How nice that the weather is getting nicer, the roads dryer and the days longer. Gotta love spring! It’s time to get out there and ride, get in shape for the season or just change your sport from skiing to riding. Something to think about as the rides get progressively longer is how to fuel for the ride. The body needs to take in some calories to get the muscles fueled to perform the task of spinning the legs to move the pedals. As an athlete and as a coach I suggest to do some research to figure out what works for you. One way to start to experiment with what works for you is consuming 25g of carbohydrates for every hour that you will be out there. An hour ride means 25g of carbohydrates or 100 calorie food or drink. Look at what you are using, powder mix or a bar, to see what the nutritional breakdown is to determine how many calories are coming from carbohydrates. Second when planning your caloric needs are how hard will you be riding. If riding at a moderate level, stick w the 25g of carbs. If riding hard/more intense then plan 1.5 of that or approx. 38g of carbs. The longer the ride the more carbohydrates you want, again thinking a base of 25g to start with. You can go up or down from there.
Bottom line is you will want to start thinking about fueling your body for the rides. Shorter rides you can stick with water as your body will then use what’s in your muscle and liver storage to fuel itself. But once the rides start to get longer and those storage supplies empty, you’ll want to give it a little more fuel to get through. Ever feel the lull at the end of a ride? That is a sign that your gas tank is empty and your into “sputter” mode, ekes! The idea of being physically active is to boost your energy level and not leave you dragging after. Notice the signs and fuel it wisely and you’ll be dancing the jig post ride…or at least have energy to make a healthy dinner.
Be ready for the season
