Nutrition for cycling | 5 top tips on what to eat before, during, and after cycling
Should you eat something and risk an upset stomach? Or should you skip your pre-ride snack and run out of energy midway through your bike ride?
It depends on how long you’re riding. And most of it comes down to carbs, since they’re your fuel on the bike. (This is all general advice, not individual.)
Heads up, some links here are affiliate links
Before your ride
Riding less than 90 minutes?
Eat normally the day before, with a focus on carbs.
For a number: aim for about 7–12 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight over the 24 hours before your ride. For a 180-pound (81 kg) person, that’s roughly 567–972 grams of carbs across the whole day.
Riding more than 90 minutes?
Start loading up 36–48 hours before. Aim for 10–12 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight per day.
For a 180-pound person, that’s about 810–972 grams of carbs per day.
That sounds like a lot. But you’re not eating it all at once. Bigger servings of oatmeal, pasta, sweet potatoes. Dried fruit, pretzels, cereal between meals. Smoothies or juice when you’re tired of eating. You’re leaning into carbs across the day.
The Newsletter
Real cycling advice for real life
Every two weeks. No fluff.
During your ride
Under 2.5 hours: 60 grams of carbs per hour.
Over 2.5 hours: 90 grams of carbs per hour.
What that actually looks like on the bike: bananas, PB&J, sachima, stroopwafels, dried fruit, granola bars, fruit leather.
Whatever you can eat without thinking about it too much. The best mid-ride food is the one you’ll still eat at mile 40.
After your ride
This one depends on what you did and what’s coming next.
Easy ride, nothing tomorrow? You didn’t burn through your stores. Eat your usual.
Medium-hard ride, another one tomorrow? Add more carbs than usual and top things back up tomorrow.
Hard ride, another hard ride in less than 8 hours? Eat 1.0–1.2 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight per hour for the first 4 hours. Then eat as normal. Add some protein too because your muscles need it.
This is general guidance, not a totally customized plan. So if you want something specific, a sports nutritionist can help.
Role of nutrition in performance enhancement and post exercise recovery