Those are some good additional ideas, thanks. We just made a big batch of pork jerky this weekend so I’m planning on using that as a protein/fat. I seem to more or less have a cast iron stomach, thankfully and our gas stations have a decent selection. It’s just knowing what foods will be best and how much to eat to keep the engine going.
This is a great post from @Stefanie on how she fueled for her long gravel event. It’s all vegan too, so I know many here will be interested: Westside Dirty Benjamin Gravel Race
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@Stefanie, I just came across your post because of another post from Coach_Theia. I appreciate you sharing. I have started following a plant based (mostly) diet for about 5 months and I always wonder if I am getting what I need. Thank you for sharing!
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I’m glad this thread resurfaced also. I just finished a 125 mile ride last weekend (I did 100 outside, and the last 25 on the trainer). I managed to fuel entirely from what was in my pockets without getting anything from gas stations except for water to mix my bottles. That was interesting to me because on most century rides the group I’m with stops for fast food halfway through and I eat there. Sometimes that goes well for me, and sometimes it doesn’t.
This time I did great with drink mix, fig newtons, raisins, and a homemade date bar outside, and I actually ate and drank almost nothing for the final hour and a half on the trainer, which was really unusual for me. I recovered really well this time too.
I’ve been toying with the idea of chocolate or homemade oatmeal cookies for longer rides now that it is less hot here. I’m also revisiting the potato idea, but I would love to know how people keep the temperature outside of the danger zone when you’re carrying them. I definitely want to train in some variety in food since even on a century I get tired of eating the same things over and over and have to force it down.
I need to get in a few more longer rides before I attempt the double so this is still a work in progress.
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Woo hoo @stacypro! Congratulations on your ride! That’s awesome!
As for my ride food, when it’s hot enough pretty much everything I carry gets melty. I do find rice cakes/balls do pretty well in the heat and pancakes. Potatoes should do just fine too. I’ve also carried those single serve nut butter packets on long rides before to break up the food monotony. Slurping down a warm packet of chocolate peanut butter after 100+ miles becomes a tasty treat 
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@stacypro Skratch Labs has a great book with recipes for pocket food:
@Stefanie the nut packets are good as long as you use then in combination with some carbs. That is because fats take longer to absorb and as such you might not get the energy you need when you need it.
I have the feed zone portables book. It’s amazing!
Oh yeah @Coach_Theia. I don’t use them anymore because I am trying to avoid things wrapped in plastic. But they were always a treat/reward for mental effort, and were not straight up nut butter but were maple-almond or peanut butter and chocolate and I’d usually have a banana or something along with them 
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The pasta bites are awesome if you like something a little more savory. They are a bit hard to carry though because of size. I don’t like chocolate or sweets so it’s hard to find things I like. However I do carry payday bars and sometimes pbj for food on the bike.
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We have done Payday bars before. I used to keep one in my saddle bag for emergencies because they don’t melt like Snickers bars but then when I did go to eat it one day it tasted like rubber tires so that maybe wasn’t the best choice. 
I have the Feed Zone Portables book on my Amazon list but haven’t gotten it. I always wonder if people worry about cooked food getting into the temperature danger zones on really long rides.
I suppose @stacypro if you are carrying things that could spoil like eggs or cheese or something. But I am vegan and pancakes, dates, nuts, beans potatoes, rice, that kind of stuff, you don’t have to worry about.
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And the tweaking continues. Did a 120 mile ride all outside yesterday. Hit the wall at 96 miles (about 6.5 hours in). Totally tanked on the nutrition and I was at a point where eating anything made me feel sick (I actually nearly puked while trying to eat), but not eating made me feel weak. I got through the rest of the ride sipping Vitalyte with BCAA’s in it and keeping to a moderate/easy pace. I cannot figure out how to keep the calorie deficit from building up too fast once I get past the 6 hour mark. We stopped for Chipotle halfway through and I had pop with a rice bowl with steak and a bit of lettuce and cheese and felt fantastic for a couple of hours.
