How To Prepare For Le Tour de France | Day In The Life Of A Pro Cyclist EP.8 

I couldn't let a good video go to waste, so I hope you guys enjoy watching how I prepared for the TDF. I'm not there this year, but that's all part of being a Pro Cyclist and obviously no hard feelings at all. Looking forward to getting stuck back into racing with the team after a short break!

Italian holiday sounds a lot more fun than grinding a tour de france

I can vouch for the recipes in this episode! YUM!!!! Harry made them for his hungry mother and father and they were ‘Perfecto!’ Nothing better than having our ‘Harry boy’ cooking for us in his new abode in Andorrà! Xxx

Worst bonk/ hunger knock story: One May evening i decided to ride home from a week-long university field trip (250km across Ireland). I had to present my research project and so didnt get to leave until the afternoon. After about 20 minutes, what was previously a gorgeous tailwind completely turned 180° to become a 35kmph headwind. I quickly realised i only had about half the amount of food i needed and sunlight was limited. It was a bank holiday and a lot of the shops were closed early. I passed into Northern Ireland and finally found a shop that was open. I went in and as i was about to pay for and delve into a massive pack of haribos, biscuits and a can of coke i realised i didnt have the correct currency as Northern Ireland uses british pounds (£). When i tried my card it was declined, i tried to ring my bank but they were closed because of the bank holiday. The cashier wouldnt exchange my euros so i had to leave the food and ride another 80km into a henous headwind towards the next shop. That 80km took me 3.5hrs (with little elevation). During that time i got 2 punctures, my phone died, and i ended up falling into the ditch 3 times due to lack of energy. On the third time, an elderly woman saw me fall off my bike into the ditch and got her husband to carry me into their house and gave me dinner. I was so embarrassed and thick (angry with myself), instead of using their phone to ring my parents to collect me, i rode the last 70km in the dark with a hi-vis jacket and a couple handheld torches (that the elderly couple gave me) taped to my handlebars as it was pitch dark at this stage. I got home at about midnight, had a feast and went straight to bed. And guess what, it gets better. The next morning i woke up and found a £50 note (british pound) in my jersey pocket!!!! 😆💀💀

Highs and lows, keep the fire alive and on to the next one. Fantastic content as usual, most of your videos are highly re-watchable!

Best Hunger Flat story..... I had 4 hours with some efforts. I planned my food for the ride and went for it....I met my mate halfway through the workout and he said: Lets go for this little loop with that one little climb. Little I know it was a 29km climb through the alps in 33 degrees....ma mate and I, we were cooked so we stopped and tryed to stop a car to ask for anything eat or drinkable. An old lady stopped and she was so kind to go down the climb, got us two slices of cake and went back up. She told us that she ownes a caffee with selfmade cakes and till that day we get one free cake everytime we come. Thanks for the video Harry...good luck this season👊🙌

Hunger Flat Story… Moved from Aus to LA in 2017. Went for a ride in the mountains thinking I could handle the heat. Rode up a super steep berg and bonked so hard that I sat on the side of the road and fully lost my vision. Two guys stopped their car and approached me and had to wait until I could see again. They drove me back down the mountain and sat at a gas station with me while I pounded cokes. Yeah, the heat got me.

It was a scorching July afternoon, and I ambitiously set out for a 100-mile ride with just a couple of energy gels and a bottle of water. By mile 70, I hit the dreaded hunger flat. My legs turned to jelly, vision blurred, and nausea set in. Stranded on the side of the road, I had no energy to continue. Just as hope dwindled, a farmer on a tractor stopped, took pity on me, and handed over an apple and a cheese sandwich. That simple meal was a lifesaver, giving me enough strength to crawl the remaining 30 miles home. Lesson learned: never underestimate the power of proper nutrition and the kindness of strangers.

I had my worst hunger flat when I first started cycling. Together with a friend we decided to do our first 100km+ ride from Freiburg where I lived to the French border and back. The sun was scorching down on us and we did't know a thing about fueling. This meant we only took a banana with us on a ride that ended up being more than 6 hours. Unsurprinsingly we bonked completely. After like 4 hours we were cooked. We turned our pedals with painfully slow turns, rocking from side to side while families on their citybikes passed us with what seemed to us unachieveable speed. The heat finnished the rest of the moral off and you can't imagine how happy we were to finaly get home. My friend never really rode his bike again.

i like how diverse your diet is. i just eat the same thing everyday.

Worst hunger flat.. out tearing it up on the grav. Corrugations got me all wild and both bottles go flying out of the cage. I bust out a hero skid to return from whence I came to retrieve said bottles. Alas the skid was so powerful and with the ripple strips I proceed to roll the tyre off the rim an hours walk from the car where I have left any form of tyre inflation device.. literal HUNGER FLAT..

