# Carb dense, easily packed foods?



## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

I’m planning to start working on picking up the pace on longer rides, in hopes of doing some longer self supported races. Harder pace = more carbs, so I was hoping to get some ideas on what everyone else uses for carb dense foods that don’t take up a ton of space… my go to are things like pretzels, fruit snacks and Fig Newtons. Nutrition in the bottle doesn’t work for me for anything over 5 hours or so, so I’m looking for junk I can buy at the grocery store.


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

Are you talking snacks, or is cooking involved?


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## 1lawnman (Oct 3, 2013)

Bananas, oatmeal peanut butter balls with a little chocolate chip,


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## 1lawnman (Oct 3, 2013)

Garbanzo beans if ya like em


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

dysfunction said:


> Are you talking snacks, or is cooking involved?


Snacks. I don’t usually carry a pot or cooking stuff. I’m mainly looking for fuel while riding.


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

1lawnman said:


> Bananas, oatmeal peanut butter balls with a little chocolate chip,


I’ll have to look for some peanut butter ball recipes. Those tend to get pretty melty here in the desert though lol


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Some things I like on long rides: Gummy bears, peanut M&Ms, peanut butter sandwich crackers, pepperoni, Rice Krispy Treats, raisins, burritos, left over pizza slices, Fritos, Pop-Tarts.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

Get onto fats for super dense carb. 
Avacado, nuts, peanut butter.... 

My day riding meal is designed more for long burn fuel for shuttling 7-8 hours. 

3 x Flat bread wraps, egg, bacon, avocado, cheese, letuce, tomato (small cherry tomato uncut). Aolli. 
Quick Snack food in between. Fruit/nut trail mix. 

For a less flash quicker wrap. Peanut butter and bannana. 

Bliss balls with oats, peanut butter and nuts are also good. Just a bit more admin to make.


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

Yea,


SingleSpeedSteven said:


> Snacks. I don’t usually carry a pot or cooking stuff. I’m mainly looking for fuel while riding.


OK, so for carbs.. Gummy bears, dried fruit, crackers, gorp with m&ms in it. I really also like peanut butter to dip the fruit and crackers in. Oh and peanut butter and honey sandwiches, if I'm packing a lunch. Also I like jerky.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> I’m planning to start working on picking up the pace on longer rides, in hopes of doing some longer self supported races. Harder pace = more carbs, so I was hoping to get some ideas on what everyone else uses for carb dense foods that don’t take up a ton of space… my go to are things like pretzels, fruit snacks and Fig Newtons. Nutrition in the bottle doesn’t work for me for anything over 5 hours or so, so I’m looking for junk I can buy at the grocery store.


I really like the Nature's Bakery fig bars, raspberry especially, but the chocolate brownie bars even more. 

We start down this road every year with our endurance stuff though and rather than chase optimal foods, it's a lot better to get stuff you will actually eat and be interested in. Some stuff is just not very practical to eat, some seems good at first, but you get real sick of it (because it doesn't interest you) and you stop eating. It's better to be eating something than uninterested in what you brought. 

Gummies aren't carbs, they are pure sugar, which can be a good emergency good or pick-me-up. Not any better than cliff bites...but tend to be way more interesting and therefore, a better food for that purpose.

I try to think in terms of carb base and keeping glucose up, some foods do both, but you don't necessarily need to be taking down a lot of stuff that requires a lot of blood to digest all the time either. A "tiered" approach can be useful. Emergency sugars, base carbs, continuous sugars, salty protein snacks, etc...


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## Phil Forrest (12 mo ago)

Dates, figs, nuts, hardboiled eggs. You still need protein out on a ride. 

