Carb/calory intake whilst riding?

Roadrash Dunc

Hi , i weigh 155 lbs and relatively lean (not sure my % body-fat ,still looking for somewhere to have that measured) but am unsure how much to eat whilst out on a ride.
Whats the magic number of carbs/calories to consume per hour of riding per lb of bodyweight?
Do i need to get special low-fat energy bars designed for biking , as the so called 'power-bars' i picked up from a healthfood shop seemed quite high in fat content.Or will i just burn that straight off?
I tend to ride for an hour a time (averaging 30km/hr) during the week then do 3-4 times that length (at 26-28km/hr) at the weekend.



ps: i guess whilst im here i should ask about hydration too.I usually just use 2 bottles of water.If i want to take it to the next level , whats a good energy-related drink to sip on the go?

Claes

For a one hour ride, I would not eat anything during the ride, just refill within the golden half hour when done, a couple of bananas do fine. For longer rides, over an hour I switch on of the bottles from water to sports drink. This will keep me happy up to maybe two hours if it is not warm out, then I need more water. For longer rides, I tend to start feeling hungry and I also bring some solid food, banana or "sports bar". General recommendations from the sports drink manufacturers themselves, is to consume roughly a litre of sports drink per hour, to keep energy levels up. I do not like drinking that much of most sports drinks, so I eat some solids instead.

One thing to think of. Your body can roughly take in one liter of fluids per hour. More will just end up in your belly where it does not do any good so to speak. When your body is warm, this figure drops, unfortunately. So, if you need more energy than the sports drink can provide, bring solids, if you do not like sports drink, eat similar amounts of carbs in solids.


somewere I read that you want to get in roughly 70 grams of carbs per hour. I think you spend more than that, but you start "full" and top up within halfhour when you get home. Only for really long rides do you need to "eat" more than that.

Any comments?