What do you eat before a big ride?

[Tri Girl]

Nancy- what do you eat ON the bike during a century? Do you drink your Cytomax all during the ride? I've tried various food combinations on the bike, and can't find something that doesn't make me nauseated after 4-5 hours. Tried: fig newtons, power bars, jelly bellies, gu, pb&j, pretzels...
A friend of mine just finished his first ironman and ate Payday's the whole way. Don't think I'm not thinking of that...
Thanks- and sorry to hijack this thread...

[Nanci]

Trigirl- any chance you're eating too many calories? More than about 300/hour and your stomach can't process them and you end up feeling pukey or actually vomiting...

Also, are you getting enough electrolytes? Not enough can cause your stomach to stop working. I aim for 320 with moderate exertion/sweating, 740 mg sodium/hour for heavy sweating. (Any more than that is wasted.) My _first_ sign of not enough electrolytes is vague stomach discomfort.

I the winter, I can eat heavy things like choc milk, sandwiches, etc, but in the summer I subsist on Gatorade and Jelly Bellies, and toward the end, anything salty like chips. At a Century, I just stop at the SAGs and pick out whatever my stomach tells me to- there's no predicting it.

Nanci

[light_sabe_r]

EGADS! You guys do cooked breakfasts before a big ride??! O_O The thought of eating bacon, sausage or eggs before a ride actually makes me gag!!!

I like my two weetbix with soy milk, a tablespoon of Milo, and three of four large strawberries, and maybe some V8 Vegetable juice. Once banana Prices come back don I'll be back on them too.
(they're almost 15 bucks a kilo because of Cyclone Larry (in february))

[Nanci]

I love sushi or left over chicken chow mein. Chicken or fish and rice seems to go down easily- not too heavy- and sticks with me a long time. The thought of bagels or sweet rolls or fruit just makes me gag. I almost always have strawberry or vanilla milk, too. Maybe an orange juice. Usually a cup or two of coffee.

[Tri Girl]

Thanks everyone. Thanks especially, Nanci! I don't think I'm eating too much (only 200 cal/hour) and I drink plenty of gatorade (not too much, but I'll check how much I'm actually consuming). I may play around with electrolyte tabs to see how they do.
Thanks for the help!

[Pedal Wench]

Power bagels from Einstein's. About 400 calories, and they really keep me from getting hungry for hours.

[Fuji Girl]

Before a big ride: Oatmeal + banana, whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, Trader Joe's frozen low fat French toast with real maple syrup and soy sausage (yum!)

During: PB&J sandwiches are the best! Beta introduced me to them. Also Luna bars, somewhat diluted fruit punch Gatorade, chocolate chip cookies.

After: Ice cream. Stat. No questions, no protests. I am woman and I need ice cream.

[caligurl]

EGADS! You guys do cooked breakfasts before a big ride??! O_O The thought of eating bacon, sausage or eggs before a ride actually makes me gag!!!

yep.... especially before climbing or long rides... i need that energy! i made the mistake of trying to do a ride on a bowl of oatmeal last year... where they didn't have the first rest stop for 30 miles! i was STARVING! so now i eat a good breakfast consisting of carbs... protein... and some fat (yes... we really do need some fat in out diet! although the fat i'm getting at denny's isn't good fat)

we also stop at least an hour before we get to the ride to eat... it's not like we eat then leave immediatly! i do much better riding when i've eaten than when i'm hungry/starving!

and like brandi said.... cereal doesn't "stay" with me either (oatmel "stays" longer than cereal!)

the combination of the fat/proteins/carbs makes me feel not hungry for much longer! (well.. and it's more calories, too!)

now local/shorter rides... ya... all i need is my trusty and very yummy choco PB oatmeal!

brandi.... i tried those sport beans once... ya... didn't do a thing for me energy wise.... and was like eating candy.... i prefer kashi bars or cliff bars!

[alpinerabbit]

Cereal in the sense of "contains lots of rolled oats", no Kelloggs-type stuff has ever supported me long enough. No high-sugar commercial granola mix. I add yoghurt instead of milk.

I like a soft boiled egg, and some bread and cheese works too (although all you USAnians are, sadly, bread-and-cheese-challenged in the eyes of this Swiss miss....)

On the road, I take only water. I hate the sticky feeling in the mouth and the thread somewhere about caries is exactly what I suspected would happen from sipping highly sweetened drinks during a whole day.

[bikerchick68]

Honestly? I have 2 muffins from Starbucks and a large coffee prior to every century. Gives me plenty of carbs without making me feel over-full... and the coffee... well, I HAVE to have coffee... I mean, I'm usually up at ODark Thirty for these things... someone give me caffeine, quick!

during the ride I do one bottle with water and one with Cytomax... along the way at the SAG's I take on 2 fig newtons and a quarter banana, or melon if they have it... if I feel "full" I still eat ONE fig newton... 20 miles on one newton keeps me from feeling too full, but still gives me the instant energy boost

at lunch SAG I eat a sandwich if they're not out... preferably lunch meat as it has salt.

for me, this works... I can absolutely tell the difference with keeping Cytomax on board for me too... I just ride better with a consistent small amount of carbs in me