Eats

Paul D said:

So I was wondering what everybody uses instead?

Chocolate coated raisins,

Suggest you avoid anything that could either freeze solid or melt.
Chocolate shows its true colours in climatic extremes...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Jon Senior said:

Soreen Malt Load! It contains almost the same energy content as the
energy bars, is vaguely natural (Not wholly processed sugar) and from
the reports I've heard works very well. They also do a banana loaf which
is slightly less energy rich, but still very good.

And then there's the mysterious "Lardy Cakes" that the local CTC
old-timers go on about.

Ah...I see it's just a Wiltshire thing:

http://www.hwatson.force9.co.uk/cookbook/recipes/baking/wiltshirelardy.htm

Flapjack mini bites from Asda - you get loads for under 2 quid.

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 12:02:44 +0100, "Paul D"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Following on from the 'isotonic rip off' thread the other day, am i expected
to pay nearly a quid for a few mouthfuls of energy bar?! They can't be that
good, surely?

Dunno, never used them (I never ride hard for more than forty miles or
so, so haven't needed to).

Good cycling food: fig rolls and malt loaf. Malt loaf especially,
very cheap, low fat, packed with thingummies and whatnots.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

"Paul D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Following on from the 'isotonic rip off' thread the other day, am i

expected

Quoted message said:

to pay nearly a quid for a few mouthfuls of energy bar?! They can't be

that

Quoted message said:

good, surely?

So I was wondering what everybody uses instead? A while ago a runner

friend

Quoted message said:

explained to me in detail how jelly babies are full of energy, and every

now

Quoted message said:

and then i put a handful in a pocket for halfway round a ride, but i've
never been completely convinced. A strategic mars bar when i'm suffering
with 10 or 15 miles to get home always works wonders though.

Paul

Got a big list of things to try, instead of jelly babies (although i think
they may creep back into my pocket at some point!). Nice to get some new
ideas, cheers.

Jon Senior <jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove>typed

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Whenever I have looked into this I have not found very consistent
answers. The glycaemic index of things like white bread and boiled
potatoes is higher than ordinary white sugar.

and it's much easier to cram down 100g of sugar as jelly babies than
500g of boiled spud...

Quoted message said:

The problem still remains that a sudden rise in glucose will result in a
similar rise in insulin.

Not if you've just about depleted your body's reserves.

Quoted message said:

When the glucose stops coming, you'll still
have a stack of insulin floating around and you'll be merrily producing
glycogen and running low on blood-sugar.

Only if you don't eat enough...

Quoted message said:

This won't be as pronounced
when exercising, but it is a risk. You could probably minimise the
effects with adrenaline,

You might be producing quite a bit anyway if you're pedalling hard, though...

Quoted message said:

but this would either involve scaring yourself
on cue, or injections... neither of which is a brilliant idea.

I have never suffered as a result of a high-sugar snack. I have suffered
when I've not started riding soon enough after an oat-based breakfast (I
was fine on Audax rides starting at 6am or 8am but fairly useless at a
10am start)

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

"Paul D" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Following on from the 'isotonic rip off' thread the other day, am i
expected to pay nearly a quid for a few mouthfuls of energy bar?! They
can't be that good, surely?

So I was wondering what everybody uses instead? A while ago a runner
friend explained to me in detail how jelly babies are full of energy,
and every now and then i put a handful in a pocket for halfway round a
ride, but i've never been completely convinced. A strategic mars bar
when i'm suffering with 10 or 15 miles to get home always works
wonders though.

Paul

I use cereal bars, currently Jordans Frusli, after them getting 9 out of 10
in a food test in one of the mags. Lots of oats, rice flour, fruit, honey,
to name a few ingredients. One or two per hour, and plenty of fruit squash,
they keep me going for ages.

"Helen Deborah Vecht" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you *like*?

I also like jelly babies, licorice allsorts, biscuits and CAKE.

With you on these. Also wholegrain cereal bars.

Quoted message said:

What do you crave or fancy?

Sorry, this isn't that kind of newsgroup!

Quoted message said:

If you've been exercising for a long time, you probably don't need to
worry about the insulin response anyway.

So eat what you (or your budget) *like* and wash it down with something
you *like* drinking.

Excellent advice from Helen as usual.

Quoted message said:

Mine's a diet fruit squash...

