Eating & Cycling

Kent Brockman

Any advice on how long you should wait after a meal before going on a 20K cycle ? Thanks

macnab

There is no one or short answer to that question.
I often go for 40km spins first thing in the morning without eating.
If im going for a long ride I would try to finish eating at least 40 minutes before starting off.
If I am doing a 140km ride I will eat 2 hours before start off.
My main focus is on minimising indigestion rather than gaining energy.

Kent Brockman

macnab wrote: »

There is no one or short answer to that question.
I often go for 40km spins first thing in the morning without eating.
If im going for a long ride I would try to finish eating at least 40 minutes before starting off.
If I am doing a 140km ride I will eat 2 hours before start off.
My main focus is on minimising indigestion rather than gaining energy.

Only started cycling recently and find I'm either starving or getting indigestion 10 minutes on the road! In fairness I'm only up to doing a 20k route so probably best only eat light an hour or so before going.

RobertFoster

It depends on what the meal was and how intense you'll be cycling. I've never had digestion problems cycling immediately after breakfast (porridge/toast/tea), but having something spicy or repetitive at lunch time and then racing a few hours later has made me feel lousy a few times.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Everyone is different. On weekends I have my breakfast and then go and get changed into my gear and then have a cup of coffee. Then I head off so it'll be 20-30mib after eating.

In the evenings and especially now the evenings are starting to draw in, I head off immediately after dinner without any problems. Evening spins are generally 30-40km and weekend spins 60-100kms.

It's probably something you'll need to figure out yourself OP.

In the event you feel hungry while out have a banana with you. I'd normally be fine to go after breakfast or lunch but main meal I'd wait at least 30 minutes.

Typically I go out between meals over a distance similar to yours or a bit longer depending on weather and route I choose. I'd feel hungry as opposed to needing energy and would feel hungry anyway even if I wasn't out on the bike as I'd normally have some fruit or nuts between lunch and dinner.

As said it's down to the individual, but I found if I came back hungry I'd go for the biscuits etc

Buzwaldo

I often head off cycling straight after dinner on a summer evening, and no issues doing up to 50-60 km at a reasonable effort. Also often head out for a run (up to 10k) but will wait 15-30 mins post dinner. Don't see any problem, but maybe some get indigestion, and I'm just lucky. I'm happy with that, putting in a reasonable effort, but if it was eyeballs out stuff I reckon it might be different. YMMV.

magicbastarder

i probably do it all wrong; when i commute into work, i get up at 6:35am, do about 45-50mins on the bike, at my desk before 8 and not eat till at least 10; and at best an apple and an orange, before lunch.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

i probably do it all wrong; when i commute into work, i get up at 6:35am, do about 45-50mins on the bike, at my desk before 8 and not eat till at least 10; and at best an apple and an orange, before lunch.

Unless you've weight issues I'd say you're ok but any dietician and nutritionist will tell you not eating breakfast is a huge factor in not losing weight or being over weight. You're body goes without fuel for more than 12 hours or in your case I'd say 16 without substantial input so holds on for dear life to all it can get later in the day.

There is a reason they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

magicbastarder

yeah, i know what i'm doing is not textbook stuff, but i'm within a few kg of my target weight, so i'm not going to sweat it too much. worth mentioning also that the 'when' in 'when i commute' is worth expanding on - i can work from home whenever i want, and i go into the office anywhere between once and three times in a week, so this is not a five times a week occurence.

positron

Deleted User wrote:

There is a reason they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I thought this was a marketing idea by Kellogs that later went viral / became fact. Like how carrots are good for eyesight etc.

Beasty

Unless you're going to do something very strenuous a light meal immediately before a spin should be fine. That's pretty much what everyone does at refreshment stops in sportives.

positron

magicbastarder wrote: »

i probably do it all wrong; when i commute into work, i get up at 6:35am, do about 45-50mins on the bike, at my desk before 8 and not eat till at least 10; and at best an apple and an orange, before lunch.

Same here, although I am fairly new to cycling and running. Most of my early morning activities (15-20 km runs, occasional 60k commute, or 70k-100k bike weekend rides) are all on empty. Of course I will bring breakfast bars / bananas to have 90 mins to two hours into the ride, but generally doing it on empty works for me. Recently I tried running in the evening and had loaded up on lunch etc, and found it harder in comparison. More importantly getting out before breakfast is just that much more convenient.

NeedMoreGears

For what its worth - y current commute is 17km. I eat breakfast and hop straight on the bike. No adverse digestive experience to date.