Endurance sport with a racing bike: touring areas and nutritional tips

Are you one of those people who enjoy going out in any weather? On the road to ride your racing bike – the short ones, the long ones and the really nasty ones? Or maybe you're just starting out and planning your first road bike tour?

Either way: This story is for you. This is about five touring areas and lots of good nutrition tips for racing cyclists. We'll tell you where you can go. And which Dextro Energy* products you can take with you to ensure you are well nourished before, during and after cycling. Do you feel like? Then let's cycle off.

Five tips for your racing bike holiday in Germany

Come on, let's go on a road bike trip. Our goals: Berlin's quieter side. The fairytale Harz. The beautiful Black Forest. The idyllic Lake Constance. And finally: the foothills of the Alps and the majestic Alps themselves. Whether you travel by car or train or set off on your racing bike straight from the front door is up to you. All we know is that what awaits you is pure racing bike enjoyment. Cycling that makes you happy. Even if your calves burn. Five touring areas. Five regions with their challenges and highlights. Let's go.

Road bike routes in Berlin: How about a classic?

There is something special about racing bike tours in and near cities like Cologne, Hamburg, Munich or Berlin. When urban and rural scenes flash past you left and right as you clock up miles on your racing bike, it pushes you forward. It's not for nothing that cities are always part of the world's most important cycling races - whether it's the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta a España. Things are a little more relaxed than these toughest cycling races when we take a closer look at Berlin. Here you can ride the small Grunewald circuit - perhaps the classic for all Berlin racing cyclists and everyone who visits the capital by racing bike. Around 30 km long, the small loop offers a lot: Kronprinzessinenweg and Havelchaussee are beautiful sections of the small loop that are mostly almost car-free. This allows you to concentrate entirely on what is important: you and your racing bike.

You can organize this racing bike tour in Berlin using any common online route planner. And best of all, there's a good chance you'll make friends on this route. Anyone who owns a racing bike in Berlin comes here. A good meeting point is the Grunewald S-Bahn station. Entire racing bike groups end up here and are happy to take new people with them.

There are plenty of other beautiful tours in and around Berlin. This also applies to all other racing bike cities in Germany. Our tip: Take a look online for local racing bike meetings and forums, where you can find out more and also look for like-minded people - perfect if you're planning short city trips or longer holidays with your racing bike.

Off to the Harz: racing bike tours like in a fairy tale

So after we just visited Berlin, things are now becoming magical. We cycle further into the Harz Mountains, where racing bike tours await you that will enchant you. The names of the stages alone: ​​Hexentanzplatz, Brocken, Rosstrappe or the famous Bodetal sound like adventures on a racing bike. And actually: In the Harz Mountains you can drive through forests without meeting a soul. Here you can plan racing bike tours that take you through historic towns and over hills and valleys directly to the legendary Brocken at 1,141 meters high (where, admittedly, you have to expect a lot of people on the road).

Whether you're looking for climbs or dead-straight routes: In the Harz you can just drive - freed from everyday life, through idyllic villages and forests. By the way, also with a claim: simply look for tours and tour sections that were part of the Lower Saxony Tour, the Germany Tour or the Peace Tour. Here you cycle where the professionals struggled. The mountain classifications at the Hexentanzplatz, for example, made the calves burn at the Peace Ride in 2006. We'll provide you with the nutrition you need for your cycling (and against burning calves).

Road bike tours in the Black Forest: in the footsteps of the professionals

The Black Forest is one of the most popular holiday destinations for racing cyclists. No wonder: the beautiful region with the cycling city of Freiburg at its heart is made for racing bikes and offers something for everyone. In the Rhine plain you will find flat racing bike routes for the first miles, for training, for the rush of speed and for the good feeling of having really come far in one day. Things get a little more challenging when you target the region's most famous landmarks. Here the altitude is tempting: the Hornisgrinde, for example, offers you almost 1000 of them - anyone who has reached the summit here can feel it too. By the way: The word “Grind”, which is hidden in the name of the mountain, means “slave” in English. Fits.