I dont have any stories but you should give the starter pack to Cav

Sorry to hear about not making to cut but love the positive mindset & enjoy your family vacation! Cheers from Dallas, TX

Nice video gutted for you not being on the tour. Good luck for the races ahead

First of all thanks for another look into the life of a pro cyclist, love every vlog! 2019 this 59 year old cycled 5000 miles in and around Kansas feeling good about myself. Due to extreme cold cycling is limited in first couple of months of the year. As the months passed I was low on energy and always tired which I put down to turning 60. Also my left leg would swell after a ride and stay that way for a couple of days. After turning 60 in May went on a lumpy 55 mile ride with a friend which I usually dominated but struggled considerably to where I had to rest in the car afterwards before driving home, The usual swelling remained all weekend resulting in me going to Urgent Care after 3 days. The result was being told I had AFIB which I didn't have a clue about. In addition a clot was found in my left leg. Was told to go straight to the emergency room. The result was an ablation a couple of months later and 3 years later I'm back on course for 5000 miles. Not going to urgent care would probably have ended in a stroke or worse.

Great content, upbeat and positive, and no cheeeeesy music. Thanks for taking the time! Good luck w/rest of the season.

Thanks for taking the time to make this kind of video, appreciate the opennes and hope you are well post those sketchy Dauphine crashes.

Bonk storytime. I trained as a rower for a whole summer while under fueling the whole summer and struggled so badly and even wondered why the easy workouts were hard. Looking back I definitely had zero fuel in for what my output was. Lesson learned.

bonk story: Did an afterwork loop in Summer (90km), and decided that plain water is enough for carb intake. After 60km i stumbled into a kiosk and was starving for chery-chocolate-bombs (that´s what we call it in AUSTRIA). Seeing stars and tunnelvision was all on board.

When L’etape Australia was cancelled I did the ride with two mates, bonked out bad on the climb out of Kangaroo Valley, bonked so bad my brain stopped working, only think keeping me going was the heckling and “kind” words from those utes with P plates 😂 raided the Robertson pie shop at the top

The worst hunger flat/bonk that I’ve ever had: 2 days before my birthday last year, I decided to complete my first century, with about a week on the bike before hand. Felt like I crushed the first 60 miles, then around mile 63, I completely broke when I realized I still had the biggest climb I’d ever attempted just ahead. I was still ~40 miles from my home, so I was not going to call a ride, so I pedaled up the climb about 10 meters at a time. When I finally crested the big climb, there was still a small climb to go, feeling deflated, I sat for a bit, mixed feelings of success, defeat, and disappointment in myself filled my head. I continued on after some rest, and my vision started to darken and narrow as I made it to the final crest. Continuing on the descent I saw a sign for a fruit stand just as I hit my complete limit. I pulled off the road, but couldn’t even dismount, just fell over I was so gone. This kind lady working the stand took my bottles, got me some water, exchanged some small bills for some cold fruit, and was offered a chair from their home so I could get myself together again. This was at about mile 67. Continued on when I was feeling stronger, only to crack again at mile 84, where I was saved by a man coming off his houseboat. Said he saw me roll into the parking lot in bad shape, so he brought me a banana for my cramping and some water and a packet of salt. At mile 98, I was mentally broken. I had nothing in me, my stomach felt like it was eating me from the inside. I stopped at a gas station and practically drowned myself in a Gatorade. Finished out my century with one thought in my head, eat more on the bike because I never want to go through that again.

Love the channel and the insight, it’s top-tier stuff. I had a pretty bad hunger flat last year - although it doesn’t beat yours for drama (no car crashes involved…). I was leaving the UK to move abroad permanently and saying some goodbyes to friends - to say goodbye to two cycling pals, we organised a 2 day ride from Bath to (and around) Isle of Wight (220km), then back to Bath the next day (100km or so). I was pounding gels on the first day, legs felt fantastic for 7 hours or so. Stomach started grumbling. Had to drop the bibs and let’s just say the world fell from me in a field somewhere on the Isle of Wight. Limped back to the b&b, couldn’t take on any sort of nutrition that evening. Day two was one of the grimmest experiences of my life, the power meter was reading 25% of the power it should have for the effort. Calibrating it didn’t help and I couldn’t hold a conversation, let alone the wheel in front of me as my friends determinedly tried to coax me home. The day ended in me tanning a couple of litres of coke sitting on a pavement and then the shame of jumping on a train to not have to ride the last 40km back to Bath. Safe to say I was glad I was leaving the country the next day and wouldn’t have to face my pals reminding me of this too often.

You did some nice work in the dauphine. Good luck with the rest of the season.

