[Closed] Big ride on Sunday - where do you stick your Gels?

If you eat 18 gels in one ride, storing them will be the least of your worries. Take proper food.

No one needs that number. Plus your mouth/teeth will feel furry after half that. If it's a sportive then they're probably supplying cake and bananas.

Or, just pedal harder. If you can get round at twice the speed you'll need half the number of gels

Sod gels, eat food. Sandwiches, pork pies, flapjack, bananas, apples, samosas, cold pizza, need I go on?

As above loads of gels is a fast track to bonksville/the twobob bits,proper food and then a gel or two to get you through the last hour.

Don't. I carry 2 or 3 in a back pocket and see them as emergency food. Just eat properly at each free station and you'll be fine. Saying that, 18 gels would make you rocket powered...

Stick a couple of cereal bars in your jersey pocket, and just pick up the free food at feed stations... The worst thing about gels is not storing them in the first place, but storing the sticky mess of the empty packets.

Torq are good as you can have any mix of three. One gel, one bar or a drink. or any combination.
Better than just gels in my opinion.

6 hours....I would eat a few banannas in the first hour or two combined with carb powder in your water. Eat whatever is at the feed stations and an energy bar or 2 inbthe next couple and leave couple of gels for the last hour orc2.

For a 50 miler I'll take maybe 4 gels & a bit if solid food, if not a premade energy bar a peanut butter & choc spread butty cut into squares. Usually come home with some of them too. I prefer just water in my bottles, guts don't seem to get on with energy drinks.
I'd not take double that for a century, i reckon I'd end up leaking gel if I had that many.
Sportives generally have food stations anyway so unless you're intending to miss them out you'll get extra fuel there.

A very well known and sensible piece of advice is that you shouldn't try anything in an event you care about that you've not tried in training.

Have you tried 3 gels per hour for 6 hours in training? Or even for 4 hours? How did it feel?

Have you tried 3 gels per hour for 6 hours in training? Or even for 4 hours? How did it feel?

Most I've had was 6 in a day (over about four hours). The results were catastrophic.

My first sportive I went with lots of gels. Didn't end well.

I say screw these guys! Who do you think k knows more about the gel? Some people on the internet, or the manufacturers? Go for the 18 and take a few more just incase. Just tape them with masking tape over the bike so you can rip them off.

Take photos. And loo roll.

Even xc racing I struggle to eat more than 3 in a race and then have stomach cramps a few hrs later. For a normal ride up to 4hrs wouldn't bother with any, maybe a flapjack.

GCN do a really good video on what to pack and where for a days riding, but the main gist is tools in the saddle pack, packable jacket and pump in middle pocket, food in side Jersey pockets

And another vote for proper food; sandwiches, bananas maybe a pork pie for protein and variety gels for emergency only. 2x500ml bidons, one water one electrolyte and alternate them

What you need is a storage facility built into your seatpost. I think davidtaylforth does some pretty long rides.

It's a bit late now, but gels are no substitute for training. I hope you're not doing the Fred Whitton, that would be a tough sportive to start with. As above, eat proper food and use gels later on, that way, if they have a troubling effect you'll be nearer home. Enjoy the ride, the scenery and people. Good luck.

I hope you're not doing the Fred Whitton, that would be a tough sportive to start with

It was my first one, I'm still here now 😉

I've had 12+ torq gels in a day along with torq energy drink, stomach was fine. For a sportive (or long ride) I'd probably take a handful of torq gels, some torq energy and grab some cake and sarnies somewhere along the way.

As others have said though, I wouldn't try something for the first time on a big event.

The amount of gel a energy drink High 5 recommend in an hour is ridiculous. For 100 miles I'd take 4 gels, 1 electrolyte bottle, 1 energy bottle, powder to fill them up once or maybe twice. Then I'd eat proper savoury food at one stop.

simondbarnes - Member
I hope you're not doing the Fred Whitton, that would be a tough sportive to start with
It was my first one, I'm still here now

If you have a decent breakfast you'll be fine for 90 minutes or so on nothing. Energy drinks will provide you with most of your recommended 200 - 300 calories per hour.

