Jersey Pocket Food (JPF)

[GrumpySmurf]

Having read http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/04/08/best-jersey-pocket-food-ever/, I thought a discussion on the best JPF (Jersey Pocket Food) would be interesting. FatCyclist vote was for sliced avocado in white bread, packed in sandwich bag. I see a problem with sandwich bags as they are often zip locked and need 2 hands to operate.

My current JPF are;
Bananas in natural packaging
Pros - Great biodegradable packaging /often available at home / Nutritous
Cons - Not nice when squashed / Bulkier than the energy provided

Muesli Bar
Pros - long shelf life / Can bite open packaging
Cons - Bitten open packaging sometimes fly off and litter


So, put up your ideas - complete with details on packaging.

[casual_cyclist]

Muesli Bar
Pros - if you buy the right kind they can provide a sustained energy hit / empty packet is small and folds easily into JP
Cons - a bit tricky to manage the packaging with one hand and teeth

Small tin of creamed rice
Pros - fits in your jersey pocket / provides a longer lasting energy hit
Cons - can't eat while riding / requires a handy bin to dispose of the tin

[Wino]

Something new I'm trying. Ive packaged up 50g of larger nuts eg brazil, walnuts, etc and sealed these in some very small food bags with adhesive closures. I got the bags from a packaging shop in Adelaide Central Market. The bags are very easy to open with teeth as its not a tight seal.

Pros: High Kj load in a small size for those long rides. The large size of the nuts make them easy to pick out 1 or 2 in your teeth.
Cons: Low GI so dont expect a sugar rush (to be consumed early on in the ride)

+1 banana

[Mulger bill]

Nuts and bananas are good. If you want a sugar hit go jellybeans, glucojels are best.

Shaun

[Bantam Roosta]

I don't generally eat while riding, so have the benefit of using two hands and not worrying about eating the dirt instead of the food.

For shorter rides, museli bars and lollies in a ziplock bag.

Then add bananas as ride lengthens past about 100k.

[Chaderotti]

Uncle toby's chewy bars in various flavours. About 5 bucks on special at Coles (I got a Coles about 200 metres down the road ) for a box of 12. I buy 2 boxes at a time. Sometimes 6 bucks, but eh, 12 bucks for 24 bars is good.

On 60 km rides I pack about 2 or 3, on a 100km ride I packed about 7 from memory.

[JV911]

- Phillip's famous home made muslie bars or Be Natural Trail Bars
- Natural confectionary company snakes
- Gu Gels

(cant stomach bananas before or during rides but will happily consume one immediatley afterwards plus some almonds & pecans)

plenty of other things on the AIS website

[Chaderotti]

Cashews! Can't believe I forgot about them!

Pro's: Chunk stay in your mouth, so after say, 20 minutes, you can scrape out the chunks from your teeth and voila! Extra shot of prolonged energy!
Cons: Needs a lot of water to flush down

[steveoc]

Big fat tube of sweetened condensed milk with the lid deliberately left off. Easy to get at and stick in your mouth. Just dont put it back upside down.

Small dose of carbs/sugars for the rush, and lots of cals from fat, so it has the legs.

Havent been game to try it yet on a long ride.

[Baldy]

Much the same as everyone else, I like bananas and muesli bars. I like to take 2-3 different types, some choc chip chewy ones and some bigger all nut types[yummy] I also like sultanas, im never in such a hurry I cant stop to open a packet so I dont mind how they are packed.

cheers
Baldy

[Redbull]

Home Brand Fruit Cake single wrapped in gladwrap

Pros
Cheap ($4 for 500grm)
High calories
Palatable- not dry and doesn't stick to your teeth
Easy to eat - doesn't crumble into small pieces

Cons
Wicked farts - maybe this should be in the list above
High calories - not to be eaten except for on the bike or it will make you as fat as me.

[snark]

I'm a fan of the Winners "Cadel's Mountain Mix" bars. About $2 each, so not the cheapest, but they taste good (from someone who hates muesli bars in general). First got one in the goodies bag from Amy's ride in Geelong last year.

Cheers,
Simon.

[nickj_d]

I'm a fan of the Winners "Cadel's Mountain Mix" bars. About $2 each, so not the cheapest, but they taste good (from someone who hates muesli bars in general). First got one in the goodies bag from Amy's ride in Geelong last year.

+1 one for Cadel's Mountain Mix A bit than substantial than the average sized muesli bar, but not to heavy, easy to get down, and tastes nice (and readily available in Coles). Stay away from the Musashi Growling Dogs

Other than that, Be Natural Trail Bars and GU Gels if I'm on a big ride.

