Whether you are a recreational cyclist or a serious road racer, a bike commuter or a triathlete, comfortable and efficient cycling requires proper nutrition.  Indigestion, cramping, fatigue, dehydration, and overhydration are all negative side effects brought on by improper cycling nutrition.   

Cycling nutrition can be broken down into diet, hydration, on-bike fueling, and post-ride recovery.  

Diet encompasses not only the foods you ingest on a daily basis, but takes into consideration your body's need for vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other substances.  While there is a great deal of disagreement on the balancing of fat, carbohydrates, and proteins among "dieting experts", one thing remains consistent; every individual's body is different and thus has different nutrititional requirements.

Rather than debate Atkins versus Body For Life versus South Beach versus Weight Watchers versus etc., let's start with your core nutritional need for supplements.   In your body, thousands of biochemical reactions occur every second; synthesizing; reconstructing; energizing; breaking down; building the cells, tissues, and components of your body. All of these reactions require nutrients to provide nourishment to every cell of your body. When your body doesn't get the right amount it needs from the food you eat alone, you need to supplement your diet with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients from another source.

How do you know which nutrients your body is lacking from your regular diet?  The traditional way to do this is to simply guess, to experiment with suggestions from magazine articles, and to wait until you feel an improvement in performance.  Up until now, only professional athletes have had the ability to have their bodies tested to determine which nutrients they were lacking.  Ideal Health has brought this testing to the masses with its PrivaTest and Prime Essentials line of customized supplements.  For only $80.00 upfront and $60.00 / month, you can benefit from one of 47 formulations that best suits your body's unique requirements.

Hydration is another key to proper nutrition.  Most people are aware of the effects of dehydration from not drinking enough water on exceptionally hot days.  Very few understand the far harsher consequences of drinking too MUCH water and not replacing essential electrolytes like sodium.  Dehydration can land you in the hospital, overhydration (hyponatremia) can kill you. 

Hammer Nutrition publishes "The Endurance Athlete's Guide to Success" and its information is applicable to cyclists of every ability.  In it, nutrition experts explain how your body's cooling system works, what electrolytes do, and make suggestions as to properly hydrate yourself during cycling.  While drinking the right amount of water is key (16 - 24 ounces per hour), electrolyte replenishment is critical for optimal performance and overall health.

On-bike nutrition isn't just for racers and triathletes.  While your body may burn hundreds of calories per hour just cycling at a comfortable pace, it can't run forever on stored body fat and it can only digest between 250-280 calories per hour in new "fuel".  When your body is forced to operate on stored fat instead of complex carbohydrates (not eating at all), your energy level drops.  When your body is forced to digest fat, carbohdyrates, protein and excessive calories, (a large meal that satisfies your hunger) your energy level drops.  Low energy is bad for comfortable and efficient cycling.

Maltodextrins (complex carbohydrates) are the preferred source of fuel during cycling.  They digest easier and give your body the most calories that can be converted quickly into glucose.  The preferred source of on-bike fuel is in a liquid form.  The preferred source of complex carbohydrates is a liquid fuel with NO simple sugars added.  Simple sugars cause energy spikes, energy crashes, and digest poorly, forcing the stomach to rob blood from hardworking muscles.  Diluting simple sugar products with water lowers the caloric value and increases the risk of overhydration. 

Hammer Nutrition manufactures its complete line of energy "fuels" with NO simple sugars added.  For recreational cyclists, Hammer's energy gels and High Energy Electrolyte Drink (HEED) are excellent sources of on-bike fuels.  For bike racers and triathletes, Hammer's Sustained Energy and Perpetuem fuels provide all of the essentials for strenuous activities extending beyond two hours. 

For cyclists who do not like the consistency of gels, PeakBar offers its all-natural line of energy bars in five flavors with NO simple sugars added.  PeakBars digest smoothly and quickly when consumed with water and offer no more calories than the body can consume in one hour. 

Post Ride Recovery is an area of importance to cyclists of all abilities.  As most people know, it is the rest day or "recovery" period that rebuilds muscles after a workout.  Experts agree that a 3:1 to 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein is optimal to prevent muscle deterioriation within 20 minutes to 1-hour after the end of a workout.  While soy protein is preferred for an additive in endurance energy fuels, whey protein is preferred for muscle repair. 

For the recreational rider, this can be accomplished by eating a PeakBar Protein Bar.  For a more serious rider, this can be accomplished with Hammer Nutrition's Recoverite Mix.  Hammer also makes both Soy and Whey protein powders that can be used for recovery and meal supplementation (just like the PeakBar Protein Bar).  

Information provided by enjoybicycling.com, Hammer Nutrition, PeakBar, and Ideal Health is offered as a guideline for preparing your own nutritional plan designed around your cycling activity.  We invite you to share this information with your personal trainer, diet consultant, cycling coach, etc. to maximize the results of your training program. 

If you are a recreational cyclist heading out for a multi-hour ride, remember these tips;  drink a bottle of water for every hour you ride - replacing the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc. hour with an electrolyte drink.  Avoid electrolyte drinks, gels, and energy bars with simple sugars added (ingredients ending in an -ose).  Begin taking an energy gel or energy bar in your second hour of riding and continue with 100-200 calories per hour thereafter.  Avoid eating big meals while you are cycling and don't get back on your bike right away after eating a big meal (use the swimming rule at a minimum).   

.