What I eat on the bike ?

Fueling is such an important part of the journey on the bike !
It doesn’t really matter with nutrition brand you choose, as long as you like it.
In my case I’ll be talking about MNSTRY nutrition product - we’ve partnered up at the begining of 2026 and I have to say that it is game changer for me - really !

I’ll take the example of this weekend’s long ride: 5h30 min of riding on gravel
And here is a breakdown of what I took and why !

WHAT I DRINK

Remember this is endurance ride, not a race, and high effort are limited to a handful of time so I’m aimign for 60gr/h on the bike

Between 17°C and 24°C on the thermometer that day !

I went out with 2 x 500ml bottles + 1 hydration vest with 1 liter of “just” water

1st bidon: SLOW CARB with 40gr of slow release carbs in the bidon
2nd bidon: POWER CARB with 80gr of carbs in a bidon

TOTAL: 120gr

The rest of my carb intakes will be solid food or gels if need be.
I try to stay away from gels as much as possible on endurance ride so I keep 1 or 2 in the pocket just in case.
So I should have 330gr of carb during that ride if I want to keep this 60gr/h ratio but I usually have a good breakfast before each long ride so I only strat to fuel properly after the first hour.

Meaning the total of carb intake should be more around 270gr.

WHAT I EAT

2 x PORRIDGE BARS = 2x47gr
1 x PERFORMANCE BAR = 40gr
1 x JELLY = 40gr

I love to mix the products so you don’t get tired of eating the same thing, different tastes also to keep it fun !

TOTAL: 174gr

© Julien POULENARD

GRAND TOTAL : 294gr of carb that day

We did stop at a bakery to have a bit of a break and I had just a slice of bread to give eat something with Julien.
I also shared a bit of my bar here and there so all in all I’m on top of my fueling for this ride !

And it felt great ! Mentally tired by the surface and bumpy paths but the body was feeling strong !

Fueling right is about feeling well on the bike and being able to repeat efforts the day after, your body needs to eat and need to rest after this.
It is also about finding what’s right for YOU - I like to eat on the bike more than drink so I choose my nutrition accordingly.

WANT TO TRY MNSTRY products: here is 25% on the tasting box following this link

For the love of carbs <3

What makes a good day on GRAVEL ?

It all begins with a map - in this case this one was stored on my Strava for more two years - it was actually my first gravel ride in LYON - back when I wasn’t living there yet.
I had memories of it but it was a different season, different bike and it was a good excuse to do it again - just to keep you ming fresh.

Then I always say that “life is better when shared” so I texted Julien the night befor and he happened to love Gravel lately so he was easy to convince. We figured out a plan (well he did, he is way better at mapping than me) - start at 9:45 it is the next morning.

Julien enjoying the view

It will be a 130km ish for me - a good time to test out some gear and nutrition for the next “long” events comming up !

I’m riding a Specialized Diverge 4 Comp Carbon with some upgrades :
OUT the stock wheels (DT G540) for my beloved ROVAL Terra CLX EVO
OUT the Hoover Handlebar for a Terra Carbon one
OUT Specialized Pathfinder tires in 38mm for my lovely Tracer in 50mm

Just this makes such a difference and having the right gear is so important especially on the type of terrain we have here, very bumpy and it can be rocky from time to time.

My Diverge brings me confort and my upgrades provide a much more versatile bike all over !

Current setup on the Diverge 4

Since it’s a long ride, plan an option to have a bit of a snack and break if you’re tired.
The more I spend time of the gravel the more I feel it can be more exhaustive mentally, what I mean is: 1km on gravel feels almost like 2km on the road so be aware of that when you plan a route.

We didn’t plan it on this ride but we knew that the mao was goign through small villages and we will find a bakery or a petrol station to eat something, a slice of pizza, a “Quiche”, a Coke and Orangina, it feels great to stop even for 10 min !

Try not to look at the numbers (power / speed) enjoy your ride, have fun with your mate, speed up for no reasons, stop if you want to enjoy the view, lower your tire pressure or take pictures ;)

© Julien POULENARD

And finally, don’t be too serious about it ! Especially if you are not racing !
Graveling is about reconnecting with your bike without the noise of the road and the cars, it’s about not following the map just because that path looks nice and maybe you’ll have to turn around. If you are a roadie, it’s about having fun with fat tires and developping different skills.

But above everything else, playing outside alone or with your friends !

Thank you cycling !