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Holidays and Food

12.13.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

I had a nice 36-mile club ride this morning. Well, it was nice when it ended, anyway. For most of the ride, it was chilly, foggy, and wet. But all that has nothing to do with the point of this post.

When I got home and finished taking a hot shower, I hopped on the bathroom scale. The scale is obviously not working right. It shows me five pounds heavier than my normal weight has been lately.

That’s right, blame the scale. I know I went overboard over Thanksgiving weekend, and I haven’t exactly been counting calories since then. In fact, I never count calories. I let the riding control my weight.

But it’s winter now, and even in Texas, the weather has been foul enough to keep me from riding regularly. And with Christmas coming up, I can look forward to another weekend of food, food, and more food (and it’s all so good!).

So I’ll have to take some steps to monitor my food intake and rejuvenate my exercise routine. The eight-day forecast isn’t very promising. More rain, and chilly temperatures. I’m not sure how much riding I’ll get in, although I’m really going to make an effort.

For starters, I think I’ll simply try to reduce my portions and cut out snacks. I have a bad habit of raiding the fridge after 10 p.m. so I can munch something while watching TV.

That’s worked in the past, if I stick to it. What kinds of weight control strategies will you be using this year?

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What to eat during a ride?

06.28.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 17 Comments

This might be the week that the B ride at our club hit its tipping point. We had eight riders out for the Sunday ride, double what we’ve been getting lately. We kept the ride deliberately short because of our ridiculously hot temperatures. It wound up at 30 miles round trip at about a 15 mph average. Nothing earth shattering, but the consensus was that this was the right ride to do on a day like today.

We stopped in downtown (I use the word loosely) Buda, Texas, a block short of where we usually make our turnaround. That’s at a stoplight at the town’s main intersection. But today, the shade of a big live oak tree attracted us, and we pulled under its branches to get a tad cooler (temp in low 90sF).

Besides gulping various concoctions of water and electrolytes, most of us pulled out some kind of food to fuel us for the return trip. Most of us, because I had forgotten to stick a bar in my pocket when I left the house this morning. I looked around at the other riders to see what they chose.

Clif bars seemed to be the number one choice, with several unwrapping one of those. One person preferred Clif Shot Bloks to the bars. There was a Power Bar, and one rider had a small chocolate and coconut bar that was passed out at the start of the ride a week or two ago. I forget what they’re called, but I remember that they weren’t bad.

A 10-year-old boy riding with us wanted to go one more block to a donut shop, but his mother nixed the idea. “No donut if you’re going to turn around and ride another hour,” she said. He was not pleased. He reached into his pocket and took out some Shot Bloks, and chewed three of them at once.

On the way back, we made another stop after a stretch of twisty, hilly road. This was conveniently at a convenience store. The store could be more convenient, however, because a sign over the sink says the water is not potable. Dandy water stop, with no drinkable water. I grabbed a bottle of G2, and looked in vain for some kind of nutrition bar to sustain me until we got back home. Nothing but candy bars. Finally, I asked the clerk, who pointed at an end display. One box of Nature Valley granola bars. Honey-oat. No other choice. I bought one, and scarfed it down.

I could probably have gotten by without it, since I had my usual large pre-ride breakfast this morning, but I like to eat something to keep going during a ride. My bar of choice is a Lara Bar, much like a Clif Bar, but my wife and I prefer their taste. On organized rides, I’ll always go for the half bananas at the rest stops, and if they have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut in quarters, I’ll have one of those, too.

But I don’t carry PB&Js with me on regular rides. Bananas, either, although I’ve seen them sticking out of other riders’ jersey pockets. What do you like for mid-ride food? How often do you eat during a ride?

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Categories // food Tags // food

Cramps!

06.02.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

I’ve had one severe bout with cramps since starting biking, and it was no fun. Since then, I’ve always made sure I’ve had enough to eat and drink before starting a ride, and even though I’m still bad at drinking as often as I should when I’m in saddle, I do make an effort to drain one water bottle each hour.

But Sunday, I was on a morning ride with my friend David. On our return leg, he was sluggish. We made an extra stop at a convenience store so he could buy a bottle of electrolyte drink, and down most of it while we rested in the shade. We still had about 10 miles to get home, and at five, he told me to go on ahead, and not let his slow pace keep me back. I told him it was no problem, and I’d stick with him. But with two miles to go, the road widened and smoothed out. I speeded up, figuring he’d catch me at our usual Starbucks end-of-ride yakfest.

I got to Starbucks, ordered a large iced tea, and found a seat in a cool, shady spot to wait for David. I waited, and waited. I wondered if he’d just decided to go straight to his house and skip our drink. The “A” riders in our club, who’d been on a different route, started to pull in. I waited some more.

Then, David pulled up. He looked miserable. He said he’d had thigh cramps so bad just a mile away, they “brought him to his knees.” He sat down and stared straight ahead for awhile, then went inside to order a drink.

I’ve seen the cramps get David on previous rides, but nothing like this. Usually, we’ll stop and rest while he pops a few electrolyte tablets. The curious thing is, the cramps tend to hit him at the 35-mile mark. If we’re only going 20 or 30 miles, he’ll be fine. But stretch that to 35, and he’s toast.

“I’m having a tough one, Ray,” he said, as he felt another twinge in his thigh. But he had to get home, so he pulled himself up out of his chair, and got on the bike. Since he lives only a mile away, I figured he’d be fine.

Later on, I found that was not the case. He emailed me that he’d cramped up again on a long grade leading up to his street. He walked the bike for awhile, then got on and coasted the rest of the way home. The ride, he said, left him “shattered — absolutely the worst I ever had.”

David is not a newbie. He’s been riding for more than 15 years, and has several centuries under his belt. He’s been my riding mentor since I got into this sport. For breakfast, he had a peanut butter and banana sandwich, among other things.

David keeps some kind of electrolyte tablets in his seatbag — “etabs,” he calls them — and I’ve seen that companies like Hammer Nutrition carry electrolyte capsules. Other high sodium and potassium items like pickle juice and bananas are supposed to be effective at combating cramps. Have you had any experiences with cramping? If so, any recommendations for dealing with ones as serious as David’s?

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