My worst hunger flat story happened during a long cycling trip a few years ago. I was on a solo ride through a rural area, tackling a challenging route with a mix of steep climbs and rolling hills. I had underestimated the duration and intensity of the ride, bringing along only a couple of energy bars and a small bottle of water. Around the 50-mile mark, I started feeling the first signs of hunger. I ate one of my energy bars and drank some water, thinking it would be enough to get me through. However, the climbs were relentless, and the energy from the bar quickly evaporated. By mile 70, I was in full-blown bonk mode. My legs felt like lead, and my speed dropped to a crawl. I was dizzy, my vision was blurry, and I felt a crushing fatigue that made every pedal stroke a monumental effort. With no food left and miles away from the nearest town, I had no choice but to keep going. I tried to distract myself by counting down the miles and focusing on my breathing, but the hunger was overwhelming. Eventually, I reached a small village and stumbled into a local bakery. I must have looked like a man who hadn't eaten for weeks because the baker gave me a concerned look and offered me some bread and pastries. I ended up eating six pastries and spending 30€ at the bakery, absolutely devouring everything in sight. That experience taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of proper nutrition and preparation. Since then, I've never gone on a long ride without adequate food and hydration.

I always enjoy your cooking, trainings and any daily stuff! Looking forward to more videos, also looking forward to you racing in next grand tours!!

Pro sport, ups and downs, swings and roundabout! Stay fierce. Cheering for you mate!!

you are a superstar on and off the bike mate, best of luck with the rest of the season, good things ahead of you fella!!!

Hello, I saw you on the podium at the Quanzhou Bay Tour about 6-7 years ago. I discovered your channel today. Now you are already a top-level rider.

For the twice baked potatoes - if you add a bit of baking soda to the water while boiling they’ll be even crispier. Thanks for all the great content!

Have loved reading the hunger stories, thought I would share mine, my worst hunger flat: On the final leg of London to Paris, I got T-boned by a car coming out of town 5km into the start of the ride. One brief shouting match with a frenchman, some antiseptic, and a cry later and I was back on the road. However, my rear derailleur was no longer functioning from the impact, so I had 95km of french countryside on a single speed gravel bike between me and Paris. As the day drew on I tried to keep on top of the food but just could not, and the latter half of the ride was very much spent in grumpy silence with my girlfriend, lead entirely by my own "h-anger". Only when we get to the border of Paris do we realise there are strikes/riots currently ongoing, the give away was the third burnt out car that we saw, so now we're trying to alter the route mid ride. In my hungry haze I lead us onto a motorway without realising, and before I knew it we were throwing the bikes over the barriers to push them through the bushes alongside the river. It was at this point I admitted defeat, gave up, and got a train. To this day it is the only ride to have defeated me, but that shower and baguette at the end of the train ride changed my life. I met god that day.

Really enjoy the videos, thanks for putting them together

Worst one for me was in south Spain, in and around Alicante region. I had taken the train with my friend down from Valencia to explore a different part of the country. The day before I had created the strava route on my computer which as climbing as possible so it was a big day out. It was great weather but really hot, 30 or so degrees, unsurprisingly. The views were great though, as we crossed through the mountains and through remote villages. At the halfway point we hit an obstacle. My expert route building had led us to a tiny walking path surrounded by a small river and a steep hill to the right. Only thing we could was walk for about 30mins, and then we got to a gravel section which we were able to ride without any flats. After about 1.5 hours of having to find an alternative route and then walking, we finally got to a rideable road. That was an adventure we thought but glad it was behind us. I was already very poor at fueling at this point, maybe 40g/hr and we were going pretty full all day. As we got to 10ish km to go, we took a right turn up a wall of a climb, starting out as poorly surfaced with tonnes of bumps but after 500m, gravel started appearing and it got deeper and deeper until we had to both stop on a really steep hairpin. At this point, he was able to get back on and ride up but I just didn’t have the bike handling to do that. Attempt one, as I tried to use the outside part of the bend to get momentum, I put my foot out just in time as getting momentum with the stones was almost impossible. Attempt two, still thinking I could do it, I am able to pedal for one or two strokes and then bang, I tip over onto my right side, breaking the front chip of my saddle which still stands today. I had no major damage but was fed up, and was getting hungry and thirsty with no fuel or hydration. I texted him but no reply so I had no choice but to start trekking up and pushing my bike. After 15 minutes of that, it levelled off but was still gravel so I slowly rode and followed the route I had clearly planned very well. I reached him at a point where it was sending us down a steep mountain bike path down the side of a mountain. We both weren’t interested in doing that. And with no service, we decided to follow our path back to the main road we were previously on. At this point, I was gone. No energy, we were both out of fuel, I could hardly pedal. Thankfully it was all downhill to the train station but I was gripping my brakes so hard going down the gravel I thought I was going to tip over the front. At the end there was a flat section of about 5km and I don’t think I’ve ever gone so slow on the flat, I was pedalling squares, any small rise felt like a wall. After what felt like ages, and some wrong turns in the town, we arrived back at the train station and my friend bought me some juice and snacks from the cafe. Never been so empty and hopefully never will be again. If there’s one thing I learnt it’s to not plan strava routes that say they are unidentifiable or dirt roads

great video guys! my bonk story: I decided to do a 50km "fun ride" out in west texas last year that happened to fall on the same day as the north american solar eclipse. my first time riding anything close to that distance (which also had 1500ft of elevation) so I only had a small breakfast just bc of the nerves and got out on the road with just a pack of gummies. 16 miles to the aid station and the heat is getting to me: vision's getting blurry, headache coming in, stopped sweating...there wasn't a cloud in the sky, no animal sounds, no wind, and at totality it briefly went dark. it felt totally surreal, and just added to the bonk feeling. finallyyyy make it to the aid station and down a bunch of electrolytes and bars, and somehow made it through to the end! it's funny bc my friend did the ride with me, and thought we were racing so she was booking it to finish before me, thinking the whole time that I was chasing her down. meanwhile i'm pushing along at 8mph, counting all the individual rocks i'm passing, with no thoughts on my mind except finishing so i could get our free bbq and beer afterwards haha good times!

