Hey everyone,
I’ve been paying more attention to nutrition on longer rides lately, and it’s surprising how much of a difference it can make when you stay on top of your fueling instead of just eating whenever you remember.
I’m curious how everyone here handles it. Do you use an app to plan and track your carbs, fluids, and electrolytes, or do you just go by experience? Have you found that tracking your nutrition has improved your performance or recovery? I’d love to hear what system works best for you, especially for long training rides and race days.
I go into rides with a specific fueling target in mind. Depending on this, I try to get as close as possible to the total amount for the ride, with the food at hand. That is then distributed over the duration, e.g.: 90g of carbs/h during a 2 hour ride (total of 180g) means a 45g gel at 0:15, 0:45, 1:15 and 1:45. Note that this is a lot easier if you are consuming just 1 type of product 
In the past, I experimented with DIY gel in 1 big flask. The conclusion of that was that it was difficult to correctly distribute the intake over the whole ride, leading to issues. With fixed quantity/units, just keep to the schedule.
Eating enough in and out of rides is crucial for both performance and recovery
Fueling by experience alone worked fine for me on 2–3h rides, but the moment I went long — gravel, ultra — “eat when I remember” fell apart completely. Past a certain duration you’re playing catch-up on a deficit you can’t claw back, and that’s usually where the wheels come off.
What actually changed things for me was planning it before the ride instead of reacting during it: a target carb rate per hour (I settle around 60–90g depending on intensity), fluids and sodium scaled to how hot it’s going to be, and then just executing the plan on a timer rather than on hunger. Hunger is a terrible signal on the bike — by the time you feel it, you’re already behind.
Fair disclosure — I build a training app (Summit) that generates a race-day carb/fluid/sodium plan from an event’s duration, intensity and weather, so I’m biased toward the “plan it in advance” camp. But honestly even a note on your phone or a strip of tape on the top tube with your hourly targets gets you 80% of the benefit. The system matters less than having one at all.
Curious what carb rates others are running for long stuff — I still feel like most people (me included, for years) chronically under-fuel.
Thanks for the replies! It’s interesting that you both came to the same conclusion from different experiences: having a plan is much better than relying on hunger. I also like the idea of breaking everything down into hourly targets instead of thinking about the ride as a whole. It seems much easier to stay consistent that way, especially on rides over 3–4 hours.
I’m still experimenting with what works best for me, but these comments definitely reinforce that I should be more intentional about carbs, fluids, and electrolytes instead of just grabbing food whenever I think about it. Hopefully more people will share what they’re using and whether they’ve found a “sweet spot” for carb intake on really long rides.
I use redneck tailwind (table sugar, cheap electrolites, lemon juice, caffeine) that I make 5lbs at the time. Over the last few years and many long rides, I’ve got my nutrition/hydration dialed-in.
I always take a bottle of water on a ride, and anything 90min+ gets carbs. I aim for 60-100g/hr, depending on intensity and duration. I’m also a fan of pb and banana sandwiches added to 3hr+ rides. For century rides, I have found that that the more calories I can take in, the more I like the last few miles.
I use the temp to decide how much water I’m going to need. I get 25 miles/liter of water right now, which is about 90 min. If I use 1/2 cup of my mix, I would get 60-70g/hr. I drink every 5 miles, adjusting how big a gulp by how long the bottle needs to last. I’ve done this for about 40k miles, and it’s nearly automatic.
It’s easy to mix a triple strength bottle, or carry an extra serving of mix in a ziploc bag for long rides. Just dilute/mix when you find water. For a century, I use 2cups of sugar, and a couple of sandwiches and granola bars.
I’m a slow, aging, entirely leisure cyclist. No racing. I find it difficult to eat while riding, especially with real foods like date & oat bars, sandwiches, etc.
My preferred fuel is maltodextrin, which I buy in bulk, about £15 for 5 kg. I put 75g into each 750ml bottle, and that lasts for about an hour and a half of riding, taking 2 or 3 swigs every 20 mins. The drink is not sweet, which makes it easier to consume. Refills can be taken as pre-weighed portions in ziplock bags, or as small bottles containing 100 ml of 75% syrup. The silicone bottles sold for travel shampoo etc are good for this. The syrup is also perfectly good as a home-made gel, and a great deal cheaper than “proper” gels. I add electrolytes for longer rides especially on a hot day.
This system works well for rides up to about 4 hours. Longer than that and I think I’m underfuelling. I add in a cafe stop and eat something full of carbs, and take extra bottles of syrup gel for later in the ride, but my system for late fuelling in longer rides is a bit more chaotic than it should be.
I use the app EatMyRide and its Garmin Connect IQ datafield. I never kept up with it otherwise.