Nutrition on the road - What, How and Why?

Nothing specific straight after, I eat my veggies and fruit through the day. If I've had a poor coupLe of days eating I'll throw a multivit in, but I don't generally take anything for that.

I guess you mean stressful/damaging rather than specifically 'prolonged' efforts?

I was recommended spirulina but I rarely bother. Just a good range of foods (inc lots of raw vegetables/salad) etc and some fish oil. And a rest :-)

zinc + vit C

It seems that zinc in particular is particularly effective at reducing the symptoms / length of the common cold and there is some evidence to suggest that the intake of zinc in the general population is less than it should be.

Good dietary sources of zinc are: shellfish and red-meat
Oysters are a massively good source of zinc, Beef is pretty good

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/

Why i really came to this thread was to find out what you guys take post work-out to deal with any possible Immune system problems that can occur due to prolonged efforts?

A pint of chocolate milk for me (it's all about the protein), that seems to stave off the sniffles and lethargy that I used to get after prolonged efforts (Audax for me, so my efforts are 8h+ but it applies just as much to hard-ish 2h training rides). Now I'm doing more running and swimming I try to do the same after any 1h+ effort or 'fast' 30 minute run.

I'm doing two 1h+ sessions in a day (with hours of gap between) I'm unlikely to have a pint of chocolate milk after both, just can't face that much milk in a day.

I'm sure there's a boatload of other stuff I could be taking, but I'm not an athlete, just a plodding idiot that likes plodding for hours and hours on end.

Get yourself a juicer and loads of leafy greens.