August 13, 2009
Can you elaborate a little on the upset stomach that apparently plagues cyclists after a hard ride/ race? I really thought I was the only one with this problem until I read your post of Coca-Cola. What causes this, and how in the world can I make it stop!??
Scott Carmichael - Sparta, Tennessee
"My question: Can you elaborate a little on the upset stomach that apparently plagues cyclists after a hard ride/ race? I really thought I was the only one with this problem until I read your post of Coca-Cola. What causes this, and how in the world can I make it stop!?? lol Maybe you can tell about pre-race breakfasts that sit well on the stomach? Post-race cures (like the Coke...which I've got to try still.)
Thanks for all the good stuff on the blog and Twitter, too! Keep up the great work!
By the way, you lived in Johnson City, TN, right? You ever come back to TN to ride?"
Bad stomach and from Tennessee too? Certainly we are related.
In all seriousness, I am not sure what causes the terrible stomach we, who go hard enough, have to endure -- or in my case, endured. I will congratulate you though, on your ability to go hard enough to ruin said stomach. I believe that means that you are going at 10/10ths, as my racecar friends like to say.
I was recently engaged in a debate over some ad content in which a Mexican food establishment was represented as a nirvana of sorts at the end of a climb/ride. No sir, that is not for me. I love Mexican food, I think I even gained weight during the Tour of Mexico, but eat it right after a ride? Insanity. I will take a Coke instead.
People have all kinds of theories on all kinds of different things, race food being high on that list. My advice to you is to try a few different pre-race breakfasts on the days when you need to train hard. If you're eating oatmeal or cereal right now, try eggs and some sort of pig or fake-pig product, or chicken and rice. If the protein is your culprit, go toward carbos.
If you are in the habit of consuming copious amounts of race-food products - gooey packets, syrups, extruded bars, or even the tasty goodness that the nice folks at Clif make, you should think about changing that up as well. We used to eat quite a bit of egg sandwiches on the bike.
My personal stomach problems began to dimish when I got away from drinking so many race drinks and went back to water. Science tells us that we are wrong on this and that we should be consuming the carbohydrates and electrolytes, and science is right, but some of us just don't have the stomach for it.
Don't be afraid to play around with some of the different energy products on your training rides/weeknight races, but do confine your experimentation to that and not your "A" races.
Personally, I believe I simply do not possess the capability to consume sugary foods while riding. The best my stomach ever behaved is when I would eat the sugary goodness (including complex carbohydrate) before the race and then only consume water during the race itself. (Coke towards the end of the race) Of course, that was a long time ago and there have been some really cool products introduced since then - this being one I have used frequently and will continue to use. I wish it had been around when I was racing. I think it might have kept me in the game longer.
I haven't ridden a bike in Tennessee in a long, long time, but I need to again at some point. My most recent trip to the state of my early youth was to Memphis and then right across the boarder, just past West Memphis to see Parkin, Arkansas.
"My question: Can you elaborate a little on the upset stomach that apparently plagues cyclists after a hard ride/ race? I really thought I was the only one with this problem until I read your post of Coca-Cola. What causes this, and how in the world can I make it stop!?? lol Maybe you can tell about pre-race breakfasts that sit well on the stomach? Post-race cures (like the Coke...which I've got to try still.)
Thanks for all the good stuff on the blog and Twitter, too! Keep up the great work!
By the way, you lived in Johnson City, TN, right? You ever come back to TN to ride?"
Bad stomach and from Tennessee too? Certainly we are related.
In all seriousness, I am not sure what causes the terrible stomach we, who go hard enough, have to endure -- or in my case, endured. I will congratulate you though, on your ability to go hard enough to ruin said stomach. I believe that means that you are going at 10/10ths, as my racecar friends like to say.
I was recently engaged in a debate over some ad content in which a Mexican food establishment was represented as a nirvana of sorts at the end of a climb/ride. No sir, that is not for me. I love Mexican food, I think I even gained weight during the Tour of Mexico, but eat it right after a ride? Insanity. I will take a Coke instead.
People have all kinds of theories on all kinds of different things, race food being high on that list. My advice to you is to try a few different pre-race breakfasts on the days when you need to train hard. If you're eating oatmeal or cereal right now, try eggs and some sort of pig or fake-pig product, or chicken and rice. If the protein is your culprit, go toward carbos.
If you are in the habit of consuming copious amounts of race-food products - gooey packets, syrups, extruded bars, or even the tasty goodness that the nice folks at Clif make, you should think about changing that up as well. We used to eat quite a bit of egg sandwiches on the bike.
