How do I fuel on a 100 mile ride.

Spiz

I have been talking a lot about Spiz.  At the rest stop  at mile 90 during the 2013 Spaghetti 100 where we took the photo I promised to post a link to the Spiz web site.  I learned about Spiz when I was doing ultra trail runs in Texas.  I learned that when you are doing an event that last over 4 hours you need to eat real food and not snacks or energy bars.  Running and cycling burn a tremendous amount of calories when you are doing ultra events. Read about Chet Blanton's experience with Spiz.

Even if the estimated calories that my Garmin 810 recorded during the ride are not correct knowing that I burned about 7,280 calories on a ride makes me want to make sure that I have enough fuel to ride 100 miles.  On a 70+ mile ride I drink Spiz.   On the Spaghetti 100 I mixed three scoops of Spiz in a bottle and kept it in a pocket without water.  At the mile 48 rest stop I put water in it.  At mile 60 I drank it all. That was about 1,500 calories in a liquid form that I consumed without stopping (one hand on my handle bars, I tried to ride with no hands, but no go).

I like chocolate, but the Spiz chocolate is too intense for me to drink when I need it.  I bought the vanilla, but it was too bland for me.  What I do is mix the vanilla and chocolate and this makes a drink that I like.  Do not let the smell of Spiz fool you.  If you open the jar and smell it it smells gross.  When you mix it with water it has a 5 hour shelf life so make sure that when you add water to it you are going to consume it soon.  I have found that when I am on a long bike ride and my body needs fuel that Spiz really taste good and I can drink it fast.

Heed

I hydrate with Hammer's Heed. Sucrose and corn syrup that are the main ingredients in most sports drinks and powders can prevent your stomach from absorbing the fluids that you are drinking.  I have personally witnessed runners who were drinking lots of Gatorade during a 12 hour trail run and they had to stop running due to dehydration and had to have paramedics hydrate them intravenously on the way to the hospital.  Hammer's Heed contains no sucrose or corn syrup and to prove it I sometimes forget to rinse my bike bottles after a ride and the next day there is no fermentation in the liquids left in the bottle. Hammer Heed is so good for you that it has a Kosher rating.

Succeed S!Caps

Succeed S!Caps is another trail running discovery.  When I took my helmet off after a 100 mike ride I can see the white residue of the salt that is left from my sweat.  I had a running buddy tell me about salt supplements.  Eating pickles and potato chips at rest stops is not enough to replace lost sodium during a long ride.  When I was trail running I use to use my wedding ring as an indication of when I need to take S!Caps.  If my finger had swollen up so that my ring was tight I would start taking S!Caps.  Now that I am cycling regularly I can not use the ring as an indicator because I have lost so much weight that my finger does not swell up up that much on a bike.  I always start my long bike rides of 70 miles or more with one capsule and then take one or two each hour of the ride depending on how hot it is.  Replacing lost sodium is important during a long ride on a bike when you are out in the sun and wind.

Conclusions

I hope that these personal experiences with these products helps you start to consider how to fuel your body at you next event.  We are all unique bio-mechanical machines so you will have to figure out what will work for your system.  When you know your are conditioned and you are mentally and physically prepared for an event do not forget about fuel.  When you hit the wall remember you need a sledge hammer to go through it, fueling your body is the tool that will help you get through any wall.