Drinking and Eating

·      If this is your first bit of exercise for a while, you'll probably find you will sweat much more than usual. Make sure that you replace this fluid loss throughout the ride, by carrying water or diluted juice/cordial/sports drink with you (usually in a bottle attached to your bike) and drink it regularly - begin within 15 minutes of the start of your ride.

·      Don't wait until you are thirsty, as it is too late to counter the effects of dehydration by then.

·      If you're just starting out, it's unlikely you'll be riding for longer than two hours, so eating on the bike is not a major. Your muscles can store enough energy to take you through 1-2 hours of easy exercise before you need to start considering eating while you're riding? But if you are worried about getting hungry, then pop a muesli bar or banana in your pocket something easily digested.

What to Eat

General Health Tips for Cycling

Thankfully cycling is non-impact sport? Because of this means we can afford to eat way closer to the time of starting a ride, than other sports that have us jumping around?

The lower the intensity of the ride, the closer you can eat to your start time.

In a long road race, where I'm anticipating a relatively sedate start, or a long training ride, I'll sometimes eat a muesli bar or banana as I'm hopping on my bike?

·      Eat plenty of carbohydrates and lean protein

·      Cut down on sweet and fatty foods

·      Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day

·      Drink plenty of good, clean water.

This is often a broken record, but really important when cycling you often don't realise how much you sweat when riding, because the wind dries it out?! You'll be surprised how much better you will feel just by drinking an extra litre of water per day!

Before you ride:

Food Here are some really general guidelines to point you in the right direction of nutrition on Ride Day:

• Days Prior - balanced diet with 60-70% calories from carbohydrates, and a good high-carb meal the day before the ride. These carbs will keep your muscle glycogen levels loaded, which is your energy source for exercise.
• Hours Prior - eat a high carbohydrate breakfast about 2 hours before the ride. Then maybe a top-up snack half an hour or so before the start.
• Minutes Before - nothing! But if you're hungry - any high carb food that tickles your fancy...!
• During the Ride - totally individual, but maybe a muesli bar/sports bar/banana. Some people may not eat at all. Under an hour ride-time, eating is not essential. Over 1-2 hours, then these foods are a good idea.
• Post-Ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10-15 minutes immediately afterwards, will help you recover quicker than if you don't eat anything.

Fluids

Everyone is different in terms of their nutritional needs, but again, here's a rough guide to help you suss out your hydration for training and on Ride Day.

Before riding

Start your ride hydrated - not thirsty. Drink at least a glass of water about an hour before heading out.

During a Ride

• Drink at least a large bottle of water an hour maybe more if the weather is really hot.
• Drink regularly? Aim to drink as much as you are comfortable with each time you drink. Large volumes of liquid less often are more effective than sipping little bits more frequently.
• Start drinking after about 15 minutes of the start of your ride.
• Don't wait until you are thirsty, as it is too late to counter the effects of dehydration by then.

After Riding

• Drink enough to bring your weight back to what it was before you left! (So weighing yourself before and after riding is a good idea? This gives you an idea of what your body needs to maintain its fluid levels).

• Basically, for every 1kg of weight lost, you should be drinking 1L of water!

Sports Drinks

Using a sports drink (one containing electrolytes), is a really good idea for a few reasons:

• They taste good!! The nicer something tastes, the more inclined you are to drink it..!! So this will help prevent dehydration
• They can help performance - The carbohydrate in sports drinks gives us energy as well as the hydration of the liquid
• Sometimes it's easier to digest liquids than solids during riding, so a drink with carbohydrate in it doubles up as riding food!
• Drinking sports drinks can prevent dehydration-related problems, such a light headedness and heat cramps.