Phil Forrest


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

I’ve got my nutrition pretty well dialed, I’m just curious if there are any foods out there that pack real easily and work well as on the bike fuel. I ride a medium frame and I’m usually packing for 12+ hours so space is at a premium. I also use the Natures Bakery bars (I called them Fig Newtons because I wasn’t sure if everyone knew what Natures Bakery was) and that size and packability is perfect. Those things are dense and can be stashed anywhere. Pretzels are one of my favorites but they take up a lot of space. Gummies are meh. I’m not a huge fan of sugary snacks so gummies get old real fast. I usually only take a handful of the small packs.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> I’ve got my nutrition pretty well dialed, I’m just curious if there are any foods out there that pack real easily and work well as on the bike fuel. I ride a medium frame and I’m usually packing for 12+ hours so space is at a premium. I also use the Natures Bakery bars (I called them Fig Newtons because I wasn’t sure if everyone knew what Natures Bakery was) and that size and packability is perfect. Those things are dense and can be stashed anywhere. Pretzels are one of my favorites but they take up a lot of space. Gummies are meh. I’m not a huge fan of sugary snacks so gummies get old real fast. I usually only take a handful of the small packs.


Yeah, a pro racer friend was asking what we eat on the ITI 350, I tried to answer, but thought about it more and came to a different conclusion. It depends on how fast we are moving. The faster we are moving, the more we can eat like a race, cliff bites, gels, drink mix, etc. The slower we are moving, the more we have to be eating heavy base stuff, mountain houses, cured meats, cheese, etc. And then the in-between, where we are moving, but not especially fast. Out there on these bikes the rolling resistance is horrendous, not just because of fat tires on snow, but generally unprepared frozen surfaces, churned stuff from snowmachines, hoar frost from cold temps, and so on. 5mph is flat out flying and rarely achieved. It seems like the slower you are going, the more calories you burn and harder you are working...a bit counter-intuitive. There are times we just can't get enough. But I was centering on your sugary snacks comment...it just depends for us on how fast we are moving, which is where the "tiered" approach comes in. The slower you are moving, much of the time due to something out of your control, the less those sugar-based fuels make sense IME. It's also easier to digest the more complex stuff when you are moving slower.


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

Not sure why nutrition in a bottle doesn't work. Sipping a hydration mix like Tailwind is the best overall solution for maintaining Z4 for 3.5+ hours, IME. I've done regular 4.5 hour rides with my average HR in the Z4 range, but I tend to trail off on intensity on the last hour.

Eating has never worked for me. My pace seems to drop for any given HR I put out, making things feel a bit heavy. I just suspect that a % of blood is going towards digestion instead of fully going to muscles.

If I wanted to do 5 hours, I'd probably drop intensity level a bit, and work up my efficiency by just doing multiple long rides.


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## Dogbrain (Mar 4, 2008)

I'm a big fan of either roasted potatoes or fried rice with bacon. I just mix it up and pack it in a ziploc and carry a small spoon because I'm fancy like that. But I love the real food, and the salty/fatty goodness is a nice change up from the fig bars, etc. On shorter rides that don't require real food I also started carrying salt and vinegar kettle chips. Some carbs, fat, protein, and electrolytes all on one delicious package. I love to switch hit between those and a banana or fig bar when I'm snacking.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

Varaxis said:


> Not sure why nutrition in a bottle doesn't work.


What's the longest ride you've ridden on Tailwind?


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

VegasSingleSpeed said:


> What's the longest ride you've ridden on Tailwind?


Honestly, I only have 1 ride logged that's over 7 hours. A couple that are 6.5 hrs. They aren't sustained Z4 efforts thought. I'm a weirdo that likes high sustained intensity for all my rides, so I have 200 rides logged that are over 3 hours, most having Z4 pacing.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Endurance races start around 70 miles for me and go up from there. When you are riding long distances in the hundreds (multiple) you operate a lot differently than on a “day-ride” IME.


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## evdog (Mar 18, 2007)

Jayem said:


> rather than chase optimal foods, it's a lot better to get stuff you will actually eat and be interested in. Some stuff is just not very practical to eat, some seems good at first, but you get real sick of it (because it doesn't interest you) and you stop eating. It's better to be eating something than uninterested in what you brought.


This is my approach too, especially for bikepacking. There are plenty of foods I used to bring on rides like energy bars or trail mix that I've gotten sick of so I rarely bring them - and when I do, there's a good chance they'll live in my pack for a number of rides. So I definitely don't buy those things when bikepacking. Also means I have to bring other stuff I know I'll want to eat, so that I actually do eat.

