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 …

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.

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?