Even for the fastest Tour De France sprint specialists, (who have the power to reach 40mph in the final few hundred meters of a race) the overall nature of our activity is aerobic. Mountain biking, gravel, road, even downhill – they all require a significant aerobic engine. Therefore, it’s important to think about how to best fuel for this type of activity.

Carbs are also good to consume immediately after big rides. Adequate carbohydrates are needed to be able to turn the protein you eat into something useful. Consuming just a protein bar or shake after a big ride misses the mark. If you’re depleted, your body won’t have the raw energy to put the protein to use, and it will pass straight through you, unabsorbed. Combine that protein with something rich in complex carbs to actually put the protein to use. Make sure to do this within 30 minutes of finishing your ride. That's the body's magic window for optimal absorbtion. Chocolate milk is a popular ‘recovery’ drink because it actually has tons of carbohydrates in addition to protein.

Carbohydrates that you eat are converted and stored directly in your muscle cells in the form of Glycogen. Muscle glycogen is the first and primary energy source that your body uses to move. No matter who you are – recreational bike rider to olympic medalist – the human body can only store enough of this quick energy for about 90 - 120 minutes of hard activity. After that point, if you’re not putting in more carbohydrates, your glycogen stores will be significantly depleted, and your strength will start to decline rapidly. Even if you can’t feel it, your body is starting to run on empty. Your ability to keep pedaling, handle your bike, and even think straight will be affected! To combat this, you’ll want to try to put some fuel into your body every hour.

When prepping for a long ride, your fueling metric should not be distance per se – it should be time. Consider how long (in hours) you’ll be out on the bike and pack energy-rich snacks to get you through each hour that you’ll be out there.

By the same logic, you really don’t need to worry about fueling for a 60-90 minute ride. Assuming you had a decent breakfast or lunch, your muscles are already storing everything you need. Eat when you finish. 

As a general rule – shoot for around 40-70 grams of carbs per hour. Our bodies absorb (digest) carbohydrates at different rates and some of our guts can tolerate and absorb more grams of carbs than others. You’ll have to find what works best for you. 

Pro cyclists these days are training their gut to manage 100g/hour or more, but this is part of the training process of their sport. If you or I tried to consume this much, we would overwhelm our gut and start to feel kind of sick/nauseated/bloated.  

These days, my riding is for fun, personal challenge, and adventure. I’m not racing and I don’t care if my performance is at 90% vs. 100% . But believe me – not eating enough on a big ride and trying to have fun at something closer to 40% energy level just sucks. It’s not worth the effort and time you’re putting in. You don’t make yourself stronger by ‘bonking’ (completely running out of carbohydrate energy on a ride). In fact, the more you eat on a big ride, the harder you can work. The harder you can work, the fitter you’ll become. If you think doing big rides and grinding through with no food is helping you progress, unfortunately, you’re mistaken. You’re just making yourself hungry, grumpy, and too exhausted to go out and ride again the next day!

Q: How long will this route take me?
A: 4-5 hrs

Q: What snacks do I need to pack?
A: 4-5 carb rich items, one for each hour that I’ll be out. They should be easy to stomach and tasty. They don’t need to be a super exact carb or calorie count, but they should be substantive. A single Clif bar has about 40g of carbs. If I pack and eat at least one per hour, I'll be ok. If I can manage more – even better. The ride will be more fun. It's amazing how much fueling affects your mindset and mood.

Our body is a simple machine that's programmed to run on carbs. It’s not that hard to figure out what kind of fuel it needs if you pay attention to it and approach long rides with some basic planning. You can study a whole lot more on the subject, but if you’re tired of feeling tired on big rides, the answer is simple: pack more food and eat more food.  

If given the choice, make it carby. Leave the low-carb protein bars and non-energy dense snacks at home, or in the car for after the ride. They simply won’t help you out there.  

As you get really fatigued, often your appetite starts to fade. Don’t stop eating. Unfortunately, to complete some mega rides, you may need to adopt the mindset of force-feeding yourself. Remember, your body is an engine burning its fuel, even when you’re so out of whack that you don’t feel hungry.