How I pack for day rides and bikepacking are a bit different. For day rides I try to bring real food like a sandwich, apple, banana, mixed nuts, etc. I have some killer Mexican places nearby so a breakfast burrito often replaces the sandwich. I usually have a box of Nature's bakery bars (Costco staple) going and will throw one of those in. Various other things depending what I have at home. I've tried Tailwind. I'll sometimes bring a few scoops in a ziploc and down a bottle before a big climb, but it's just to supplement the food I have, not replace it. I still get hungry on long rides and Tailwind doesn't fix that. 

When bikepacking I may start with the same as I would for a day ride but when re-supplying I'll buy any manner of junk food that appeals to me. And I try and buy enough variety that I'll always have something I want to eat regardless how I feel. On both AZTR and CTR I bought pretty much every type of snack food at least once....potato chips, pretzels, bugels, chex mix, chocolate bars, dried fruit, m&ms, swedish fish, mini donuts, twizzlers, fruit, instant pudding, cookies, crackers, fig newtons, coke, chocolate milk, frozen gas station burritos microwaved, etc. If there are restaurants on route I'll stop for lunch or dinner and maybe order an extra burger/sandwich/sub/etc for the next meal. If there isn't much for resupply options I'll often bring a stove and some backpacker meals or other dehydrated food for dinners. Cold soaking ramen noodles is quick and easy for a snack or light meal as well.


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## TXNavy (Apr 7, 2004)




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## Mac_89 (Mar 24, 2021)

Home made flapjack bites. You can put anything you want in them. You get slow release carbs, fats and quick sugars all in one and they're easy to eat on the move.

My favourites are glace cherries, chocolate chip and macademia or maple syrup and pecan 😋


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## dsciulli19 (Apr 14, 2014)

sgltrak said:


> Some things I like on long rides: *peanut M&Ms*


This is my go to!! I usually keep a clif bar in my pack also in case I get stuck out longer than I had originally planned.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

Varaxis said:


> Honestly, I only have 1 ride logged that's over 7 hours.


Fueling on liquid nutrition becomes difficult for self-supported ultra-endurance and bikepacking because all of the mix you need for that effort needs to be on the bike at the start (weight and volume that needs to be packed), and the flavor becomes unpalatable really quick.


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## Yootah (Jun 30, 2017)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> I’ve got my nutrition pretty well dialed, I’m just curious if there are any foods out there that pack real easily and work well as on the bike fuel. I ride a medium frame and I’m usually packing for 12+ hours so space is at a premium. I also use the Natures Bakery bars (I called them Fig Newtons because I wasn’t sure if everyone knew what Natures Bakery was) and that size and packability is perfect. Those things are dense and can be stashed anywhere. Pretzels are one of my favorites but they take up a lot of space. Gummies are meh. I’m not a huge fan of sugary snacks so gummies get old real fast. I usually only take a handful of the small packs.


I'm a big fan of those Nature's Bakery bars, they're whole grain plus the fruit for a more drawn out carb release and unlike a Cliff bar or whatever they go down like real food. Peanuts and cashews are super dense calorie sources, eat them with dried fruits to get the same mix of slow and fast carbs. A tortilla with some kind of nut butter and a little honey or jam (or Nutella if you can find it) does the same.


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## BadgerOne (Jul 17, 2015)

For calorie density with fast energy, one of my go-to foods is coconut oil. But above about 80 degrees your snack might become a stew, so that makes it tough. I like making oatmeal cookies with coconut oil, thick rolled oats, whole wheat flour, coconut sugar and dried cranberries. They pack well, are delicious, are extremely calorie and complex carb dense and give lasting strong energy. The peanut butter/rolled oats/cocoa nib balls are another great easy to pack calorie and carb dense food. Take extra wet wipes, all this stuff is messy.

For a more generic but still effective take, walnuts and pecans with dried cranberries and maybe peanut M&Ms are great. Also good old classic bean and cheese burritos if they will keep (not the nasty store bought stuff, ones you make).


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## Mongoguy (Oct 16, 2019)

my go to for longish days....75+ miles are mashed potato burritos. I cut up a bunch of potatoes and mash them with cooked bacon and tons of butter and salt, then roll the mash into a burrito. Super dense food that covers carbs, fats and salts. Surprising how many you can carry of you wrap them tightly!


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Jayem said:


> Gummies aren't carbs, they are pure sugar..





Pure sugar is carbohydrates no? I know lots of riders just pour a cup of sugar in a water bottle and call it good.


