72 miler next Sun – I want to give myself the best chance doing it comfortably so how should I be fuelling my temple this week? Beer will be out after today. What’s good and what’s on the naughty list? How best to avoid cramp after 55 miles like last year? Did 70 earlier today but ache like buggery now (upper body – not legs) – I fankyou

Get some serious race practice in by eating nothing but energy gels. For the full pro training regime, be sure to throw the wrappers in the nearest hedgerow.

Unless you’re used to the horrible disgusting packets of sweetened semen, I would avoid gels.

Eat a bowl of porridge, and optionally, a banana on the morning.

Eat a bowl of porridge, and optionally, a banana on the morning.

I think he’ll need a bit more than that for a week.

Now’s not really the time to go changing anything really. If you can ride the distance already, even if it is hard, a bit of adrenaline on the day and you’ll zip round.

How best to avoid cramp? Make sure you’ve had plenty of fluids, preferably an energy solution you’re familiar with or water with some electrolyte replacement tabs in. Fructose helps here too, I’m not a fan of bananas, but on bigger rides will get 1 or 2 of them down me to help avoid the cramp.

I must like semen because nowt wrong with a High5 gel.

Back to the question just eat normally/healthy and if you fancy it just do a bit of carb loading 24hrs prior. Have a Google about it.

You could beetroot load if you want, jury’s out on it apart from maybe the morning of the race.

8 pints of beer and a curry the night before.. The hotter the better.. I’d go for a fahl.

Lots of gels you’ve never tried before as you get yourself into a podium position in the race.
What could possibly go wrong…

Mustard for cramps apparently.
I actually added apple cider vinegar to everything (incl race bottles) pre my last ‘cramps nemesis’ race and did much better than 9 of the 10 previous years. The least cramp was a year when I was fittest and most flexible.. so perhaps focussing on stretching and foam rolling your legs will be as useful as anything else at this point.

Usual food I’d suggest, maybe a big bowl of pasta or rice the night before.
Big bowl of porridge in the morning of the ride, with a banana maybe.
I also swear by 3 pints (mid strength bitter, 4.2% ish ideally) the night before but I do accept this isn’t conventional thinking…

I used to suffer from cramp terribly, tonic water (contains quinine) is meant to help as are electrolyte drinks but they never did much for me. The only thing that fixed me up was getting fitter I’m afraid.

Tonic water has very little quinine in it these days, and none in the States as the FDA made them remove it. Also the prescribed dose of quinine for cramp reduction would mean drinking about 15 glasses of the stuff.

You probably should be eating protein and carbs today to help your muscles recover from the 70 miles ride. Then I wouldn’t worry too much for the rest of the week, then start eating excess carbs on Friday plain rice or oats is what I use without too much fat or protein at the same time.

Listening to an Ulatra running podcast yesterday, that was talking about Mustard and pickle juice as a cramp cure they reckoned it was likely to be placebo effect, though very new research suggests that it could be that strong taste may prvent cramp. They had the US armies top expert on Hydration on he reckoned that cramp may be caused my nerve signalling in fatigued muscles rather than low salt or dehydration.

Didn’t come up with any suggestions how to prevent it other than mustard or pickle juice.

Thanks for the replies folks.
I usually have a bottle of water and a bottle of water with electrolyte tabs in – and never drink enough anyway = cramp on longer rides. Drained 2 bottles with tabs in today and no cramp so I’ll do that next week. Porridge and banana sounds good as sometimes do that anyway. Post-ride recovery prob not the best – 3 egg mushroom omelette, crisps and 2 can of coke – was drained when I got back. Followed much later by Sunday roast (always a good thing) and 3 Purity beers – oops 😕

I’d be draining 3-4 bottles on a 70 miler. The sportive should have fluid stops, so no excuse to run short! 5 nakd bars in the back pocket, 1 an hr to keep energy levels up.

Just eat normally this week. Double espresso when you wake up on the day to help you “lighten your load”. Breakfast of porridge with banana, nuts & berries.

And most importantly ENJOY IT!

One it’s not that far…
Nothing you eat this far out will make a difference.
Being hydrated will though its not that essential 😉 (first 90km 4 passes lakes one was done with a decent beer consumption the night before as I didnt know I had an entry)
Care loading only works partially and anything excess you need to carry or dump.

I’d be draining 3-4 bottles on a 70 miler

+1.

I’ve done Ride London twice, the first year I didn’t drink anywhere near enough and cramped really badly – last year I drank almost bottles and only the tiniest twinge of cramp at the top of Wimbledon hill (92 miles in)

I also drank a bottle of water with a High-5 tablet in it every day in the week running up to Ride London last year – someone suggested it might help stock pile the minerals which you loose through sweat.
No idea if it helped but I’d do it again.

I’d be draining 3-4 bottles on a 70 miler

The amount you drink on a hot sunny day doing Ride London in July won’t be the same you drink on a cold March day with a steady cold drizzle and a 20mph headwind from the Arctic keeping you company.

One it’s not that far…

Sure the OP finds that very helpful.

In all honesty if you’re asking this now there’s very little point doing anything different.

Just eat what you normally do, have a decent breakfast and go for a ride.

What’s the route like (fast+flat, hilly+twisty roads)? How long do you think it is going to take you?

Controversial opinion here. I think things like carb loading, energy gels, and weird things in packets are for pros who’re at racing weight with single digit body fat percentages.

