As I move along in my journey of bikepacking, I've learned the importance of proper nutrition while bikepacking or bikepack racing. I hope my trials and tribulations help you be more aware of how you approach eating while out on big adventures.
The good 'ole days
Until I started racing triathlons while living in Malaysia in 2011, I had never put too much thought into 'on the bike' nutrition. The tropical climate made it crucial to think not just about caloric replacement, but also electrolyte replacement. In the early days of my biking journey, I'd consume energy gels while racing, and on longer rides, I'd stop at convenience stores to top-up my electrolytes and crush some snacks. The Olympic distance swims and high humidity often left me with digestion problems, often resulting in me vomiting off the side of my bike at high speeds. Through trial and error, I was able to learn which energy gels I could stomach, and how to manage food and water intake after the swim.
Extended bikepacking trips
When I started bikepacking in 2020, proper fueling techniques also played no less an important role. Mistakes early on in an adventure often compound and affect performance in the days to come. Such was the case on my first long-distance endurance-pace adventure, a bikepacking trip from Vancouver to Whitehorse to Winnipeg. My plan was to ride big days, pack ultra-light and keep my spending to a minimum by cooking twice a day. I found it difficult to eat right when biking 190km per day, particularly while trying to keep my setup as light as possible. Breakfasts were typically oatmeal and coffee, lunch some kind of wrap with peanut butter or Nutella, while supper often ended up being instant noodles and some kind of canned meat. All this was supplemented with a significant amount of chocolate bars and candy. Within a matter of days, I was struggling with energy levels, particularly as most of my days included about 10 hours in the saddle. It wasn't long before I started to feel really run down and began to eat at restaurants whenever I would pass through a town, all in a subconscious effort to get a more balanced amount of nutrients into my body. By re-introducing real foods, I was able to push through and increase my daily average.
Fueling for Bikepack Racing
I have gone on many more multi-day bikepacking adventures, some of which include me pushing my limits while trying to set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) record on a route. This is where things can get much more complicated. Trying to race a route over a period of multiple days, while balancing on the knife edge that is a calorie deficit can be especially challenging. Having experienced both the success of effective caloric consumption and also failed miserably with a poorly thought-out plan, I am now more prepared for future events.
On my first foray into bikepack racing, I was fortunate to plan my stops and to supplement my pile of candy and chocolate with real food. Over the first 36 hours, I stopped at no less than 3 restaurants and 2 gas stations to eat food and re-supply my snacks with some packable real food, rather than just eating chocolate bars non-stop. In addition to food intake, I carried enough electrolytes to last me through the event, helping to keep my sodium levels up.
On my next attempt at an FKT on a bikepacking route a couple months later, I did not plan my nutrition nearly as well and caused myself a lot of suffering for nothing. Deciding on an evening start, in order to work around a hot spell, I struggled to eat and hydrate enough on the first night, putting myself into a pretty serious caloric deficiency. This lack of foresight would come back to haunt me mid-way through the second day. The food I had pre-packed had lost its appeal and was no longer palatable, while the heat and hills caused me some serious digestion issues. These problems compounded until I could no longer stomach the electrolytes I had added to my water and had to resort to drinking plain water. After reaching the next town, I took two hours off to sit at a proper restaurant for some real food and a couple pitchers of water.
Through these experiences, I learned that failing to eat high-quality food only increases the chances of problems later on during the ride. On this occasion, I lost hours as a result of longer breaks, less power and a slower pace. While ultimately achieving success and setting an FKT, the ride was much more challenging than it ought to have been.
Fueling for success
Having learned the hard way that feeling of hitting the proverbial wall, I now try to plan and pack appropriately for my adventures, whether day rides, bikepacking trips or bikepack racing. When heading out on multi-day adventures, particularly when racing, I always carry some high-quality carbs to supplement my caloric loss and help keep my energy levels from dipping between meals. I typically pack 3-4 double servings of a caloric replacement drink mix. At around 800 calories, this will sustain me on those long gaps between stops for real food. These mixes are also designed to be gentle on the stomach and minimize the chances of digestive issues. The other nutrition supplement I carry to help me succeed are electrolytes. I always start my bikepacking events with my two main bottles carrying double servings of electrolyte drink mix, while my 3rd bottle contains a double serving of high-quality carbs. In addition to the bags of calory replacement carbs, I also pack single-use electrolyte into my food bag. Whenever I stop to refill bottles, I try to drink one bottles worth of water before I start riding again and then mix electrolytes into every other bottle. In addition to the carb replacement and electrolytes, I usually carry a refillable soft flask with maple syrup and of course, some chocolate bars and sour candy. I mean seriously, you gotta have some junk food!
In the summer of 2024, I went out and rode the Canadian Shield XL, an 1150km bikepacking route through Quebec's Laurentian Mountains. My game plan was to set two reminders on my GPS device. Every 20 minutes I would get a reminder to drink water, and every hour I would get a reminder to eat. I also planned to stop for real food every 100km. With regular meals and thoughtful supplementation with carb replacement and electrolytes. On this one-week adventure which included 40+ degree days, I never struggled with gastro issues and was able to eat and keep my food down. This left me one less thing to worry about, and all I had to do was manage my body temperature and swat deer flies.
My go-to products
Some of the products have you used with regularity over the years include Hammer gels, SIS Isotonic Gels, Saltstick tablets, NUUN effervescent electrolyte tablets, Skratch Labs hydration drink mix, and Untapped maple gels. My currentl go-to products are Untapped Maple products and Skratch Labs Hydration Sport Drink Mix. As a big fan of maple syrup and living in the country, I make about 20 litres per year. Since I make my own maple syrup, when I do buy maple products, I enjoy infused maple gels as they change up the taste and provide variety. My absolute favourite flavour is the Untapped Salted Raspberry with the Salted Cocoa being a close second. As for electrolytes, my go-to electrolyte mix is the Skratch Labs Hydration Sport Drink Mix. The main reason I like it so much is that the flavour is very light and easy on the taste buds. When riding bikes hard, it's easy to get palette fatigue, and I find the Skratch electrolytes really effective at replacing all the minerals I'm sweating out, but at the same time give my mouth a break from constantly having to process flavours, whether natural or artificial.
As for on the bike snacks, I've really taken a liking to maple waffles by Untapped. They are pretty awesome, come in multiple flavours and digest easily. Unfortunately, I have to keep them hidden in the garage, otherwise my wife and daughter eat them all. I've also recently had the chance to try Grynd Energy Butter, and was surprised by how palatable it was, and how much energy it gave me. It's basically made with a mix of peanut butter and honey and packs a whopping 700 calories. Most products I have been using these past few years I have bought from Raceday Fuel, a Canadian online retailer that is focused on providing high-quality nutritional products to Canadians. They are a sponsor of the podcast and give me a discount on products as well as occasionally send some my way. Some of them are products I would have not considered trying and really enjoyed.
Final Thoughts
I fully realize that nutrition is such an individualized subject, but thought I would share my experiences and hope that you get something useful from this. I've read so many social media posts of people dehydrating snacks and making energy balls, but the reality for me is that I struggle to find the time to do all that. I tend to keep myself pretty busy with the podcast, blogging and organizing the bikepacking summit and unfortunately, something has to give.