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## cabanaboy (Apr 25, 2019)

I am always looking for low cost high energy foods that are not bike specific items. I eat so much that it would cost a fortune to eat only packaged bike designed foods. A recent discovery I made was store brand pop-tarts. One pack (2 pastries) has about 72g or carbs. There is also some fat. A 6 pack of store brand pop-tarts (12 pastries) costs $2, sometimes $1.50 and has some surprising mass to a box.

I've also done the other stuff mentioned: dates, gummi bears, orange slices (candy kind), jersey pocket tacos. Only problem with the pop-tarts is they would crumble in a jersey pocket. Probably be ok in a frame bag if not crushed by other gear. Fig newtons or store brand equivalent are good as they are way cheaper than those Nature's Bakery fig bars.


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

Varaxis said:


> Not sure why nutrition in a bottle doesn't work. Sipping a hydration mix like Tailwind is the best overall solution for maintaining Z4 for 3.5+ hours, IME. I've done regular 4.5 hour rides with my average HR in the Z4 range, but I tend to trail off on intensity on the last hour.
> 
> Eating has never worked for me. My pace seems to drop for any given HR I put out, making things feel a bit heavy. I just suspect that a % of blood is going towards digestion instead of fully going to muscles.
> 
> If I wanted to do 5 hours, I'd probably drop intensity level a bit, and work up my efficiency by just doing multiple long rides.





Varaxis said:


> Honestly, I only have 1 ride logged that's over 7 hours. A couple that are 6.5 hrs. They aren't sustained Z4 efforts thought. I'm a weirdo that likes high sustained intensity for all my rides, so I have 200 rides logged that are over 3 hours, most having Z4 pacing.


Tailwind works great for me in a sub-5 hour race where I’m putting out a lot of effort. After 5 hours I start getting rumbly guts from only taking in liquids. That feeling when you’re so hungry that the pit of your stomach hurts and you feel like you’re going to throw up.

When I’m out all day, I need real food. Even gels don’t work.


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

Jayem said:


> Yeah, a pro racer friend was asking what we eat on the ITI 350, I tried to answer, but thought about it more and came to a different conclusion. It depends on how fast we are moving. The faster we are moving, the more we can eat like a race, cliff bites, gels, drink mix, etc. The slower we are moving, the more we have to be eating heavy base stuff, mountain houses, cured meats, cheese, etc. And then the in-between, where we are moving, but not especially fast. Out there on these bikes the rolling resistance is horrendous, not just because of fat tires on snow, but generally unprepared frozen surfaces, churned stuff from snowmachines, hoar frost from cold temps, and so on. 5mph is flat out flying and rarely achieved. It seems like the slower you are going, the more calories you burn and harder you are working...a bit counter-intuitive. There are times we just can't get enough. But I was centering on your sugary snacks comment...it just depends for us on how fast we are moving, which is where the "tiered" approach comes in. The slower you are moving, much of the time due to something out of your control, the less those sugar-based fuels make sense IME. It's also easier to digest the more complex stuff when you are moving slower.


Yea the pacing was kind of the second part to my questions, which is why I wanted carb heavy ideas. I can go ride all day at a slow, leisurely trip pace with just about anything. I’m wanting to pick up the pace for racing. So I need to switch up what I carry from things that sound good to things that sound good but will also keep me pushing for the next 8 hours.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

J.B. Weld said:


> Pure sugar is carbohydrates no? I know lots of riders just pour a cup of sugar in a water bottle and call it good.


Simple vs complex. Complex like starches are much longer burning and probably what the OP is referring to.


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)




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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

Jayem said:


> Simple vs complex. Complex like starches are much longer burning and probably what the OP is referring to.


Yes, but on long rides.. it's also good to have something to spike your blood sugar quickly. In case, you know.. bonking is imminent. I hate Gu, I can barely tolerate shot blocks, etc.. but haribo, well a childhood of those makes those easily palatable. 

In any case, the most important thing is that all of this has to be stuff you tolerate.