Alternatively take 18 gels, then wait for the impeding Arse unloading pretty catastrophically!

You might as well stick them up your arse for all the good they'll do you..

Take a sandwich or two like a normal human being

If you must take the sickly idiot sweets, please pick your wrappers up

So where do people stick their gels?

You might as well stick them up your arse 

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anal-rehydration

Round here most people seem to chuck them on the floor.... 🙁

Bought into the whole gel thing and then got sick of finding places to put gooey wrappers. Went back to normal food and didn't notice any difference. Keep a couple of emergency bonk relief but don't go out expecting to eat them.

Are you doing the Etape Caledonia this weekend? So am I - not using gels at all. Good breakfast of porridge / fry up / bacon roll / cereal. From then on relying on the food and water stops supplemented with flapjack, jelly babies and tangtastics.
Leave the gels for the gullible who believe the marketing guff.

Having done etape Caledonia a few times and carried food the whole way round, the smart way is a decent breakfast as mentioned, 2 bottles and no food. There are food stations every 20 miles with bananas, cakes and energy stuff. Fill yer pockets to help offset the £60 entry fee ... 🙂

Gels are for a last resort as you'll just use up all the sugars straight away, any you don't will explode out of your arse. Like others have said take proper slow release food.

I like gels, I feel they have their place - and on a 6 hour ride I'd probably take 3 or 4 with me.
However I would plan to only use them toward the end of the event, and only if I felt I needed them.

If you eat 18 of them in one day they will make you a bit poorly.

I did the TdY Sportive as my first road event and was nervous and wondering about gels.
I had 2, near the end.
My mate had about 12 and it was messy!
I tucked one in my short leg at the feed station, was easy to retrieve and had a jacket covering my jersey pocket. I also tuck the empty wrappers up there too, saves getting the rest of my pocket contents sticky.

I've never had any issue with squits using gels - probably more bunged up than anything else.

Eat something every 40 minutes. Alternate between a gel and some real food like a banana or some malt loaf. I store a gel under each leg gripper in races. I also like Cliff bloks. For a sportive, empty a large bag of jelly babies into a back pocket and take ad libitem for a continuous glucose oral infusion.

You won't need 18 gels.

For Ride London 100 I ate a large risotto the night before, three weetabix for breakfast, took four gels, a banana, and a sis fruit bar. That was for four hours, but probably a similar carb burn.

My first big ride was on gels,drink and bars only.
No bad guts as I ready the instructions. Most gels need water with them to be fully utilised. If not, they sit in your gut and give you the shits.

Sis are nasty, hight 5 are pretty good and torq are nice. I'd say pack what the instructions say and your legs will tell you what you need. If you bring some home, great. If you don't then there are feed stops.

It's £20 worth of stuff you can use again on another day.

Enjoy the ride, it's suppose to be fun.

I'm doing 100k sportive this weekend. I'm taking 2 cranberry & macadamia bars some mixed salted peanuts & cashews & 2 bottles of squash. Will eat fruit or cake st the food stop. Doubt I'll eat all the above though

Yep as many have said you are looking at too many gels...
The 3/hr is for short races. Fuel properly before, energy in the water is good and some other food, gels if you bonk.

If I'm doing 100 miles+ I'll take ham sarnies & a pork pie

I must under eat compared to you lot. For a hundred mile ride I'll have breakfast then have a couple of MuleBars and plenty of water then eat afterwards. I'll happily ride 50 miles without any food intake.

I still don't get the pork pie obsession either...

Last time I emptied jelly babies into my pocket it rained. Messy!
Another tip - load your back pocket in reverse layers. I had fig rolls for 'breakfast', flapjack for mid morning and jelly babies as a snack and a gel at the bottom for emergency energy.
Little and often though, 3 fig rolls was enough per go. Something like 35g of carbs an hour. Eat 20 mins ahead of when you need it.

That was my strategy and it was great. I managed to ride twice as fast as I've ever ridden, kept my pace higher than usual and was still walking around all afternoon.

I'd say hydration and skills riding in a group are more important than food.

Use the gels for a sugar hit. They never provide enough fuel to stop my legs getting tired. Bananas keep the cramp away and fill a hole.

