We do sound like a broken record, don\’t we? This non-stop discussion of food in the pro peloton does get tiresome. Or even of on-bike food for us purely recreational riders.

Pro cyclists competing in, say, La Grande Boucle burn so many calories that they end up going catabolic, with their bodies in effect eating themselves. Paradoxically, during a long stage race the riders find it harder and harder to eat enough! Eating, in fact, come to seem like force-feeding to them.

That\’s only while they\’re on the bicycles and racing. In addition to the hours in the saddle, pros in a multi-day race need to be eating almost all the time that they aren\’t sleeping!

It\’s staggering to think of it. When I\’m about halfway through a ride of 3-4 hours at a pace that\’s far from racing speed, it starts to get hard to eat. I lose my appetite. That definitely came into play when I did the tricycle century. I anticipated finishing that ride in good appetite, eager for a nice, big dinner out. To my surprise, I wasn\’t hungry at all!

So in a very small way, I can understand the problems of keeping fueled during three weeks of intense racing. I\’m glad I don\’t have to do it! But haven\’t I said that before? I sound like a broken record, don\’t I?