Saw purple, saw stars, hit the deck! Racing a 70.3 I was 3km from the finish line and bonked so hard I collapsed! Was flying out the front of the age group in 1st place on the run, all I wanted to do was collapse over the line but things went pear shaped and collapsed 3km from home! Stood up straight away, and collapsed again, litterally couldn't stand, gave it a couple of minutes and could hardly get onto all 4, dropped in a cup of coke and a water and walked it home! Lessons learnt, always keep a gel spare!

Really enjoy your videos, thanks for putting them together.

Hunger flat story: Deep winter training ride 5 hours endurance with some mates. Rode the first 3 hours with a horendous headwind to reach the turning point and have a tailwind back home. Decided to get a midride snack in the form of some fried fish next to the beach. 10 minutes after we got back on the bike we all bonked. The tailwind ride home took us longer than the headwind part, one of my mates even crashed because he was so empty. Learned some lessons that day

Forget the food content, I'm here for the espresso content. The Lelit looks great. I don't have any prize-worthy bonks, but the first time I rode 100k back in the day I bonked so hard I had to stop to buy food less than 1km from home. I just wasn't going to make it.

Another fantastic video from you. We are lucky to have an authentic athlete sharing their journey! If one day you could share a day-to-day video talking about nutrition (along with other topics, of course) during a training camp or a one-week race (like the Dauphiné), it could be interesting to see how you handle eating a lot, how the team supports you to eat, how do you ensure you fuel enough and well, etc!

Im a triathlete, and the worst hunger flat i have had was last year when I had to do 1h run and couple hours later a 3,5h ride. Last hour didnt have more food and was literally going 50w all out until i reached home.

Hunger flat story It was my first ride back after 2 months after being hit by a car and I thought that I could get away with ride 60 miles…in Florida. It was horrible. I reached the 1/2 way point on the trail and went to fill my bottle and blown water came out of the water fountain. Luckily there was a man riding a trike that had a cooler with cold bottled water and some snack he gave me to get me back home. Lesson learned…I pack enough for me and riding buddies (usually some homemade rice cakes).

One time during a long bike ride, I totally underestimated how much food I'd need. I hit a massive hunger flat about 20 miles from home and felt so dizzy and weak. Had to call a friend to bring me some snacks! Learned my lesson: always pack extra food! (preferably Amacx) :)

Really great you doing these videos @HarrySweeny. It’s so cool and fascinating what a life looks like as a pro and compare it with what I was dreaming about 35 years ago and what friends of mine then lived. Thank you for sharing! And you will make it to the tour - the best is yet to come. Keep going! You are a very good cyclist and a very authentic and likeable person.

BONK story. Was doing a gravel race in Canada, and the start went well, but 10km in I lost both my bottles going over a section of loose gravel/washboard. This left me with less carbs than I would have preferred but I continued without them (someone gave me a bottle of water later on so I still had some water). The race from that point in included a crash, several punchy climbs and a constantly high pace leaving little time for eating. By the time I was 70km in I had eaten barely anything and couldn’t see straight. My vision was blurry, colours looked funny, and I was being passed by riders left and right. What felt like a max effort to try to get into riders wheels was only barely 200 watts. The final straightaway was an endless 2ish km, and I could see a mush of coloured jerseys from quite a ways from the line, but those last few hundred meters took minutes. Ended up lying on the ground army crawling to the granola bars for 20 minutes after the finish before I could stand up again. Lost a solid 10 minutes in those last 15ish kilometres. Not fun.

Did a bike-marathon last year; 1st day 150 km, second day 250 km with lots of climbing. Second day, at km 200 i got left alone by my mates because i startet to hunger flat. 5 km later, in a downhill curve, i lost control at about 70 km/h an landed in a fence. crawled back to the street with broken collarbone and ended in hospital for surgery. i‘m doing the marathon again in 2 weeks so i could really need these supplements to finish this story:)

Love your videos!

Sorry to hear your not at the tour but I'm sure you will see more tours & your digging your Italian Holiday too! Thanks for a great video! Such a beautiful location that Andorra is 🤩That was an awesome looking sandwich !! Your such a great cook whipping out things so quickly! Also thanks for the banana/date/coconut water idea & info on why😉 Really enjoy your channel Thanks again!

