Breakfast Before Early Rides?

[Zen]

OK, so I am curious. Can you gag this down at 5am, and does it sit OK at 6am when riding? This breakfast sounds delicious if I've been up for an hour or two...but...

I bet the oatmeal will go down pretty easily, you might be surprised after you see how good it is.

[CyclaSutra]

I love oatmeal, and always have it on backpacking trips. Sometimes I eat it the day of a long ride, but often cold cereal. When the alarm goes off, I chow food and then start getting dressed/sunscreen. That way I don't start exercising for about 1.5-2 hours. I always try to pasta up the night before, too.

On-bike eating is different for everybody, but I usually start out fairly healthy and move to progressively more straight carbs. First a banana after half an hour, maybe some slices of apple, Cytomax in one water bottle and water in the other, then maybe an oatmeal cookie, a peanut butter and jelly, some sort of bagel smeared with PB, some Hammer Gel, I've even had PopTarts but they kind of break easily and get smushed, and my secret weapon: Twinkies!

Some people just do straight-up gels and liquids and such, but I like munching on real food.

Starfish, are these "events" racing where you supply all your own food, or organized rides where you can see what's up for grabs at the food stops? Sometimes they'll have stuff I can't turn down, like Little Debbie cakes.

[Starfish]

Starfish, are these "events" racing where you supply all your own food

No racing, LOL! Organized rides...

[JanB]

I try to always start the ride as soon as it's light out and so when I get up at 4:30 to ride at 5:30, I always plan to finish my oatmeal 1 hour before we begin riding. I eat 1/2 cup dry oatmeal (microwaved) + 1 packet sweetener + 1 scoop vanilla protein mixed in the oatmeal after it's cooked. Doesn't sit heavy and goes down easily. I also start eating something solid and do the gel thing/drinking thing regularly. Beef jerkey, sport beans, trail mix, banana etc. work well for me.