You had me with you all the way and then you recommend something guaranteed to
set off an asthma attack....
--
Mark South, Super Genius: World Citizen, Net Denizen

In article <[email hidden]>,

Paul D said:

So I was wondering what everybody uses instead?

This time of year, just help yourself to nature's bounty, aka blackberries.

--
Nick Kew

Helen Deborah Vecht [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The problem still remains that a sudden rise in glucose will result in a
similar rise in insulin.

Not if you've just about depleted your body's reserves.

It depends on the quantity of sugar.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When the glucose stops coming, you'll still
have a stack of insulin floating around and you'll be merrily producing
glycogen and running low on blood-sugar.

Only if you don't eat enough...

The problem with refined sugars is that there is no continuation. If you
have a mix of short and long chain carbohydrates then there will be a
rise of blood sugar which will very slowly drop. With refined sugars
it's an all at once thing, so it peaks rapidly and then vanishes. It's
this sudden loss of incoming sugar that is the problem. You could
balance it by eating continuously but that might have other problems in
itself.

Quoted message said:

You might be producing quite a bit anyway if you're pedalling hard, though...

Shouldn't be producing too much. If you're excercising, the above effect
will not be as pronounced (And you'll probably not notice it at all) but
it'd still be wise to avoid it.

Quoted message said:

I have never suffered as a result of a high-sugar snack. I have suffered
when I've not started riding soon enough after an oat-based breakfast (I
was fine on Audax rides starting at 6am or 8am but fairly useless at a
10am start)

I have occasionally relied on high sugar snacks (Mars Bar!!!) when bad
planning and general stupidity left me with no blood sugar at all, but
on the rare occasions when I have to stop for chocolate these days, I
try to also eat something which I won't digest so rapidly.

If I eat a lot of refined sugars in one sitting when I'm not exercising,
I suffer a "sugar crash" after about an hour, where I just dose off. And
before you ask... no, I'm not diabetic. I know because my mother is, so
I tend to watch out for these things!

Jon

"Mark South" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Mine's a diet fruit squash...

Quoted message said:

You had me with you all the way and then you recommend something
guaranteed to
set off an asthma attack....

Well, that's MINE and I don't have asthma! What do you LIKE? What does
not upset your asthma/ulcer/budget/mother-in-law/cat/lawyer?

I don't like sugary drinks as:
1) They don't seem to quench my thirst well
2) They leave my mouth gooey, coat my teeth and may cause them to rot.
3) Leave a sticky mess if spilt
4) Attract insects

If you LIKE it, there's always TAP water, which is OK if you're eating
food with the minerals you need in it. Gallons of pure water with no
food could present a problem though.

The trick is to drink enough, not too much. This is much easier if you
LIKE it...

PS. I also LIKE chocolate milk shake. I have found this very comforting
and sustaining at the end of long rides. IIRC it does not attract VAT (I
think bottled water does!) and so seems less of a rip-off...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Tony Raven said:

Velvet said:

I recently saw chocolate (and yogurt) covered banana chips (dried).
They looked like an excellent thing to snack on while out riding.
Not managed to locate them at a decent price though (this was in a
service station up the M1 somewhere).

Chocolate covered coffee beans. Mmmmmmmmm.....

Tony

My Mum had a bowl of these sitting on a table a while ago. I kept nibbling
on them while I was there. I couldn't get to sleep that night.
--
Mark

1x1 wheel, 3x2 wheels & 1x3 wheels.

This makes for an iteresting read:

http://whyfiles.org/204endurance_training/3.html

----------------------

Jon Senior said:

The problem with refined sugars is that there is no continuation. If you
have a mix of short and long chain carbohydrates then there will be a
rise of blood sugar which will very slowly drop. With refined sugars
it's an all at once thing, so it peaks rapidly and then vanishes. It's
this sudden loss of incoming sugar that is the problem. You could
balance it by eating continuously but that might have other problems in
itself.

So what do you recommend (and on whose authority)?

James
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/

James Annan [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

So what do you recommend (and on whose authority)?

A mixture of short-chain and long-chain carbohydrates such as that found
in most unrefined foods, fruits or (for certain) energy bars. The
authority on which I would recommend such a thing is that of my mother's
doctor (And that of the Diabetic Association) and my university
professor of Biochemistry who taught us all about metabolism, starvation
and insulin response.

