Its been a good morning: you didn'y ignore the alarm, it wasn't raining and everyone was on time. The first 70km rolled easily away and the pace lifted nicely into the last hour. But now you’re either scanning a menu or staring into the fridge. What to eat? Try this.

At the end of a long ride you’re in urgent need of carbos and fluid, but probably feeling so depleted you’ll eat just about anything. But don’t
undo all your good work by inhaling a fat-laden plate of bacon and eggs. A piece of fruit, a bowl of fruit salad or a banana sandwich with a fruit juice will kill your urgent cravings while you organise something capable of filling the hole that extended time on the bike creates. A pasta salad is a great way of getting your recovery started and supplying the nutrients you need – and adding a little low-fat protein means you’ll feel full but refreshed afterwards. Mushrooms boosts the vitamin B12 content (essential for the formation of red blood cells and other tissues, and especially important for
vegetarians), while the vitamin A from red capsicums and vitamin C from the broccoli and lemon juice will help your immune system recover from the stress of prolonged aerobic exercise. The other advantage of a pasta salad is that it can be prepared the night before, with just the dressing to be added when you get home. And don’t be fooled by the dryness of your clothes and skin: you’re probably more dehydrated than you realise. Coke
may be the traditional recovery drink for cyclists, but a mix of water and a sports drink will give you all the nutrients you need without the sugar.
Leaving some of the white pith on the outside of oranges and lemons when you juice them is the cheapest way to get a dose of bioflavonoids, the complex vitamin reported to keep capillary walls strong and help your body metabolise the heavy metals absorbed from car exhausts. If your weekend jaunt ends at a café, bypass the bacon and eggs and start with a large water followed by a fruit juice and cereal before adding a few pancakes to your recovery.

?5-Step Pasta salad
250g spiral pasta
one BBQ chicken breast (skin removed), or
6 slices of low fat ham
200g mushrooms, roughly chopped
150g broccoli, blanched
½ green. ½ red capsicum, chopped
>DRESSING:
1 tbs wholegrain mustard
1/3 cup lemon juice
1-2 tbs brown sugar
Or: low fat Dijonaise
>TO PREPARE:
Cook pasta in boiling water. Drain and rinse
under cold water to cool.
Toss pasta with chicken (or ham),
mushrooms, broccoli and capsicum
To make dressing combine mustard, lemon
and sugar in a bowl.
Pour dressing over salad.
Eat, contemplate cleaning bike.
(Serves 2)