Long ride food: What to eat when cycling long distances?

If your plan is to cycle long distances, then make sure to fuel up with lots of slow digestive foods that are packed with calories. Foods that offer a lot of energy but they can’t be digested quickly.

Foods like brown rice, sweet potato, and fatty fish are slow digestive calorie dense food. They will fill up your stomach immediately but will provide a steady flow of energy, because they are slow digestive. 

Every rider, athlete, and physical worker needs this kind of food in order to maintain long hour work performance. Long distance cycling needs not only proper food planning but also hydration. 

In this article, I will present all the knowledge I have gathered through my experience to help you plan your food. I will try to give you my best advice on what to eat and drink when cycling long distance. 

What should I eat to fuel for a long distance bike ride?

Foods with a high amount of carbohydrate and low GI food should be the choice for a long distance bike ride. Food that includes vitamin, water, minerals and most importantly carbohydrates like bananas, whole-grain cereal, bread and toasts are the best choices. 

Also, protein should be included in your pre-ride diet. It is important to note that a good pre-ride meal will only fuel your ride for around 2-3 hours depending on your intensity. So you have to consume fluids or simple low carbohydrate food on the way. 

If you are riding for almost 4 hours, then you have to take extra food regardless of the meal you had before the ride.

Fluids are also a great concern here. Water is the best option here for hydration. But for a long bike ride, you will need more than just plain water. 

Sports drink contains soluble carbohydrate which quickly provides the body with energy. Electrolytes that are lost in sweat also replenishes by sports drink.

Research says that eating a meal before 1-2 hours of riding provides the best result. Along with water, sports drinks are essential for both body hydration and energy supply for the body. So a pre-ride meal to fuel your ride, with fluids to enhance digestion and energy production are a must in long distance rides.

If you want a detailed food plan on what to eat and when to eat, then check out my article on cycling food plans. It has food items listed there along with what drinks you need to stay hydrated.

How much calorie do I need for a 20 mile bike ride?

Let’s say you are an average person, who decided to cycle 20 miles. The amount of calories you need depends on the amount of calories you burn while riding.

If you weigh 70 kilos, ride your bike at a speed of 10-12 mph and ride 20 miles in 120 minutes, then my friend you have burned 1000 calories. That’s considering all the breaks you take during your run. 

Your weight, time, distance and speed affect the amount of calories you burn. So you will need to stock up 1000 calories in your body to fuel for this ride.

Now you don’t have to stock up on calories at once. 1000 calories is a lot of food. 

This is why you will be taking breaks in the middle of the ride to refuel yourself. Take foods like energy bars, so that you can eat them on the way. You can also take drinks with you to hydrate yourself and provide carbohydrates to regain some of the energy.

Speaking of energy bars, try out my personal favorite product CLIF Energy Bars. It has rich flavor and it will provide you exactly all the things you need in your cycling journey or training. I always keep 2 of these with me.

It is important to count the calories you have burned, so that you can recover all those calories in your body. Use a calorie counter to keep your calories in check. 

They are based on a person’s metabolic equivalents or MET. You just give the calculator the information it needs and it will calculate it for you.

How much calorie does a professional cyclist need in a day?

Professional cyclists burn calories much more than an average bike rider. Pro bike riders burn up to 10-15 calories per minute during a race or intense training. 

Most of the training or races last up to 5-6 hours, which means pro bike riders burn up to 3000-5000 calories a day excluding the essential energy required for sleep or recovery. This means pro bike riders need up to 5500-6000 calories per day.

Professional cyclists burn a lot of calories. 60-80% of the calories come from carbohydrates. And half of the energy comes from simple sugar in their sports drink. The rest of the energy is produced by burning fats. 

It is true that fat is a part of the cyclists healthy diet. The rest of the energy comes from protein (15-20%) like chicken, fish etc.

Research says that professional cyclists burn calories at such a high rate that they lose some of their muscles during training. Although pro riders may lack some upper body muscle compared to their lower body, they have a much healthier body than the average body in comparison.

Post bike training meal

After a long and tiring training on your bike, it is essential to take a full meal to provide calories for your body recovery. The main concern of your meal should be carbohydrate as you have lost a lot of energy. 

Trying to keep your meal ratio of carbohydrate and protein 3:1 will provide muscle recovery as well as energy and glycogen replenishing. Here are some tips on what to eat and how you will recover.

Consume enough food.

It is important to consume enough carbohydrate and protein to maintain body fitness. Research shows that carbohydrate is used to replenish glycogen. So if your body doesn’t get the chance to replenish glycogen, you will feel weak, sluggish and will experience muscle soreness in the upcoming hours and days. 

Protein is used to repair your muscle tissues and cells. So if you don’t consume enough protein and carbohydrate after your ride, the recovery process will be impeded.

Meal: Have Chicken Breasts with white or brown rice. Drink enough water or consume vitamin filled drinks to replenish lost electrolytes.

Time your meal.

After your training, it is essential to take your meal within 60 minutes after getting off your bike. A quick option to this is to take a sports drink containing a large amount of carbohydrate if your meal isn’t ready. Also you can eat dry fruits as a pre-recovery meal.

Research suggests that eating your meal soon after training will begin the recovery process quickly. Consuming the right amount of calories also speeds up the process of recovery.

Meal: Take dry fruits like nuts before the meal. Take toast with two or three omelets or jelly. For drinks, take low carb drinks like cherry juice or milkshake if you like.

Eat little but often.

Eating your meal little but often will provide a great advantage. By eating very often you will keep your stomach active for digesting food. So you will constantly get energy as you eat often.

Research tells that eating little but often keeps your metabolism on an even level. Eating little but often also keeps you from overeating food which prevents from gaining extra weight. It also helps you lower your blood pressure and cholesterol level.

Meal: Eat dry fruits or peanuts more often to provide nutrition than overeating at once. Take protein or energy bars with your meal and low carb drink or low GI drink.

F.A.Q.s

What is good in long distance cycling?

The greatest benefit in long distance cycling is weight loss. Cycling is a steady cardio exercise that requires a steady flow of energy which comes from burning fat and calories. Also it can help in endurance training.

What should you carry on a long distance bike ride?

Besides being well prepared with all the gears and gadgets for a long distance ride, you should bring some food and water or other liquid.

Does cycling spot reduce fat?

You cannot spot reduce fat. Our body does not allow spot fat reduction.

Does slow cycling have any benefit?

Yes, slow cycling also has benefits. It is actually a form of slow cardio. It can also reduce fat and increase stamina, but it will take a long time as it is slow.

Conclusion

I know how crazy it sounds when we hear things like cycling 100 mile or 200 mile. It almost sounds like they are trying to cross a country. Then I think of myself and I realize only professionally trained athletes can do this type of feats, not us. 

We don’t need to compete or break records like they do. We just want to stay fit, lose fat and have fun. We don’t need to train ourselves to be at 20 mph speed. We are happy if we can somehow reach 10-12 mph, which is the average.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to plan. Whether we are aiming for short distance or long distance, we need to prepare ourselves. Even if your aim is not to be an athlete, you must always know what to eat or drink when cycling long distance. 

With proper nutrition your body might reach that level without you noticing. So keep pedaling, stay active and stay fueled up.