My personal stomach problems began to dimish when I got away from drinking so many race drinks and went back to water. Science tells us that we are wrong on this and that we should be consuming the carbohydrates and electrolytes, and science is right, but some of us just don't have the stomach for it.
Don't be afraid to play around with some of the different energy products on your training rides/weeknight races, but do confine your experimentation to that and not your "A" races.
Personally, I believe I simply do not possess the capability to consume sugary foods while riding. The best my stomach ever behaved is when I would eat the sugary goodness (including complex carbohydrate) before the race and then only consume water during the race itself. (Coke towards the end of the race) Of course, that was a long time ago and there have been some really cool products introduced since then - this being one I have used frequently and will continue to use. I wish it had been around when I was racing. I think it might have kept me in the game longer.
I haven't ridden a bike in Tennessee in a long, long time, but I need to again at some point. My most recent trip to the state of my early youth was to Memphis and then right across the boarder, just past West Memphis to see Parkin, Arkansas.
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10 Responses to “Can you elaborate a little on the upset stomach that apparently plagues cyclists after a hard ride/ race? I really thought I was the only one with this problem until I read your post of Coca-Cola. What causes this, and how in the world can I make it stop!??”
Whoa … @flahute is from Chattanooga (home of the very first Coca-Cola bottling plant, Moon Pies, and Little Debbie Snack Cakes), then moved to Minneapolis, then lived in Santa Cruz/San Francisco for many years. He also has a notoriously bad stomach as well.
We’re not the same person, are we?
One carbo/electrolyte drink I’ve had excellent luck with the past year or so is Carbo Rocket (http://www.carborocket.com/). Made by a local Utah cyclist (and beer drinker) who also has a bad stomach. This stuff sits better than any carbo fuel I’ve ever used. 2:1 maltodextrin:fructose ratio so it kicks in quick and lasts … and maltodextrin is far easier to digest than sucrose.
Many times I have stared at the picture of you as a child, on your bike in the driveway in Johnson City (as I too am from JC – long since departed) and wondered what street that was on, it looks so familiar. Close to Gilmer Park perhaps?
Man I can’t wait for the new book – Keep rockin’
Thanks for the info and the advice, Joe! I’ve tried changing up the usual oatmeal breakfast before (which means I left the blueberries out) without too much luck, but actually have never tried changing up my race drink. I use Accelerade, which has protein…..maybe that’s the culprit! Anyone else had any experiences with Accelerade?
I’ve noticed that some guys eat rice and eggs for breakfast before a race. I’ll give that a shot, too, next time I’ve got a hard ride ahead.
Come on back to Tennessee sometime and ride! I just moved back to Tennessee from San Diego and can’t wait to ride during the fall again. I love it! Shoot me an email if you’re ever back this way. We’ll get a few miles in together.
SC
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Patricia
http://onlinegamescom.net
I like your blog! First timer here…and felt compelled to share with you that our family has really benefited from taking our daily probiotics. I don’t know if this info might help with your stomach aches or not? I hope so- the one use has been fantastic in many ways (it helped our little boy’s allergies and Eczema) and it is called Vidazorb. They aer chewables and convenient so you could just take them with you to your races. Hope this helps you! Keep up the awesome and inspiring work
I was a competitive swimmer…just love athlete blogs! WOO HOO!
Coke’s stomach-friendly may be due to its anti-emetic properties (reduces nausea and vomiting). My wife buys cola for the kids if they’ve been sick, she says it works better than anything else she’s tried. The sugar and caffeine help one feel a little perkier too, handy after you’ve been vomiting.
i believe ginger can do something similar, so a good ginger beer (non-alcoholic) may work in a similar way. Both will work better if flat, the fizziness does not assist.
Upset racer stomach: When the muscles demand blood/oxygen, it’s diverted from the stomach. The stomach no longer functions at peak rates to digest nutrition. If you add nutrition anyway, the stomach tries it’s best by increasing acid production, which will create pain/gas/heartburn depending on how sensitive you are. Cycling is a terrible sport in that sense, because you’re bent forward at the midriff, which constricts intestinal flow, and decreases the angle for effective reflux control (acid backflow toward the throat).
You must find your own solution, but in general it’s a question of electrolyte/nutrition replenishment at reasonable rates. Drink increasingly diluted sports drinks as the race wears on. Take in not-too-sweet energy gels, make sure you drink PLENTY of water for each gel. One race bottle per gel pack is not excessive if you’ve got a sensitive stomach. If one gel brand isn’t working, try another one. There’s almost certainly one on the market with proper balanced sweetness for you as an individual.
Thanks, amrd for the info. Makes sense now.
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ARMD: that’s exactly what I was thinking..
That’s kind of like why you should NOT go swimming until after eating for about 1 hour!!
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