Food intake on a 200...

[drossall]

Wouldn't getting fitter help anyway? I'm not medically trained, but I was always told that the issue was that your muscles and digestive system both needed the same oxygen. Ultimately, the latter shuts down a bit if the former grab the supply. So, if you're fitter, you'll probably be able to tolerate both operating at the same time for longer? Or something like that.

[Kim]

Or, according to the "it doesn't get any easier, you just get faster" principle, you cover more distance for the same perceived effort, so get more time to stop and digest things.

[FifeingEejit]

My general DIY 200 fueling idea is:

Breakfast: 2x weetabix; plus another cereal if I have any. these days with oat juice.
Lunch: Co-Op meal deal; sandwich with no dairy, can of full sugar coke, cake slice (yes I know it's go dairy)
Tea: Co-Op meal deal; what ever's left in the cabinet so usually a very dry tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, can of full sugar coke and a fruit pot (cake slice if available)

2x750ml bottles of High 5 2:1 per 100km, more if warmer.

A lack of co-op may alter any of these meals as does route check stops on calendar events so extra chocolate is added.

[grapefruits]

I think I actually eat less on a long ride compared to what I'd eat if I was just sat at home.

(Probably some sort of lunchtime food, and I'll snack on mini Soreen and maybe jelly babies. Water in bidons. Maybe the odd coke or ice lolly if it's a hot day, otherwise espresso or tea.)

[SR Steve]

I also eat less during a 200km than I would doing virtually nothing at home. I eat a lot most of the time so my glycogen levels are always topped up and I have a 400g tin of beans on toast and maybe a banana for breakfast before settling off. I don’t like the idea of fasting as I enjoy eating.
During an easy 200km DIY of up to about 1500m of climbing in warm conditions I tend to eat 2 or 3 40g SIS energy bars and one or 2 gels. This would go up to about 8 for a very lumpy 200km of around 4500m climbing. I always take more bars than I think I’ll need and up to 4 gels in case an energy boost is needed.
I tend to drink 2 bottles of electrolyte energy drink in the summer, more if it’s exceptionally hot, and one for the rest of the year per 200km. I usually average about 25 km/h if I’m reasonably fit and rarely stop on DIY 200 km rides. I can manage quite happily on bars and gels up to about 800km before feeling the need for a proper veggie meal.

[Greenbank]

Or, according to the "it doesn't get any easier, you just get faster" principle, you cover more distance for the same perceived effort, so get more time to stop and digest things.

The other way of reading "it doesn't get any easier, you just get faster" is: if you maintain the same speed as you did originally, it is easier.

[hellymedic]

Fatty food 'sits in the stomach' if the rider exerts heavily shortly after eating.
People vary enormously with this trouble.

It's a particular irksome failure mode, bonking on a full stomach.  The only thing you can do is stop and wait.  And try to get fitter so you don't need to eat as much.

Those in the know go for VERY light food at the Mariners or linger an hour before setting off, if they know they can't take much fat on the move.

There's always the ice cream or pudding...

[Slimline Saxon]

Having a large muscular body requires different fuelling to a lighter rider, a legacy of my bodybuilding days is that any exercise however light tends to activate " muscle memory" and I get heavier.

My burn rate is shown as 600 calories per hour, so a typical 200 burns 6000, which I cannot take on board as my stomach tightens, and my body still tries to be as light a possible at the start of any competitive sport, even though Audax is not. So here is a typical 200 fuelling strategy

Night before fish and chips
Breakfast toast and jam plus tea
First stop tea and cake
Second stop tea, breakfast/lunch/cake/sandwiches
Third stop tea or milkshake/ diet coke with optional cake

I carry gels which are rarely used and flapjacks. On different days I may only drink 750ml of water along with the tea and other liquids, some days 2250ml

Post ride I tend to have a long drive home, so I have to refuel in the 2 hour window, stuffing in anything I can find because of the calorie deficit. Lots of fluid on the way home, more milkshakes and diet coke

[citoyen]

I'm sure this has been mentioned already but I find a lot depends on the riding conditions. For one 200 I did some years ago - a fast, flat route on a gloriously sunny but not excessively warm day, and I got round on a bag of jelly babies, a pint of shandy and an ice cream. (At least, that's how I remember it - my memory may not be entirely accurate.)

I normally stop for a proper lunch on a 200 but try to keep it reasonably light. I don't tend to ride fast enough to be burning through my energy stores rapidly between stops, so tend to stick to snacks. I carry gels as emergency rations but don't use them unless I really need a quick energy hit.

[hellymedic]

You can 'get away' with almost anything/nothing on a flat 200 in fair conditions.

Hills and unfavourable weather challenge legs and belly...

[Flatlander]

You can 'get away' with almost anything/nothing on a flat 200 in fair conditions.

Hills and unfavourable weather challenge legs and belly...

I have to agree with the first bit of that at least. I was doing a 200 a month through the lockdown (personal only, to keep the body and brain working). Then, unless a Tory advisor, it would have been inconsiderate to stop anywhere. I use 1 litre bottles on my bikes, so its a litre of apple juice and a litre of water plus 6 muesli bars and 2 apples gets me through a 200, and a 300 in June. Breakfast is large muesli. I  can recover from the 200's energy depletion within a day but the 300 took half a week, probably due to dehydation. I've just done a 200 calender with 1 litre, 2 apples and 2 muesli bars out of choice, I had 2 litres and 6 muesli bars on me. I also had a coffee/cake stop at 150Km. Average temp of 10 degC and little wind might have helped that. I keep to 4hrs/100 ok except for today due to the stop and traffic.

The 400 required more food and a bottle refill which worked well at an outside cafe on a Peak district cycle trail at the turn.  The 600 required restocking but both these were in September so OK.