65 mile bike ride questions

Ok, I have been talked into signing  up for a 65 Milet bike ride in April or may. I have not been riding over the last month as the weather stinks here. Cold cold cold. I have a very nice spinning bike that someone gave me a few years ago. So I started to ride that yesterday as it is 5 outside. I did a quick 10 milrs yesterday and it was easy. My question is what should I eat for a snack while riding for this 65 miles. It should be mostly flat as it is in Delaware. Well I look forward to your guidance. Thanks for any and all help.

Eric

I wish I could help but I've never exercised long enough to need a snack.  I admire you guys that do it though.  Best of luck!!

Well, I never have either that's why I was asking. Lol

I'm a runner, not a biker... but I use Clif Bloks to fuel on my long runs.  I think there are six in a packet and I chew two every 30 minutes.  But only for runs that are longer than an hour.  

Will there be any aid stations that have snacks? The only 65 mile ride I did. There were little snacks and a mix of water and electrolytes  - it's been a while but I remember salty snacks and some candy. At one stop they served PBnJ - my favorite bc it was easy to digest with a shot of quick energy. My preferred energy source was sport beans and cliff blocks. Gels are gross to me so I never used those much (just for running when I had to).  You're definitely going to want something to eat like that or you will get hungry. 

The key is to experiment as you build your mileage. You don't want to just wake up on day of the event and try something new. 

Thanks for the tips. I just found out its 50 Mile option not the 65. So I will need to try to look into something they are going to have snack areas , not sure what they will have. It looks like we will have at least 10 people from my work doing this ride. Should be fun. 

I used to bicycle a lot of miles, one year over 9,000.  This year I was in Florida for several weeks.  Before trip 5 spinning classes, 2 days of of 15 miles outside in 20 degree weather.

Week 1. Day 1, 20 miles

             Day 2, 30 miles

             Day 3, 40 miles

             Day 4, rest (walk or rollerblade)

             Day 5, 50 miles

             Day 6   65 miles

             Day 7  15 miles

Week 2 work on hills, short days of 15-20 mile every other day hill training

  Week 3 day 1 75 miles,50, 60, 15

So, on the short days, nothing extra for eating.  On the long days, I had eggs & 1/4 to 1/2 bagel with cream cheese.  After 20 miles, I drank a protein shake.  After 30 miles, I had a brocolli salad and 2 oz of chicken and 3 olives from the grocery store.  I would also eat Dannon light and fit yogurt with either blueberries or blackberries. Sometimes I would munch on raw almonds. My carbs mostly came from fruit or vegetables.  After a couple of days, I needed more substantial food.  I lost about 2 pounds a week.  I also kept a handful of little peppers in my bike bag.  You need to practice eating different foods to see what you can eat.  Some people have problems with fats.  The only problem I had was if my bike shorts were too tight, I would get cramping from gas from the vegetables.

I drove home today.  I am working on getting my base miles in for a 6 day event called, "Ride the Rockies".  It involves 30,000 feet of climbing and 80 mile days.  I did the ride in 2004.  It is about the same as a marathon.  I used to ride 3-4 cross state rides that involved 7 days for about 400-500 miles, but when you add the climbing and the elevation, you really have to train.  My event in in June and I am training now.   Hope you get hooked

I am working on my base.  I am not working on speed.  You might want to create a program for yourself.  Maybe ride 3-5 miles for several rides, then bump it up to 5-7 miles two times a week.  You probably won't need any additional food until you are on the bike for a couple of hours.   At first you will need more food the longer you are on the bike.  After you get more in shape, you need less food. Make sure you drink plenty of water.  For a one day ride, you don't need things like Gatorade or a lot of extra calories.  When you do a multi-day event, it is important to replenish your muscles and make sure your electrolites are balanced.  The most important thing is time on the bike to get your rear-end, your shoulders and arms conditioned to the long time in the saddle.  When you do an "event" you can do many more miles than when you do them by yourself.  When everyone around you is riding, and people come up and ride with you for a few minutes, you will have a lot of fun.  The hardest part will be training before the event.

Thank you for all of the great ideas and guidance . I'm doing 45 min indoors 2 days a week and trying to do a longer ride each weekend outdorrs. I did 1 hour this Saturday as it was 62 degrees. My neighbor does a 18 Mike trip on weekends so I might jump in with him this weekend that should take about a hr and a half at a easy pace. I will increase about a half hour each weekend to get up to 3.5. . I will look at your training schedule and try to incorporate some of that. 

Well I did the 53.9 miles in 4 hrs while taking breaks and waiting for friends as I didn't want to leave them behind. It seems like I was the only one would thought about training for this at all. It wasn't to bad except the weather was chilli and overcast and the wind was heavy and gusting up to 50 mph. The first two stops I just drink Gatorade and water. Then I had a tiny piece hoagie at the last stop. First piece of roll I have eaten in over a year. I hope the weather is better on the next ride I do. I most likely won't ride with anyone next time. As I felt I never was able to get into a ryrhem waiting for others. 

Thanks again everyone for your advice and g I guidance

Eric