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I received an email from Kristine asking me questions about a very important part of the ride: food and body toll.
"What and how often did I eat?"
No special diets or supplements.. I ate what I always eat, just more of it.
For breakfast: two good size bowls of granola and milk, some fruit, and COFFEE. For lunch: two peanut butter and honey bagels (sometimes I would save one for later during the ride), some vegetables, chips, more fruit, and a coke. For dinner: Oo!, whatever heaping plate of culinary delights Peggy would come up with. She's an excellent cook and my energy level throughout the ride was high because of her efforts and expertise. In my rear pack was always a piece of fruit (Peggy was insistent about having plenty of fruit) and wheat thins.. good digestible stuff. I also carried two water bottles on the bike, consuming one of them every 20 miles on the average. The water itself was always of the 'spring/purified' variety bought in stores along the way. Occasionally, I drank gatorades or red bulls as well.
"How much weight did I lose?"
My normal weight is 165. Despite my huge food intake along the way, I still became quite lean by Atlantic City at about 150 lbs. I've gained most of it back since.
"Any serious toll on your body?
I had trained hard in preparation for the ride, so my body was ready.. and Peggy made sure my body ingested plenty of nutritious fuel. But, yeah, I was pretty exhausted after some of the more difficult days. Consequently, I had no trouble sleeping at night and would be ready to go the next morning...
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