Question regarding morning rides

[ritapita]

I commute during the work week to work. I usually don't think to eat anything before I jump on the bike and usually just put Cranapple Juice in my water bottle or some type of juice as I'm worried eating that early might make me sick.
Is this ok to do? My ride is only about 5 miles (30 minutes with traffic) and I want to be sure I'm not totally killing my body. Would eating a small bar of some sort be good? I just don't want to eat something that's going to make me feel weighed down or anything like that.
Thanks everyone!

[farrellcollie]

Do you feel bad once you get to work? Are you up long before you leave for work? I am not a morning person and if I am just jumping out of bed and getting on bike for short commute - I eat once I get there and it has not been a problem for me. But if I am going to be up for an hour or so before I bike - I will usually eat a whole wheat bagel with cottage cheese or oatmeal before leaving because I will crash.

[lph]

I have a glass of juice, two sandwiches and a cup of coffee before biking to work (1/2 - 1 hr). And I eat more once I get there ;) And have lunch a few hours later.

But then, I'm always hungry. If you feel OK I'm sure you can get by without eating first.

[ritapita]

Yes, when I get to work, I usually have oatmeal, but I have noticed I'm a little worn out about 10 minutes into the ride. I'm almost wondering if it's just the initial shock to my body of only being awake for about 30 min- an hour and then going right into cycling :-).
Thanks for the tips though, I'll try both your suggestions before I ride as I don't want to deplete myself. I'm thinking maybe too if I do ...something I will possibly feel less hungry throughout the day??

[alpinerabbit]

I eat breakfast before leaving the house, but in a pinch I can handle my 30min commute (and it's got a rather big hill) without. I just hop out the door. No bottle needed - no time - I drink tea when I get there.
I find having a little something in the stomach is better than nothing.
I also found I can run within 10 minutes of getting up, but half a glass of milk will help the stomach stay calm.

30min will not deplete you. You have dinner in you from the night before, --> should have enough glycogen unless you are depleting that constantly; but your blood sugar is rather low in the mornings.
I'm not one for bars. These are for rides, not food...

Eat breakfast, absolutely, people who eat breakfast are healthier. I find the commuting actually makes me less hungry mid-morning.

[shootingstar]

Yes, when I get to work, I usually have oatmeal, but I have noticed I'm a little worn out about 10 minutes into the ride. I'm almost wondering if it's just the initial shock to my body of only being awake for about 30 min- an hour and then going right into cycling :-).
Thanks for the tips though, I'll try both your suggestions before I ride as I don't want to deplete myself. I'm thinking maybe too if I do ...something I will possibly feel less hungry throughout the day??

Unless you are continously climbing a hill for 30 min. over 8-10% grade or steeper, just a small drink or not much you are not overexhausting yourself. If your normal morning ride is reasonably flat, you will build endurance if you ride same route daily and not feel tired after finishing. Be patient with yourslef. For myself, on certain days, not all the time, I feel abit crappy during first 5-10 min. of ride, ....but feel great (!) after mounting the first hill or getting past a lousy section of traffic.

But then everyone is different. I do love early morning rides the best..my body is best primed for it.

[mimitabby]

I usually eat my breakfast before my 4 mile commute (with hills, mostly down in the morning) but if I'm late, I find that i am really okay without it, as long as I eat soon after I arrive.

[ritapita]

Unless you are continously climbing a hill for 30 min. over 8-10% grade or steeper, just a small drink or not much you are not overexhausting yourself. If your normal morning ride is reasonably flat, you will build endurance if you ride same route daily and not feel tired after finishing. Be patient with yourslef. For myself, on certain days, not all the time, I feel abit crappy during first 5-10 min. of ride, ....but feel great (!) after mounting the first hill or getting past a lousy section of traffic.

But then everyone is different. I do love early morning rides the best..my body is best primed for it.

Oh thanks. That's good to know (the ride being flat, endurance, etc). I was wondering what I was gaining as most of my ride is in central Florida (no hills hardly) and I am trying to do endurance right now.
Thanks!

[OakLeaf]

Ha ha, to me riding in Florida is just as depleting as riding in the hill country because you hardly EVER get a break from the wind! It's nearly impossible to do a low intensity ride!

Bottom line: do what works best for you, and experiment to find out what that is. I learned last summer that I do MUCH better on the afternoon hill rides if I have a big bowl of brown rice about 3-4 hours before the ride. Obviously that's not an option on morning rides though.

[LBTC]

Personally, I like to eat breakfast before I leave the house.....but....that's because of an experience I had about 8 years ago.

At the time I would ride to work and eat my breakfast there at about 10 am. I liked that and it worked fine until the day that I crashed on the way to work and broke my arm. Because I needed surgery I was not allowed to eat or drink. Because of where I lived, where there was no orthopedic surgeon, and because of the wait in the waiting room in the regional hospital, it was 12+ hours later before they told me that I wouldn't be having surgery that night and I could eat again. Because of other emergencies, etc, I did not actually have the surgery until almost 36 hours after the break, and had eaten only a small amount during the one evening. (side note: if you're ever waiting for emergency surgery and they say you can eat until midnight, have someone wake you up at 11:30 pm so you can eat and drink as much as possible....just in case your wait is longer than you expect. I sure wish I had!!)

I guess I just decided that anything can happen out there, I might as well be fueled for it. Hopefully, nothing like this happens to you or anyone else, but it has changed my habits. :)

Hugs and safe butterflies,
~T~

[tulip]

I used to not eat before my morning commute (14 miles). Then I tried eating breakfast before the commute and I had so much more energy and my commute was faster. Try it both ways and see what works for you.

[kfergos]

I can only share my personal experience here, since I'm no nutrition expert.

When I commuted 6 miles each way, I usually just had a nice big glass of milk before my ride, because like you I worried about my stomach being unhappy with the exercise right after eating. That worked just fine for me, but I'd often arrive at work ravenous.

Now I commute a little longer, I my typical breakfast might be:
- 2 pcs of toast + 1 yogurt or hard-boiled egg
- English muffin with PB & J (this can be amazingly filling, and it's the only one I've ever had my stomach protest even a little bit about)
- 1 pancake or waffle (usually leftover from the weekend)

And I always still have my big glass of milk, of course. :)

I don't usually push myself on my commutes, since mostly my goal is to just get there and back. So if I eat something in the morning and my stomach isn't happy, I'll just take it a little easier.