What do you eat before a ride?

[Jiffer]

Just curious what you eat before a ride, particularly a longer or more intense ride that you really want to be strong on.

I typically have half of a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter, but wondering if on those longer/harder rides I should be doing more. I tried DH's "Preformance" drink he swears by twice and got a side ache. I read that too much fluid before hard exercise can do that to some people. So I probably need to stick with regular food mostly.

[ny biker]

Most of my long rides start in the morning. I have 4 eggo nutrigrain waffles with margarine and syrup plus a cup of tea for breakfast. That generally works for me because it's a fair amount of calories but not too heavy.

[indysteel]

For morning rides, I have instant oatmeal with a splash of milk and yogurt. As I'm actually gearing up for the ride, I eat a banana.

[Biciclista]

we eat oatmeal before our biggest rides, but we snack all day too.

[shootingstar]

Microwaved instant oatmeal with milk. Usually no more than 1/2 c. of oatmeal. Cup of tea.

For a longer ride, a slice of bread / fresh fruit --in addition to the oatmeal and tea.

Today was strange, I just had my lighter fare, oatmeal, tea. Towards the end of ride, my stomach was growling. Just so strange because I didn't cycle a long distance..only 38 kms. with 3 smallish hills along the way. But I know I'm not as fit at this time of year.

[HillSlugger]

before my triathlons I like a big bowl of Cheerios with milk and a yogurt smoothie.

[nscrbug]

Pre-ride meals for me are always 1 packet of instant unflavored oatmeal, made with 1 part water and 1 part skim milk...with a small banana sliced into the oatmeal before microwaving for 2m,20s. When it's done, I sprinkle on cinnamon. This will hold me until about 30-35 miles into the ride, which at that point...I'll have either a mini Clif Bar or a few Shot Bloks or other "chews".

[Owlie]

My normal breakfast--bowl of cereal and a glass of milk. As I'm heading out, I grab fruit--an apple or a banana.
My mode of exersize nutrition is snacking.

[moonfroggy]

i usually have my normal breakfast which is a green smoothie which sounds gross but is tasty

lettuce or other leafy greens (kale when i am feeling hardcore hehe)
dates
raw nuts and seeds such as (chia seeds and pumpkin seeds or cashews and flax seeds)
sometimes frozen bananas
raw cocoa powder or frozen blueberries and if we do blueberries we add vanilla
and enough water to make it a texture we like all blended up until smooth

i tend to snack on homemade trail while i am on the bike if it is a longish ride. nuts and seeds and dried fruit and chocolate chips bits of rice cake.

[OakLeaf]

My normal breakfast, but maybe a larger quantity as a pre-ride breakfast, than it would be if I wasn't going to ride or run until the evening.

Hot or cold cereal, a handful of raw nuts or a dollop of peanut butter, fresh or dried fruit.

I need to replace calories on any ride longer than about an hour and a half. I put HEED in my bottles. If it goes over around five hours, I'll need some protein, too. What goes down best for me is a tuna salad or egg salad sandwich. (I was surprised, too, how well it worked for me, the first time. )

[azfiddle]

I'm still on weightwatchers and also trying to balance fueling riding and burning calories to lose weight- 5 lbs to go!

I was not a big oatmeal fan until I returned to weightwatchers. I like it because it's relatively filling and not high in calories. I've gotten more fond of it since starting cycling. I'm gradually moving over to the quick cooking (not instant) oats, but don't have time for long cooking oats most of the time. I like to put some dried fruit, a little milk and little spoon of honey or brown sugar in it. Other breakfast that work for me are half a bagel with cream cheese and lox, or my favorite bread from the French bakery- pepper & onion, with a melted cheddar cheese (Kerry Gold Irish cheddar is my favorite!). Often, I also have half a banana. And in warmer weather, I like cottage cheese and fresh fruit.

Like Oakleaf, I need to add in snacks along the way after an hour or so, but am trying to rely as much as possible on "real" food (dried fruit, almonds etc), although I do take Luna bars because they are convenient. I haven't really used any other products - drinks, gels, etc. However I'm concerned about figuring out good choices for preventing heat exhaustion as it warms up- it was a problem as I got started riding last summer- but I think that's a topic that deserves its own thread.

Sharon

[limewave]

fried egg sandwich on eng. muffin
+ small bowl of oatmeal with teeny bit of soy milk, maybe a few walnuts

It's filling, hearty, and only 300 calories for the whole thing. Good mix of carb, protein and fat.

[artifactos]

Most days, I have a protein shake in the morning (skim milk + whey or soy protein powder) since my body has gotten used to working out in the morning and rejects solid food sometimes. If I wake up less than 2 hours before a workout/ride, the protein shake and some yogurt and tea are all I have before I drink tons of water during the activity.

If I have more than 2 hours between waking up and working out, I usually start with a protein shake and have a goetta and egg sandwich on an english muffin later in the morning. If I don't have time to cook goetta, it turns into an english muffin with peanut butter instead.

[KnottedYet]

2 fried eggs
1 pork chop smothered in carmelized onions and garlic
big pile of mashed potatoes with olive oil and plain yogurt
coffee

Breakfast of champions! Gets me through triathlons and long morning rides, and I expect it to get me through my first half marathon next week.
(salmon can be substituted for the pork chop)

[shootingstar]

2 fried eggs
1 pork chop smothered in carmelized onions and garlic
big pile of mashed potatoes with olive oil and plain yogurt
coffee

Breakfast of champions! Gets me through triathlons and long morning rides, and I expect it to get me through my first half marathon next week.
(salmon can be substituted for the pork chop)

Wow, this wins a gold medal on volume.
I have eaten breakfasts like that, just substitute the pork chop..with a sausage or slice of ham (yea, bad), toasted English muffin, etc....particularily on self-supported touring bike rides that run several days. Or before we go snowshoeing for several hrs. somewhere in the mountains during the day.

The biggest danger for me when we go on vacation somewhere are the buffet breakfasts at a hotel. Another reason why our vacations have to include some multi-hr. long fitness activity.

AFter such a breakfast, I barely have a lunch. Don't need to. The purpose of that type of breakfast is precisely for 1) convenience 2) to help me not pine for a ton of food at lunch but to have 1-2 small snacks before supper during bike ride or snowshoeing trip day.