[kazlx]

I also love bananas and feel they help on the long rides, but God damn they always end up squished or or something.

 

[jonKranked]

also ribbed for your pleasure

 

[Montana rider]

Irrespective of what I carry to eat on the trail, I seem to have difficulty managing to eat what I carry. Early on I carried energy bars, candy bars, and whatnot and found the energy bars dense and hard to get down. Over time I shifted to fruits, nuts, berries, PB&J, but I still have to consciously force myself to eat.

One thing which I know affects me is the habit of breathing through my mouth rather than my nose. On the 40 mile day one of the Maah Daah Hey ride this pretty much trashed me - I had no available saliva towards the end of the ride despite drinking frequently. When we got to the campground, my stomach was complaining, beer tasted bad, and when I started eating it was painful because salivary glands seemed to be backed up.

Day three, 50 miles, I managed to eat almost nothing, and what I did eat, mostly PB&J, I had to use water rather than saliva to make it wet enough to swallow.

I'm not going to go the gel route, but need to somehow find a better strategy for eating on the trail.

If only there was "medication" that you could take which provides mild euphoria and is associated with the munchies

Let me do some research

(heads out to the shed, returns)

Nope, can't think of anything



I drink my calories too (on shorter rides) but I think some of my MDH WTF?! tummy troubles were related to general dehydration and not eating enough real food over the long days so a mini-burrito on day 3 saved me.

I use one of these when riding with Bananas (original banana guard) and agree with those promoting apples and other fresh fruits which provide a burst of sugar/water and something easy for your stomach to digest

Eating and drinking when you're not "hungry" is hard, but for longer days is required.

I find stopping to refill my energy drink every hour is a good opportunity to shove some real food in my face.

What works for me may not work for thee though...

Similarly, I prefer to think of beer consumption as being "in training" for eventual dehydration on the trail.

 

[Hunter]

Irrespective of what I carry to eat on the trail, I seem to have difficulty managing to eat what I carry.

Day three, 50 miles, I managed to eat almost nothing, and what I did eat, mostly PB&J, I had to use water rather than saliva to make it wet enough to swallow.

Gum. For long rides I bring along several pieces of obnoxiously flavored gum. Does a pretty good job of stimulating salivary glands when I'm drying out...generally helping to eat. Eat the food, not the gum.

 

[mrbigisbudgood]

It's likely that my post will be useless to 99% of people. I went down the Paleo/Primal/Keto rabbit hole in 2011 as an experiment and will not go back. My body revolts with joint and back pain, general achiness when I have weak (fat kid) moments. I had allergy issues with the traditional food pyramid and fat burning is absolutely what my body prefers. The change definitely drove a relearn in fueling strategies for racing/training. I can't stomach sports drinks or candy bars....I mean energy bars..... anymore.

It's normal for me to do 4ish 6 hour races a year and the Winter Short Track Series here in Charlotte.

Zone 2, Endurance / mitochondria rides. There is no need for me to eat to fuel the ride at a sub 140bpm pace. The only reason I eat on these rides is that I actually get hungry. It's not odd for me to roll 5 hours on 3 eggs and buttery coffee breakfast. I'll carry a Coconut Cream or Apple Pie LaraBar or a bag of mixed nuts (no peanuts) so I have something to pacify my stomach if need be. Works out well for me because this is my summer training plan, low intensity cruises in the heat to build endurance and fat adaptation.

Zone 3, Sub 155bpm - Under 3 hours, no fuel needed. Over 3 hours, Larabars (no chocolaty bars as they are a messy disaster when jersey pocket warm), nuts, Kind bars.....and I only eat for bonk prevention at this pace.

High Intensity or Race Day - I shoot for about 250 calories/hour. ex....6 Hours of Warrior Creek I had some 15 wrappers stuffed in my bibs........I ingest Hamer Gels w caffeine, LaraBars, nuts....... along with 2 bananas and some pickles in my pit spot. When my gut really feels empty during a race I'll eat a couple bites of smoked salmon. The day before one of these rides I will eat a sweet potato for the liver glycogen boost. I'll suck down a Hammer at the start line for the Short Track races (45 minutes sprints)

As was mentioned before, different solutions for different guts.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

i eat gerber/heinz baby food. easy to digest and chuggable. bananas and tangerines are my favourite snaks now.

I avoid gatorade and candies. back when i was younger I used to eat nuts, but after 30, they got harder to digest.

 

[eric strt6]

Just remembered another natural high carb drink that I used in my youth. Refer a future yogurt drink, something like 1800 calories per liter. You just have to keep it cool with a insulated water bottle or a ice pack in the pack. No artificial crap, nice fruit flavors, goes down smooth.