bike tour spring summer 2014 questions

[mudfreek]

hey guys im new to the whole bike long distances thing and i have a few questions
1st is what would be best for high calorie to weigh ratio foods
2nd as far as calorie burn  should i put the same amount as i burn or should i exceed the amount i burned in the day
depending on the time i leave will determine my route late spring early summer northern tier mid to late summer east coast south to trans america and early fall east coast to the southern route
does anyone have  any hints and tips   

                                                   

[DaveB]

1. The highest fat food you can find has the highest calorie to weight ratio.  Healthy?  Nope.
2. Do you want to lose weight (eat less) or gain weight (eat more)?

If you are road touring, there is no reason to carry more than a small amount of emergency food as you will always be within a short time od a restaurant or store.  Only if taking an extensive off-road tour is food weight and energy density a concern. 

[mudfreek]

i am neither trying to lose nor gain weight im trying to hold an average weight at about 170 175 lbs  thanks for the reply

[DaveB]

i am neither trying to lose nor gain weight im trying to hold an average weight at about 170 175 lbs  thanks for the reply

Sorry if my reply sounded dismissive but the questions were puzzling.  If you do want to maintain your current weight you will have to consume about as many calories as you burn.  That means you will have to  eat  more on a tour than on a sedentary day but if you overdo it you will gain weight despite the extra activity.  It's a pretty straight forward energy balance.

Also, why did you want to know about the highest energy food?  Are you going to be away from food supply stores for a long period?  As I mentioned, the highest energy foods are not the healthiest foods so a balanced diet is more important than anything unless the alternative is no food at all.

[John Nelson]

I believe that lard has the highest calorie to weight ratio. I don't think I can recommend it. Seriously, just eat real food. On a bike tour in most places, you'll pass food sources often so there's never a good reason to carry very much. I like to always be prepared to spend the night in a dry, foodless place. It can happen that a mechanical breakdown, bad weather or simple exhaustion can force you to stop for the night in a place you didn't plan. Or maybe that restaurant or grocery store you were planning to stop at is closed. So if you have enough food and water to last 12 hours, you probably have enough. There are a few places in the U.S. where you might go 100 miles without a supply, but you should know where those are before you go through them, and then you can stock up specifically for that.

Bike touring is very different than wilderness backpacking in this regard.

[staehpj1]

1st is what would be best for high calorie to weigh ratio foods

Since on most bike tours are near stores daily or nearly daily, that is not usually a big issue.  Just carry only the food needed to get you to the next store with a reasonable surplus just in case.  You will probably never need to carry more than a couple days of food at a time unless you are going off road or somewhere on road that is unusually remote.

I think you should listen to your body on what and how much to eat.  I mostly eat what and how much I crave.  Doing that, I usually lose more than I want to for the first couple weeks and then put some but not all of it back on later in the tour.

[mudfreek]

thank you guys for all the replies reason why im asking about food i seem to lose energy pretty quick on long rides

[paddleboy17]

Your situation may be a function of what you eat.  My metabolism get pretty skewed after the first day of riding. 

As others have said, listen to your body, and if you are hungry then eat.

I find that if I break camp and then make breakfast, that seems to go better for me.  The other thing I do is to up my protein intake on tours.  That is harder than you think as most camp cuisine is carbohydrate heavy.  So add nuts to your oatmeal, and put lots of meat in your spaghetti. I try to eat lunch in restaurants but I always have peanut butter in my pack.  I thought I read in a book on cycling nutrition that normal people need about 2500 calories a day but cyclist on tour need 5000 calories on tour.  I could have the number off so please don't crucify me.  The point is that touring is hard work, and you might have to eat accordingly.

