Carb Loading?

bdgfn

Looking for thoughts on carb loading. If you google the subject you get varying opinions, from it's a great idea to it's a total myth. I am doing a 50-mile bike ride tomorrow. It is not a race, but I am not planning on making it an all-day affair, either. I have increased the miles I ride and my longes ride to date, which was earlier this week, was 35 miles. I am not concerned about finishing. I am just wondering, for this type of ride, which I anticipate will take between 31/2 and 4 hours, would there be a benefit to a high-carb meal this evening plus a high-carb breakfast in the morning? Thanks in advance.

tkillion810

I follow the thought process of carb loading before my races. In fact, I go as far as a 10 day fat loading phase, then 3 days of carb loading plus a carb heaving breakfast the morning of, to prepare for my races. If you're not looking to race, I'd follow something pretty similar to what you've done for your long training rides, but I'd up the carbs just a tad. The day before my race I try to get about 7-10/kg of body weight in carbs. These are the numbers recommended by Matt Fitzgerald. The morning of, I try to get about 65 g of carbs in breakfast. Again, I'd just slightly tweak your training routine to match up to the higher mileage.

Good luck!

bdgfn

Thanks much. I read a couple of articles talking about a several-day period of carb-loading for marathons and such, but did not think for this that would be necessary, and your reply seems to verify that. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!