Getting ready to do an iron Butt Saddlesore 1000.

For the folks who've done it, what's the best food to eat during gas stops?

I'm looking for long, sustained, energy.

It looks like Greek yogurt is a good choice.

Should I drink anything besides water?

Thanks.

 

I'd go with Quest power bars and Boost drinks.
You can eat the power bars even as you ride and if you have a cup holder mounted on your bike you can use i for the Boost drinks since they are not carbonated.
I'd definitely stay away from coffee as it is a diuretic.

 

I like almonds and jerky, usually deer jerky I make myself, but the store bought stuff can be ok too. I pretty much stick to water in a Camel Back style water bladder. Sometimes I wear it if I want to take drinks while riding but usually just strap it down on top of the other crap I'm carrying and take big drinks in at stops.

 

The couple IBA's I've done, I try not to eat much. My IBA's were ~17 hours and I just drank water and Red Bulls. I know it's crude, but if you don't eat, you don't sierra hotel india tango. Anyhow, that's just me.

My suggestion is to leave at midnight and get your dark riding done at the beginning.

If you get tired, it's better to stop than push it.

Good Luck,
H

 

I took energy bars and water and energy water flavorings. I left at 3 am. it took me 17 hours. good luck

 

Several rides in the book before I "retired".

Hard granola bars and water are all I've ever needed.
The only time I ate more was on the CC50 and I had a couple of McD's cheeseburgers after I stopped for the night in TX.

I never liked leaving super early. Those times I did, I found myself struggling about 4:00 AM. Body clock I guess.
I'd rather get up at 4:00 and hit the road. Never had early ride tiredness when I did.

Keep the wheels turning, only stop for fuel, don't think about it as how much you have to ride. Just look at it as 2 hours to the next fuel stop.

Ride through the boredom. Stop as soon as you are truly tired. If you feel yourself start to nod, stop right there! 30-40 minutes is optimal nap.

 

When I did mine it was the dead of summer and I was riding thru the south.... So the heat and humidity was ridiculous!!! Don’t know when or where you plan on doing yours but I wouldn’t want milk or yogurt or dairy for that matter sitting in my stomach.

I treated my fuel stops like a nascar tire changes. Gassed up take a pic of receipt next to odometer. Went inside to take a **** and grab something quick to eat and drink. I would eat a protein bar of some sort or granola bar and a water. Maybe every few stops I would get a small red bull just to keep me alert and focused. I work long hours and drink coffee frequently so caffeine really doesn’t make me jittery or crash afterwards so when I felt I needed a kick I’d just drink a Red Bull.

Eat and drink my stuff while I do a quick walk around and inspection of my bike. Then I was back on the bike and heading to the next fuel stop.

 

I suggest not experimenting with food or energy drinks during the ride. Try them out beforehand and make sure you have no unwanted side effects.

Power bars are a good choice, but consider what will happen to them if they sit in a tank bag or somewhere else during the ride and get warm. Chocolate can be a bit messy so choose carefully on which ones you buy. Jerky is good, and so are slim jims or any other similar products. Just remember they typically have a lot of salt so adjust your water intake accordingly. I used to eat one at each fuel stop and it would carry me to the next stop. Now this type of riding is "normal" for me and I simply eat whatever I'd eat on a shorter ride.

Regarding water, be careful how much you drink. Too much will have the obvious side effect of it wanting to come out. It seems like an obvious statement, but when planning and riding something like this it is easy to overlook the simple things. I badly dehydrated myself during the second day a 6 day long rally where I was riding about 1,000 miles a day simply because I was so focused on the tasks at hand I forgot to drink water even though it was on my handlebar right in front of me.

Assuming you've been building up to a SS1K adjusting your bike to make it comfortable and have not just decided to do one when your longest to date has been 100 miles you should do fine. If you haven't you should be ok also. Just remember it's a ride and as suggested think of it as 2 hours to the next fuel stop.

Remember, there is plenty of time to complete a SS1K so there is no need to rush. Be efficient in your fuel stops, don't rush around. Place your credit card/wallet in the same place each time. Place your receipts in the same place each time. Take your photo of your receipts and write the odometer reading on them at the same time, etc. Develop a pattern. It won't hurt to develop a checklist listing the steps along with their order and tape it someplace you can visibly see when refueling. Rushing around will cause you to forget a step and it would really suck if it was something important like leaving your credit card on the top of the pump or loosing all the receipts (one reason to take photos of them). A friend of mine once said there was no bonus for finishing early so he was happy taking 30 minute fuel stops. Another friend said there was, you get to sleep that much sooner. Both comments were true, however the longer you ride the more tired you get. And if you need to take a break don't hesitate to do so. Any naps should be less than 30 minutes, longer you may fall into REM sleep and if so you will likely wake up groggy unless you go through the full sleep cycle of around 2 hours (Note this varies for each person)

Last bit of advice, have fun! There is no point of doing this if you are not. And note there is no shame in failing to complete the ride. Simply learn from it and try again

 

good stuff everyone! I looked harder at doing this when a friend asked me to go with him on one. Maybe soon....

 

Just thought that I'd add a comment about the Quest energy bars.

My favorite is the Birthday Cake and my second favorite is the Apple Pie.