Avoid Overeating<\/p>\n
Ross says one of the main issues he sees in cyclists is a tendency to eat too much<\/a> food. \u201cCyclists think they need 4,000 calories,\u201d Ross says. \u201cI\u2019ve been to talks and on panels where I hear how much athletes eat and I think, \u2018Wow, you can only use a fraction of that!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Worse, \u201ca lot of the food people eat is just too concentrated, so it leaves your stomach quickly,\u201d he adds. \u201cThat\u2019s why people belch while riding, and why people get gassy and bloated. It just can\u2019t get absorbed, it\u2019s too thick.\u201d <\/p>\n To avoid this, make sure that your calorie intake matches your ride, sticking to under 400 calories per hour. \u201cA lot of these bike foods look super delicious, but there are so many calories in them,\u201d Ross says. \u201cAnd most people don\u2019t need to eat white rice with eggs and bacon on a ride!\u201d <\/p>\n He also adds that when your intensity increases, you may want to cut back even more on the more complex foods, since they’re going to be even harder to absorb properly in the gut, which leads to an upset stomach.<\/p>\n Hydrate Enough When You Eat<\/p>\n Eating the right amount is great, but it could still cause discomfort if you don\u2019t hydrate as you eat\u2014dilution of carbohydrates is what makes it possible for the stomach to absorb them, and what keeps your stomach from getting upset. \u201cIf you want things to go through your stomach well, they have to be about five percent carbohydrate, and five grams of carbohydrate per 100 milliliters of fluid,\u201d Ross says. \u201cA standard water bottle is about 600 milliliters, so it can have about 30 grams of carbohydrate. A gel is usually about 30 grams too, so it needs to be consumed with a full bottle of water.\u201d<\/p>\n Related StoryKeep Things Standard<\/p>\n If you\u2019re prone to upset stomach on the bike, it\u2019s not a great idea to surprise your stomach. Find something that works for you and stick with it. <\/p>\n Ross says he opts for Vitamin Water over cycling-specific drink mixes simply because he can get it at almost any store or gas station when he\u2019s on the road or on a ride. However, he still dilutes it with water to get the right carb-to-water ratio.<\/p>\n Get It Right<\/p>\n Unfortunately, once you start bloating on the bike, there\u2019s not much you can do: \u201cGo back in time and do it right!\u201d Ross says. If you don\u2019t have a time machine handy, Ross suggests drinking plain water\u2014or electrolyte-enhanced water without added carbs\u2014to dilute your stomach contents. <\/p>\n But, he cautions, that\u2019s not a fast fix. To alleviate some of the pain, you can decrease your ride intensity, and try to stop and go to the bathroom (even if it doesn\u2019t feel like you have to go). <\/p>\n Anecdotally, some riders find that just stopping for a minute and getting off the bike and stretching out for a couple of minutes, or even laying down on the ground, can help get things moving right again.<\/p>\n Talk to Your Doctor <\/p>\n Ross suggests getting medical advice if the pain doesn\u2019t go away after you get off the bike and rest for a bit. If you continuously have stomach pain, especially while eating; or if you have blood in your stool, your stomach distress might be a symptom of something more serious.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Treat With Over-The-Counter Medication<\/p>\n Taking over-the-counter meds like Tylenol seems like a good quick fix, but it might make your problems worse, and hurt your kidneys as well. \u201cI don\u2019t recommend anti-inflammatories, as they can actually upset the stomach,\u201d Ross says.<\/p>\n If All Else Fails, Ride in the Back of the Group<\/p>\n Sometimes, you just have to accept that you\u2019re having a gassy ride\u2014but that doesn\u2019t mean you need to head home. It might, however, mean you should head to the back of the paceline and stay there. \u201cLet everyone else ride in front of you!\u201d Ross laughs. Anyone who\u2019s ever been caught behind someone who clearly ate poorly the night before knows what we mean.<\/p>\n Related Stories Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training with an emphasis on bringing more women into sport. She’s the author of nine books including the Shred Girls series and is the founder of Strong Girl Publishing<\/a>. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast<\/a> and spends most of her free time biking and running on trails, occasionally joined by her mini-dachshund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Experiencing abdominal pain during a bike ride is, sadly, a regular occurrence for many cyclists\u2014but it doesn\u2019t have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,62338,784,126476,126474,126475,137,85],"class_list":["post-203049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bloating","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-injury","tag-gas-pain","tag-gas-while-riding","tag-health","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lettermark\"](\"https:\/\/www.bicycling.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/bicycling\/static\/images\/logos\/lettermark.9b40ef4.svg?primary=%2523000\")
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