As the sunny weather of the summer draws near cyclists start to plan for ‘the long ride’. Exactly what that is, and what constitutes ‘long’ depends on the individual, but we are talking about rides that are going to push you a little more than usual. For some it’s a distance, 50km or a metric or imperial century. For others it may not be defined by distance but by time, a 2hr ride or 4hr, or more. However you classify ‘long’, they are rides you can’t do on an empty stomach, you can’t just go out the door and ride, or at least you shouldn’t if you plan to make the trip without bonking.

I know how I fuel them; sometimes I ride 100km with nothing in my pocket and no stops, and other days I stop every half an hour for a pasty, so I’m not the best person to come to for advice. I put a question on the Saint Piran Service Course Team chat to see what the others did, and I deliberately left it vague hoping for replies from the Sunday cruisers as well as the races and sportive riders. The answers were as diverse as the team.

The racers gave me grams of carbs per hour (anywhere from 60 -100g of carbs if you’re interested) and a long discussion on the relative merits of ‘gel versus bar versus jelly cube’ (no conclusive outcome but it looks like I have an excuse for testing a lot of sweets this summer).

The Sportive riders were a bit more pragmatic and mixed classic sports nutrition with something more appetising. I remember doing a Sportive in the valleys (and hills) of South Wales and finding mountains of boiled baby potatoes at the feed stations, all lightly rolled in sea salt. Loads of fuel in them, and after a couple of hours on the gels, the salty, savoury delight of a simple boiled spud was amazing. The Fred Whitton in the Lakes had jam, or cheese and ham sandwiches piled high at the feed stations. Again, something with a high carb load but a refreshing break from pure, scientifically balance sugar. I’ve seen sub sandwiches or bananas stuffed in bottle cages and I drafted a rider half way up Galibier because he has some cheesy, garlicy baguette tucked in his jersey pocket.

The Sunday cruiser’s answers were predictably the most fun. The ‘lightest’ of their fuelling options was to rely on fairly frequent café stops. I can’t say there is a lot of quality fuel in a Pain au Chocolat, but a Cornish cream tea certainly packs a carb dense punch (slow and quick release as it happens). Moving along a sliding scale of narcolepsy inducing options, some opted for ‘a small pub lunch’, and some for ‘a large one’ and a long rest before continuing the ride at a much-reduced pace. I’m not sure that shouldn’t be considered as two shorter rides broken by a main meal and a nap, but who am I to judge, I’ve certainly, happily, been in this group often enough. The majority took a slightly more practical approach and stopped at cafes or pubs for soup and bread, paninis or a bowl of chips (maybe with a pint). One even rides to a local food van, has a wild boar burger and a coffee and then rides home. Some real food, something that’s going to satiate without putting you to sleep, and is going to let you carry on your ride without too much of a break.

So what have I learnt? If you’re racing then it’s ‘little and often’, high sugar and don’t expect to step off the bike before the end. If it’s a Sunday cruise then it looks like it’s one colossal stop mid ride, maybe with a nap, and real food. If it’s a Sportive then go with a mix of both, skewed by your desire for a fast time, or a fun day out.

Food and Cycling - Fuelling for a long ride