Nutrition on the road - What, How and Why?

The American 'peanut butter and jelly' (jam) sandwiches are harder to digest but might do the job. They will provide more sustained energy but shouldn't break the bank. Wash down with plenty of water.
Peanuts are rich in magnesium.

Wilko uses PB & honey. Use white bread - you don't want fibre. I tried 'em but prefer my techno 'food'.

I bring Vlaamse frieten.

Just looked here:
http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/perpetuem.pp.html

It contains electrolytes but no fructose.

^ this. Although 90g is too much for me. It depends on your body weight (amongst other things) as to how much carbs you can deal with, 90g is the highest I've figure I've heard. I'm sure hippy needs a hoisin crispy duck every 15mins.

Bananas take some beating, try them. Fructose and not too much fibre plus potassium, cheap and in biodegradable packaging too :-)

I've read about ironman record holder training to use 120g CHO per hour I think it was. But that's at the very fast end of the field.

Bananas aren't that good. They don't provide enough carbs and you'll shit yourself before you adequately fuel yourself. :P

Torque gells x 4 and a bison of myprotein pro long, combined with 3x500ml of water got me through a half IM I day without much trouble oh and a mini can of coke, had a spare gel and a second bottle of prolong that I planned to drink, but didn't need them for a longer activity I'd definitely drink the second bottle of prolong

2l fluid for a half? You'd probably go faster with more food too.

Torque gells x 4 and a** bison** of myprotein pro long, combined with 3x500ml of water got me through a half IM I day without much trouble oh and a mini can of coke, had a spare gel and a second bottle of prolong that I planned to drink, but didn't need them for a longer activity I'd definitely drink the second bottle of prolong

You can carry a cow on a bike?

Peanut butter and banana, or peanut butter, honey and banana are excellent sandwich fillers for riding.

I tend to just stop at a pub for a pie and a pint (or 2) though.

Do many people do that? Myself I really can't drink alcohol during a ride and get back on the bike without feeling totally drained.

You're not drinking enough.

When I wrote 'too quick' I meant rapidly absorbed, possibly causing a rapid surge in blood sugar and insulin release as a result.
This can drop the blood sugar.
Starchy things release their sugar a bit more slowly and can give a more sustained boost.
Don't forget to look after your teeth; many sports foods are dreadful for the teeth.

You're drinking too quickly ;-)

Regarding absorption speeds of carbs and sugars:
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/the-straight-dope-on-sugar-in-sports-drinks

2l fluid for a half? You'd probably go faster with more food too.

the plan was to drink another bottle and another gel, but my stomach wasn't playing ball so had to cut back a bit, forced an extra gel down half way through the run, and I probably got a bit over excited when I realised I was going to go sub 5 without really pushing myself!

Also, don't underestimate the amount of water I consume during the swim!

Bananas aren't that good. They don't provide enough carbs and you'll shit yourself before you adequately fuel yourself. :P

Could you please write to Phil Liggett and tell him this? He might finally shut up about them in his commentary.

A day of cycling with friends is not the same as riding in the Tour de France! Some people who post here have little back-up, scant finances, don't drop litter and want to provide for their food, fluids and electrolytes using cheap, easily available things. We all do this when off the bike...

^+1 it's operant to make the distinction, some of my club mates seem to travel with a chemistry shop when the Saturday morning club run sprint for the village sign is a s close to competion as they come, there are people on here who are trying to race competitively but it is important to make the distinction!

I remember riding to Cambridge with the forum once when a member pulled out his mod ride snack - a McDonald's cheeseburger that had been in the back pocket of his jeans for the previous 2.5 hours...!

I'm not trying to race competitively (and my attempts would be laughable if I did) but I find that sugar rather than real food is what works best for me. It allows me to roll along happily for mile after mile and feel good the next day.

Also, please don't conflate eating sugar rather than real food with dropping litter, I never drop litter.

people who drop gel packets on the ground, especially on small roads through forests etc, can fuck all of the way off. The pros should stop doing it to discourage the impressionable youthsMAMILs.

Your jersey pockets can fit at least as many empty gel wrappers as full gels you stuffed in before your ride, you fucking dentists.

Could you please write to Phil Liggett and tell him this? He might finally shut up about them in his commentary.

Sorry, only do Eurosport. Can't stand all the filler in ITV.

Sugar is great as fuel, up to a point.
Some people find it sickly after a while.
Gels are fine in their place but are pricy and some people drop litter.
Sugar is definitely bad for the teeth and the harm is increased if mixed with acidic fruit flavouring.
It is possible to keep the mouth clean whilst cycling but...
Dental problems may seem trivial till you read how many of the Olympic 'medical' consultations were for tooth trouble...

So whats the solution? A mouthwash, dextrose, salt combination in water?

Or just one out of 5 gels is toothpaste.*

NOT dextrose, which is not tooth kind.
Swilling the mouth with water after having a gel might help.
Mouth washes are not really practical...
I am not a dentist. I don't know how much this has been researched.
I do know that tooth trouble is painful in the mouth and wallet though.

Sugar is great as fuel, up to a point.
Some people find it sickly after a while.
Gels are fine in their place but are pricy and some people drop litter.
Sugar is definitely bad for the teeth and the harm is increased if mixed with acidic fruit flavouring.
It is possible to keep the mouth clean whilst cycling but...
Dental problems may seem trivial till you read how many of the Olympic 'medical' consultations were for tooth trouble...

People will feel sickly if you feed them anything for long enough. I bet you can get more sugar digested than steak and ride further and faster on it too.

Gels are pricey - you got that bit right.

Yes, some people drop litter. How that relates to gels specifically I'm not sure. The same people dropping gel wrappers won't think twice about dropping the clingfilm holding their ham sandwich - you judgy types just don't notice that though because it's not 'branded'.

Sugar is bad for the teeth. Wait a while after you finish your ride and brush them. Same for other meals. You can add calcium (I think) to drinks to reduce the acidic effect. Energy drinks and sodas are worse than sport drinks.

There are some teeth-friendly drinks. They don't taste as nice and are still in this 'expensive' realm. http://www.ada.org.au/App_CmsLib/Media/Lib/1208/M429221_v1_Cochrane.pdf

I remember riding to Cambridge with the forum once when a member pulled out his mod ride snack - a McDonald's cheeseburger that had been in the back pocket of his jeans for the previous 2.5 hours...!

Name and shame.

NOT dextrose, which is not tooth kind.
Swilling the mouth with water after having a gel might help.
Mouth washes are not really practical...
I am not a dentist. I don't know how much this has been researched.
I do know that tooth trouble is painful in the mouth and wallet though.

Swilling water does not help. Do NOT brush your teeth immediately after an event - your enamel is weak and brushing will help strip it. Wait before brushing teeth.

There is an article about it, I'll see if I can find it.

I can't find the actual study I read but there's a summary of similar http://scijourner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102:dont-brush-your-teeth