Food q

[crazycanuck]

Hey,

In about a month or so (move to new house) we'll be commuting to work. I work at 730am & will have to leave around 530-545am as i have a 15km ride ahead of me.

My question to you ladies is, do you have a snack before you commute? Do you have breakfast before or after your commute?

Dunno if anyone bikes the same distance each morning?

Just wondering...

c

[Geonz]

Know yourself.

I have a bagel and cheese and a large glass of tea, or something a lot like that each morning. If I'm riding a lot in general, I'll make sure to toss a glass of something else liquid down, too - lemonade, gatorade, water, wahtever.

My commute is about 12 km. and takes about 40 minutes (depending on traffic). Okay, 35 but if I admit that then I"ll leave even later and be late to work :p My record's 28. (I gotta get that speedo fixed!)

I'm not a "morning person," though - I need the bagel 'cause the tea will rebound on an empty stomach (and the signals aren't the same when you're riding a bike - finding that out the hard way totally grossed out at least one driver, I'm sure!) but I can do 10 miles or so without fuel, no problem.

Then I'm fine 'til lunch, though I sometimes munch on something aout 10:00 or so (um, should I admit my Pop-Tart habit now?)

How is your route? Hilly? Trafficky?

[DebW]

I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast whether I ride or not. I try to get the breakfast down at least 30 minutes before I leave or I sometimes get a bit of indigestion. Luckily my 13 mile (21 km) 50 minute ride doesn't have any major uphills in the first 25 minutes. I'm often ready for a snack by 10:30, but sometimes I make it til 11:30 and lunch. There is nowhere around my office to buy food, so I wouldn't want to have to carry breakfast and lunch on my bike.

[DeniseGoldberg]

My commute is usually 18 miles in to work and 20 to 24 miles back home again. I always eat breakfast before I leave - cereal with fresh fruit plus toast and peanut butter. And then I eat yogurt when I get to the office and have a mid-morning snack too.

I can't imagine riding that kind of distance (or the distance you are suggesting) without food!

--- Denise

[Tater]

This might be something you may have to experiment with. Unlike Geonz, I cannot do my morning ride on anything more than a glass of something wet and maybe a piece of toast, otherwise I feel like I am going to hork it all over the road. But I haul my food items for the day with me anyway and will graze once I get settled in at my desk. I make sure that when I get to work, to have some carbs and a bit of protien. Sometimes this is a bit of chocolate milk, other times, bagle, fruit and a piece of string cheese. I have a 19 km commute each way and with traffic lights and all, it takes about an hour each way. I found it helpful to drink en route and to make sure to hydrate through the day. I get tired and headache-y if I don't.

[tulip]

Everyone is different. My commute is 14 miles (22 km) and I normally don't have breakfast until I get to the office (actually the coffee shop near my office). But a cafe recently opened near my house, so I've gone there before my ride for coffee and a muffin. I've been fine both ways. I find it more important what I eat the night before.

[Tater]

I find it more important what I eat the night before.
Good point, tulip! I find this true as well! I can certainly tell when I didn't get enough carbs.

[KnottedYet]

Yeah, know what your stomach likes... don't gross out the cars (ewwww:D )

I eat a gigantic breakfast with 3 or 4 cups of coffee. Usually I don't eat "breakfast" food, cuz it's not burly enough. I need HUGE food: baked potato, steamed broccoli, sausage, scrambled eggs with cheese. Or salmon and rice and salad. (I eat dinner for breakfast, really)

when I get to work I eat something right away and drink a bottle of water. Usually I eat something sugary, like a Payday bar or chocolate or a banana. I can usually get that done while I'm changing into my work clothes/shoes and putting away my bike stuff.

A couple hours later (before lunch) I often need another snack.

I eat a small lunch and a small dinner.

[mimitabby]

I always eat before my commute because i know i won't eat at work.
If i was going somewhere where there was food, i wouldn't need to eat before i left. with your commute, i'd say it was borderline (whether or not i needed to eat first)

[are_you_stinky?]

I have about a 5.5 mile ride to work, and I always eat before I go unless I am doing a brick (biking in and then running, 'cause I cannot eat before running). Usually either a bagel or oatmeal.

What I find strange is that I am frequently starving when I get to work, even if I have eaten. You know how swimming makes you really hungry (i.e. hungrier than it should for the amount of work you were doing)? Biking seems to do that to me, at least sometimes. I haven't quite figured it out yet... it really doesn't seem that 25 minutes on the bike should make me hungry.

[Quillfred]

Hey,

In about a month or so (move to new house) we'll be commuting to work. I work at 730am & will have to leave around 530-545am as i have a 15km ride ahead of me.

c

Hey crazycanuck, does that mean you ended up buying that house you posted? :) Congrats!

I drink a yogurt drink about 20 minutes prior to take off. During the summer I also like having water with the Clif's Electrolyte mix as I sweat like a fiend and notice I feel better. I read that the 30 minutes of post recovery is the most important time to replenish muscles with glucose, so I usually eat a sports bar while I'm washing up and changing into work clothes. Now mind you, I am probably overkill.....