The Bigfoot, that's a nice recovery beverage


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

dysfunction said:


> Yes, but on long rides.. it's also good to have something to spike your blood sugar quickly. In case, you know.. bonking is imminent. I hate Gu, I can barely tolerate shot blocks, etc.. but haribo, well a childhood of those makes those easily palatable.
> 
> In any case, the most important thing is that all of this has to be stuff you tolerate.
> 
> The Bigfoot, that's a nice recovery beverage


Definitely looking for a nice mix of long and slow burning stuff. I usually keep a couple of those mini cans of Coke at the bottom of my frame bag for breaking bonks.

I definitely don’t want to rely on only slow burning stuff though. I’m hesitant with stuff that’s real high in fiber. I’ve tried to do races with just bananas and dried fruit and got behind with my nutrition in a hurry.


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## bingemtbr (Apr 1, 2004)

I'm addicted to homemade granola bars. My LBS mechanic's wife makes them by the dozen and they are FANTASTIC! Going to attempt baking my own. Soooo good!


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

bingemtbr said:


> I'm addicted to homemade granola bars. My LBS mechanic's wife makes them by the dozen and they are FANTASTIC! Going to attempt baking my own. Soooo good!


I’ve had some really good homemade peanut butter balls and granola bars. The mini pancake idea someone threw out here is great too… I need stuff I can grab from the gas station though. With longer unsupported races you don’t have the luxury of cooking unfortunately.


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## bingemtbr (Apr 1, 2004)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> I’ve had some really good homemade peanut butter balls and granola bars. The mini pancake idea someone threw out here is great too… I need stuff I can grab from the gas station though. With longer unsupported races you don’t have the luxury of cooking unfortunately.


Gas station food? Yikes. I guess stale, 5 yr old Nature Valley bars then! LOL! A petrified Moon Pie also works.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

bingemtbr said:


> Gas station food? Yikes.


It's amazing all the places Whole Foods won't build a store.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I'd guess pretzels aren't a great choice. Even though they are high in carbs, they are low density. They take up a lot of space per weight. Something like homemade trail mix, peanuts, M&M's, dried fruit/berries, would seem to be high energy and physically dense.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

3xS, an ice-cream bar provides a quick boost of calories (sadly, can't pack it). I usually pick up a pint of chocolate milk at a gas-station stop, and for riding into the winter night, may pack one for the road.


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## d365 (Jun 13, 2006)

My favorite on the bike snack is peanut butter/pretzel bites. Salt, Carb, Fat, Protein in one bite. Easy to digest. Switch it up with some trail mix with m&ms. Gas station would have both.


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## Suns_PSD (Dec 13, 2013)

I like Perpetuem (mostly carbs with a bit of protein) from Hammer fuels with some basic electrolyte powder either from Hammer or just whatever off Amazon added in. I place that in my hydration pack and I don't bonk from lack of energy,

Throw a few gels in your pack as well and of course have a large breakfast. I like 4 servings of steel cut slow cooked oats, a full banana, nuts, milk, butter & cinnamon with a sausage on the side.

I don't carry food ever. But would consider it if I was planning on riding more casually.

Also don't drink alcohol the night before and be hydrating on the entire drive to your ride (not from your hydration pack).

Lastly be certain to consume lots of good calories within 20 minutes after you complete your ride, an alcoholic drink at that time is fine and possibly even beneficial.

The carb source should be Maltodextrin, not just sugar. My wife had never had a cavity in her life and when she began riding I was giving her a sugar based drink in her hydration pack and she had 2 cavities within months. All that sugar just sitting on your teeth just isn't good.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

Im always amazed at the dudes recommending refined simple sugar snacks for endurance and long rides like"gummy bears" and "pour sugar into your drink bottle" or "m&m". These are all the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff that will give you 20min burst before you need an even bigger ambulance. 

If you need that **** you have stuffed up your long chain carb intake. 

Stay away from the processed simple sugar crud is the best advice. 

I killed the refined sugary **** 10 years ago and it is the best thing i have done to improving my endurance.


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## Stewiewin (Dec 17, 2020)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> I’m planning to start working on picking up the pace on longer rides, in hopes of doing some longer self supported races. Harder pace = more carbs, so I was hoping to get some ideas on what everyone else uses for carb dense foods that don’t take up a ton of space… my go to are things like pretzels, fruit snacks and Fig Newtons. Nutrition in the bottle doesn’t work for me for anything over 5 hours or so, so I’m looking for junk I can buy at the grocery store.


