Today we did a mountain bike nutrition talk and rode a little mellower set of trails called Chainsaw and IKO in Fraser Colorado.
I love geeking out on mountain bike nutrition to help all you mountain bikers perform better and have more energy while riding.
The key points are…
You need to time your food and the types of food according to when you are going to be riding. Ideally you have a full meal of protein, fats, and slow digesting carbs about two hours prior to your ride. Then you’ll want to eat 30 mins pre ride, and every 30-45 mins during your ride.
If you can’t get that timing just right, then you need to consider how you are going to feel and be ready to adapt.
2 Hours Pre Ride
Complete meal of protein, fats, and carbs in about a 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carb macro percentage.
This can be adjusted if you have played with your macros and know that you need a different percentage setup.
A lot of times our rides are in the morning, so my meal will look like…
- 4 eggs cooked in olive or coconut oil and mixed greens
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 cup mixed berries (in oatmeal)
- 1 banana (in oatmeal)
30 Mins Pre Ride
At this point you’ll want to eat some faster digesting carbs and protein.
My pre ride formula is:
- 1 scoop of UCAN Energy powder
- 1-2 scoops of Perfect Amino powder (depending on how hard the ride will be)
- 1 pack of LMNT electrolytes.
Every 30-45 Mins During Ride
It’s important that you know what mountain bike nutrition works well for you in different situations when riding.
Feeling good formula
- 1 UCAN Energy gel
- Sipping on LMNT
- Sipping on water
Bonking formula
- 1-2 Honey Stinger Waffles
- A few big gulps of LMNT
- Sipping on water
We have found that if timed right, the UCAN gives us a really good long lasting energy source during all kinds of rides.
But when we mess up, or the ride is harder than expected… Honey Stinger Waffles can bring us back from a crash without destroying our stomach like the other sugary products can do.
Post Ride Nutrition (recovery)
If the ride was especially hard… I will have 1 scoop of Perfect Amino powder and 1 scoop of UCAN Energy to really get the recovery going. The truth is that if you do this right, the recovery is starting during your ride. That’s why we have aminos pre ride.
But if it’s a normal (or easy) ride having another complete meal of protein, fat, and carbs similar to the 2 hour pre ride meal is ideal.
Getting extra ninja
As you might imagine, you can improve even further by eating for your ride the day before. And really every other day as well. BUT if you eat like garbage the day before a big ride it’s hard to expect to feel good.
Mountain bike nutrition (and really nutrition for everything) is a constant thing. Want to feel good all the time… Eat good all the time.
Now I’m not an advocate for being strict all the time. If you’re in Winter Park you should definitely get a pizza at Hernando’s! But you should shoot for eaten really well 5-6 days a week if you want to perform your best.
Important links:
- UCAN Energy Powder (extra 10% off through this link)
- Perfect Amino’s by Body Health (better than protein powder)
- LMNT Electrolytes Amazon (We like Watermelon best)
- Honey Stinger Waffles Amazon
- Chainsaw and IKO riding loop https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/view/41780568/
- Our online workout and nutrition program https://thegetbetterproject.com
- Checkout our bike setup and riding gear
If you have any questions about this stuff hit us up in the comments or shoot over an email or social chat. We can even help you with your nutrition and workouts if that’s what you’re looking for.
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