ok guys… for my sins I’ve signed up for a sportif on 07 June… the course is either 120km or 180km and it goes off at 8.00am. To be honest I don’t think my legs are up to the 180km right now but we’ll see… If I can get a few more road miles in before then I should be able to make it.

but….

breakfast on the day… what do you guys recommend ?

( I can hear the comments now… full english anyone? )

http://www.bikethelake.ch

Toblerone & Alpen

ahh yes.. of course.. how could I be so stoopid..

and Ricola in case I get a tickle?

It depends on what you like personally, I always set off with 3 weetabix topped with frosties in a big bowl, then a few toast with a nice cup of tea. As long as you take plenty of snacks to eat between the food stations you will be okay.
Fry ups are great as long as you have a few miles easy peddling before you start to climb any big hills.

thanks foot… it’s around the lake so there are no real hills… a few good sized bumps in spots but no real climbing.

Grynch – maybe alpen with a few bits of toblerone would not actually be that bad a concoction before a ride.
Alpen = porridge with fruit & nuts
Toblerone = a few extra calories / sugar hit to get you going.

Either way, it looks like it could be fun – enjoy 🙂

Porridge with raisins & chopped bananas (Not keen on bananas but we’re talking survival)

My pre-sportive brekkie normally consists of a bowl of cereal, a couple of croissant with cheese/jam, an espresso (or two) and about a pint of water.
Works for me.

Bowl of porride, bottle of high 5 extreme and I’m sorted.

Same as any other breakfast – bowl of muesli.

I’ll take flapjack/cereal bars to nibble on every half an hour after that.

From what I’ve read (I’m making no claims to be an expert!) it’s more about the carbs you can get into your system the two days before that make the bigger difference. I can’t eat a huge breakfast and then ride, so I’m believing what I’ve read.

I’ll post on here Sunday if it doesn’t work – I’m spending Saturday riding the 50 mile Rutland sportif, so I’ll be attacking the pasta and rice for Thursday and Friday! (With lots of water to wash it down)

One word of warning, limit your roughage intake on the days leading up to the race, it can have a cleansing effect 😳

As for the morning of the race, Porridge, with a banana mashed in and a tablespoon of honey stirred in for good measure, always serves me well. Honey to get you going, the porridge and banana for slow release fuel.

Echo what footstomper says abouts snacks, keep the boiler stoked and you shouldn’t ‘bonk’

Good luck

Oh, I usually protein load in the week before as well.

Follow the advice of the sensible people up there about eating well for the day or so before and then having muesli, fruit, toast (my usual choice) for breakfast.

Then, during the ride, your fuelling depends on (1) how hard you expect to ride and (2) how fuel efficient your body is.

The harder you ride, the faster you use fuel, and the less able you are able to metabolise fat into glycogen at the speed of use (which is when you bonk). So, you need to nibble on bananas/energy bars/gels/flapjack (as you go along).

Try to avoid leaving big gaps between eating and then consuming too much – this will cause a blood sugar spike followed by an insulin spike, which will drop your blood sugar and slow you down.

Use an energy drink and take a swig every 15 mins. You’re bound to run out, so take some pre-measured stuff bagged up in your jersey pocket. For 180km, I’d probably start with two bottles and take another 3 – 4 bags of drink powder.

If it’s going to be hot, be careful of cramp. People seem to swear by Nuun tablets. I have some generic stuff, but (as I discovered recently) these don’t dissolve like Nuun do (hence not working).

(Of course, little of this counts if you’re only doing the 120km edition – that’s only about 70 miles which, if it’s as flat as it appears to be, won’t take longer than 4 hours..! What you gonna do with the rest of the day once you finish at noon?!!)

duuuno……..

i did my one and only sportive with little/no preperation (2 weekends climbing pracice in the peaks and that was about it, other than that 10-20 mile evening rides a few times a week).

Breakfast on the day was porridge (lots), coco pops (lots) toast (3 slices with jam).

Followed by a bag of harribo on the train (i knew i was going to start late and wanted to catch the bunch up some time after the first (25mile) feed.

My tactic worked, went had for the first 30miles, caught the back of the bunch up. Took it easy for the middle 30 or so, then went hard for the last 20.

food on the day was, 2 lumps of flapjack and half a bannana per feed (3 feeds in total) with one bottle of PSP2 (never again, gave me stomach cramp, but lots of enengy tough).

thanks all !! ( and a big thank you to chipster,.. I can see where roughage could be a problem.