I'm going on a 6-day bike trip in July and am starting to plan my eating for those six days. Here's what the plan is:

Day 1: 80 km/49 mi
Day 2: 60 km/37 mi
Day 3: 40 km/24 mi
Day 4: 50 km/31 mi
Day 5: 55 km/34 mi
Day 6: 65 km/40 mi

I'll be able to buy foods along the way and plan on eating eggs, oats and milk for breakfast. During the ride I plan on having homemade granola bars, electrolyte/simple carb drinks and a little bit of protein in form of whey PP. In the evening I'll try and get some kind of lean protein and pasta or rice (and ice cream!). I don't have a lot of body fat right now so I think that a lot of carbs are going to be needed for fuel. I'm going to use my HR monitor to gauge intensity but I don't think it's going to be very high (probably around 120-140 bpm).

I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to eating for endurance and I'm concerned about not getting enough calories and protein. If this were a one time event like a marathon I think I'd know what to do but since it's a six-day trip I'm a little unsure. I'd appreciate some advice from people who do a lot of endurance exercise.

I'm going on a 6-day bike trip in July and am starting to plan my eating for those six days. Here's what the plan is:

Day 1: 80 km/49 mi
Day 2: 60 km/37 mi
Day 3: 40 km/24 mi
Day 4: 50 km/31 mi
Day 5: 55 km/34 mi
Day 6: 65 km/40 mi

I'll be able to buy foods along the way and plan on eating eggs, oats and milk for breakfast. During the ride I plan on having homemade granola bars, electrolyte/simple carb drinks and a little bit of protein in form of whey PP. In the evening I'll try and get some kind of lean protein and pasta or rice (and ice cream!). I don't have a lot of body fat right now so I think that a lot of carbs are going to be needed for fuel. I'm going to use my HR monitor to gauge intensity but I don't think it's going to be very high (probably around 120-140 bpm).

I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to eating for endurance and I'm concerned about not getting enough calories and protein. If this were a one time event like a marathon I think I'd know what to do but since it's a six-day trip I'm a little unsure. I'd appreciate some advice from people who do a lot of endurance exercise.

So much depends on the intensity.... when I do my 46 km commute (2x23) I expend around 700 cals, I ride fast but there are only a couple of hills. When I did a HILLY 80km before Christmas I used around 2200 cals..... Try and do some test runs with your HRM on similar terrain if you can to get more of an idea.... I think as long as you eat a hearty protein/carb meal in the evening to restock glycogen and steady snacking as you cycle, you should be OK. Oh and get enough sleep. I think making sure your drink enough could be trickier, don't hesitate to stop regularly to fill up your water bottles ;) Actually now I think about it, I presume you will be carrying quite a bit of gear on your bikes???? so that could change things a lot with all the extra weight!!!!

Thanks for the response, Jedi (I was secretly hoping you'd chime in :D). I agree that a lot of it depends on intensity. The first day is going to be fairly intense as we're going over a pass. The rest should be less intense. Like I said, I expect to be in the 120-140 bpm range for the most part, with the majority being toward the lower end of the spectrum.

I think I have a pretty solid plan right now. I agree with what you said about drinking enough. I'm also going to take additional magnesium and potassium supplements as I've experienced some cramping lately during cardio and don't want that to be a problem.

Oh, and yes, we're going to be taking gear, so that will be a factor too.

I'm getting really excited about the trip. It's going to be awesome. I'll take tons of pictures to post. :D