Bonk. Met my wife in a bar (seattle) was 12 tequila deep. Both cyclists so agreed to do a ride the next day. Turns out she is a pro downhiller. Picks me up to go mountain biking with her, cos I'm a roadie has me riding to the top of berg in the cascades while she gets in the back of a fan. I bonk... have to ride down the scariest shit I've ever seen. Silent drive home until she offers to get me taco bell. Still married

We definitely need a cookbook from you!

Welcome back on RU-vid Harry great video great food 😀

here for the cooking content

Another great video harry

I went on a “easy” ride with my university team mate who had way better fitness than me at the time, didn’t eat enough or pack enough nutrition for the ride, 40 miles into a 60 miler I bonked hard. Got some fruit snacks and tuna of all things at a gas station and got a second wind…until I had to stop because my shoes were too small. Now I never go out without eating a bowl of oatmeal.

Nice video mate!!!!!!!! I hope that you are selected for the next tour, I love your content. Greetings from Chile.

started cycling again hard at age 40 never dieted ate correctly but doing it now what a difference it makes to life! i now am up to 40 mile cycles and pushing as much as i can ride to survive! now a lifestyle not a hobby top work on the vids gonna keep watching.

Gutted for you to miss selection, stoked to see your video.

Goodluck on your next exploits. Waiting for your next races and uploads. 💯 New fan of yours.

My favorite cyclist and my favorite channel on RU-vid. That sandwich looked amazing.

rode so well at the Dauphine, love the mindset Harry. Got robbed on the tour selection!

My story is essentially quite typical. There is a hilly section of road about 30 km from me where I usually train. I generally only take a few energy bars with me for training, but this time I had nothing with me. I was just recovering from a collarbone fracture, and I was able to get back on the bike and move properly, so I felt everything would be fine. This fracture was my first, so I didn't know how severely my endurance could deteriorate. Around the 40th kilometer of the training, I felt something was wrong; I was getting tired. I was so exhausted that my legs literally stopped. I got off the bike and collapsed into the grass. This mountain road is essentially in the middle of nowhere, without even cell service. I think I lay in the grass for 30-40 minutes. I got up, thinking I would now have enough strength to ride home, but I was wrong. I started pushing my bike home, while strangers, going about their everyday lives, cycling past me, presumably rushing to the store or somewhere. Imagine, a man in his 60s or 70s riding past you uphill on his bike, while you struggle to trudge along... Eventually, I was able to get back on my bike and made it back to my town, but I was so weak that on a completely flat section, I somehow just fell. My helmet flew off my head, my bike chain fell off, and my rear derailleur broke. So I decided to push the bike again... I finally made it home; I don't know how long it took, but it felt like about half a day to me. At home, I was shivering so badly that it took me hours to recover while curled up in front of the fireplace.

Hunger flat story 16 year old me thought it would be a good idea to do a ~180k ride in Austria, including 3 big climbs. I knew SFA about nutrition at the time, and thought one bidon with a salt tab every hour and a bar or gel once in a while would be enough. About 100k in I stopped for a pancake lunch, already on my hands and knees at the time. Fast forward past the lunch and about 40k and a big climb later I was completely f’ed and practically crawling home with one climb to go. The situation got so bad I nearly fainted twice and with grandpa having to pick me up halfway up the final climb with ~6k to go. Still pissed I didn’t finish it 🤣

The unexpected rescue in Italy During my cycling vacation in Italy, I set off on a sunny Saturday morning on an ambitious 150-kilometer bike ride. The first 100 kilometers went smoothly, but at kilometer 125 the hunger pangs hit me with full force. My legs felt heavy, my head was spinning and I had nothing left to eat. Every pedal stroke was agony and I felt like I was about to keel over. I stopped desperately at the side of the road, out of breath and drenched in sweat. The Italian sun was burning mercilessly and I had no more food with me. With shaking hands, I searched for anything edible in my pockets, but they were empty. Suddenly I heard a strange ringing. An old, rickety ice cream van came around the corner. The driver, an elderly man with a white beard, stopped and asked in Italian if I wanted an ice cream. I told him about my hunger pangs and he laughed heartily. He gave me not just one, but six scoops of ice cream in a huge cone and said: "This will help you." With renewed energy and a big smile on my face, I continued my journey. The ice cream gave me a much-needed energy boost and I managed the remaining 25 kilometers.

My worst hunger flat was actually on a hike in my vacation near berchtesgaden germany I was hiking up the hochstaufen which is quite a serious mountain and decided not to have breakfast that morning so after hiking to the mountain and then taking the long route up near the peak and 4 hours in to the hike I completely exploded from one minute to the next my heart rate skyrocketed and my legs turned to lead… I had to still hike back without food to town (direct route) for another 2 hours down the mountain because I was just so dead energy wise… yeah don’t bonk on top of a mountain on a trail path with only your 2 feet to carry you back 🤮

I have a good story. Went on trainingcamp in Calpe, Spain for two months. Firstly the appartement I stayed in was full of cockroaches, that was a great start. This problem got never fixed so I just continued like they were not there. After that my car got broken into and my spare gear was all stolen. It didn't end there because I crashed my bike and broke it and was full of battle scars after that. After the bike got fixed (approx. 1 week) I still had one week to go and in this week I got food poisoning and had to go to the hospital in Denia. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, on the last day I tore my muscle while riding so I was out for 2 weeks after the camp. Great experience. After this I never was able to find a good position on the bike which led me to stop completely. Now I can't ride more than 30 minutes pain-free.

