Simplifying bike nutrition with rice paper
There are three areas that I had a lot of questions about after my IMMOO Race Report. I will be writing a series of three Wiki Posts to share details on each of these. Until the wiki is up and running I wanted to share here for those of you racing in the near future.
Installment 1 - Simplifying bike nutrition with rice paper (note..video to come soon)
SIMPLIFYING BIKE NUTRITION WITH RICE PAPER
We spend the months leading up to the race testing and validating the nutrition approach (amount, timing, etc) that works for each of us. Proper nutrition is critical on race day, and with race day comes new dynamics that we don’t face in our training that I’ll call the ‘3 T’s’: Traffic, Time, and Trash.
- Traffic
- When we are on our training rides we are often solo or with a small group of friends. During a race we are surrounded by hundreds of other triathletes on their bikes many of whom we are either passing or being passed by. As a result, any time taken away from focusing on the road to open a wrapper, eat, and place the wrapper in a bento box or your jersey increases the risk of an incident with another rider
- Time
- During training rides we have the liberty of time. If we want to pull to the side of the road or stop at a gas station to fuel is doesn’t count against our time as it does on race day. Even if you choose not to stop completely, time spent trying to open a wrapper often includes sitting up in your bars and slowing down as you take in your nutrition which can cost you minutes in a 112 mile bike.
- Trash
- The Time and Traffic considerations above make collecting and disposing of our empty wrappers on training rides easy. We slow or stop to find a temporary storage place for our wrapper. We can take the extra time to ensure it’s secure and doesn’t end up flying out of our jersey or being dislodged from our bento box when we hit a bump. Race day is different. Not only do we have the Time and Traffic considerations above, but we also have the risk of a 4+ minute penalty if we are caught littering (even unintentionally)
An approach that’s worked well for many of us in the EN Haus has been to use edible rice paper to wrap bars and other edible nutrition. Here is a link to what I used which Amazon will conveniently ship right to your door (even overnight for those procrastinators out there)
This addressed all of the ‘3 T’s’ with the additional benefit of allowing us to fine tune our nutrition by cutting the bar into whatever sizes we want. For me, a full Clif Bar was too much and found that a half a bar every 30 minutes was best. So rather than open the wrapper, eat half, put the other half in my bento, eat the other half in 30 minutes, and then store the wrapper I used rice paper to simplify the process. Here are the steps to follow:
- Cut your nutrition down to the desired size (if needed)
- Place it on the rice paper and cut a section of rice paper that is roughly 2.5 times as wide and 2.5 times as tall as each section.
- Fold the rice paper over the bar and lick the end to make it moist. Once it is moistened it will act as an adhesive and bond to itself. You may feel like you are conducting illicit activity or have flashbacks to your college years but don’t worry..this is completely safe and legal!
- Let it dry for a few minutes to
- Place rice paper sealed nutrition in your bento box or other preferred storage location
- When you are ready for nutrition on the bike simply take one out, pop it in your mouth, and eat it. The rice paper has neither taste nor nutritional content to speak of. It’s that easy. No wrapper to fuss with. No potential littering to worry about. Just easy, straightforward nutrition.
Link to video here
Note that rice paper is water soluble so it’s not advisable to leave anything out overnight in transition etc. Also, if it’s rainy when you are racing you will want to ensure a layer of protection so the pieces aren’t fused together.
I used this at IMMOO in 2015 and it worked like a charm..it simplified my nutrition and allowed me to stay focused on the road and other triathletes.
Comments
I used this last year at IMChoo per Tim's previous recommendations and as you describe it works great. When I ordered my rice paper though I clearly didn't look carefully because I have an entire "ream" of it. Probably enough for the whole team for the next ten years worth of racing ; )
@Attilla ... you maybe surprised... we go thru quite a bit of that paper... There are 2 of us doing IM training in the house , using it in training and racing goes pretty quickly... I also just make sure its kept in a large ziplock and it lasts forever....
I used this in Augusta this past weekend. I had tested this on a couple of training rides. Cut my clif bars and powerbars in half and wrapped them in rice paper. Ate one wrap (1/2 bar) on 15 and 45 minutes. Worked great. Still had to take a couple bites of the bars but don't think I would cut them any smaller. Just held it while pedaling while chewing each bite until done.
I wrapped mine the night before and put them in a zip lock to take to transition. When I got to transition I loaded them in the Bento Box and used an old swim cap to cover the box to keep any drizzle or dew off of them. It did drizzle a little that morning and on the course. As the day progressed the paper did get damp and sticky but it was still easier then having to unwrap the bar and deal with the wrapper.
This is a great trick and will use it again. I actually found the rice paper at a local cake supply store. Got enough to last for a while and will make sure that I don't run out.
Mine is on the way............
Tim shared this with me last year and I never got around to implementing.....
Thank you
@Nemo - it can be a bit brittle. if it cracks too much you can lick the area you'll be bending. If the air is relatively humid it's usually not an issue but if you do it in an arid climate it would be more troublesom