Pre-ride meal

[RockyRaquel]

Hi guys,
I am new to cycling (2 months) and was wondering what you all eat before a bike ride. I've been doing banana's and protein bars but I am getting bored and I need some ideas....

[crazycanuck]

Umm what type of ride,weather, length etc? Can you give us a bit more info?

I'm sure that someone else will be able to chime in once we have a beet more info

[RockyRaquel]

25 mile ride (average speed like 15mph??), sunny, mostly flat terrain with a monster hill to climb at the end.

[crazycanuck]

Someone mentioned in a thread the other day that if you're doing a short ride that you don't necessarily have to eat prior....now if i could remember the thread...

40km is a nice & short distance so if i were doing that it would depend on the time of day.. Urmmm..my bowels & very early morning rides don't get on...I'd try and have a bit of a banana but most of what I consume would be mostly drink wise or perhaps a couple of shot bloks..

Hopefully someone else might have a better suggestion

Have you read Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition book?

I'm a bit scattered at the moment...

[alpinerabbit]

I usually have a soft boiled egg and bread, butter and jam. That's fine for the first 1-2 hours of a long riding day, and it seems you're done after 1-2 hours.

[indysteel]

For morning rides (and my morning rides tend to be 45 miles or longer), I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of yogurt. I may throw a banana in there, too, if the ride is 60 plus miles. For afternoon rides (which tend to be in the 25 to 30 mile range), I usually just eat a well balanced lunch. I may eat something small an hour before the ride, but I usually don't need to.