Hunger flat story: more a story of how I semi-rescued a friend from a terrible hunger flat I was doing an 85km MTB race and came across one of my friends about 100m from the top of the last climb before a big descent to the last aid station. My friend was sitting on the side of the trail with his head between his knees. I chucked him a gel, told him how close to the aid station we were and continued on - knowing there was someone close behind walking as he'd had a mechanical and since I was racing for 3rd in the women's race. At the aid station I warned them to look out for my friend when he arrived. I eventually found him after the finish and it turned out that he had been taken back to the start in an ambulance and told us that on the descent to the aid station he had been 'drifting in and out of consciousness'. The following day he was totally fine and came 3rd in the Enduro race

Every cloud has a silver lining. Enjoy your time with your family.

you gonna make it to the tour!

Worst hunger flat was about 2 years ago. I was 30 miles into my ride and still about 20 miles away from my apartment in Georgia. I was out of food and could feel it slowly kicking. Thought my electrolytes was enough but a steep hill at like 16% came out of nowhere and after grinding to get near the top. My body shut down and I couldn’t even lift my legs over the bike. I somehow managed to like slowly fall on the side of the road with a pole and thankfully a fellow cyclist with a sprinter like van stopped and gave me a ride home.

I'm here for the recipes!

this is a cooking channel and im here for it

Would have loved to see u at the tour, just as u said.. thats pro sport 🥺 next year!! ☺️

My worst hunger flat story is not really about me. Back in 2014, they held a stage of the Arctic Race in my hometown. I had been into cycling for a few years by that point. A few days after the race had finished, I wanted to ride a part of the route that went around a small island (about 110-120 km). I didn’t want to do it all by myself, so I invited a friend to join me. This friend of mine had never ridden a road bike before. We started our ride and for the first 2-3 hours, everything went exceptionally well. I could tell he was starting to tire, and from this point, it all went sideways. We had severely underestimated how long the ride was going to be; therefore, we barely took any food with us. It was a Sunday, which meant that all the stores along the way were closed. We pushed on for a few more hours until my friend collapsed. He was completely empty and could not continue the ride. We had to call another friend to come to pick him up. At this point, I was also pretty bonked. Luckily, my friend brought some snacks with him. I finished the ride, and both my friend and I had learned a lesson: always bring more food than you think you need.

Bonk Story: Spent a year or so training for the Coast to Coast in NZ, bonked just after the highest point in the race on the run over the southern alps, one of the race Marshalls thought I didn’t look too good so stopped me and asked for my name. Mate, the bonk was so bad I couldn’t even give her an answer, had no clue where I was or who I was. Long story short, I pulled off course by way of a mighty Hilux and some off roading, had a 2 hour ambulance ride to the nearest hospital, and a night at in the Christchurch emergency department hooked up to an ECG machine. Valuable lesson, if coach gives you a fuel plan for a race, you should probably follow it hahah.

Worst hunger flat actually happened earlier today, planned a 100k out and back into the country with a few hearty climbs in there. As I hit the 45 ish k mark both of my bottles flew out on a steep descent, both still pretty full with carbs, and down they went into a field never to bee seen again. Ah well I said to myself with nothing but some haribos in my pocket. made it up the next climb and as soon as I summited, realised what a dire situation i'd got myself into, 50k until home with nothing. Called half my contacts list to see if anyone was available, guess they all had better things to do with their sunday's. On the way back with about 15k to go the bonk had truly set in, anything that was remotely uphill had to be walked and all of 4 hours later, finally made it home. Was all made good though when on the menu was a fat bowl of pasta and a 44 minute Harry and Jacob special.

Hunger flat is when you want to buy anything to eat but there's nothing to buy 300km around! That's what you can expect in Patagonia - South America, where the only "shops" are within the "estancias", that is huge haciendas whree the employees work and live. That's what happenned in a self-supported bike trip of 2200kms along the Carretera Austral and Tierra del Fuego in 2011. Thanks for your daily life videos!

