Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Top 10 Foods for Long Rides

I recently read an article in a mountain bike magazine about what some of the top racers pack when on a ride of 4 hours or longer. I got to thinking about what I usually pack. I realized I'm not very creative and I usually end up packing the same foods. These foods remind me of suffering and most of them I can only eat while on a ride. If I try and eat them while not riding, I'd probably throw up.

When packing foods in a jersey pocket, I think about things like:
  • Packability (Gotta have room for other items like tools, CO2, phone, tubes. And it can't be messy)
  • Calorie count (biggest bang for the buck)
  • Price
  • Size
  • Taste & texture
The foods I usually pack are:
  1. Salted Nut Roll
  2. Peanuts
  3. Chicken strips
  4. Chocolate GU
  5. Shot Bloks
  6. Power Bar (vanilla or peanut butter)
  7. Rice crispy treats
  8. Fruit snacks (only because we have a 3yr old and usually have these laying around the house)
  9. Carbo Rocket (if only it came in Diet Coke flavor)
  10. Bit of Honey
The article mentioned a lot of good ideas like potatoes w/ olive oil. Tortillas filled with good stuff (avocados, peanut butter & honey). If I have the hall pass for a 4 hour ride, I'm not about to waste another 30 minutes making my own food. I pretty much stick with the bar code items or things I can pick up at a gas station.

I know I'm missing out on some good foods. For example, I think a 3 pack of Zingers would be outstanding after a long climb. Or maybe a MoonPie or two.

11 comments:

Aaron said...

How 'bout things that sound great while on a ride but don't turn out so well after? I think I've stopped for a gas station chocolate donut no fewer than a dozen times. It always turns out the same way. Badly - makes for a long ride home. Totally worth it though, so I'm sure I'll do it a dozen more times.

South County Ciclista said...

Swedish Fish, or those red vines pull and peels are nice. I tried a bagel and peanut butter once on LOTOJA. I took one bit couldn't swallow it. Way too dry.

StupidBike said...

The holy grail is the Hostess Fruit Pie apple or lemon with a cherry coke, trust me. it gives you 2-3 hours of super hero powers

keithmo said...

I recently stumbled upon Sesame Snaps at an REI near Portland (http://www.rei.com/product/519363). They're a great compact energy source, but they do make me a little thirsty.

Unfortunately, the REIs in my area don't seem to keep them in stock.

Rick Sunderlage said...

Aaron- Donuts are the best food ever. I can't blame you for the repeated idea

Brandon- I like where you head is at.

Bob- The last Hostess pie I ate was in high school. Maybe I'll give it a go.

Ski Bike Junkie said...

+1 for hostess pie. A friend in Boise swears by them, but I prefer turkey & avocado wrapped in a tortilla. If you won't prepare it yourself, a slim from Jimmy John's also works well. I have to have solid food that's not too sugary on the really long rides.

Fish said...

My brother swears by the three pack of Zingers - he puts those in his special needs bags during Ironman events. My favorite take along MTB food is Spam Musubi - fried spam with teriyaki sauce rolled up with rice and nori.

UtRider said...

I am going to try using a Mung Bean Cake on a long ride this summer. You can get them at most oriental markets for under $2, are small and have a whopping 800 calories. They don't taste bad either though that may change when consumed on the bike.

A cold weather favorite of mine is eggnog. Tasty, tons of calories and goes down surprisingly well on the bike. This is my new Thanksgiving ride tradition.

MOCougFan said...

I like the eggnog idea. Will have to try that.

I love fig newtons when I ride.

Flyin' Ute said...

man, i've been eating leftover bars from last year until I finally ran out and bought some new ones.

Way better.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about the tortilla wrap with avacodo. I'm going to have to try it.

Cycling to Fight Cancer said...

Moon Pie and Diet Cokes are a must when we stop on long rides.