Friends For Life Bike Rally - A Benefit for the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation

So by now you guys should have a pretty good idea of what your preferences are in terms of fuel. If you remember from my past article there seems to be no superiority between ‘food' and ‘supplements.' The only difference seems to be personal preference and/or convenience. I always harp on my clients about fundamentals. If you always remember the fundamentals you will never be mislead by bandwagon supplements, know-it-alls and bias articles.

Calories in must equal calories out
Water in must equal water out
Electrolytes in must equal electrolytes out

I'm afraid it is really just that easy!

Again, It is impossible to outline each riders individual needs in this one article, but please consider the following:

• Remember that it only takes about an hour to two to exhaust your carb stores depending on your pace so, if you intend on taking longer than this to finish your ride then, you need some fuel to go (assuming you have properly fuelled up the previous days).
• Eat a well balanced dinner and eat breakfast at least 1 hour before the ride as it takes about this long for your stomach to empty. Not fun having food in your belly when you are trying to ride!
• The faster your pace the more carbohydrates you will need as the body shifts from less fat burning to increased carbohydrate utilization when you begin working at a higher percentage of your heart rate. Simply put, the faster you ride, the more carbs you will burn.
• Protein and fat are important but still not during your training rides. A bit of fat found in energy bars or various trail mixes is ok, as it actually slows the release of carbs into your blood. Keep in mind the rides are longer now and you need to focus on your primary energy source-carbs. You can take in a combination of protein, carbs and fat when you have finished the ride to help with depleted stores and repair. So, focus on carbs sources of fuel to get you through the ride itself.
• Examples are bananas, raisins, other various dried fruit, energy bars, drinks and gels. Now is the time to experiment, try a few sources as some of these choices will cause gastric upset. I recommend anything organic if you are going with bars or gels as a lot of the artificial ingredients in supplements cause gas and bloating.
• The less depleted you are to start and the less depleted you allow yourself to become during the ride the better. So, eat a big carb dinner and breakfast too. Pack lots of carb-packed snacks on your bike and remember it is easier to get your calories in liquid form then to eat them.