What to Eat After a Long Ride for Proper Recovery

Ultra-endurance cyclists love to train. I know this because I live with one. There’s only one weather forecast and that’s rideable or non-rideable.

If you’re reading this, you know exactly what I mean!

But to train hard, you need to recover hard too. And that’s where many ultra-cyclists fall down – or more accurately, get sick, injured or a combination of both.

I’d like you to replace the word overtraining with under-recovering, because maybe then your recovery and nutrition would get as much focus as your training.

Recovery starts before you finish your ride

Recovery nutrition doesn’t begin when you step off the bike.

It starts with the quality and quantity of your pre-fuel and your ride-fuel.

You’ll fuel differently depending on the intensity or volume of your session, but the bottom line remains: a poorly fuelled session will require more recovery and can delay positive adaptations.

This becomes particularly relevant during long, cold winter rides.

It’s harder to hydrate – who wants to drink cold fluid when you’re cold? And it’s harder to eat because your hands are cold and your nutrition bars get cold. Sometimes it’s simply easier to keep going and log the hours.

If you make the decision to miss some fuelling on the bike, then it’s critical to get your recovery right because I bet you don’t decrease your training effort along with your fuel.

After all, next season is calling…

So, what should you eat after a long ride?

There are three things I want you to think about:

Carbohydrate.
Protein.
Hydration.

Get these right and you’re well on your way to recovering from the training stress you’ve just applied.

Carbohydrate – replenish your glycogen

Your biggest priority after a long or hard ride is replenishing glycogen.

Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrate found in your muscles and liver. If you’ve ridden for several hours with poor fuelling, you’ll have used a substantial amount of your available glycogen.

Of course, you’ll also have been burning fat as fuel – and for many athletes, increasing fat oxidation is a desirable outcome. But that doesn’t mean carbohydrate isn’t important. Low carbohydrate availability can negatively affect performance and your ability to train well again.

For endurance cyclists, building back your glycogen stores day over day is simply smart.

Your body is primed to start replenishing glycogen as soon as you finish your session, so use that opportunity wisely.

As a practical starting point, aim for around 1.2g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight in the first hour after a long or hard ride. If the session has been particularly long or intense, or you have another demanding session coming up soon, your carbohydrate requirement may be higher.

Generally, when in moderate endurance training your total daily carbohydrate intake should be in the region of 6-10g carbohydrate per kilogram.

Okay, back to that post-ride 1.2g/kg of carbohydrate within the first hour – you don’t need a special recovery product to do this, although there are multiple options.

Think chocolate milk, banana, cereal and milk, Greek yoghurt and granola, toast with jam or honey, or other carbohydrate-rich foods that you enjoy and tolerate well.

The important thing is that you actually eat them.

Protein – think daily totals

Protein matters for recovery, but I’m less interested in you obsessing over a specific protein “window” immediately after your ride than I am in you consistently getting enough protein across the day.

Muscular recovery and adaptation continue for many hours after training.

For most ultra-endurance cyclists, I’d aim for around 1.6g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, increasing to around 1.8g/kg/day during bigger training blocks.

So yes, include some protein in your post-ride food. But then keep eating protein regularly throughout the day.

If you’ve trained in the evening, remember that you’re still recovering the following morning. Your next breakfast is part of your recovery too.

Hydration – replace what you’ve lost

If you finish a long ride dehydrated, rehydration needs to be part of your recovery plan.

Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs, so restoring fluid volume helps create the conditions your body needs to recover.

A simple way to get a rough measure of fluid loss is to weigh yourself before and after training. Body weight fluctuations, in context, can be meaningful.

The amount you need to drink will depend on how much fluid you lost, the conditions you were riding in and how much you were able to drink during the ride.

And remember, winter riding can be deceptive.

You may not feel as thirsty when it’s cold, but you’re still losing fluid through sweat and respiration.

Don’t wait until you’re desperately thirsty to start drinking.

A fluid containing some carbohydrate and sodium can be useful for rehydration. You don’t necessarily need an expensive recovery product. A simple electrolyte drink or dilute fruit juice with a pinch of salt can do the job.

Steady fluid intake is key. There’s no prize for gulping down a huge volume as quickly as possible.

What about electrolytes?

Electrolytes are part of the hydration picture, particularly sodium, which is lost in sweat.

How much you need will depend on your individual sweat rate, the conditions, the duration of your ride and how much you’ve already replaced during the session.

For most riders eating a nutrient-dense diet, you don’t need to become obsessed with replacing every single electrolyte immediately after every ride.

If you’re doing repeated high-intensity sessions, riding in hot conditions or struggling to maintain hydration, it becomes more important to have a specific strategy.

What should my post-ride meal look like?

Keep it simple.

You’re looking for carbohydrate + protein + fluid, with the exact amounts depending on the ride you’ve just completed and what’s coming next.

A simple example is chocolate milk and a banana in that first hour.

Chocolate milk provides carbohydrate, protein and fluid in one easy-to-consume option. Add a banana if you need more carbohydrate.

Your second feed can be something as simple as eggs on toast or a bagel or a large baked potato with a variety of fillings, including baked beans, tuna or chilli.

I use a variety of plant-based soups packed with grains, legumes, vegetables and spices with my clients. They tick the carbohydrate, protein, nutrients, fluid and fibre boxes plus the warmth in the spices is so welcome after a long day in the saddle.

And if the thought of eating a huge meal immediately after a long ride makes your stomach turn, don’t force it.

After ultra-endurance cycling, your digestive system may need some recovery too. Road vibration, reduced blood flow to the gut and hours spent in an aggressive riding position can all affect your ability to digest food.

Smaller feeds initially may feel much better.

Start with something you can tolerate, then keep eating and drinking as your appetite and digestion return.

And don’t forget the rest of recovery

Nutrition is only one part of recovery.

Sleep is probably the most obvious recovery tool, but it’s also one of the most underrated.

Ultra-endurance cyclists need to respect sleep, particularly after big training blocks or long events.

And then there’s downtime.

Training is a calculated stress designed to encourage a specific adaptation. Your body needs time away from that stress to recover and adapt.

I know that isn’t always easy.

Many of you finish a big ride and immediately jump back into family, work and life commitments.

But if you want to keep logging the hours, recovery needs to be part of the plan.

Recovery is part of your training

The goal isn’t simply to finish a long ride.

The goal is to recover from it well enough that your body can adapt, become stronger and be ready for the next one.

That means paying attention to what you eat and drink before, during, and after the ride but also looking at the bigger picture.

Because in ultra-endurance cycling, it isn’t just the training that determines how far you can go.

It’s often how well you recover from it.

If you’re putting in the hours but still guessing at what, when and how much to eat, that’s a problem worth solving.

Your nutrition should support the training you’re doing, the life you’re living and the goals you’re working towards.

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Want to put your nutrition, fuel and recovery to work?

Book a chat with me and let’s work out what that looks like for you.