After seeing pork pie in the list I am certain to try that one soon!!!

Good breakfast of porridge / fry up / bacon roll / cereal. From then on relying on the food and water stops supplemented with flapjack, jelly babies and tangtastics.

That would have me throwing up at the first climb if I was trying hard! Proper food is all well and good, but if I'm really pushing on I just can't digest it properly and end up feeling ill. Gels definitely have a place, I had 11 when I did the SDW (taped to the top tube) with no ill effects. Gentle spin in the countryside - real food. Race type effort - gels work.

That said I'd never have 3 an hour for a prolonged period, and wouldn't try anything new at an event.

My 2p's worth.
Take a few gels with you but carry normal foood for the first 2 or 3 hours.
Banana Malt loaf , sliced and squished make superb, cheap scoffable bars.
Fig rolls, flapjacks ( homemade with a pinch of cinnamon or ginger )too.
I like to add gels and High5 Zero to my water bottles . Way easier on the stomach and low faff way of getting them in you, only after the last food stop mind.
Use the feed stops as a top up to your own stocks, dont stop for too long and get cold though.

Much of the advice ^ is well placed but avoids answering your actual question

Answer - a bento box. Just check any triathlon store or google. Very simple and effective way of storing food and easy to access while riding,

If I'm on a big, hard road ride (100miles plus) My fuelling for the day generally goes like this :
Large bowel of porridge with blueberries and raisins for breakfast, making sure I leave around an hour and a half before I set off so it can digest. Set my Garmin so that every half an hour it reminds me to eat something. I normally alternate between real food (Jorden cereal bars are my go to ) then after the next half hour a gel. Normally high 5, although the torque stuff has impressed me recently, especially the high caffeine ones (it's like rocket fuel). Sometimes instead of a gel I have a couple of blocks of Rountrees jelly ( cheap as chips, easy to get down you and give you a massive amount of sugar if your close to bonking. As for hydration a bottle of water with again high5 powder in. If it's hot I'll also chuck an electrolyte tab in as well, for me it helps with the possibility of cramp setting in near the end.
This is for a hard, hilly ride above 6hours though. A zone 1 or 2 recovery/winter base mile ride I'll not bother with anything, bar water.

There's no way you need to carry 18 gels. At the most you might need one every 30 minutes, so that's 2 an hour and you shouldn't need anything for the first hour anyway. So at the very most for a 6 hour ride 10 gels would see you right. But I'd probably take a couple of Clif bars or something. So 4 gels and one bar in each outside jersey pocket.

You shouldn't need 'other food' on top of that. There's absolutely no need to constantly eat.

[i] supplemented with flapjack, jelly babies and tangtastics.
Leave the gels for the gullible who believe the marketing guff.[/i]

One of the reasons for using gels is ease of transportation and use. A bag of sweets will just turn into a sticky mess and are not easy to eat on the move. Leave the sweets for the kids and take the more usable option.

Gels have their place, but for rides of 6 hours or more, if there are feed stations, I would carry only about 3 gels for emergencies, plus a couple of energy bars, and eat bananas etc at feed stations. If there are no feed stations, I'd take something savoury like a peanut butter sandwich. I prefer to drink plain water or water with a zero calorie electrolyte tablet added. I once tried using an energy drink provided at a sportive but it felt too sickly sweet and it's bad for your teeth!
Mr Pea did a 300-mile solo ride one day, using a mixture of food at cafe stops and energy bars/gels. He used gels to get him through the last couple of hours but they really upset his stomach.

Reading the above posts I'm starting to wonder if I don't eat enough.I did a 50 miler last Saturday & stopped for a cup of tea & a couple of scones after 35 miles.
I'm doing another 50 today & I'll take a gel as back-up but I rarely use them.
What's the recommended gel per hour ratio,1 or 2 per hour after a couple of hours?

Bananas... ...fill a hole.

I think you're using them incorrectly!

People actually put that hideous **** in their bodies? OP why? If you do remember to throw them everywhere like other gel users do.

Plus if you need gels something tells me you haven't prepared/ridden enough?

