What to eat before and during your bike ride: 1 to 4 hours without bonking

The bonk arrives without warning: your legs switch off, it's hard to think and the last climb feels endless. It almost always has the same cause: you've burnt through your fuel and haven't topped up in time. The good news is that it takes very little to avoid it. Knowing what to eat before a bike ride and what to carry in your pockets depends above all on how long you're going to ride.

Here's a practical guide by ride length, from one hour to four, with what the official sports nutrition recommendations say and what works out on the road. If you have a medical condition, diabetes or a special diet, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian first.

Before you set off: what happens in the hours beforehand

What you eat beforehand fills the tank. The sports nutrition recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the dietitians' associations of the United States and Canada advise taking carbohydrates between 1 and 4 hours before a long effort, in a meal that agrees with you and that you've already tried.

If you eat 2 or 3 hours before

A normal meal with carbohydrates: rice or pasta, bread with tomato and ham or cheese, toast with olive oil, oats with fruit. Little fat and little fibre so that digestion doesn't keep you company on the first climb.

If you ride almost as soon as you get up

Something light and easy: a banana, a couple of slices of toast with honey, a yoghurt with cereal. Better a little that sits well than a lot that sits heavy.

And drink. The ACSM recommends starting exercise well hydrated, drinking calmly in the hours beforehand so your body has time to get rid of any excess before you set off.

What to eat and drink depending on how long you'll ride

During the ride, the idea is to top up before you run empty. The ACSM joint position statement on nutrition and athletic performance gives these guidelines for endurance exercise: 30 to 60 g of carbohydrates per hour for efforts of 1 to 2.5 hours, and up to 90 g per hour when you go beyond 2.5 hours. To give you an idea, a medium banana has about 25 g and a gel usually has 20 to 30 g (it's on the label).

1-hour ride

If you've eaten normally in the previous hours, you don't need to take food. A bottle of water and you're done. If you ride on an empty stomach or go hard, a banana or a bar in your pocket just in case.

2-hour ride

Start eating from the first hour, without waiting until you're hungry. A banana, a bar or a handful of dates per hour puts you in that 30 to 60 g range. A bite every 20 or 30 minutes is easier to digest than everything at once. Take a bottle and think about where to refill it.

3 to 4-hour ride

This is where the bonk shows up if you're careless. Eat from the first half hour and keep eating regularly. Mix solids (a small quince paste sandwich, bars, fruit) at the start, when the pace is easier, and save gels or carbohydrate drinks for the end or the climbs. If you want to get close to 90 g per hour, train your stomach first on long rides: don't try anything new on the day of the sportive. Take two bottles or plan a stop to refill them, and the mid-ride coffee is a good excuse to eat something proper.

Water: sip and refill along the way

The ACSM sets the goal that lack of water shouldn't make you lose more than two per cent of your body weight during exercise. In practice: sip from the start, more if it's hot or you sweat a lot, and don't wait until you're thirsty. On rides of more than 2 hours or in the heat, add salts (isotonic drink or electrolyte tablets) to replace what you lose in sweat.

In autumn and winter you sweat too, even if you don't notice it, and cold drinks are less tempting. A trick: a sip every time you reach a summit or every quarter of an hour.

To avoid carrying too much, check beforehand where you can refill. On the Cycling map you have 44,696 water fountains marked all over Spain (data as of 25 October 2026, © OpenStreetMap contributors). Also check Riding weather: in the heat you drink more, and in the cold you need to wrap up well and remember to drink even if you don't feel like it.

Three routes to test your food plan

Greenways are perfect for practising: gentle gradients, few surprises and time to eat without rushing. Three examples, from easier to harder:

How long it takes you depends on your pace, your bike and the wind. Note down how much you've eaten and how you finished: in two or three rides you'll know what works for you.

When you get back: recover for next time

After a long ride, eat something with carbohydrates and protein in the following hours: a sandwich, rice with egg, a yoghurt with fruit, a glass of chocolate milk. And keep drinking until you've replaced what you lost. If you're riding again the next day, this meal matters more.

Mistakes that lead to the bonk

• Setting off on a long ride without breakfast "because I'll eat something later".
• Waiting until you're hungry or thirsty to eat and drink.
• Trying a new gel or bar on the day of the sportive.
• Eating a lot of fat or fibre just before setting off.
• Misjudging the fountains and running out of water halfway through the route.

Frequently asked questions

What should I eat before an early morning bike ride?

Something light that agrees with you: a banana, toast with honey or a yoghurt with cereal. If the ride is long, eat a bit more in the first half hour of the route.

How many carbohydrates should I take per hour on the bike?

According to the ACSM, 30 to 60 g per hour on rides of 1 to 2.5 hours, and up to 90 g per hour if you go beyond 2.5 hours. For an hour or less, if you've eaten well beforehand, you usually don't need to.

How much should I drink on a bike ride?

It depends on the heat and how much you sweat. The ACSM benchmark is that lack of water shouldn't make you lose more than two per cent of your body weight: sip from the start and add salts if you ride for more than 2 hours or it's hot.

What's better to take, gels or solid food?

Both. Solids work well at the start and at an easy pace; gels on the climbs and at the end, when it's hard to chew. Test what you tolerate in your training rides.

Where can I refill my bottle on the route?

On the bicis.net Cycling map you have 44,696 water fountains marked. Check it before you set off and plan your stop.

Sources: ACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada: Nutrition and Athletic Performance (2016) and ACSM: Exercise and Fluid Replacement (2007).