I’m totally against using drugs while cycling, though I do take them myself. I wrote about eating in my last post and how much it does help us up and over the various hill we encounter. But sometimes you just need that little extra thing.
Bananas: Just because they contain anti cramping agents aka potassium. And is not to sweet and just help with the fuelling of your legs. Pack it in with some peanut butter and jam in a sandwich and use it to nibble on while riding.
Chocolate bars: Plain chocolate, with nuts or fancy energy bars with chocolate is a great way to graze your way a ride.
Jelly babies: Simply the best little snack to keep the hunger/bonking at bay and will keep you legs turning that extra mile.
Carbonated drinks: I can’t normally drink this stuff, but for some reason I can drink Irn-Bru. It is as sweet if not sweeter than many other drinks, as an alternative to water or energy drinks.
Chocolate Drink: Especially the Danish one called Matilde Kakao Milk I have defined as the EPO of our drug intake while cycling. If you can feel you are running on empty but it is not time …

After I read a few of Anne Mustoe’s books and a friend asked me about what to do to avoid aching muscles after exercise, it got me thinking.
I can’t for the life of me understand how Anne managed to cycle around the world, over some of the highest mountains, through some of the driest deserts, on just some dried fruits, nuts and water. Her statement that a cyclist does not need a lot of food before a long day’s cycling just blows my mind, because we can’t do anything before we have a hearty meal.
We haven’t toured much but we have already fallen into a nice ritual while touring which pretty much is centred around food.
Breakfast:
Pretty much as soon as we got up our little Jetboil is busy with boiling water for our tea. If Britain could build an empire on tea, it will for sure get us 30-40 miles down the road. For then to cook some porridge, if we have we will add some raisins and bananas.
If we don’t have porridge we will have bread, mostly baguettes, with cheese, tomatoes and if we have peanut butter or Nutella.
Elevenses:
This is quite often just a banana or an …

After I read Anne’s book A Bike Ride, I just had to read one of her other books and got hold of Lone Traveller: One Woman, Two Wheels and the World.
This book is written in the same way as A Bike Ride, very witty and page turning. You get into the book and just can’t get away, not that you are looking for a “whodunnit”. But because you are eager to learn what’s next – not only the touring tips and tricks, but also the history about the location she is touring through.
This book is not really a narrative from start to finish about her second trip around the world. It is split up into parts, each covering what you will encounter en route, such as where to stay, obtaining money and dealing with bureaucracy. One of my favourite chapters is “Men and Other Animals” where she spends a page or so talking about the problems with wild animals and the rest about men. :)
When we are touring we tend to avoid the metropolis and enjoy the countryside, but I still enjoy reading Anne’s books. Even though she states that “The country, abroad as in England, has less to offer …

Apart from my day job I’m also a professional cake eater guinea pig connoisseur. I’m very lucky to have a superb partner who is a whiz in the kitchen and her cake baking skills are unbeatable.

Well we didn’t see any boxing but there was plenty of natter, drinking and eating cake. Only 16 miles on the bicycles but it was done in very good company and lots of laughs.
We arrived at the starting check point (read : Pub) and enjoyed the view before we went in enjoyed beer and tea. We then jumped on our bicycles for our planned few laps of Richmond Park. But after queuing for half the way around the park we bailed out. Since the park was full of cars queuing to get into the parking areas. A total contrast to the cycling around London that we did the day before.
So headed to The Ship in Mortlake, a great place with plenty of room for many bicycles at the back and good food and the odd guest ale.

How do you eat yours? I like them with a bit of salt and vinegar, not much, just a dab. Sometimes quite a bit of tartar sauce does the job, and I’m not impartial to some mushy peas on occasion.
Over the years over here I have had my fair share of fish ‘n’ chips, but have never really gone “Wow, this is good and tasty.”
Because the English like sloppy chips, which I have never understood. It really just tastes and feels like half cooked potatoes. A little longer in the fryer and you’ll get such a lovely crispy chip that tastes so much better.
The other day at our LBS they were having fish and chips and we just had to go via the shop to have a taste since it looked and smelled that good.
We headed down to Fishers Fish and Chips, 19 Fulham High Street, London, SW6 3JH and our palates got treated to the best fish ‘n’ chip I have ever had.
There was plenty of chips which were big and “hand cut” and very crispy and the cod that I had was in a word massive and very tasty, not dry. numnum :)
I normally don’t post …

First time I heard about peanut butter, must have been in a American movie years back. Though I do love peanuts I couldn’t see myself eating that sticky stuff and then put jam or jelly on it, ewww.
Then one day few years ago I was starving and my co-worker gave me his packed lunch so he could hear over my rumbling stomach. And in there was a peanut butter sandwich with raspberry and it went down a storm :)
You can even use your favourite honey or jelly etc but it is proper cycling food, right up there with flapjacks.
Who ever figured out that a peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich with banana would be numnum. Deserves an Oscar, the Noble peace price, the Prince Philip Designers Prize/Award or just a good old hug.

I got a bit tired of porridge every morning, even when I tried to “spice” it up with jam, raisins, bananas etc.
So I tried some bran flakes which I soon found out is not enough for me. 20min into my commute all my energy just drained away and the last quarter of the ride took longer than the first bit of the commute. Even with upping the intake I was drained even before I arrived.
With portion of porridge in the am I can easy go all the way to lunch time. So what can I do to make it more taste full and different in the am so that I don’t get tired again?