Nutrition for Endurance Gravel Riding

Now, I’m not an expert at endurance cycling events, but I’m no stranger to long distance activities.  I’ve run a handful of marathons and finished the 46 high peaks, both of which require adequate nutrition for long hours of intense activity. The Farmer’s Daughter was the longest ride I’ve ever done at 65 miles, with eight hours of pedaling and seemingly never-ending climbs, requiring a lot of calories and hydration.

Fueling for long cycling events is easier for me than it was for marathon running because I can tolerate real food and actually prefer it over gels and blocks. My strategy was to keep stuffing my face every few hours while ensuring I was drinking enough fluids. I forced myself to consume around 150-200 calories of easily-digestible carbohydrates per hour which totaled over 1200 calories. The Farmer’s Daughter has A+ aid stations about every 16-20 miles, so I had the opportunity to refill my bottles with water and electrolyte drink mixes. They also offered cookies, bananas, and even sandwiches for the riders.  At the halfway point about 30 miles in I ate about a third of a Pesto Mozzarella Sandwich.

My standard pre-ride breakfast:

3 Kodiak Protein Waffles with VT maple syrup and fresh berries
Iced coffee with oat milk creamer

My nutrition of choice for long rides:

Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars
Honey Stinger Waffles
Chocolate Chip Cookies
M&Ms
Kodiak lemon blueberry muffins (I made a batch before the ride and stuffed a few in my handlebar bag)
Scratch Labs Sour Cherry Energy Chews +Caffeine (the only energy chew I can tolerate these days)

Protip: create a “food trough” for easy access to nutrition. I unwrapped the fig bars and energy chews and put them in my top tube bag, so I could easily eat while riding. It worked really well!

My hydration plan:

Pre ride:
20 oz water with Liquid-IV electrolyte powder

During the ride:
Two 26 oz Purist bottles (1 plain water, 1 citrus Nuun) and refill as needed, aimed to drink 12-16 oz of fluid per hour while riding

My bike only has space for 2 water bottles in the frame. If there were no aid stations I’d consider wearing a hydration pack or packing an additional liter of water to my fork with a cargo cage.

Nutrition is probably the most important factor during endurance events. Staying adequately fueled and hydrated during this ride was why I was able to complete the whole 65 mile course.