Stating the obvious here but the manufacturers [b]are going[/b] to say "take X per hour" because they are selling them and making money!

I've a pretty strong constitution but too many gels makes me feel queasy, I used to take some and use one or two on every ride but don't bother these days. If I'm going for a long ride, i.e. 100 miles or more, or a particularly hilly ride (live close to The Dales so a normal ride has 2000m or more of ascent then I'll pack one "just in case". Apart from that it's a cafe stop for refuelling.

As for carrying them: unused gels in RH jersey pocket; used wrappers in LH jersey pocket OR use a top tube mounted fuel pod. If you are on a sportive, resupply and bin empties at the feed stations. I find that the gels take a few minutes to take effect so if you know a big hill is approaching then take the gel a few Km before you get to the bottom.

You might as well stick them up your arse
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anal-rehydration

Large bowel of porridge with blueberries and raisins...

😯

Plus if you need gels something tells me you haven't prepared/ridden enough?

What a thorough load of bollocks!

Hora has a lot of experience of (entering) sportives.

Plus if you need gels something tells me you haven't prepared/ridden enough?

What 'something' tells you this crap, Hora? 🙄

So you think gels are a good thing? Or a necessary evil?

Reading the above posts I'm starting to wonder if I don't eat enough.I did a 50 miler last Saturday & stopped for a cup of tea & a couple of scones after 35 miles.

Given the average BMI of a mountain biker I'd take nutritional advice on here with a pinch of salt. For 50 miles I wouldn't take anything at all if I'm planning to stop, probably take a bottle or two of High 5 if it was hot, I like the taste and it encourages me to drink.

So you think gels are a good thing

Yes, they serve a purpose and they do it well.

i often get through two gels on my commute, currently on a pretty strict keto diet tho so i need some good carbs to get me up the hills.

Sunday morning club is run 35 - 45 miles @ 17/18mph , no food required just water and a high5 zero tab if its sunny.

Of course gels have a place , when your are bonking 30mins from home and your legs have turned into wool , your vision is all blurry around the edges and your lungs have shrunk to the size of a packet of mini cheddars then gels offer a quick ( the quickest?) fix .

Gels are a portable and easily digestible source of carbs. When exercising hard, you want your food to be as easily digestible as possible. Extra fat and possibly protein make it harder work to digest and take energy away from.your muscles.

I once took welshcakes with me on a ride. They were harder to handle than gels, and I had terrible indigestion on the ride.

On a 6hr ride I would take carb powder in my drink mixed 2/3 strength, and 3 or 4 gels. I'd also start the ride without having had any carbs for breakfast and wait 45 mins before tucking in. But only because I've done it before on lots of training rides and I now the effect it has.

I'd use the sportive feeding stations to refill bottles with energy drink. Two of my gels would be caffeinated, they would be consumed last.

All of these people saying they do 50/miles on water - fine, that works for many people but not everyone. If you don't naturally feel like that then it will take training to get to that point. If you want to get to it.

rOcKeTdOg - Member
If I'm doing 100 miles+ I'll take ham sarnies & a pork pie

Much the same, but substitute a Snickers bar for the pork pie. 🙂

Most of us carry plenty spare energy around with us in the shape of body fat. Learn to use it - it's not as if many of us are lean mean pro peleton people.

Given the average BMI of a mountain biker

Which is? Says who?

I say screw these guys! Who do you think k knows more about the gel? Some people on the internet, or the manufacturers? Go for the 18 and take a few more just incase. Just tape them with masking tape over the bike so you can rip them off.

This all the way OP 😉 Remember to start a new thread about your [s]shitting through a sieve[/s] miracle weight loss

Hora has a lot of experience of (entering) sportives.

Aw come on now,he was feeling all delicate and couldn't get a doctor to give him the all clear. 🙂

I use gels as a turbo, big hill coming up in 15 mins? grab a gel.

I avoid butties/pork pies etc as I feel slow on them, flapjacks or similar for me to keep at a steady burn.

That GCN video is pretty good, although if I need a credit card on a spin I'm lost.