When I was 16, me and my friend planned on doing our first 200km ride. And we didn't really know how much food we would need for that, so we both just packed a few bars and gels. Turns out, that he just brought protein bars, wich wouldn't help a lot. Also it was in the time of the corona pandemic, so we couldn't by any food at a restaurant. So we had to go with 100 watts and several brakes until we were at his home again

I think that’s the forth place you’ve lived in since you started the channel? How about a video where you talk about all the different countries you’ve lived and trained in? Would love to hear how you find it in Andorra compared to the Cote d’Azur

Enjoy the holiday! Luckily I have only one real bonk story as I now over prepare on food because of the experience. It was years ago when I was just starting to get into riding longer distances. A group of friends and I decided to camp out near the start of a t-shirt ride. I was more concerned on figuring out my tent situation and didn't even consider dinner or what I'd have for breakfast. I basically brought a couple of water bottles and snack bars and that was it. Sleep was horrible because people "camped" next to us and had a party and played music from their car well into the night. With some snack bars for breakfast, I started on the 62 mile / 100k ride and felt fine until about half way. I ended up by myself, slowly chugging along until I saw the finish. I simply could not pedal any further and pulled over to the side, light headed and seeing stars. Luckily a volunteer driving for the event pulled up and took me to the finish. By some miracle I found a bag of random chocolate I once lost in my car. Who knows how old it was but I gladly stuffed my face with melted chocolates. I drove off with my face looking like a 5 year old who just ate chocolate and found a fast food burger place to gorge myself. Haven't bonked that hard since!

You da man harry!!

I am quit new to cycling so hunger became a problem just once. But it was on a gravel ride in February and I didn’t understand it at first. I felt fine, but I couldn’t produce any power what so ever.

I completely forgot about my worst hunger flat until watching this video. It was a "Worst day of the year ride" in the northern part of the US and forecasted to be 25 degrees F outside. I was told the ride was only going to be 20 miles so I didn't bring any food. When we started they changed the length to 35 miles. About halfway though the ride my toes and fingers started to get cold as we continued to ride my legs and arms followed. With about 5 miles left I completely frozen and completely bonked. I was begging everyone for food which they already had eaten. I crawled back to the brewery we started worried I might never make it. Back a the brewery crushed a huge plate of nachos and a beer in minutes. It was the worst! I learned to always bring food on rides even if I didn't think I would need it.

Thankfully you didn’t pitch it. Quite a few of us out here waiting for the next episodes. Cooking is great. Y’all are funny

Enjoy the break and see you soon

My worst hunger flat story happened in April this year, when my dad and I decided to ride a rather long ride on our gravel bikes in istria. On our way we jumped into four snakes, which was my first time ever encountering them in the wild. I panicked, drove the fastest I could and in the end got excited to eat ice cream and pizza at our favourite place in rovinji, only to find out that both the restaurant and the ice cream shop was closed :(

Worst hunger flat: 10years ago I still thought that fueling in zone 2 training is a sign of weakness, so at the end of a 3hour ride I bonked so hard that at home I inhaled a whole package of Haribo gummie bears

Hunger Flat Story - Day 1 of bike packing across Europe , we set off from the ferry in Cherbourg - I for some reason negated all of my previous knowledge of cycling nutrition and thought that 3 meals a day would suffice , its easy z1 after all....... ( wrong ). We were fuelled on vibes and excitement and I absolutely ran myself into the ground - maybe 9 hours on the bike later we called it quits with camping - and got an airbnb , I physically couldn't push on the pedals. I sat in the airbnb shower on max temp shivering - then crawled into the bed and continued to shiver. The next 3 weeks of bike packing I ate religiously and had the absolute fear of bonking.

hunger flat story This was before I ever heard about gels and such. There was a mountain bike group near my village with which I was riding for the first time. I did not know the pace or length of the ride, I was young and naive. It turns out these guys ride really hard and I only had 1 bowl of cereal to eat and took just one jam sandwich with me. Needless to say I was gone. I said to the group that I would leave early and take a shorter route home but half way up that road I had the urge to sit. I got of the bike and found a bench, then the urge to lay down came. I hid my bike in some bushes and then just laid in a ditch on the side of the road. About 1 hour later I woke up, after having fallen asleep. Got on the bike and struggled to go even 10 mph. When I saw a cafe up the road I got off again and stumbled into the seating area and completely fell over a table and some chairs. People came to me with some bananas and coke and after eating those I just quietly left and went home, which I eventually did.

Nice vid Hazza

Heck yeah! More Harry content 🙌

Probably my worst hunger flat: at the time I had only been cycling for like a month. Did 80k on a very windy day, was absolutely cooked after 50k because I had no clue about fueling, I just drank some water and had maybe a biscuit. So as you can imagine, completely imploded and my mates had to push me up every hill for the last 30k, which was made worse on the last climb as there was this oldtimer parade, so it truly was the climb/ride of shame. Then at the finish we had just one beer and I swerved home on my bike, half drunk on a Saturday afternoon from one beer because of the hunger flat. Seven years later I still get laughed at for it sometimes.

