Bicycle is an activity that requires a great deal of energy, so it’s important for athletes to follow a proper nutrition that supplies them with all the energy they need.
We begin with the first meal of the day: breakfast. Before riding it’s good to ingest foods rich in water and mineral salts such as fruits. Bananas are great, contain many minerals and potassium salts, it’s also ideal to have breakfast with bread and jam or skim milk.
As for lunch, don’t overdo. The pasta is great for supply carbohydrates and reactivate sugars (which are used to reconstruct muscle glycogen), but be careful to not use too rich sauces or condiments to digest. We also recommended another fruit snack. No to carbonated or too cold drinks and of course, nothing alcohol!
After the meal it’s best to wait about an hour before starting to pedal again.
At the end of the day, it’s good to end up with a good dinner appropriate for your hunger, but don’t overdo if you plan to leave again the next day. In fact, the evening meal before, affects a lot more than breakfast of the day itself.
However, the true fuel for your body is represented by water and mineral salts. During pedaling it’s important to drink at regular intervals, about every 15-20 minutes.
Be very careful because the symptoms of dehydration manifest themselves when it’s already too late and the legs are over. The daily requirement of liquids is around 2.5 liters, but if you think that for pedaling about 40 km (2 hours), you lose about 1 liter of fluids you understand how much drinking is important during and after physical effort.
Ideally it would be to bring with you two bottles: one full of fresh water and the other with the supplemental salts.