Comments on: What’s Your Fuel?

By: Derek G

Derek G — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:26:38 +0000

Willis is spot on. Eating within 3 hours of any intense effort will actually do more harm than good. Wait until you begin warming up and then take in a gel or some Heed you don’t need much because like Willis said, your body has all the fuel it needs stored already.

By: MellowVelo

MellowVelo — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:43:41 +0000

Thanks! Cheers to you from deep south Texas!

By: VeloLoser

VeloLoser — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:05:29 +0000

Yeah, I’m thinking I’ll do the gel thing before the start tomorrow.

It’s a strange adjustment for me, coming from a background of long distance riding – usually I don’t have to worry about food until an hour or two into the ride, and then I can just munch and ride. I’m riding with the Cs for the time being, so I’ve only got 30 minutes out there, but it’s a rough 30 minutes!

Good luck on Sunday. I don’t think it’s stupid, but maybe that’s because I did pretty much the same thing! I think you’ll be glad you did it.

I’ll be cheering for you from Michigan!

By: MellowVelo

MellowVelo — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:37:58 +0000

Well, I still haven’t gotten in right, but whatever I eat, I always pop a gel and sip water about 10-15 minutes before the start of a hard, fast ride. Gels (I like chocolate Gu) work really well for me and when everyone blasts off the front, I want to be able to hang while I’m still warming up.

Thank goodness women’s cross races at the low level are only about 30 minutes. If I had to ride that hard for an hour, I’d die not being able to eat on the bike.

Good luck! My cross bike is being built up today. Practice tomorrow, maybe race Sunday. Stupid? Sure!