Saddlebag for 2x inner tubes, £20, levers, tool and patches.
Back left pocket for an extra inner tube on big spins, phone and key (I use it to dump gel wrappers in too, waterproof phone).
Middle pocket is a gilet.
right pocket is gels/flapjack as I'm right handed and I find it easier.
water bottles on the bike with isotonic powder on a big/hot spin as I'm a sweaty mammoth.

Don't like to overpack the jersey as I find it uncomfortable after an hour or so.

Most of us carry plenty spare energy around with us in the shape of body fat. Learn to use it -

How do you learn to metabolise fat fast enough to avoid bonking?

Hmm, someone says the empty, sticky wrappers are hard to deal with. It a sportive - obviously they will be chucked by the side of the road.

Not saying the OP will do this but based on my encounters with roads apres-sportive it seems to be standard operating procedure...

I still don't get the pork pie obsession either...

a snack pork pie warmed and softened by 3hrs in your back pocket is food of the gods 8)

Even a pro-rider carries quite a bit of fat - when Bradley Wiggins was in his GC body shape he still had enough fat to for 2 1/2 marathons. Whether you or Bradley Wiggins can utilise all that fat is another matter. You need a certain percentage of body fat for your body to function anyway so on longer rides you will have to consume something. But you are likely to have food "in the system" as it were that can supply this.

The body can only process food at a given rate so if you eat more than that it will just sit in the stomach making you feel bloated. The stomach empties at what is known as the Gastric Emptying Rate (GER), food leaves the stomach as a slurry of everything you've been eating and drinking plus a few stomach acids and enzymes. Hard exercise can affect the GER and how your digestive system operates.

Generally, food mid-exercise is more of a psychological boost than a physiological one, unless you've hit the wall and bonked. Water on the other hand ...

Generally, food mid-exercise is more of a psychological boost than a physiological one, unless you've hit the wall and bonked. Water on the other hand ...

3 per hour, bloody 'ell!
Like most it seems I take a few for bonking emergencies, or maybe a bit of a mental lift before that last big hill, that sort of thing.
I strongly suspect that for me at least a big part of this is all in the mind, especially on events- your special 'event food' that you reckon is going to give you that little bit extra than what you normally have.
I almost never use High 5 or anything like that if I'm just out for a ride.

Most of us carry plenty spare energy around with us in the shape of body fat. Learn to use it

If you don't know how a body uses carbs it might be best to stay off these threads 🙂

3 gels in each jersey pocket (x3) so that's 9
2 in your saddle bag
Get a top tube pouch thing and stick 4 in there.
One in each sock and one under your helmet.

So that's 18.

Please please come back on here after and tell us how taking 18 gels in one ride works out for you.

Plus if you need gels something tells me you haven't prepared/ridden enough?

Yeah, all those pros necking a gel in the last 30 minutes of a stage just haven't prepared enough. I hear British Cycling have a vacancy for Head Coach now Shane has gone, give them a call.

Just back from 130km, I had 2 oatibix for breakfast, then one Torq bar, one Torq chew, one bottle had energy drink in and I bought a Snickers when I stopped to refil the bottles.

Had a gel half an hour from home as I was getting slightly wobbly.

I've got one gel that I think I carried round with me for about 1000 miles last year, it came out on every ride under a couple of hours but I never needed it. Gels are an easy way of getting carbs in when I'm too ****ed to even chew a bar.

Which is? Says who

It was a slightly tongue in cheek comment, but judging by the number of people who feel they need food on their 10 mile round around their local trail centre, followed by a recovery drink and a big meal, I Stand by my original comment.

It does make me laugh, I have a couple of gels for emergency that live in my backpack, but I'd much rrathe have cordial and sandwiches when riding.

If you had 3 gels an hour you'd probably end up diabetic and all yyou teeth would drop out!

I think there's a vested interest in gel manufacturers recommending 3 per hour!

Anyone who recommends gels for exercise outside of competition needs their head testing

Says the expert

Anyone who recommends gels for exercise outside of competition needs their head testing

I dont do any competitions but had an energy gel 3 weeks ago. What test should I have?

I dont do any competitions but had an energy gel 3 weeks ago. What test should I have?

Ok, thats good. Thank **** its not a spelling test!!!