Energy Foods for Biking

[accadacca]

What do you guys eat before and after? Are there some foods that help you perform better the bike and recover quicker?

[tallsteve]

That's a loaded question. Answers will be as varied as there are bikes. I've always liked trying different things so, I've tried a ton of stuff. Here's what I currently consume:

-Pre-ride: If I ride in the afternoon I typically don't eat anything unless I didn't have a good lunch or mid-afternoon snack. For a first thing in the morning ride I'll eat a banana and a homemade 'power bar' (described below) which I eat before I leave the house. I try and time my morning eating to within about 45 minutes of when I'll start pedaling.
-Pre-ride: Sportlegs capsules. For whatever reason, this supplement seems to be the only supplement that I can tell actually works for me. Swallow 1 capsule per 50 lbs of body weight 45 minutes to an hour before pedaling.
-Pre-ride: If I'm feeling a bit sluggish or I'm going to do one of the longer, lots of climbing routes up AF Canyon, I'll down a half can of Cherry or Vanilla Coke on my drive up. If you watch the pro peloton riders, this is their "secret weapon" of choice. TeeJay VanGarderen can always be seen downing a can before every stage and about half-way through the ride. It's best to drink it flat so, I will open a can up and let the carbonation dissipate overnight.

During the ride: I typically don't eat anything unless, again, it's a longer, tougher ride, then I'll take one of my homemade power bars or some Shot Blocks.
During the ride: I always ride with a sports drink in my water bottle. I drink more with a flavored drink than just water (water tastes nasty to me when it gets warm) and it provides a few calories. I use powdered PowerAde because it's cheap (you can buy a tub at most grocery stores for about $4 bucks) and it doesn't contain high-fructose corn syrup which most pre-mixed sport drinks contain. HFCS is actually really hard to digest and makes me feel bloated during exercise.

-Post-ride: Low-fat chocolate milk has been shown, in many studies (just google it), to be the best, most efficient, recovery drink out there and, it's cheap and delicious!. It provides the ideal ratio of carbs to protein for recovery. I swear by it- it's the best recovery stuff I've tried.

Homemade power bars: I make a rice cake concoction from a recipe in this awesome book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193...ilpage_o02_s00
CalRose sticky rice mixed with coconut oil (a great energy source), scrambled eggs, diced ham, diced tomato and green peppers and a small amount of sauteed onion, salt and a bit of cheddar cheese. After cooking the rice in a rice cooker, I combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl then spread it all out on a rectangular shallow cooking pan/tray. After it cools, I cut them up in brownie-sized bars, then individually wrap them up in Reynolds Pan Lining Paper which has foil on one side and wax paper on the other. The book explains how to wrap them up. I usually make a really big batch ending up with about 20 or 25 bars. I'll keep a few in the fridge and freeze the rest.
I get tired of sweet stuff on longer rides and really love the more salty, savory taste these provide. The rice and coconut oil gives you tons of long lasting energy, the eggs, ham and cheese provide some protein and the other stuff adds nice flavoring. Remind me and the next time we ride together I'll bring you one to try out.

[neilether]

Homemade power bars: I make a rice cake concoction from a recipe in this awesome book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193...ilpage_o02_s00
CalRose sticky rice mixed with coconut oil (a great energy source), scrambled eggs, diced ham, diced tomato and green peppers and a small amount of sauteed onion, salt and a bit of cheddar cheese. After cooking the rice in a rice cooker, I combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl then spread it all out on a rectangular shallow cooking pan/tray. After it cools, I cut them up in brownie-sized bars, then individually wrap them up in Reynolds Pan Lining Paper which has foil on one side and wax paper on the other. The book explains how to wrap them up. I usually make a really big batch ending up with about 20 or 25 bars. I'll keep a few in the fridge and freeze the rest.
I get tired of sweet stuff on longer rides and really love the more salty, savory taste these provide. The rice and coconut oil gives you tons of long lasting energy, the eggs, ham and cheese provide some protein and the other stuff adds nice flavoring. Remind me and the next time we ride together I'll bring you one to try out.

This sounds delicious. Maybe I'm just hungry right now (which I am), but I feel like I would eat these recreationally. I mean, non-recreationally. I mean, when I'm not recreating.

[accadacca]

Great post Steve. That will give me some ideas.

I've been eating half a banana before rides and lots of chocolate milk after.

[tallsteve]

This sounds delicious. Maybe I'm just hungry right now (which I am), but I feel like I would eat these recreationally. I mean, non-recreationally. I mean, when I'm not recreating.

It is very delicious! Sometimes I eat them just because they are so good! I've also been known to make up a batch for large family gatherings even. For that purpose you can obviously skip wrapping them up. Just mix in a large bowl and serve!

[tanya]

Check out my Clean GUT diet. It makes you healthy overall and you don't have to eat a certain way before exhausting things.

http://SAVANT.Live

See my signature for an invite to the Zion area this year!

@accadacca and all

[tallsteve]

Has anyone tried making their own energy drink? I saw a recipe online the other day and decided to give it a go. Fresh-squeeze 2 lemons and 2 limes into a 2 quart pitcher and fill the rest of the pitcher up with water. Add a half teaspoon of salt and a couple tablespoons of honey. Mix well. After tasting I decided I needed to add a bit of sugar also. I pedaled up the AF Canyon road a couple of days ago with this as my only drink. I really liked it. It was quite refreshing and would be more so on a hot summer day. I think I'll dilute it a bit more even and will try it again. I was hoping to get away from the sugar but, the honey just didn't sweeten it enough.