Being Healthy with BETD – Ride Preparation

People have different ways to prepare for a bike ride that suit them, but there are a few things that you can do that will absolutely help any rider before they embark on their bike ride. We’re going to talk in this blog about a few things you should absolutely do before a bike ride and a few things you absolutely should not do as well! Pre-Ride Essentials You should be preparing for your ride at minimum the day before you plan on doing it. Pay special attention to your hydration to ensure that when the ride rolls around you aren’t doing yourself any disservice. Aside from keeping hydrated you shouldn’t need to worry about what food you eat the day before aside from the obvious foods to avoids such as spicy food for example. The morning before you leave, make sure you eat within plenty of time before setting off to give your food chance to settle and not become an annoyance. A common misconception is that you should load up on carbohydrates before a big ride but that’s not the case at all, your best just sticking to what you regularly eat in the morning since a change in your eating pattern will potentially be more detrimental than sticking to what you know. Pro Preparation Organisation is underrated! Don’t stress yourself out in the morning by having done no preparation for your upcoming ride. Ensure that all food you’ll need for the ride is stored properly and will be easily accessible when it comes to setting off. The same goes for water, never shoot yourself in the foot by leaving the preparation until the last minute because you’re bound to forget something! Post Ride Tips Once you’ve completed a ride there’s always a temptation there to reward yourself with some fatty foods but they could be extremely damaging to all the work you just completed. Remember that your workout isn’t complete until your body is back to normal so once you’ve finished your ride and your body is low on energy don’t give in to those pesky cravings! Before and After Food If you think you can’t live without a coffee in the morning, then don’t worry about it, just ensure you enjoy your caffeine intake well before you set off. So what is the ideal breakfast before your ride? Now we know that it is arguably more important to maintain food intake throughout the day rather than ensuring you have the ideal breakfast but it is always better to start positive! Porridge is a great candidate, as is eggs which allow you to get a little creative with maybe an omelette or some scrambled eggs. Eggs are also an energy source that aren’t consumed anywhere near as quickly as some other alternatives so something egg related could be fantastic for a long ride. As we mentioned earlier fight the cravings! Try to eat within an hour of finishing your ride to give your body the essential nutrients it needs and get rid of those cravings. Carbohydrates and protein are essential for your body when recovering from a ride, carbs are your main energy source and the protein is needed to help your muscle tissue repair. Food heavy in protein or carbohydrates are a Google search away but we have a few recommendations that we have seen success with. For our carb intake, we will often look to whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread as well as brown rice but get creative with it there are so many carb rich foods to choose from so don’t let yourself get bored of your post ride food. Protein is arguably slightly more exciting so make a meal heavy in carbs and protein and you’ll likely enjoy your meal more. We will often reach for meat such as a Chicken breast or Salmon for example and mix it up with some pasta and potentially some high nutrients food like broccoli or Asparagus. A Final Word That’s all from us we hope our nutrition blog has been helpful! Be sure to try out some of our recommendations and let us know if they worked as well for you as they have done for us.