Once again, I reached out to Twitter for ideas on what to write here. That resulted in yesterday’s post about my diet, which wasn’t a barn-burner, but it really got me thinking about how to approach the problem. Today, I repeated the process, and got this one:
@fontosaurus I want to know what you eat on long distance rides and what your power anthems are (music)
— books & velo (@Books_and_Velo) September 2, 2015
My on-bike habits are something that evolve over time — my food preferences change as I experiment, and my music tastes evolve over time, too.
On-Bike Nutrition
First, we should define that “long” means “a ride in which I should carry some sort of sustenance with me” — this means anything more than 25 miles. Under 25 miles, unless I’m ravenous at the start or hung over, I am unlikely to carry food with me.
On the bike, I try to carry a mix of “energy” foods and real stuff. Typically, I avoid rich stuff — chocolate flavored things are completely out. Can’t do it, especially in hot weather. I almost always carry a banana, because hey potassium how are you?, a couple of Gu gels (fruit-flavored), and that’s generally enough. For long slog rides, I try to carry some protein, as well — that can go from a sandwich stuffed in a pocket to shitty beef jerky to an actual protein bar.
All of this goes right out the window in 24-hour events, where I pretty much eat everything in sight, including bugs, dirt, and other people. Because hangry.
Ride Anthems
Music is one of those things that has evolved over time — I used to listen to a lot of angry shit. Metal, hardcore rap, etc. Now I listen to stuff that either just has an awesome beat, is upbeat/happy, or has a strength/invincibility message. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been listening to as of late:
- “Under Pressure” by Queen — my go-to song for about a decade.
- “It Could Have Been Me” by The Struts — my new rock anthem
- “Immortal” by Fall Out Boy
- “First Breath After Coma” by Explosions in the Sky — this song makes cleaning the bathroom feel like an epic adventure
- “The Wolf” by Mumford and Sons
- “Something From Nothing” by the Foo Fighters
- “All These Things That I’ve Done” by the Killers
- “Animal” by Neon Trees
Whatcha Got?
Any interesting on-bike nutrition or music tips? Hit me up in the comments section.