Cycling Nutrition

Page created 7/19/2025 by CG; updated 8/24/2026

This is a big topic and everyone is different, so this is just intended as a starting point. Figuring out nutrition is very personal. Of course, there are best practices if you get serious about it. You may want to dig deeper into the links at the bottom of this section and do other research. You may also want/need to consult with a doctor and/or nutritionist.

General Off the Bike

You can't out-train a bad diet. Whether your goals are to lose weight, get stronger, or just eat better, your everyday diet is important. Here is the starting point of an enormous topic condensed into a few bullets:

Follow the healthy plate eating model. This ensures you are getting enough nutrients, don't overdo it on carbs, and get enough protein to make you feel full longer. If you're trying to control blood sugar, there is evidence that suggests eating foods in a certain sequence reduces blood sugar spikes. Start with veggies (fiber), proteins/fats next, carbs last.
Avoid calorie dense food. Calorie dense foods don't give you a full feeling so you may end up overeating. Many baked goods and candy bars fit into this category, but so does peanut butter.
Be careful of sugars and carbs. Not only are sugars calorie dense, but eating sugars will cause you to crave more sugars later. Sugars are used before burning body fat. Excess sugar can also lead to diabetes. Pasta, rice, white breads, full sugar soda, and fruit drinks are among the worst offenders.
Try to limit snacking, especially carbs on an empty stomach. If you're going to snack, aim for veggies or proteins. If you snack a lot, evaluate the amount of protein in your previous meal.

Pre-Ride

For starters, make sure you're properly fueled prior to the ride. A fasting ride will only encourage your body to binge afterward. A banana will go a long way for a short ride/workout. If you're starting in the morning, a full healthy meal will get you going with proper fibers, proteins, carbs. Overnight Oats might be looking into. Depending on the ride, perhaps some supplemental eggs.

Overnight oats: old fashioned/rolled oats and milk per instructions. Add 1-2Tbsp chia seeds, vanilla protein powder, berries. Pre-make dry ingredients. The night before add milk and dry ingredients to a 3+ cup bowl, mix, top with fresh or frozen berries, cover, put in the fridge. When travelling, you can use powdered milk and dried berries.

short rides (1 water bottle)

Water is usually sufficient for mid-ride nutrition.

moderate rides (2 water bottles)

Consider an electrolyte drink. Perhaps the first bottle is water and the second bottle is an electrolyte drink. Gatorade is a common electrolyte drink. You may wish to avoid sugary drinks. e.g. Gatorade G-Zero, Propel, Liquid I.V. etc.

longer rides (3+ water bottles)

Consider a sugary electrolyte drink for all/most bottles if possible. The sugars in the drink are easily converted to energy. I've found that the 20oz single serve Gatorade bottles travel nicely in a jersey pocket for that third bottle, and you can easily get rid of them mid ride.

You may need to consider more than just drinks for these longer rides. Easily digestible carbohydrates are key. i.e. sugars. Depending on the ride, that may not be enough. As an Amazon/TheFeed Associate we earn from qualifying purchases of these common items you can consider:

Banana
Energy Gels, Blocks, & chews every 30-60 minutes. Options exist with and without caffeine, amino acids, etc.
Welches fruit snacks are similar in nutrition to the above, significantly cheaper, and more readily available in grocery stores. Target also sells fruit chews & ropes.
TheFeed.com - Cycling Collection for more food/supplement options
PB&J sandwich. (carbs, some protein, fats) Tip: they freeze well and thaw while you ride.
wraps and peanut butter (carbs, protein, fats) Tips: whole wheat wraps; they sell peanut butter in squeeze tubes
wraps and canned meats (carb, protein, fats...depending on the oils in the meats)
beef jerkey (protein and salt)
trail mix, or just nuts. (some protein & fats from the nuts, carbs and fiber from raisins, etc)
small full sugar soda tastes good on long cycling days (quick carbs)

post-ride (recovery)

It is generally good to have something high in protein within 30-60 minutes of a ride ending to help build up your muscles and help them recover. The harder the workout, the more the protein. You may want add some carbs and healthy fats.

A glass of milk, with or without chocolate (8g+ protein per cup)
A servomg of greek yogurt i.e. oikos triple zero or pro; 15g or 20g of protein, respectively.
A protein shake made with milk, 25g+ of protein depending on the brand, not counting the 8g in the milk
add Avocado toast on Multigrain or Sprouted Grain (ezekial) bread with tomatoes for carbs, healthy fats, and fiber.

Brush all of those sugars off your teeth after the ride.