Carb loading?

I am doing a bike ride Sunday morning that is 2-3 times the longest distance I have ever done. The last couple of days I have been trying to hit the carbs hard for some reserves. I am getting over my ideal carbs but my overall calories have been low. Saturday is the last chance to store up, what should I eat?
Zach

My father, who was a competitive marathon runner, swears by eating pasta the night before a big race. Throw in a salad and maybe some garlic bread while you’re at it…

As a runner and cyclist, my first thought was “2-3 times” your longest distance? Be careful doing a ride that much farther than your body is use to. You’re asking for an injury increasing your distance that much.

Now off my soap box and on to your question. Carb loading use to be considered the thing to do, but it’s been found not to really be effective and is done more as a tradition now. In order to get these reserves stored up for an event, the important thing is to taper. For instance, before a marathon, I won’t run nearly as much as I normally do the 2 weeks before the event. This allows your body to rest, recover and store up some of those reserves.

If you do carb load, the best time is actually about 18 hours before your event, so lunch the day before. My personal favorite thing to eat is pancakes. Pasta is good too, but you’ll want to find some light pasta without all the rich, oily, or creamy sauces. The extra oil and fat in some pasta sauces can actually create the opposite effect and make you feel heavy and possibly have stomach issues the day of the event.

And last, just don’t eat anything you haven’t had before. Never do anything different the day of or a few days before the event. It’s not the time to experiment with new foods, clothes, shoes, etc.

Good luck on your event and be safe.

What source do you have that carb loading is ineffective and done mainly out of tradition? Lots of respected sources claim otherwise:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbohydrate-l…
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?STORY_ID=12998&…
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/por…

Spaghetti is a good carb source. You can make your own sauce, and it is kind of cheap for eating in excessive amounts. ;)

@iends
From one of the sources you cited:
In fact, several days of reduced training combined with your normal diet will substantially increase your glycogen storage level even before the final day’s workout and carbohydrate binge.
This is essentially exactly what I stated.

By using a taper, you are essentially carb loading. My post only states (and maybe I was unclear) that the act of actually consuming a larg quantity of carbs the night before an event has been shown not be effective. There are many ways to carb load and looking at your sources, you will see that they show many different ways to acheive this. The practive of having a very large carbohydrate dinner the night before an event is what most people consider carb loading. This is the practice I speak of.

Here’s an article that speaks about not loading up on carbs the night before:
http://www.active.com/running/Articles/5_Pre-Ra…

@gottavtr, there are many different ways to get these reserves. Every body is different, so you’ll have to practice and find out what’s best for you. For me, I always eat a diet that is 60-70% carbs. I’ll be on the high end of that the last couple days before an event, as well as taper. This is what works for me…. you’ll need to find the correct formula for you. I think your approach of eating more carbs a few days before is a good one to try, but remember that your body still needs protein. I wouldn’t suggest a diet of more that 70% carbs.