pre ride fueling

flexyfish

Hi i'm fairly new to cycling and could do with some advice about eating before a big ride early in the monring. Like what to eat, how early before the ride etc.

cheers

rpd_steve

If your doing about 50 miles or less then provided you have a good normal diet, i.e. eat a squair meal each evening with some meat and veg, then a light breakfast, then that is good enough.

Personally I find a bowl of porridge and a glass of juice in the morning has me feeling full of energy fo up to 50 miles. At about 50 miles + I start to eat something extra, toast as well ect and then carry food on the go like banana, malt loaf and a couple of gells in case of bonkage...

flexyfish

So say you were going for a ride at 0800 how early would you eat before that

andyeb

Ideally leave an hour after eating before setting off. I personally also like porridge, as it takes a while to digest and gives a slow and steady release of energy (low glycemic index).

mike101

Everyones different. I'd have a bowl of Muesli at 7am and would then be fine until around 60 miles. You need to experiment to see what works for you.

Pigtail

You need to experiment to find what is best for you. There's also an element of training your body to work with what you give it. I have a bowl of porridge, some raisins and two cups of green tea every morning. If I'm going out for a ride I may also have a banana. By the time I tooter about and get ready its generally at least 20 minutes after I've eaten before I get out of the house.

snoopsmydogg

another vote for porridge about an hour before

ShutUpLegs

flexyfish wrote:

So say you were going for a ride at 0800 how early would you eat before that

You don't actually have to eat anything before a ride.

Penfold06

Jordan's muesli with added almonds, honey and yogurt for me! May have a banana as well if i'm not full. Try to get out asap after my breaky, ideally within a half hour. Everybody is different though, personally I like to feel full before I go out but I know plenty of people are the exact opposite.

Your best off experimenting with different foods yourself. A lot of people suggest oats and the like, in their various forms, because they take a while for your body to break down and hence keep you fuelled for longer. Plenty of other things you can try though just stay away from simple sugars that will give you an energy high followed by a low.

Penfold06

You don't actually have to eat anything before a ride.

Generally good to though, unless your bonk training...

NITR8s

Before my knee gave in I used to do a lot of early morning runs and would often run 10miles to half marathon before breakfast, with nothing fueling me than other than whats left from the day before. I therefore support that eating nothing before a ride is ok, however if your ride is longer than 2 hours i.e 30mile plus then I would get hungry naturally by this time without doing any exercise, so would take food with me as I am a pig.

jibberjim

Nothing, ensure you're fully topped up the night before, and fuel as soon as you start riding. The insulin response once I've started makes everything work so much better like that. I never eat before a first thing ride.

Bordersroadie

Muesli plus banana plus 30-60 mins* then ride.
Longer rides (60 - 100 miles) I have a big pasta dinner mid evening the prior night then a bowl of muesli before bed.

* Deciding factor on this timescale is that I go only after I've dumped!

simon_e

ShutUpLegs wrote:

You don't actually have to eat anything before a ride.

+1.

For rides longer than 2 hours I'd take something with me as well as water. Snickers, banana, fruit bar, muesli bar, geobar, Eat Natural... or whatever you fancy.

Too many people are sucked into thinking you need to 'carb load' before going out for a simple bike ride :roll:

team47b

A lot of cyclists are overweight and try to avoid eating before or during a ride to burn fat, if you are not trying to loose weight why not eat what you like, you will probably burn it off anyway.

MancMissile

I'd go for a big bowl of pasta the night before and porridge in the morning myself... works for me. Also carry malt loaf, bannana's and gels on the ride to eat as and when I get hungry.

MarksMintness

Simon E wrote:

ShutUpLegs wrote:

You don't actually have to eat anything before a ride.

+1.

For rides longer than 2 hours I'd take something with me as well as water. Snickers, banana, fruit bar, muesli bar, geobar, Eat Natural... or whatever you fancy.

Too many people are sucked into thinking you need to 'carb load' before going out for a simple bike ride :roll:

+1
I don't have anything before my morning commute, which is about 15 miles. I don't think it's a problem at all if you're just going out for an hour or so. Maybe if I was doing 2 hours+ on the bike I would have something before, and take snakes on the go.
Cheers,

smidsy

Many snakes in the derby/burton area these days ;-)

MarksMintness

smidsy wrote:

Many snakes in the derby/burton area these days ;-)

'snacks'!!!! Although taking a snake might make you ride faster!

smidsy

The only thing that would make me ride faster is a tow rope on the back of a Ferrari