Nothing thats my fav


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

plummet said:


> Im always amazed at the dudes recommending refined simple sugar snacks for endurance and long rides like"gummy bears" and "pour sugar into your drink bottle" or "m&m". These are all the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff that will give you 20min burst before you need an even bigger ambulance.
> 
> If you need that **** you have stuffed up your long chain carb intake.
> 
> ...




Works for me


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

plummet said:


> Im always amazed at the dudes recommending refined simple sugar snacks for endurance and long rides like"gummy bears" and "pour sugar into your drink bottle" or "m&m". These are all the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff that will give you 20min burst before you need an even bigger ambulance.
> 
> If you need that **** you have stuffed up your long chain carb intake.
> 
> ...


That's why I said it really depends, especially on speed. I did a 100 mile race a few months ago and got by pretty much on just cliff-blocks. I did get one meatball at an aid station and a brownie at another, snickers bar about 11 miles from the end, but in general, I was not stopping at all, I was only stopping to check in/out at the stations and refill my bottle (with Tang, the official endurance-drink of Alaska). Good enough for top-10 finish, but I'm by no means the "most elite". You look at the winner and probably cut the food intake and drink by half and that's what they got by on, to cover the same distance a little quicker. But I got cliff-blocks in my pogies or stem-bag. Gels, etc. I'm taking down food every 30-40 min to keep my glucose up. I'm not stopping to eat. 

That's kind of how it is for me on those kinds of races. The longer distance and time, the more I need to get into base foods and make sure there's more to it. 

I definitely agree though the more refined/processed the food is, the worst it tends to be. Specific riding fuel tends to have easy to digest sugars. All sugars are not the same, fructose vs. sucrose, etc. The gummy bears are nice to have as an emergency pick-me-up, but that gets more into the interesting-to-eat, vs. having to swallow a few more disgusting energy blocks or whatever.


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

Double IPA mid ride for me.


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## BadgerOne (Jul 17, 2015)

milehi said:


> Double IPA mid ride for me.


Maybe when it's nice out, but for those long freezing fat bike rides, I throw a few shots of bourbon or tequila in the bottle. Also helps keep things from freezing.


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

Not my recipe, just something we used to use while backpacking.

*Ultralight Joe's Moose Goo*

NOTE: If you pass this around to your friends, I have but one request - please refer to it as "Ultralight Joe's Moose Goo". Since I run this site anonymously, it's not an ego thing. I just get a kick out of hearing it mentioned on the trail, let's me know I'm contributing to my fellow trekkers. A simple pleasure, perhaps, but I take what I can get.  Thanks!

Basic Recipe:

2 parts honey
2 parts corn flour (*NOT* corn meal! I plan to try sweet rice flour soon.)
1 part peanut butter (preservative-laden)
Mix thoroughly, will take some time.
Pack into Coghlan's Squeeze Tube (REI, Campmor, etc), or in cold weather wrap in wax paper.
Single Squeeze Tube Proportions (2-3 lunches w/ large tortillas):

8 tbsp honey
8 tbsp corn flour
4 tbsp peanut butter
Per tube:

1320 calories
172g carbs (70 simple, 102 complex)
24g protein
38g fat (That's a high proportion of fat, but what the heck...)
BEWARE! Below 40F, Ultralight Joe's Moose Goo becomes impossible to squeeze out! I open the tube from the back and spoon it out when that happens. For snow camping I pack it in wax paper instead, eat it like a candy bar, or pre-pack it into tortillas.


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## Dogbrain (Mar 4, 2008)

Mongoguy said:


> my go to for longish days....75+ miles are mashed potato burritos. I cut up a bunch of potatoes and mash them with cooked bacon and tons of butter and salt, then roll the mash into a burrito. Super dense food that covers carbs, fats and salts. Surprising how many you can carry of you wrap them tightly!


Dude this is great. I've been packing the rice or potato and bacon mixture into ziplocs. This is going to change my whole plan. It's so simple I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of it.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

J.B. Weld said:


> Works for me


That is only because you know, no better. 
I would have said the same thing 11 years ago.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

milehi said:


> Double IPA mid ride for me.