So mine happened two years ago during autumn, I was out gravel riding with a couple of older fellas, one being an ex pro rider. They go insanely fast through the forest and because I kept up with them on prior rides I told myself I’d be alright, but felt spent worried already after an hour. I guess they never heard of Z2, as they do race pace each time they ride. Anyhow, at the last moment after nearly hanging in we turn up to a roadside cafe/bakery for a break. Desperate I stuffed myself with a pulled pork tortilla which another rider also had. The others had sweet stuff like cakes instead. 20 mins after the stop and I start having these disgusting burps coming which made me feel even worse, I started joking and the other guy who had the same said he also felt massive burps hitting him haha. After close to three hours I was really hitting the bonk wall, getting dropped on climbs and feeling like an anchor when they had to wait for me. One of them was clearly also spent and asked if anyone had gels to spare. In my irrational state I hadn’t fed myself properly after the tortilla and still had two gels in my back pocket which I gave the dude instead of taking the moment to reflect and have them myself, his question could’ve been a wake up call. I handed them over, watching him slurp BOTH down in the same moment and ride off. After 10 mins I told them to go ahead without me, and rode back home in snail pace for an hour or so. Stopped at a roadside place and had a sausage roll and soda, absolutely disgusting and didn’t help at all. Came home broken and caked in mud, wife giving me a loving look and said “you need a good shower and lay down on the couch”. She’d made an amazing Caesar salad which was light and brought me back to life. Bonus: get yourself a good knife sharpener! The work smart line is awesome. Their “guided field sharpener” model is tiny but full of functions and also works on large kitchen knives. 🤞 fingers crossed

Great video as always, fair play for uploading the video even though things didn't go your way. Who is the Irish rider you were with? Looking for an EF Ireland jersey everywhere!

I would say a good grinder is the most important part of making good other than using good coffee.

As an EF fan I am saddened that you did not make the team. We are extreamely strong however. Richard looks really good after stage two! Any change you are going to the vuelta???

Ur the best Harry

I did the London marathon one year and was going well until the 16 mile point when I started to feel funny light headed and needed food there were porta loos at the side of the road so I nipped in there and whilst sat there having a rest saw this unopened gel on the floor desperation and fear of not making it I picked it up and had the gel “chocolate of all flavours” 🤮 but hey I made it to the end just 🥵

Hunger Flat at Lunada.. My girlfriends old man at the time wanted to test my resolve so he sent me on a deceptive mission over Portillo de lunada (+1000m), with just €10 cash and no food. It was meant to be a 2hr ride but he sent me up this unknown mountain whilst he headed back home. It turned into 4.5hrs and 3000m for me. I quickly found out nobody takes card in regional Spain and began to starve on an epic "father in law" stitch up and €10 for a ham and cheese sandwich and a can of coke. Pain! Anyway, proof that you should keep your family close and your Amacx closer ;)

Hunger flat story... Many years back when i went to do training session (cross-country skiing) here in Finland. My goal was just to do 30km (2 hours) quite easy pace, but it felt so good so that continued training and decided to do about 3 hours and 50km. That was quite (brainfart) and then everything started went downhill from that point on. At point 40km i started to feel bonking and that time i had one half litre energy/caffeine drink with my and i noticed that that was light drink so no sugar so another (brainfart). So i decided turnaround because it was 10km back to car and when there was 3-4 km left i was so bad state that i have to stop every 100 metres and i was sure that im not going get back to car. Maybe 50km is not so long at cycling but in cross-country skiing it is quite long. But luckily i managed to get back to car somehow and went inside car and offcourse put heating on because it was -10c outside. I was just shivering inside my car and texted to my girlfriend to put sauna on. Here in Finland almost every apartment has a sauna. When i was in the car my shape was pretty awful so decided to rest couple minutes before heading out to home. But then i woke up when some old guy knocked at my car window and asked is everything allright, he had noticed that the car is on and i was sleeping there. I just say that yeah everything is allright and started drive back to home and my memories is pretty foggy from that trip back to home, (notice, if you feel that bad don´t drive) . When arrived back to home i went immediately to fridge and started to eat everything. After that i was still shivering and went straight to sauna. After sometime my girlfriend came to sauna check up on me because it was so quiet there and about 30-40 minutes had passed. So offcourse i was sleeping there and when she woke up me i felt pretty sick and headed to toilet to vomit almost everything i had just eaten. This took me about one week to recover from that. Now my rule of thumb is take allways one gel or something with me. Nice videos and quite funny too with Jacob. Like Beavis and Butt-head 🤣

Moved to a new pad in Encamp? Nice views and sun!

snapped my chain 130k into a ride where i dropped 2 bars on the ride, had to get the bus stopped at a shop, smashed a whole pack of digestives, got the next bus home with people just looking at me disgusted and sweaty

I was finishing a collegiate road race in central California and had cramped out in both legs and bonked. I had to walk across the finish line since my legs were locked up. After that I was riding back to the cars and I got clipped by a horse trailer and crashed hard. I had to get driven to the nearest hospital in my kit still and cramping/bonking. Eventually I got out and was clear minus a separated shoulder and road rash and then I went back to meet the team for dinner. At dinner, I had an allergic reaction to the large amount of ibuprofen I took and started breaking out in hives for the whole 6 hour car ride back to San Diego. Not a great day.