For those with mushy banana's, I got some of these recently http://www.bananaguard.com/ They are excellent - I use them taking bananas to work in my bag. Bananas can last for days without getting squashed. Haven't taken one riding only because I stick to the muesli bars, but they'd easily fit in the back of the jersey.

[Baalzamon]

I'm a fan of the Winners "Cadel's Mountain Mix" bars. About $2 each, so not the cheapest, but they taste good (from someone who hates muesli bars in general). First got one in the goodies bag from Amy's ride in Geelong last year.

Cheers,
Simon.

-1 for "Cadel's Mountain Mix" Only last 40mins for me compared to Uncle Toby's muesli bars which last 1hr and muesli bars are cheaper by a long shot. Do take a knack to open them on the bike, but I don't need to use my teeth

[Dave R32]

For rides of 50km or more......Aldi choc ripple muesli bars, cheap and if you keep them in the fridge the chocolate doesnt melt in your pocket.

I eat one before ride with an up n go style drink, one during the ride and sometimes one after with coffee.

My longer rides are always done early in the morning so this is basically my breakfast as I cant eat a normal breakfast and then ride.

Have also tried expensive energy bars, the muesli bars seem to be just as good. Cant stand the taste of gels.

Post ride I usually have a low carb protein drink.

Cheers
Dave.

[bomberdon]

Uncle Toby's Chewy Meusli bars and Peak Fuel gels. These gels come in toothpaste style packaging so they're easy to open, squirt in the mouth and they shut tight so there's no mess in the rear pockets.

http://www.peakfuel.co.nz/products/gels.shtml

[oldplodder]

Once on a long ride, I became bonked. Having never experienced this before, I just wanted to lie down on the side of the road and go to sleep. My survival instinct kicked in and I remembered that I had a cheap fruit bar in my JP. I ate it then had a long drink of water. Within 10 minutes, I was revived. I was able to continue the ride home. I know now that it was the sugar hit that got me going again as I had depleted my glycogen on the 80km ride. The particular bars are available from supermarkets and come in four flavours. For convenience the tops of the wraps can be snipped off. The contents can be gripped and held by the teeth and the wrap slid off with one hand. Because they are processed fruit they easily digested. My ultimate JPF is dried honeydew melon pieces which just melt in your mouth. I have learnt to eat before bonking on long rides

[U2adam!!!]

- Phillip's famous home made muslie bars or Be Natural Trail Bars

+1 on the Be Natural bars. Great little things. I pre-ride cut the top and slice the side of the wrappers to make them easier to get to.

Also a banana make a huge difference to me as well.

Tim

[RobRollin]

For me its bannana in the morning before a 50+k ride. For the jersey on longer ride its a gel usually vanilla and berry. Or i make a carb slice /muffin like a risotto. Good for carbs and tasty. Natural snakes are good for the sugar. I cant digest muesli bars out riding.

[shiv]

Big fat tube of sweetened condensed milk with the lid deliberately left off. Easy to get at and stick in your mouth. Just dont put it back upside down.

Small dose of carbs/sugars for the rush, and lots of cals from fat, so it has the legs.

Havent been game to try it yet on a long ride.

I want this one to work sooooooooooooooooooo badly! I have a serious sweet tooth and LOVE condensed milk. How would it handle getting warm though?

Ive also found that muesli bars are easy to open if you can master riding no hands

[cjrich]

+ 1 for banana and muesli bars. I also add some soft lollies (snakes or similar) and some extra sport drink powder in a small zip bag on longer rides.

Always wondered if dried banana chips offer similar benefits of fresh bananas?

[DanielS]

Bananas and Be Natural bars are my staples as well. I've tried eating plain nuts on rides before and just get a stomach ache - there is too much fat in them!

My favourite food for races is dates (pitted of course). Just stick a bunch straight into your jersey pocket or in an open zip lock bag. They are packed full of sugar, easy to get in your mouth and digest pretty quick.

I'd consider using gels for races but I'm too stingy.

[acid_rider]

this is what works for me for up to 4-5 hours for training/fitness road rides (i.e. not for racing)

plain water

jam or honey sandwiches

dried fruit (dates, figs, apricots, raisins/sultanas, whatever you like)

cheap and healthy

[steveoc]

Weapons load :


Carbs Load:


Its a shame that most fresh fruits take up a lot of volume for the number of Cals that they contain. I think dried fruits pack in somewhere between 6-8 times as many Cals as their fresh counterparts. Good old raisins and dried apricots will have to do ....

[Wino]

That purple cabbage must be a bugger to eat on the bike?