal at lunchtime results in a mental slump in the afternoon which has me yearning for a return to Barcelona and the Catalan way of life. Ideally I'd like to eat a bigger breakfast of eggs and fish but that would mean an hour less sleep a night, which is unacceptable to me for reasons detailed below!

Are you getting enough sleep

If I tell you that I have 2 young children at home I think you can probably work out the answer for yourself
I certainly fall asleep as soon as my face hits the pillow every night, but unfortunately this is often later than I'd like once all the tidying up has been done, or else it's interrupted at some point in the night.
I love beetroot but had no idea about the iron, so that's another one for the list. I think based on all of the above a pre-ride snack is understandable and beneficial. Just going to nip out on my lunch break now with the following shopping list:
bananas, beetroot, milk, nuts, dried apricots, jelly beans, baking ingredients.

Cheers all!

 

[iggibizzle]

Kendal mint cake also a good booster I find. If it's free from cow bits.

 

[Crankarm]

Kendal mint cake also a good booster I find. If it's free from cow bits.

Although …….. it's not a cake, but a sweet full of sugar.

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

It sounds like you need more food, but I wouldn't necessarily say you need it especially for the ride home, just in general. An average food day for me for fuelling the 50 - 60 mile round trip, I'll do:
Brekkie (before riding) 80g of porridge oats + 300ml milk
Brekkie (after riding) 3 eggs, 2 sausages, beans, 3 toast, 2 fried slices, 2 teas
Lunch: 2 or 3 sandwiches (4 or 6 slices of bread) banana, a whole malt loaf & probably a choccy bar or two
Evening meal: 750g mashed potato, 4 chicken breasts, a garlic baguette & about 300g of veggies.

You may just be hungry, not necessarily caused by the ride home.

 

[Mrs M]

Toblerone

 

[vickster]

It sounds like you need more food, but I wouldn't necessarily say you need it especially for the ride home, just in general. An average food day for me for fuelling the 50 - 60 mile round trip, I'll do:
Brekkie (before riding) 80g of porridge oats + 300ml milk
Brekkie (after riding) 3 eggs, 2 sausages, beans, 3 toast, 2 fried slices, 2 teas
Lunch: 2 or 3 sandwiches (4 or 6 slices of bread) banana, a whole malt loaf & probably a choccy bar or two
Evening meal: 750g mashed potato, 4 chicken breasts, a garlic baguette & about 300g of veggies.

You may just be hungry, not necessarily caused by the ride home.

And you're probably a skinny so-and-so. That's about 6000 calories

 

[cyberknight]

It sounds like you need more food, but I wouldn't necessarily say you need it especially for the ride home, just in general. An average food day for me for fuelling the 50 - 60 mile round trip, I'll do:
Brekkie (before riding) 80g of porridge oats + 300ml milk
Brekkie (after riding) 3 eggs, 2 sausages, beans, 3 toast, 2 fried slices, 2 teas
Lunch: 2 or 3 sandwiches (4 or 6 slices of bread) banana, a whole malt loaf & probably a choccy bar or two
Evening meal: 750g mashed potato, 4 chicken breasts, a garlic baguette & about 300g of veggies.

You may just be hungry, not necessarily caused by the ride home.

What he said .
My ride is 10 miles each way , currently using my subway mtb averaging 16 mph on it for the round trip , i work at a car factory lifting boxes / car parts all day .
Brekkie
bowl of cereal or couple of pieces of toast + coffee
get to work
coffee
mid morning snack
1 piece of bread sandwhich + drink
dinner
2 piece of bread sandwhich, 2 bannanas + satsuma
tea break , a drink

then its home for tea, standard fare of whatever the wife cooks along with some cake
A bit over weight atm due to x mas excess but aiming for 10 .5 stone for summer at 5 foot 7 " , more of a rouleur than a skinny climber .

 

[jefmcg]

briefly back to the subject of boiled dead mammals and confectionary .... I was in the supermarket and a quick perusal found that starburst and fruit pastels are both gelatine free. Of course, fruit pastels -> rountree -> nestle which is a problem for some consciences folk.

But if you want gummi bears or jelly babies, then it's probably mail order from vegan websites.

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

And you're probably a skinny so-and-so. That's about 6000 calories

I wouldn't say skinny, hover around 12st. I've always had a healthy appetite, and cycling certainly keeps the weight off. When holiday time comes round my appetite is the same with zero miles. I'll put on 1 - 1 1/4 stone over 1 1/2 weeks.

 

[EasyPeez]

Brekkie (before riding) 80g of porridge oats + 300ml milk
Brekkie (after riding) 3 eggs, 2 sausages, beans, 3 toast, 2 fried slices, 2 teas
Lunch: 2 or 3 sandwiches (4 or 6 slices of bread) banana, a whole malt loaf & probably a choccy bar or two
Evening meal: 750g mashed potato, 4 chicken breasts, a garlic baguette & about 300g of veggies

Wow! Sounds like you could give Michael Phelps a run for his money. Is that your standard diet?! You're not in training for anything? That brekkie has got my mouth watering (just because I don't eat meat doesn't mean I don't miss it) but 11 slices of bread and a full garlic baguette in a day?! There's no way that can be good for anyone...even homebaked bread in those quantities would give most people's bowels something to worry about, but if we're talking the bleached, processed, nutrient-free stuff off the shop shelves then that's got to be doing more harm than good.

It sounds like you need more food

I'm more than happy to accept this diagnosis though...starting today! Got my beetroot and apricots and nuts and chocolate fruity flapjack (thanks Mrs Peez!) all lined up here so I think I'm going to go for an 11am and 5pm snack each day, keep the rest of my meals as they are and see how I'm doing in a week or so.
Thanks again for all the tips, people.

 

[winjim]

 

[raleighnut]

View attachment 76246

You spoil those cats.