Nutrition

Fueling for the Finish

How a dialed nutrition strategy helped me reach the bottom of Mt. Baker ready to perform after 170 miles of riding.

Reaching Baker Ready to Perform

The biggest takeaway from riding nearly 200 miles with 14,000 feet of climbing wasn’t simply that I finished.
It was that after 170 miles, I reached the base of Mt. Baker with enough left to attack the final climb.

This was the longest and most intense ride I have ever completed. We rode quickly all day, spent approximately 11 hours on the bike, and saved the hardest climbing for the very end. There was no version of this ride where I could underfuel for eight hours and suddenly find another gear when we reached Baker. I needed to protect that gear from mile zero.

I’m not an alien with crazy genetics. I train hard and arrived fit, but fitness alone wasn’t going to get me through this route at the pace we wanted to ride.

The training created the engine. Nutrition allowed me to keep accessing it.

Fueling Is Individual

Before getting into the details, this was my plan, not a prescription.

I had already practiced high carbohydrate intake and learned what my stomach tolerated. Maurten, Enervit, Precision Fuel, and STYRKR all sit well with me. That doesn’t mean the same combination will work for everyone.

For me, the best fueling plan is one I can consistently eat, digest, and trust when I’m tired. Familiar products, tested during training, with no surprises on the day.

The quantities below reflect what I had prepared to consume. They weren’t a starting point.

The Carbohydrate Plan

My core plan provided approximately 1,225 grams of carbohydrate, averaging around 111 grams per hour across approximately 11 hours of riding.

Those figures cover the drinks, bars, gels, and chews listed below—not the additional carbohydrate in the performance supplements.

It sounds like an enormous amount, and it is. But this was an enormous day. I had previously practiced consuming as much as 120 grams per hour, so this was within a range I knew I could tolerate.

The most important rule was simple: never wait until I felt hungry.

I carried a 500 mL carbohydrate bottle and a separate 900 mL bottle containing water and LMNT. Keeping them separate allowed me to manage hydration and fuel independently: drink from the water bottle according to thirst while keeping track of the carbohydrate in the smaller bottle.

Maurten’s drink mixes and gels were a big part of the plan because I knew they sat comfortably with me, even when I was consuming a lot.

I also organized everything into individual support bags. At each stop, I grabbed the next bag, refilled my bottles, and kept moving. There was no guesswork and almost no decision-making. I had done that work before getting on the bike.

"I train hard and arrived fit, but fitness alone wasn’t going to get me through this route at the pace we wanted to ride. The training created the engine. Nutrition allowed me to keep accessing it."

How I Fueled Each Leg

Mile 0 to Mile 60

Fuel - 320g - A bottle containing 100 grams of carbohydrate, two Enervit gels, one STYRKR BAR50, one PF60 chew, and one PF30 chew.

I used more solid food early because my stomach was fresh and chewing was still easy. I began eating within the first 20 minutes and spread everything across the leg rather than taking large doses at once. The goal was to settle into the routine immediately.

Mile 60 to Mile 100

Fuel - 240g - One Maurten Drink Mix 320, two Enervit gels, one STYRKR BAR50, and one PF30 chew.

We were still moving quickly, and everyone felt good. This is where it becomes tempting to skip fuel because nothing feels wrong yet. I kept eating. Feeling good was evidence that the plan was working, not that I no longer needed the plan.

Mile 100 to Mile 140

Fuel - 290g - One Maurten Drink Mix 320, two Enervit gels, two STYRKR BAR50s, and one PF30 chew.

This was my final solid-food-heavy leg. I wanted the bars finished before Baker so I could transition to drinks, gels, and chews as the intensity increased.

By mile 140, I had consumed roughly 850 grams of carbohydrate from the core plan and was still eating comfortably.

Mile 140 to Mile 170

Fuel - 195g - One Maurten Drink Mix 320, half of a Maurten Gel Mix 480 flask, one PF30 chew, and one Maurten Gel 100 CAF 100.

By this point, I had moved away from bars entirely. I wanted fuel I could take in small amounts without much chewing. The caffeinated gel was also deliberately saved for late in the ride, when I wanted the extra focus and alertness.

Mile 170 to Mile 197

Fuel - 180g - One Maurten Drink Mix 320, the remaining half of the Gel Mix 480 flask, and one Enervit gel.

I took the Enervit shortly after leaving Glacier and divided the Gel Mix into smaller pulls during the climb. I continued drinking the Maurten rather than saving it for the summit. The work wasn’t finished, so neither was the fueling.

The Performance Additions

Carbohydrate was the foundation. I also used four products with specific purposes in mind: Amacx Beet Shot, Nomio, First Endurance PreRace, and the Maurten Bicarb System. None of them replaced the core fueling plan. I can’t isolate exactly what any one product contributed to the ride, but each had a reason for being there.

AMACX Beet Root Shot

I took one Amacx Beet Shot before the start and a second at the mile-140 stop.

Beet Shot is a beetroot-based nitrate supplement. I used it with the goal of supporting efficiency across a long day and again before the final portion of the route.

I wasn’t expecting an instant surge. It was part of preparing for the effort ahead.

Nomio Broccoli Sprout Shot

I also took Nomio Broccoli Sprout Shot before the start.

Nomio is made from broccoli-sprout extract and contains compounds called isothiocyanates. For me, it has been a game changer during demanding efforts, which is why I included it here. That is my personal experience, but it's not a guarantee that someone else will respond the same way.

First Endurance Pre Race

At mile 140, I took First Endurance PreRace to prepare for the final part of the ride.

PreRace contains caffeine and taurine, among other ingredients to increase focus and reduce perceived exertion. Rather than use that card at sunrise when I already felt fresh, I saved it for the point when staying focused and committing to the effort would matter most.

Maurten Bicarb System

I took the Maurten Bicarb System at the same mile-140 stop, with the final climb in mind.

Sodium bicarbonate can support the body’s buffering of acidity during high-intensity exercise. Maurten combines mini bicarbonate tablets with a hydrogel in a format designed to improve stomach tolerance. I included it specifically for the climb ahead to make sure I could ride as hard as possible.

"There was no guesswork and almost no decision-making. I had done that work before getting on the bike."

What Worked, and What I Learned

At Glacier, I wasn’t literally fresh. I had ridden 170 miles.
But I was fresh enough to perform.

I wasn’t desperate for food or attempting to reverse hours of underfueling. I could start the climb, settle into a hard pace, and continue pushing all the way to Artist Point.

I don’t credit that feeling to the final gel or any single supplement. What stood out was the consistency of the whole day:

- I started early and kept eating. Before hunger, in small amounts, even when I felt good.
- I used fuel I knew I could tolerate. More solid food early when I could digest it, then drinks, gels, and chews as the intensity increased.
- I made the logistics simple. Separate fuel and hydration bottles, with support bags prepared in advance.
- I planned for the final effort. Caffeine and selected additions were saved for later, without taking attention away from the carbohydrate plan.

The useful lesson wasn’t that I had found a perfect combination of products. It was that I kept following the plan before there was an obvious reason to worry.

Nutrition didn’t replace the work I had done in training. It made sure I could still use that fitness when we reached the bottom of Mt.Baker.

I was honestly surprised by how good I felt on the final climb. I don’t think that happens without staying on top of my nutrition from the beginning.