[divingbiker]

Usually I don't eat anything before my 7.5 mile ride to work, mostly because I take a medication that requires that I not eat for an hour after taking it. I don't have time to wait around for an hour and then eat, or I'd be late to work. If I feel like I need something, I'll eat a half a luna bar right before I leave. Once I get to work, I eat cereal with fresh fruit and soy milk, and some veggie sausage. It tastes so good after working up a sweat!

[RoadRaven]

My commute is 23km each way, I do it on a couple of bits of toast for breakfast, and grab a sandwich from the cafe for morning tea.

I make sure I have a reasonable lunch before biking home a few hours later, cause the homeward leg is mostly up and I don't want the food sitting high in my belly

[light_sabe_r]

Congrats on the move crazycanuck!!

I try to have breakfast every morning, cept the mronings where my stomach refuses... Sometimes you just wake up and my stomach is so restless!

On mornings like that I usually snack bar it. ^_^ Only when I'm OFF the road.

[7rider]

I've never been able to eat right when waking up.
Every body is different.
Like DivingBiker, I take meds that require an empty stomach and no eating after I take it....a half hour for me. Still, I usually split a banana with my bunnies, fill a thermos with coffee for the second water bottle cage, and if I'm ambitious the night before, will boil a few eggs for when I get to work (lately, it's been PopTarts! Shhhhh). My commute is also ~7.25 miles (~13 km)(MD 'burbs outside D.C., too).
In the afternoon, I'll eat 1/2 Pria bar or take a cliff shot before I leave to get dressed for the ride home.

[run it, ride it]

I'll have a bowl of Vector cereal and banana before the commute (13km, hills near the end), then some protein powder mixed with water once I get there. First break is 2.5 hours in and I eat lots of fruit then.

I am always super hungry in the morning. The second I get out of bed, I'm ready for fuel. There is no way I can survive without breakfast, unless I'm hung-over. In that rare case, I keep a steady gatorade intake throughout the commute and usually feel ready for food by the time I get there.

Disclaimer: it's socially acceptable to arrive at work slightly hung over on occasion: I'm a student and it's a summer job.

[bikerHen]

I'm an early riser, but don't feel like eating for a couple of hours. On my early morning rides I'll force a 1/2 of peanut butter sandwich down with my morning tea and save the other half to eat when I get to work. It seems to work well for me. I get some fuel for the ride and then a mid morning snack to hold me over till lunch.:D bikerhen

[tulip]

I did a little experiment...last night I did not eat supper, really. I bit of yogurt. I just wasn't hungry. This morning, I headed out for my commute as usual with no breakfast. It was one of my fasted commutes yet.

This is not to say that I'm going to make a habit of not eating supper. It just shows that in my particular case, I seem to have enough fuel to ride my commute without needing much. I was hungry when I got to work, though!

[GLC1968]

I'm a little different than most because I'm currently eating fairly low on carbs except before rides. My dinner the night before my commute is virtually carb free (except for veggies). I've discovered that I HAVE to eat some simple carbs before leaving or I'm too weak to get to work in good time! Lately, I've been grabbing two fig newtons and a big glass of water about 10 minutes before I leave. Then, when I get to work, I eat a normal breakfast (quiche cups, protein muffins, etc). I also commute early to be at work by 7:30 am...and getting up earlier than 5:30 so that I can eat more just won't work for me.

Oh, my commute is 14 miles and quite hilly.

I will echo the sentiment that whether or not you eat, and what you eat, before a ride is VERY personal. You really need to figure out what works for you...and unfortunately, that usually means trial and error! ;)

[SalsaMTB]

For me, I like to have a bowl of cereal and coffee before I ride. Once I get to work, I'll have an apple or something. Then, before I leave, I have a banana and try to get some gatorade down. my commute is about 15 miles each way.

[tulip]

My little experiment was a bust. I was tired all day, and my commute home was slow and I have a headache. I commute 30 miles a day--and I need fuel to do it. While I may have felt fine this morning, I think my fuel deficiency caught up with me.

I will not skip dinner. I will not skip dinner. I will not skip dinner.

[postiechic]

i get up at 3.30am.....not really feeeling like food then. My ride to work is 16.5km. I take all my food to work and enjoy eating brekky after a shower and while i get stuck into the workload. On the other hand, if I woke up hungry then an apple or sutmhin would do till i got to work.

[Crankin]

My commute from my previous house was 6.8 miles, with moderate climbing for the second half. I ate a somewhat smaller than normal breakfast (cereal or oatmeal) and fruit, I can't have coffee that close to riding time or it's big trouble. So i would get my coffee at work and also, bring something else to eat after i arrived, usually protein. Then I would eat half of a Clif bar before going home. BTW, I know someone who for years has done 5:45 AM spin classes with no food before. She decided to go out for a ride this way one morning last summer and was found by the police, by the side of the road, totally bonked and unconscious (yes, she was wearing a helmet). So, be aware that a little change in what you do may require a change in your eating habits.

[spokewench]

I usually eat an english muffin with peanut butter - oj and coffee

and off to work I go. Most of the time, I will take a couple of pieces of fruit with me to eat between 8:30 and 12:00 at lunch. I eat a large lunch and a smaller dinner.