Everyone knows that you should replenish within half hour of finishing a ride. But if you have travelled some distance and are unable to keep anything chilled, what proper food can you eat that contains protein?

Don't want any more energy drinks or bars. I need proper protein to help my decrepit body repair itself. Apart from a tin of tuna, is there anything else?

Thank you so much. 😀

i like milk, a couple of hard boiled eggs or grilled chicked breast.

can i be the first to lower the tone of this thread to the gutter?

Yazoo Milkshake. UHT so does not need to be kept in fridge. Perfect mix of Carbs/Protein.

Not strictly an energy drink so I'll go with it! Forgoodness shakes are very nice tasting and are full of stuff that should help you repair. I always keep a couple in the car for post ride recovery.

Everyone knows that you should replenish within half hour of finishing a ride

I don't for one. I expect there are others. In fact, if you did a census, you'd probably find that 95% of everyone in the world didn't know that, or for that matter, that the suggestion itself was untrue. In which case nobody knows it.

SOOB – lower away…

I like a bag of mixed nuts (unsalted) Walnuts, almonds, cashew, pistachio that kind of thing.

Sports medicine linky

I generally just have a Forgoodness Shake thing, or if I've run out then a plate of cereal with a banana. They are quite expensive those drinks though, so I tend not to have them lying around all the time. If I'm feeling really 'bonked' then I sometimes make up a milkshake with a couple of bananas, oats and add some raw eggs. But, that's something that I'd recommend too often 😐

Chippy – fish, sausage, whatever and chips

Doesnt have to be with 30mins IIRC? The quicker the better of course. I like a protein drink or I have scrammy eggs on toast hmmm 🙂

Eggs, milk and chicken need to be kept chilled. I don't want food poisoning. 😯

I eat little during a ride hence needing something fairly substantial at the end.

sfb – it's to help with repairing muscles.

Gavin – thank you for the link. 🙂

Just how long are we talking about keeping things chilled here ?
Eggs are ok for ages,milk is fine for hours & chicken can be wrapped in foil to keep it cool for hours also….

Scoth egg?

Although I'm with SFB, I never knew this and I'm still here, still going..! 🙂

How long are you riding for? A chicken sarnie shouldn't go off in the space of a day's riding. YOu could always get a wee cool bag and put freezer packs in it so you can keep more 'perishable' protein stuff.

Yazoo Milkshake. UHT so does not need to be kept in fridge. Perfect mix of Carbs/Protein.

+1

Always chocolate.

Or finish ride at pub and have a steak and chips with a pint?

Research shows that combining protein with carbohydrate in the two hours after exercise nearly doubles the insulin response, which results in more stored glycogen.

(for the link above)

note that someone last week suggested that the insulin spike from consuming carbs led to diabetes. Also the article is addressed to athletes which most of us aren't

sfb – it's to help with repairing muscles.

I don't ride hard enough to damage my muscles, unless I fall off :o)

Back in the old days no one had fridges so a few hours in a coolbag in the back of a car is nothing. Bearing in mind that if you've ridden over any dirt you'll already have ingested a fair few pathogens 😯 , so I'd doubt that a chicken or egg butty would kill you. I favour Muller Rice myself…

I'm impressed that this thread hasn't gone downhill yet 😉

I have found UHT milk drinks to be good. My personal favourite are 9 bars (by wholefoods). They are essentially cereal bars but protein rich and tasty. Failing that I take a recovery drink in a bottle and add water when I want it. Available in Sainsburies.

As for proper food, I dunno, Pasta pesto bulked up with cheese and pine or cashew nuts would keep.

I always enjoy a milkshake or two after a ride.

I find the Complan ones to be the tastiest and they are stuffed full of other goodies for your body as well.

Thanks for replies.

OK, an example. I do like the Forum Rides, some of which are some distance away. I always take a sandwich for lunch but if you have been riding all day and breakfast had been at 6.00 am, then by the end of the ride, I need food! Could take me a couple of hours to get home by which time appetite has disappeared.

My priority is food that will help my body to recover.

Of course it would be nice to finish every ride with fish and chips on the beach as we did at Exmoor recently. 😆

SFB, I know you're sceptical about this, but it makes a massive difference to me; did 70 miles on the road yesterday, riding hard as we could, then got up today and rode at Glentress; drinking a protein recovery drink made it doable…

I'm as sceptical as you about many things in cycling, but this works.