You can also cycle in the footsteps of the Grand Prix Triberg-Schwarzwald - which at the time was considered the most difficult one-day race in the country. And then there is the Kandel, the toughest challenge in the Black Forest. At this point at the latest, we recommend that you take a look at our 5 tips for effective nutrition before, during and after road cycling, which follow below. Without energy storage devices filled to bursting, things will otherwise be tight here.

So if you want to plan your racing bike tours in the Black Forest, you can look forward to a lot of variety and every level of difficulty. There's a bit of everything, for example, on the racing bike tour from the edge of the Black Forest to the Kaiserstuhl - the professionals around Jan Ullrich have also used this racing bike route for their training.

Either way, Freiburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, and the Black Forest itself offers routes and tours for one-day trips, weekend holidays and extended racing bike holidays in Germany - even over several weeks. And another tip: Alsace is not far away. For your personal Tour de France.

Road bike trip around Lake Constance: the Beautiful Cities Tour

What do you think of a racing bike holiday by the (small) sea? You can plan wonderful tours on Lake Constance - with starts, breaks and finish lines in the cities of Konstanz, Lindau, Bregenz and Friedrichshafen. The fact that you also ride a racing bike in three countries makes the route around Lake Constance particularly exciting. If you drive around the entire Lake Constance including its Obersee and Überlinger See sections, you have visited Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The complete racing bike tour around Lake Constance covers around 230 kilometers - you will pass beautiful highlights such as the demanding climb near Wallhausen, the city of Konstanz with its winding streets, Bregenz with its new harbor, Lindau with the southernmost lighthouse in Germany or Friedrichshafen with the brilliant waterfront promenade . Between the cities there are floodplains and meadows, the glittering lake and paved roads almost everywhere. Sometimes short gravel stages cannot be avoided, but the racing bike manages them easily. The Lake Constance cycle path is so well-known and popular that its logo always shows you the way. Route planners are still recommended, especially if you don't want to miss the lake towns in high season - stopping off or staying overnight is no problem, you should only plan ahead and make a reservation in the peak months.

Konstanz and Lindau are recommended as starting points for your racing bike tours, while you can also flexibly use the ferry at Friedrichshafen to start the tour on the “high seas”. The same applies to Meersburg, from where you can take the ferry to Konstanz-Staad and then quickly to Konstanz.

No wonder that Lake Constance is attracting more and more cyclists from Germany. The location, the landscape and the racing bike friendliness of the region and its people characterize Lake Dreiländer.

Transalp: on the racing bike through the Alps and against the bastards

Your calves are glowing, your thighs feel like tree trunks, your lungs are working like a ship's engine - and you can't get enough of it? Then we have something for you. The magic word that brings tears of longing to the eyes of experienced racing cyclists in particular is: Transalp (also known as Alpine Cross). Do you still remember the altitude of Brocken in the Harz or Hornisgrinde in the Black Forest? You can double that for crossing the Alps on your racing bike.

Let's take a look at one of the legendary racing bike tours through the Alps: The Route des Grandes Alpes leads from Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva to Menton on the Côte d'Azur - in between there are nine passes with a height of more than 2000 meters - such as the Col du Galibier with its 2645 meters. In total you will drive 700 kilometers, not including the journey from Germany to Lake Geneva. The tour is so well-known and legendary that you don't have to worry too much about superficial route planning. As with all racing bike tours in, through or near the Alps, every detail counts. Whether it's the weather, the traffic situation (you often share the road with cars and trucks) or accommodation and opportunities for regeneration and refreshments along the way: incorrect (daily) planning can quickly lead to the end of the tour.

Other racing bike tours through the Alps begin, not surprisingly, in Bavaria and then usually lead from Garmisch-Patenkirchen through the mountains to Italy. Some cyclists even go as far as Lake Garda.

It is always important that you are well equipped and fit, that you do not ride alone - especially on your first tours - and that you keep your regeneration potential and energy level high. We can help you here. Our nutrition for your cycling focuses on energy before, during and after road cycling. No matter whether you just want to drive to the next village or to Lake Garda.

Nutrition and cycling – with Dextro Energy* you have it all

Are you really interested in racing bikes now? Before you start planning your tour, we have three tips for you on how you can ensure sensible nutrition on the go. Sure, pasta or rice are always suitable for a carbohydrate booster, but sometimes the food is heavy on the stomach - and a plate of pasta like that is difficult to eat when you're sitting on the bike. So how do you get proteins, carbohydrates, sodium, magnesium and the like - before, during and after cycling?