I tried some new foods on a few rides. Baby potatoes got slimy feeling and needed WAY more salt than I thought. Rice squares were ok but got really gummy. Muffins were a no go- the recipe I used was half oats and half almond meal and they did NOT burn fast enough. Oatmeal cookies were ok. I still have some Perpetuem to try on my next really long ride.
Also, people keep asking me if I am dehydrating or bonking (nutrition). I usually assume it is nutrition more than fluids, but I admit I might not always know the difference. I went through about 5.5 bottles of drink plus what I drank at stops during the 7.5 hours of riding. What I drink is figured into my calorie/carb counts, but when my legs just feel like they’ve gone dead a snack and a few minutes to sit always helps. I basically never cramp, I never stop sweating, no dry mouth, etc. More like my legs have suddenly turned to bricks, I can’t think straight, shaky, my ears start ringing (this is grounds for immediately pulling the bike over to eat).
@stacypro maybe you are waiting too long to eat?
I can’t imagine eating steak while riding. I don’t eat steak but I think that would be way to heavy. I have been doing wraps of peanut butter and banana. I also do quinoa and banana and maple syrup.
You did an amazing ride. I hope you can figure out the nutrition. I have also had experiences when I just couldn’t eat anymore.
@stacypro wow what a great ride!!! Just make sure you’re hydrating and eating soon enough! I know it’s tough to carry food along though
i can’t recall if its you or @Stefanie that talked about the rice balls before from the Feed Zone cookbook - I’ve tried them, twice and cant seem to get the rice to stay together - any suggestions? I bought sushi rice at Whole Foods like the cookbook said - and used one of the recipes that also had quinoa - i thought they would be good early am pre-workout also. Thanks!
@stacypro as a general rule, it is recommended to consume 1 bottle per hour of electrolytes and those mixed with carbs (such as Skratch) are better absorbed. Once your blood volume drops even by 5% due to slight dehydration, there is no way of making it up on the same ride no matter how much you drink after that fact.
Steak (and meats in general) are very heavy to digest during a ride. Your body will pull blood to the stomach and away from the muscles to work on digesting the meat. Rice and beans would have been a better option at Chipotle, but even then, their food is very high in sodium (and beans are high in fiber- another thing you don’t want) and that could have thrown your hydration off balance. What works for one person does not necessarily work for another…
As for timing of eating, on a long ride (3+ hours), you need to start eating 30 minutes into the ride, and then eat every 45 min thereafter (every 30 even better). If you wait longer you might fall behind. Aim for a minimum of 60g of carbs/hr with some protein (5-10g) per hour. Time it on the clock and not “riding time” on the bike computer.
It is hard to get rice balls to stay together @PaleGail. They have to be fresh. As soon as the rice starts to dry out they start falling apart. A bit of nut butter or something else sticky added in like dates or jam helps if you don’t mind sticky fingers
Well done on the 120 miles @stacypro! I wonder if your Chipotle meal did you wrong? I find on long rides I can’t eat a lot of food all at once so instead I eat small “bites” every 20-30 minutes starting after the first 30 minutes of riding. For supported century rides I will have a banana at the rest stops. For my 24 hour race I generally have a small bowl of something like oatmeal or barley porridge or a banana and peanut butter wrapped in a tortilla every 5-6 hours in addition to the “bites” I eat on the bike. For long rides you will want your food to be mostly carbs with a bit of protein and in smaller, more frequent amounts so it doesn’t sit in your stomach.
Also, it is totally possible to bonk from lack of hydration on a long ride. The beginning of it feels very much like a lack of calories. But if you eat something and don’t start to feel better, it’s almost guaranteed to be your hydration that’s the problem. And like @Coach_Theia said, you can’t recover from it on the same ride no matter how much you try, and I have tried! My husband can tell you about some tear filled phone calls I’ve made to him for a rescue on a few extremely hot and humid summer rides.