Get a cool box, mix up your drink, drink. Easy.

Chicken sandwich would be my reccomendation. A few carbs and some protein. Seems to be just what you're after, no? If the chicken really is a no no, then spinnach or any other dark green vegetable could be used as a substitute.

How long are you riding for and what are you trying to achieve from eating immediately after a ride? Gaining energy to get home or are you trying to do something properly scientific and intake the proper ammount of protein to repair the muscle you've damaged during the course of the ride?

I like plain old low fat milk with a few spoons of sugar in it,read about it in one of my mates body building mags years ago.It works fine & I've been doing this for at least the last 20 years with no ill effects.Oh & it's cheap too 8)

Or finish ride at pub

having dropped off th'ill yesterday, rolling along to the Riverhead Brewery Tap, (for important fluid intake, well within 30 mins of the end of the ride..) I found myself idly pondering…..
as they can, and do make their own ales, all manner of flavours etc. what are the chances of creating a post ride 'Electrolyte Ale'…….
Really must run that by the landlady when i'm next in…. 😉

Try this beef jerky

or this mixed with water

Vanilla protien shake

CG – there's some 'readers suggestions' linked on that page too, with their ideas on what you can eat.

Some are clearly very American eg lots of peanut butter and jelly suggestions, but some may be useful.

Just looked, and if you replaced the raw egg with some protein powder in that milkshake I suggested a while back, you'd be sorted, as its got loads of carbs in there, just needs some protein -hence why I tend to throw in an egg.

what are the chances of creating a post ride 'Electrolyte Ale'…….

You just have to carefully match your intake of crisps or salted peanuts to your liquid intake. Say, one pint beer / one bag crisps?

OK, an example. I do like the Forum Rides, some of which are some distance away. I always take a sandwich for lunch but if you have been riding all day and breakfast had been at 6.00 am, then by the end of the ride, I need food!

You not eating enough of our cake! 🙂

Could take me a couple of hours to get home by which time appetite has disappeared.

As you can tell by my svelte figure, that's something which I find totally alien in concept… 😉

Anything meat based for protein is likely to take too long to digest and you may well miss your 'optimum window'.

Go for simple proteins like those found in milk and whey protein – there's a reason why body builders use it.

I go for UHT based milk drinks for recovery, its not like I'm training for the Olympics.

For the last 6 months I've been making specific effort to eat during the ride, which is something I've never been very good at. I'm eating an Elevenses raisin bake every 30 minutes. I've been surprised at how much this has reduced by multi-hour fatigue and my general state at the end of a ride too. Perhaps you ought to try stuffing something in during the ride too?

milk stays cold in a thermos.
chicken will be fine all day.

never worked out how long you can keep an egg after its been hard boiled, but i assume that its at least as long as my longest ride (two days)

scotch eggs are always available from shops/garages

I know you said no bars but these are high protein ones

Protein bars

and this is made especially for recovery

Recovery shake

Ginsters – there must something good inside?

When I'm driving home from a ride I'm almost always munching on fruit and nut bars or dried fruit (mmmm Apricots) You can get some really good chocolate coated protein bars from places like holland and Barratt.

A shaker bottle with some scoops of protein powder and some finely cut oats. Add water when you're ready to drink. I also like chicken sandwiches – it'll keep for a lot longer in your car / rucksack than you think!

Or find a shop and buy some chocolate milk. It's magic post-workout – a pretty well kept secret amongst weight-lifters.

I'd avoid the peanut butter and jelly sandwich idea (as delicious as it is!), the fat in the peanut butter will slow down sugar uptake which isn't ideal after exercise – you want to make the most of the small window where insulin is on your side 🙂

Manshake

Ok , so a Thermos flask with some low fat milk, hot chocolate powder , whey protein powder and maybe a bagel for some carbs is the answer. Plus a banana and maybe some dried fruit to munch on in the car on the way home.
Seems simple enough but how much whey protein ?
I think we are talking about all dayers here of the 25+ mile length, not an hour round the local woods .

drinking a protein recovery drink made it doable…

it's psychological – I've done similar things (though without road riding) with no thought whatever to what or when I ate. This kind of thing only matters if you're operating at the limits of what the body can do – which I would never try as I just want to have fun and take pictures of women's arses 🙂