Minerals please – magnesium and co. for your cycling

The sun is shining, the road below you is whizzing by - and boom! cramp. This is often due to a mineral deficiency. If you exhaust yourself, you need a constant supply of minerals. Magnesium, for example, is important for the heart, muscles and nerves, while sodium ensures, among other things, better water absorption in the body. By the way, you can find detailed information about this in our stories about magnesium andsodium . But here is the most important information: At Dextro Energy* you will find fast, reliable mineral suppliers. We have the nutritional supplements for your cycling – whether before, during or after training or racing bike tours. Perfect for replenishing the sodium level are, for example, the Liquid Gels Grapefruit with sodium , Black Currant with sodium or the Energy* Gums Lemon or Cherry with increased sodium content. You can quickly balance out magnesium and sodium with Zero Calories products orisotonic drinks .

Get off the fast track: carbohydrates for racing cyclists

Cycling and nutrition, most people naturally think of mountains of pasta and plenty of carbohydrates. But why is that so? The body needs carbohydrates to quickly obtain energy during high stress. This energy is needed, among other things, for the muscles. In short: if it's missing, you're exhausted. The good news: The body can store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver. When intensive effort occurs, it draws on these reserves. It is therefore advisable to replenish your stores with carbohydrate-rich food before a long road bike tour. With so-called carboloading, you consume around eight to 12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight every day in the last few days before the tour, but at least 500 g per day. Important: You only need this amount if you are exposed to extreme exertion for more than 4-5 hours a day. Otherwise, you can also take precautions with 6-10 g per kilogram of body weight. And how do you get these carbohydrates? Honey, whole grain products, pasta, fruit juices and of course Dextro Energy* products with a high carbohydrate content, for example, can be consumed to prepare yourself well.

But as is the case with reserves, they are used up at some point, on average after around 90 minutes of intensive exercise. A good nutrition plan for cycling relies on a sufficient supply of carbohydrates before training, the tour or the race and on an optimal supply of further carbohydrates during cycling in the form of nutritional supplements. Liquid carbohydrates in particular are ideal on the racing bike because they are easy to consume. At Dextro Energy* you will find carbohydrate boosters for your cycling. Ideally portioned, for chewing ordrinking , effective and quickly available.

Recharge your batteries and regenerate: proteins for cyclists

Proteins play an important role in the nutrition of cyclists. They help with muscle repair and muscle building and are therefore particularly essential in the regeneration phases after training, tours or races. So if you travel a lot on your racing bike, a high protein intake is an important part of an ideal diet. Fish, meat and dairy products are reliable sources of protein, while vegans can choose lentils, beans and, above all, peanut butter (more on the topic of veganism and protein intake in our story here ).

During the regeneration phase after cycling, you can add our clever supplements to your diet. This way you ensure that your body is supplied with all essential amino acids. Because: A normal nutritional plan can have deficits here. Not every food reliably provides you with everything you need when cycling. Our protein powders and other protein boosters such as Protein Crisp or Smart* Protein ensure that isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine get into your body - in ideal doses and well tolerated. If you're wondering how much protein you should consume per day, you can expect around 1.4 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight during intense exercise. This allows muscles and tendons to regenerate and you remain more efficient. Even when crossing the Alps.

*contains carbohydrates

A varied journey, a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

SOURCES

Predel HG, Weisser B, Latsch J, Schramm T, Hohlfeld A, Randerath O. Magnesium in ambitious popular sports - an update. Dtsch Z Sportmed. 2017; 68:5-9. doi:10.5960/dzsm.2016.264

Thomas, D. & Burke, Louise & Erdman, Kelly. (2016). Nutrition and Athletic Performance. medicine and science. 48. 543-568. 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852.

Jäger, Ralf et al. “International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition vol. 14 20. 20 Jun. 2017, doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8

Sources shortened and essentials retained. Magnesium source from Magnesium Story on the Dextro website

PHOTO CREDITS

all images: @iStock