davetrave - Member
Spoke to Bob from Hi5 yesterday and he reckoned that you need to take in 1000 - 1200 calories while riding to avoid the "bonk". Apparently the lunch stop and two bars and two gels a day should be sufficient...
Really? Surely that's a little light on calories for the amount of riding, that works out at c250-300 calories ..........
It's got to be a little late to be worrying about this?
Months of training should have told us all how much we need to eat during the ride, and the only thing to worry about is eating enough to make sure that you are fuelling for the next day, not leaving yourself empty.
Personally speaking, my last longish ride of 60km was ridden after eating 2 Weetabix. I then ate one Mule bar, a NAKD bar and a banana during the ride. I also didn't drink enough, only about 2.5 litres for a very warm day. BUT I was fine, I didn't bonk, had enough energy to ride again the next day, etc.
I'd also suggest that eating loads of 'energy' products during the week won't do much for your digestive system if you aren't used to them already. During a Tour of Flanders ride I had to stop for a ham sandwich because I couldn't face another gel!
We aren't riding the TdF, so comparisons with that aren't helpful
As hard as it sounds at the moment, we'll only be riding 50 miles per day at a fairly relaxed pace. Please remind me of that when you find me begging for gels in a trailside ditch. 
