My cycling fueling guide
While riding my bikes, I've mostly only ever drunk water.
A Camelbak on my MTB Here & Gravel, and a bottle on my Girs road bike Here.
Usually taking just a bar or a gel to eat when I take a break.
For info. I don't have breakfast. Most of the time, all my sports sessions are in the mornings, which I prefer. I don't feel the need to eat before, and almost never have a carb bonk while doing anything.
Taking a bar or gel is almost just an excuse to stop for a couple of minutes.
Since last year (2025), I’ve started paying more attention to nutrition and hydration. I'm getting older, 68 now. So I began adding either an electrolyte tablet to the water (now a power as it's not fizzy) or, when I expect a long or hard ride, Maltodextrin.
I tried BCAAs (great for pre-CrossFit & Gym workouts), but they didn’t work for me while riding. BCAAs are better suited for gym or CrossFit workouts rather than endurance cardio like cycling.
The problem with bars and gels
These days, bars and gels are expensive. Often around 3€ or 4€ each, unless you buy supermarket versions that are basically just sugar-based products and not particularly effective.
Gels are nice, lately I’ve been using Maurten GEL 100 CAF 100. It’s honestly very good, but I dislike:
- the aluminium taste of the packaging,
- a bit of sticky gel that always seems to get on my gloves,
- slightly overly sweet flavour.
- Expensive
I generally prefer bars; they’re easier to handle and give me something solid to eat, though again expensive.
Discovering dates as an alternative
Recently, I came across a Post on FB saying two Medjool dates have about the same amount of potassium as a banana.
Interesting, I thought, and as usual, this led me to think about eating them while out riding. For info, I rarely eat either, and never take a banana out with me, but I asked ChatGPT about replacing my gels with a couple of dates.
Here's what it told me
Yes, eating Medjool dates while cycling is useful for many riders, and absorption isn't too slow for moderate to endurance efforts. Their carbs digest reasonably fast, providing steady energy without major crashes. Why dates work on the bike. Dates deliver 30–35 g carbs per two fruits (quick glucose/fructose mix), plus potassium to help prevent cramps.
Fiber slows digestion slightly for stable blood sugar, unlike gels that spike hard, making them gentler on the stomach during steady-state efforts.
Cyclists report using 2 dates as a gel alternative, hitting bloodstream in 10–15 minutes with sustained power.
Whole dates have moderate GI (fructose/glucose + fiber), avoiding overload; pair with nuts if needed for even slower release.
Interesting.
I said to myself, by far cheaper than gels or bars. Though immediately, how to carry the couple of dates? As I have yet to try this, I have yet to solve that. Sticky dates in my back pocket are a no-go. I will still need to figure out a practical solution. (My life is so full of worries ....🤣 )
- Cheap, under 9€ a kilo, which means about 0.60€ for the two dates, 5× cheaper than my gels.
- Need to work out how to carry them.
- Real food. Natural. No additives, no nothing added.
- Two to four should cover a long ride.
What about caffeine?
One of the advantages of my current gel (Maurten GEL 100 CAF 100) is the caffeine boost.
Two dried Medjool dates compare well to Maurten GEL 100 CAF 100 for carbs and energy on rides, but lack the caffeine boost.
I asked if the caffeine boost is useful.
Yes, caffeine is genuinely useful for cycling, boosting endurance, power, and focus by 2–4% on average
And how to get around it
Mix instant coffee granules (1 tsp = 50–80 mg or take caffeine tablets)
Now my problem, is that really a problem? 🤣
I now have the electrolytes added to the Malto in my bottle, or on longer rides a bottle of each. But I reckon adding coffée to that will be just awful.
So, my options are:
- Use caffeine tablets separately, or
- Switch to a neutral-flavoured electrolytes, allowing me to add coffee granules directly to my bottle or try it in the Malto. Choices choices ......
- I'm going to ditch using gels & bars and try out this solution. With or without the caffeine trick.
Post-workout
After any workout CrossFit, Hyrox, or Gym, I take Whey protein & Creatine. From Yamamoto, their quality is extremely high, well above average, and their prices are good. I rarely use them after a biking session. So after a ride I rarely take anything.
Products I currently use, May 2026
I’ve tested quite a few brands; after testing several, below is what I find works best work for me:
Electrolytes
Before I was using Electrolytes tablets that are fizzy. Now I've changed to Nutripure Pure Electrolytes. The taste is subtle, with a natural flavour and no artificial sweeteners and not fizzy.
Maltodextrin
Nutrimuscle Maltodextrin. Good for longer rides and a neutral taste.
Whey & Creatine
For biking, I rarely / never ever use these. They are for when I'm working out at the gym or doing a Crossfit session.
Update: Since starting this post. I've been using almost only dates while out biking, they work perfectly for me, just wrapped in aluminium foil, between two and four dates depending on the distance I ride. I tend to eat one earlier than I would a barre or a gel, giving it time to be absorbed by my body. The nice thing about them is they keep, I have a packet in the kitchen for the last month or so and they don't rot or go bad.
Update May 21: So I finally tried adding a bit of coffee to my bottle containing the Malto. A Nescafé 2gm stick, (I use them when out trekking) Yuk, the taste was like a watered down bad American black coffee. Definitely not worth using again.
Update May 21: Another experiment I tried today was adding four or five coffee beans inside pitted dates. Surprisingly, this is really very good, giving a nice dry crunchy, coffee taste to the date. I've now adopted this for all my biking rides, MTB, Gravel and road.
According to ChatGPT:
8 beans ≈ 40–80 mg caffeine
Maurten GEL 100 CAF 100 = 100 mg
So I'm quite pleased with that, and as I only use coffee beans at home, I have plenty :)
Note: i find the date/coffee beans kicks in about ten minutes after eating one
Want to see my latest activities?
https://www.strava.com/athletes/381696