I’d eat what I normally eat, pack some normal food (bagel with cream cheese and jam is one of my favourites) and make sure I always had food and water with me.

Saying that, if you normally eat a massive takeaway and drink 10 pints on the reg, then it may be an idea to skip that bit 🙂

I’d have gone with the very simple answer of “food” but I assume you want something more detailed than that…

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/nutrition/get-started/article/izn20140305-Sportive-Nutritional-Timeline-0

pack some normal food (bagel with cream cheese and jam is one of my favourites)

That doesn’t sound at all messy for having while riding along

Controversial opinion here. I think things like carb loading, energy gels, and weird things in packets are for pros who’re at racing weight with single digit body fat percentages.

For this length of ride, I’d be inclined to agree. 72 miles, so that’s 4 or 5 hours. Good, possibly carb heavy meal the night before, good breakfast and just eat when you can on the bike. At the stops, have a bit of cake or a sausage role, fill your bottles and off you go. I tend to keep a gel in my pocket for emergencies but rarely use it.

@legend it packs quite well wrapped in some foil! No accidents yet 🙂

As an actual athlete (not in cycling though) the advice I was always given, and the advice I give other people is to stick to what you know.

You eat ‘x’ and ‘y’ food all year round, your body is used to that. Don’t go changing your diet and start adding in ‘z’ mere days before a big event. You’ve spent the previous 358 days eating normally, there is no need to confused your body, and potentially eat something it doesn’t agree with on those last 7 days.

This is the reason Usain Bolt famously ate chicken nuggets before his 100m WR in 2008, not because they are an undiscovered superfood, but because he was in a foreign country, and McNuggets were a familiar food source.

However if you were to experiment in small amounts over a longer period of time, that could be beneficial, but that’s another topic.

curiousyellow – Member

@legend it packs quite well wrapped in some foil! No accidents yet

I’d likely be covered in cheese and/or eating foil!

Assuming you’re riding it to finish and enjoy it, not nailing round like a racing snake, just eat normal food, both this week and on the ride itself. Drink a bottle per 25 miles, you’ll be fine.

In the two years I’ve done RideLondon, I’ve been powered by an Italian meal the night before, a bowl of muesli in the morning, and a selection of cheese rolls, naked bars and bananas through the ride.

I have found every time I get on the beetroot juice my cycling improves the next weekend. Read up on it a few years ago and the tests seemed to be indicating there was real proof behind it working, that may have changed now as something else comes into favour!

Can’t do any harm for you to give it a go anyway, not the nicest taste but not the worst either.

Just eat normal healthy food. (this seems to be the theme)

1. Sleep well,

2. Eat well,

3. Stay away from the booze (although doubt a glass of wine would hurt)

For a 70miler can’t see what else you would need really, enjoy it.

beetroot shots help with that, otherwise you’d be bathing in the stuff to get it into you#

# this may be a small exaggeration.

If you cramp at 50 miles it’s because your not fit, not your diet.

Pack up everybody, FunkyDunc found the cure to cramps.

You want to tell Rafael Nadal he’s unfit in this video here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABY0BR8d_z0

I think the general consensus is that nobody knows for sure why we cramp?

It’s the Mad March Hare which starts near Solihull and does an elongated figure of eight into the Cotswolds (slightly). Undulating rather than lumpy but a few sharp climbs (Drovers Hill). Food stop at 40 miles so I’ll take a couple of tabbed bottles and refill there – loads of decent food and drinks so will hopefully be ok.

I’ll eat as normal but skip obvious bad stuff (like booze) and scoff pasta Sat night.

http://www.madmarchharesportive.co.uk

Feel fine after yesterday’s windy exploits – good practise for a 100 miler I’ve signed up for in (flat) Lincolnshire in May. Is that long enough mikewsmith? 😉

As others have said, just eat normal this week and don’t ‘carbo load’ terrible idea you just own’t sleep properly and will feel sluggish. Just eat a normal amount the day before. On the morning of the ride I’d go porridge with fruit, washed down with a fruit juice and coffee. On the ride I’d take a banana, energy bar, something normal e.g. simple sandwich, and then an energy gel for emergency.

I’d be draining 3-4 bottles on a 70 miler

Everyone is different and I’d only take 2x 500ml for that kind of distance. No point riding around with an extra kilo on your bike.

Is 70 miles really so much of a big deal?
Just get on with it and make sure you pace yourself properly.

a few sharp climbs (Drovers Hill)

Oof, enjoy 😉

Eat healthy, simples.

Sounds like your riding feeding did not work out last year (cramps) – you have worked on that?

Is 70 miles really so much of a big deal?

Depends how much you’ve trained and how fast you are.
At 17.5mph for a 4hr ride, no its not that big a deal at all.
At 7mph for a 10hr ride, yes its quite a big deal.

@dragon has at least one bactrian parent.

I usually take 2 x 750ml bottles for a 70km ride. They’re near empty by the time I’m home and these are very leisurely Z2-3 rides! If you’re really that way inclined, then weigh yourself just before you ride out. Do a fixed distance and then come back and weigh yourself. Most of your weight loss will be water via sweat. That’s how much you’ll have lost and should give you an idea of what you should carry.

With water you just drink when you’re thirsty. The “I don’t need water because I’m tough/fit” mentality is pretty old school and has no basis in fact. It could actually be pretty dangerous.