Nutrition during P-B-P

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chocjohn9
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Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by chocjohn9 »

Just wondered if anyone who has recently taken part in P-B-P would make some notes on their nutrition, food and drinks intake. Any advice would be much appreciated, both good and bad things to be doing during such a long time in the saddle plus the day before's preparation.
I ask because I'm thinking about doing L-E-L and when I audax ride, I have along tradition of messing this aspect up!
Many thanks.
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Dean
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Dean »

Hmmm. There are probably at least as many approaches as there are cyclists! Two cyclists, three nutrition regimes, as they say ;)

FWIW, on PBP I ate what I fancied at the controls (lots of cold rice pudding, pasta when I spotted it, the obligatory baguettes, croissants and pain-au-chocolat), drank loads of coffee, stopped at a couple of restaurants/patisseries/shops when I fancied something else, such as a gorgeous thin-crust pizza in Brest, yoghurts, ice cream... Barbecued sausages in galettes went down a treat as well.

My only conscious approach was to eat what I fancied, and to carry bits to eat between controls - flapjack (brought from England to save foraging for something on the road) and bananas. I had only water in my bottles.

As you can tell, I prefer proper food, but there are people who suck on gels, add supplements to their bottles etc, and it works for them.

In general, the best approach is to eat what you fancy eating, as there's probably something somewhere telling you what your body needs.

There's no substitute for experience, though - if you've already ridden a few longer rides (generally anything which involves overnighters are where digestive issues come into play, so 400 km+), you'll probably have an idea of what works for you.

If not, get riding, as those rides are your chance to work out an approach which suits you. Best of luck with LEL - it's a well-catered ride, so you'll probably be spoilt for choice...
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Dean
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Dean »

Oh yes, eat and drink plenty before the ride, and get plenty of sleep.
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Spinners
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Spinners »

Forget the fancy bars, gels and powders*. Just eat normal food at regular intervals and the control points on PBP are perfect for this as they do pasta, rice and breads plus a few sugary things as well. I can also remember diving into bars, cafes and shops for whatever I fancied at the time. FWIW I had one glass of red wine and two pints of lager on my PBP - it's all good!

* I did actually take a tube of Nuun tablets and added one to a bidon of plain water every now and then.
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andrew_s
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by andrew_s »

Where available, which was mostly, I had pasta (usually spag bol, very light on the bol), rice pud & fruit salad, yoghurt, maybe croissant or pain au chocolat, orange juice, water, coffee, and a couple of bananas to take away. I had my own stocks of white powder and muesli bars, but I gave up on them after half way.
I ate at all controls, not between, and before & after my 2 6 hour sleeps (Carhaix & Tinteniac), I didn't eat much at the secrets or the final control.
15 proper meals in 3 days, and no weight gain :D

I avoided baguettes - I've found that too much in the way of abrasive food in a short time can result in a sore mouth.
robing
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by robing »

What's PBP?
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Paulatic
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Paulatic »

Its a wee ride happens every four years. Paris-Brest-Paris

http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/index2 ... page=edito
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robing
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by robing »

Paulatic wrote:Its a wee ride happens every four years. Paris-Brest-Paris

http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/index2 ... page=edito


Thank you!
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Audax67
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Audax67 »

My typical meal at controls:

Image

The chicken was usually dry & inedible, the fish was OK, the bolognese at Villaines was excellent. The free roadside crèpes were grand, mainly for the atmosphere and the goodwill, and the coffee was a medical necessity.

On the bike I had crystallized ginger (favourite peccadillo) & mini-salami in the HB bag - delicious together. I also took a load of bars with me and ate about three.

I started with two bottles, rear one plain water, front one with Isostar in, but when I took on water I just topped this up and didn't add anything. From around Villaines I rode on plain water, emptying the back bidon to save weight.

Main principles I stuck to were not eating lots of fast carbs without adding something full of protein & maybe fat (e.g. the salami) to keep the glycaemic index down and avoid insulin reactions / gut problems. A lot of folk complained about getting gastric problems & blamed the toilets (which weren't great, but that's what you get when you put 6000 people through the average school's toilet facilities), but you can give yourself an explosive gut simply through over-consumption of energy products. My guts remained stable the whole time, and I filled my bottles wherever tapwater was available. I also avoided Coke - that's coffee in the picture.
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Vorpal
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Vorpal »

I've never done PBP nor LEL. I don't honestly think I would enjoy something like that. That said, I have done some long distance rides. My advice: eat everything you can. If someone puts food in front of you, eat it. If you see food, eat it. :D Carry something for between controls, and an emergency reserve (i.e. something you don't think you will need, but carry just in case). My usual emergency reserve is a couple of bananas and some powdered energy drink mix (to add to water). I don't usually use energy drink, but it can be a useful boost if I start to feel in danger of the bonk.

Good luck :)
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eileithyia
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by eileithyia »

Eat whatever i fancy, but be prepared to find at some stage you may not want to eat, this happened to me on LEL, could not quite put a finger on it but was not able to eat.... then suddenly decided i wanted alka seltzer.... heaven knows why as i could not remember the last time i had dosed myself (if ever) with it, found a shop, added to water bottle, began to feel better and hungry.......... did not look back after that......
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Jon Lucas
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by Jon Lucas »

Vorpal wrote:I've never done PBP nor LEL. I don't honestly think I would enjoy something like that. That said, I have done some long distance rides. My advice: eat everything you can. If someone puts food in front of you, eat it. If you see food, eat it. :D )


Quite.

I call it a seefood diet.
chocjohn9
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by chocjohn9 »

Thanks for all the replies. I'll eat normally then with the odd bit of sugar. I think I tend to over do the sugar and I often feel dreadful towards the end of a long ride.
One further question, though - now that I know WHAT to eat, HOW MUCH volume should I be eating? Twice, three times what I'd normally eat? Quite often, I stop at controls and I can not face eating. I know I have to "force it in" but it's hard work....!

BTW, Dean, I finally made it to the UK and picked up the frame you sent me last week. Very well packed. Wonderful, thanks. :D
eileithyia
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Re: Nutrition during P-B-P

Post by eileithyia »

I work on little and often, but cut the sugar and you might not feel so dreadful at the end.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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