Love my ipa's but a warm foamy mid ride is a no go for me. Tastes so much better after, or even before.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

plummet said:


> That is only because you know, no better.
> I would have said the same thing 11 years ago.



You don't know that


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

cabanaboy said:


> Only problem with the pop-tarts is they would crumble in a jersey pocket. Probably be ok in a frame bag if not crushed by other gear.


They might be OK on smooth gravel or on roads, but they have always practically disintegrated on me in the frame bag, handlebar bag, or jersey pocket when riding singletrack. You just have to open the pouch carefully and dump the crumbles from the pouch into your mouth. I like them for all day rides, but not necessarily for marathon length races.

Fritos are another food I like on all day rides. The salt and fat work well for me.


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

J.B. Weld said:


> Love my ipa's but a warm foamy mid ride is a no go for me. Tastes so much better after, or even before.


I leave the house with an ice cold tall can of Pizza Port Swamis IPA. It's only 6.8 ABV so it's pretty much a session beer. It stays cold enough in my pack.


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## Champion_Monster (Nov 30, 2014)

I used to pack peanut butter and honey sandwiches or pop tarts along with full zoot Gatorade for 6-9 hour Colorado hikes until I realized that I just didn’t need that many calories. Switched to granola bars, lower cal Gatorade, plus a banana and maybe a protein bar. If you need more calories it’s hard to beat the full sized Lenny and Larry’s vegan protein cookies, which run about 440 calories, are delicious and should be easy to pack.

PB & Honey sandwiches are also pretty easy to get up to about 700 calories each


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

milehi said:


> It stays cold enough in my pack.


What kind of pack do you have? I've looking for something that will keep food and drinks cold for 30 or 40 hours on the bike.


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

VegasSingleSpeed said:


> What kind of pack do you have? I've looking for something that will keep food and drinks cold for 30 or 40 hours on the bike.


Tie a string to a Yeti cooler and pull it along?


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

VegasSingleSpeed said:


> What kind of pack do you have? I've looking for something that will keep food and drinks cold for 30 or 40 hours on the bike.


I have a Osprey Manta 36. It's prettty big and can carry a ton of stuff.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> Tie a string to a Yeti cooler and pull it along?


Is the use of a mule still considered self-supported?


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

During the final leg of the Iditarod, the worker at the last checkpoint offered to make me Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich to go. It wasn't super cold, but it was so good to eat, semi-frozen and just like a treat from sonic or something...


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

VegasSingleSpeed said:


> What kind of pack do you have? I've looking for something that will keep food and drinks cold for 30 or 40 hours on the bike.


Stays cold. And that's not a beverage bottle on the fork. That's my pee-bottle.


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

Boil water before leaving the house. Pour over ramen -- in thermos if leaving stat.

When you get to the trailhead, drink off the bouillon, then slither the noodles into a sturdy ziploc. Perhaps add a pat of butter from the last greasy spoon you visited.

Carbs, salt, oil, all in one _easy-to-slime-down_ package.

Average cost of a pack varies from ~$.12 to $3.50. I use the cheap stuff.


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## celler (Oct 14, 2012)

A few ideas of some foods I ran across on the trails.
I did a pretty extreme Moto ride with Kate of Kate's real food. She pulls out one of her Real Food Bars. Good and sat well. Definitely a step beyond your regular bars.
During another Moto ride ran across a group doing a extreme trail ride.. Stopped and chat and they offer me a prepackaged Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. I think it was Smuckers brand and you can get them at Walmart. 

Both of these were better than my normal Nature's valley "fig" bars.


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## River19 (Jul 3, 2007)

Cliff blocks, PBJ sandwiches, trail mix, Granola bars of all sorts, Honey Stinger waffles, Untapped coffee maple syrup packets..... I've used combinations of all those things for long efforts.

Back when we would do 24hr races we went down the Hammer products rabbit hole......they were "fine" but really unfulfilling after a few hours and I craved actual food. To the point where I recall a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli saved my soul at 3am one race,......yes the most horrible processed food of my youth was a beacon of light in the middle of a rainy cold muddy night......

So it all depends. Not everyone is 5'9" and 110lbs and able to sustain hard efforts on a bottle of unicorn tears and bugs inhaled along the way.......


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