If you're a whiz in the kitchen, you're aiming for a good mix of simple
(e.g. glucose) and complex (e.g. fructose) sugars combined with longer
chain carbohydrates (e.g. starch). Some fibre will help prevent
digestion problems (Although too much may make cycling interesting!). A
proportion of fat probably wouldn't go amiss either. My knowledge of the
science is too old and sketchy to recommend exact proportions.

Unless you're at the absolute limits of your metabolism, I doubt that it
matters that much, but I'd personally steer clear of simple refined
sugars (Such as those in most sweets) unless you are about to slip into
a coma through lack of blood sugar!

Jon

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 15:00:35 +0100, Jon Senior
<jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Following on from the 'isotonic rip off' thread the other day, am i expected
to pay nearly a quid for a few mouthfuls of energy bar?! They can't be that
good, surely?

So I was wondering what everybody uses instead? A while ago a runner friend
explained to me in detail how jelly babies are full of energy, and every now
and then i put a handful in a pocket for halfway round a ride, but i've
never been completely convinced. A strategic mars bar when i'm suffering
with 10 or 15 miles to get home always works wonders though.

Soreen Malt Load!

Which is a /very/ big version of the loaf? :-)

Quoted message said:

It contains almost the same energy content as the
energy bars, is vaguely natural (Not wholly processed sugar) and from
the reports I've heard works very well. They also do a banana loaf which
is slightly less energy rich, but still very good.

The advantage of the Malt Loaf is that it will fit into one of the
normal pockets on the back of a cycling jersey (And can be compressed if
it doesn't). Just remember to keep drinking the water at the same time.

Jon

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

Gawnsoft [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

Which is a /very/ big version of the loaf? :-)

Yup.

Take 10 loaves. Remove wrapping and compress together until the density
resembles that of depleted uranium.

Eat with caution. :-)

Jon

Jon Senior <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk>typed

Quoted message said:

James Annan [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

So what do you recommend (and on whose authority)?

Quoted message said:

A mixture of short-chain and long-chain carbohydrates such as that found
in most unrefined foods, fruits or (for certain) energy bars. The
authority on which I would recommend such a thing is that of my mother's
doctor (And that of the Diabetic Association) and my university
professor of Biochemistry who taught us all about metabolism, starvation
and insulin response.

Quoted message said:

If you're a whiz in the kitchen, you're aiming for a good mix of simple
(e.g. glucose) and complex (e.g. fructose) sugars combined with longer
chain carbohydrates (e.g. starch). Some fibre will help prevent
digestion problems (Although too much may make cycling interesting!). A
proportion of fat probably wouldn't go amiss either. My knowledge of the
science is too old and sketchy to recommend exact proportions.

Ahh good, old-fashioned shortbread...

6oz sugar
8oz fat
10-12 oz flour
egg to bind

Squidge toether. Bake at mark 6 till golden brown.

More fat than I'd like whilst cycling but fulfils your criteria.

Quoted message said:

Unless you're at the absolute limits of your metabolism, I doubt that it
matters that much, but I'd personally steer clear of simple refined
sugars (Such as those in most sweets) unless you are about to slip into
a coma through lack of blood sugar!

Actually, the long-distance cyclist is fairly carbo depleted after a few
hours' cycling, which is why *any* carbohydrate tends to do the trick...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

On 31/8/04 12:43 am, in article [email hidden],

Jon Senior' jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk said:

If you're a whiz in the kitchen, you're aiming for a good mix of simple
(e.g. glucose) and complex (e.g. fructose) sugars combined with longer
chain carbohydrates (e.g. starch). Some fibre will help prevent
digestion problems (Although too much may make cycling interesting!). A
proportion of fat probably wouldn't go amiss either. My knowledge of the
science is too old and sketchy to recommend exact proportions.

My experience is that half a geobar every 15 mins and drinking at least a
litre over every two hours is good for long (>3hours) and light (easy
spinning along) riding. For harder riding (trying to put a bit of effort in)
the fluid goes up considerably but the time is never long enough to have to
worry about food because I can't sustain more than a couple of hours at that
pace.

Bananas are also good.

I find the isotonic drinks are a great benefit to me. They do seem to help.
The trick is that if they actually taste nice then you are dehydrated..

...d