[Paultheagle]

I’m setting off on a longish tour of the Netherlands in a week or so..

i just wondered what is everybody’s preference or experiences with snack food to eat on the bike ?

i have suffered the dreaded bonk a few times on long runs and i have read its a good idea to eat at least once every hour (as well as keep rehydrated, which i am better at).

does anybody have any tips – popular foods ?

(i will probably be using a small top bar bag and usually carry a banana) 🙂

Topic

[Paultheagle]

hi everyone
a big thank you
hi everyone

a big thank you to all your replies.

i thought long about the responses and went for some granola bars (almond/chocolate) that were on sale at my local waitrose. i chose them because i could pack a few into the sides of my seat bag as well as my bar bag (they got a bit squashed but perfectly edible) – these and my 1.5 litre water bottle (along with the odd espresso and banana stop) kept me [i][b]”bonk”[/b][/i] free 😀

5 days and 250 + miles later, i’m back from the Netherlands and had a lovely time on my first euro trip.

[Kapelmuur]

Home Bargains chewy muesli
Home Bargains chewy muesli bars. £0.79 for a pack of 8 (individually wrapped), each bar 91 cal.

[Quince]

On the sugary side, bananas
On the sugary side, bananas and dried apricots are both pretty good sources of potassium as well as sugar, and are also pretty cheap (un-sulphurised apricots are less sickly in my experience). Dates are good as a dense sugar-hit too, and a little less guilty than throwing pure caster sugar/honey/glucose syrup/etc. down your neck.

The complex carbs are a little harder, because they either require manual labour to turn them into something palatable, or need to be bought in some sort of expensive pre-packaged form. If you fancy/have the equipment for the former, there’s a video on rice-cakes here (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG7bWKK9G7E), and flapjacks here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMJEIiWV3VQ). You could also made savoury rice-cakes to provide a brief respite from all the cloying sweetness.

Throwing in a few nuts on a long ride shouldn’t hurt either. Dates and walnuts form a pleasant and delicious goop.

[bashthebox]

I need to try making rice
I need to try making rice cakes. If they’re good enough for Wiggo, Froome & co, they’re good enough for me.

As an aside, who else follows the Pro team chefs on twitter? Amazing culinary inspiration there. You might think athletes have a somewhat joyless existence with their food, but you’d be an awfully long way from the truth.

[S13SFC]

For long rides I usually have
For long rides I usually have with me a couple of hot cross buns, with butter and jam, 2 bananas, at least 3 gels (1 as an emergency) and a big bag of jelly babies. Mince pies or fruitcake will sometimes find their way into my pockets.

Jelly babies are munched as I go along and “solids” scoffed after around 50km and 100km.

I also make sure I have a decent breakfast before I head out.

Gets me through 150+km no problem.

[Muzza62]

Gran Fondo Conwy sportive
Gran Fondo Conwy sportive were giving out Full of Beans snacks – slow release carbs, fruit, nuts, seeds etc…. recently on their feedstations and goody bags…. very nice and not too sickly..
You can buy them on Amazon…
Recently bonked on a long ride, dived into a pub and scoffed a load of nuts, crisps and Coke – Did the trick but not recommended….

[John_the_Monkey]

Percy Pigs, Jelly Babies or
Percy Pigs, Jelly Babies or Co-Op wine gums.

[Scrufftie]

I’m one of those who swear by
I’m one of those who swear by fig rolls. They are pretty cheap, if that’s a consideration, and readily available, at least in the UK. They’re are a great size and I eat one every 30mins for a bonk-free ride. I empty a packet into my pocket before I set out and they make very little mess. Highly recommended

[Raleigh]

Bagels
Bagels

[Paultheagle]

Thanks to everybody for the
Thanks to everybody for the great advice !

[severs1966]

Bananas.
or
A dense fruit
Bananas.

or

A dense fruit cake, preferably a moist one (the weight doesn’t matter in the Netherlands), pre-sliced… wrapped in greaseproof paper. The rectangular type is most convenient. In my tours of the Netherlands, the bottom of one low-rider pannier has always been the home of the fruit cake.

[Shep73]

Malt loaf and Ride Peanut
Malt loaf and Ride Peanut Power Bar. If I’m doing a long MTB ride, I take small part bake baggets with dairylea in. Individually wrapped in foil for ease of eating on the go.

[Jack Osbourne snr]

+1 for rice cakes.
If you’re
+1 for rice cakes.

If you’re doing the ride in Holland, all you need is a pack of “stroopwaffel” waffle biscuits. Just make sure you have a toothbrush handy or you’ll need some dental work done by the end of the ride.

Also… A double sausage and egg mcmuffin to start the day. Gets your digestive tract working (hard).

[glynr36]

Get a copy of the feed zone,
Get a copy of the feed zone, and feedzone portabales.
Worth the cash easily!
I swear by the rice cakes now, sweet and savoury variations, and easy to make.
If you can boil rice, you can make them.

[Simon E]

Torq mango bars are my
Torq mango bars are my favourite, but they are expensive.

Banana, dried apricots and a bag of raisins (though the raisins are fiddly if you don’t want to stop). Homemade flapjacks, Nak’d, Eat Natural, NutriGrain bars. Or maybe look for a shop selling belgian waffles.

Some people swear by fig rolls or malt loaf.

I would avoid too much processed food and never eat processed meat, especially pork, while riding.

Have you considered a weak energy drink mix as well? I wouldn’t rely on it alone but it would mean you have to carry less solid food during the ride.

[Author]

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