[mudfreek]

thank you guys very much for the replies

[mjcambron]

Bicycle touring can burn 700-900 calories per hour.  I stop every 25-30 miles for food.  At the first stop, I aim to eat 500+ calories with a mix of fruit, cheese and nuts along with a good dose of fluids  Lunch target is 1000+ calories with a mix of carbs, protein and fat... meat, cheese, tomato & mayo sandwich and more fluids.  Afternoon break is much like the first stop.  For dinner, eat as much as you want with lots more fluids.  Even with this diet, I've finished the day weighing 7 pounds less than what I started due to dehydration.   Before I learned to monitor my weight loss, I spent a night in the Granby, Colorado hospital, hooked up to an IV, due to dehydration after a two day ride from Craig, Colorado to Steamboat Springs and Steamboat to Granby.   

[Gif4445]

I usually begin with a pretty good breakfast.  Maybe the continental breakfast at the motel (I have only credit card toured thus far), if it is a decent one.  I probably am around that 700-1000 calorie level.  And like a previous poster said, protein is pretty important here.  Eggs, good meat choices, milk and the like.  Afterwards my preference is a few hundred calories and hour or so.  My lunch is relatively low in calories.  Ate a fairly large lunch once, with some serious cycling ahead.  Never again.  Dinner (or supper, as us farm folk like to call it), is my largest meal.  Steak and potato etc.  I try to maintain weight on a tour.  My last 3 week jaunt had me losing a few pounds.  On a sub 500 mile supported ride a couple years ago, I gained a couple.  I don't carry much food with me, unless I'm heading into an area with little or no services.  Usually a few snacks that could, if needed get me through the day to a food source at the overnight.

[Pat Lamb]

Drink a lot, eat a lot, ride a lot.

On a bike tour of more than a few days, you need to think about sustaining yourself and your energy.  Plan to eat what you like to eat, just more of it.  Junk food excluded, in my experience, mainly because the high fat/greasy stuff is hard to digest while rolling up the road.  Although french fries with lots of salt can sometimes be great.  Breads and potatoes are OK, cheese is a good lunch with some fruit and maybe a hard sausage, but for a long ride, start looking for more fruits and vegetables.  They seem surprisingly scarce in rural grocery stores and cafes.

Make sure you keep the fluids flowing, as well.  I think some people have been surprised at the steady $5/day Gatorade cost for extended touring.  (I prefer orange juice and V8, myself...)  And if you start feeling utterly wiped out, you probably need some salt -- pills, caplets, or sprinkled generously on a baked potato.

On the maximum calorie front, one of my daughter's classmates hiked the AT a few years back.  Half way through he was so hungry that he stopped in a grocery store and ate a stick of margarine before he got to the checkout.  (Collective "eeuw" from all his listeners.)  He sort of shrugs when he tells the tale and says, "I was hungry."

[officerdare]

Experience will be the best teacher.  On my 1700 mile ride this past summer, I dropped 22 lbs.(a good thing).  But as one other rider mentioned, the mountains of CO, got me also and I didn’t listen to my body and ended up with heat exhaustion and an IV.  Started drinking just water and not mixing in my HEED.  Electrolytes are very important, and not from salt.  My day typically started with a bowl of oatmeal, maybe a cup of coffee and then on the road.  Usually stopped (depending on the location) for a breakfast of pancakes and bacon.  Snack bars, fruit, dried fruit, trail mix, etc. tided me over if nothing was available for lunch.  Since on that ride there was a SAG, I was able to take along a lot more stuff, most of which was Hammer Nutrition products, which worked really well.  Suppers typically were chicken, fish with pasta.  Stopped at Subways when available. 

[mudfreek]

thanks for all the replies guys you all have been very helpful
i know im taking peanut-butter as a main staple any ideas as for cheese that will last with out refrigeration i love cheese 

[Pat Lamb]

i know im taking peanut-butter as a main staple any ideas as for cheese that will last with out refrigeration i love cheese

Any hard cheese will last for 2-3 days without refrigeration, although they may get oily in heat.  I like the 8 oz. packages of Kraft cheddar or pepper jack that come in tear-open, zip-lock close bags.  If you're on any kind of road system you'll probably be able to re-supply every day or two, since almost every grocery store and half the mini-marts carry it.