Sports Tech / Endurance Fueling / Fueling Plans
Where endurance fueling apps could go with personalized carb targets, hydration, sodium, smart reminders, wearables, and post-ride learning. This guide is written for cyclists first, with notes that also apply to runners and triathletes when the same endurance-fueling principles carry over.
Good fueling is not about chasing a perfect number for its own sake. The goal is to deliver enough carbohydrate, fluid, and sodium for the session you are actually doing, using products and foods you can tolerate when the effort gets real.
A practical way to think about it
- Fueling tools can move beyond generic calculators.
- Future systems may combine targets, product libraries, weather, wearables, glucose data, and post-ride feedback.
- The best tools will still need to keep execution simple.
Set the carb target first
For many endurance rides, a useful starting range is roughly 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour for moderate sessions and 60-90 grams per hour for longer or harder events. Intakes above 90 grams per hour can work for some trained athletes, but they should be practiced gradually with multiple carbohydrate sources and products that sit well in your stomach.
The target should reflect ride duration, intensity, heat, your gut tolerance, and what you can realistically carry. A two-hour endurance ride and a five-hour event with climbs should not automatically use the same plan.
Use data without losing the basics
Future tools may use wearables, glucose data, weather, and smarter prompts, but those ideas are not current BonkGuard features. BonkGuard does not currently import weather, routes, GPX files, Strava activities, Garmin activities, or post-race consumption data.
Apply this to a BonkGuard race plan
BonkGuard connects editable targets to the products and bottles selected for a race. Planned intake in Overview compares the schedule with carbohydrate, fluid, and optional sodium targets, then expands to race totals including calories, caffeine, potassium, and magnesium.
Schedule answers what to take and when, while Packing summarizes quantities and bottle preparation. The athlete controls the targets and products, can use Practice this plan before the event, and explicitly decides when the plan is Race Ready.
Useful next reads
- Beginner’s Guide to Cycling Nutrition
- Advanced Guide to Cycling Fueling
- How to Avoid Bonking on Long Bike Rides
- Why Blood Glucose Alone Does Not Tell the Whole Fueling Story
- Should Cyclists Use Continuous Glucose Monitors?
- How to build a complete race-day fueling plan
Key takeaway
Fueling tools can move beyond generic calculators. Build the plan around the full session, then keep the execution simple enough to follow when the ride gets hard.
Educational note
This article is educational and is not medical or nutrition-treatment advice. Athletes vary widely in tolerance, sweat rate, health history, and goals. Practice fueling and hydration changes in training, not for the first time on race day, and work with a qualified professional when you need individualized medical or nutrition guidance.