Early morning rides - breakfast?

[jamesn184]

I always eat before my long rides, when riding to work on the weekends (6am start) I don't eat until I get to work
I ride 25-26km each way.. Also find if I've had carbs for dinner the night before I don't get hungry before getting to work

[marty_one]

I would like to go one step further, as I commute at least one day a week (soon to become at least 2-4 days a week) what do those who commute to work do for breakfast? Do you buy something from the local cafe/bakery? Do you take something with you or do you keep cereal/bread at work for breakfast?

[Bentnose]

As someone else said everybody is different, on a 60km ride I'll have a banana and a mug of milk as a minimum before, then will eat on the ride a jam sandwich, a muesli bar and two bottles of energy drink, getting up to around 100 km I'd have to go 5 weetbix and 1 L of milk (my usual weekday breakfast) before, then on the ride I'd add an energy bar and an Up and Go along with a third water bottle (plain water) and a couple of energy gels just in case. I struggle to keep the weight on, if I don't eat this much the weight falls off and I start to feel not so good most of the time. I also prefer to shower before rides, particularily the longer ones.

[toolonglegs]

I have to eat 3 hours before a hard ride... so if racing early I will wake up, eat and then maybe go back to sleep.
Less than race pace I don't have an issue eating 30 minutes or so before.
But if I am trying to lose weight nothing works better than a slow and steady for an hour or two on an empty stomach... straight into the reserves.

[Ozkaban]

If I have a decent early ride (say 50k+), I would typically have a 2/3 size brekky. That would be 2 weetbix, a small handful of nutrition grain and some fruit (like sultanas) .

Any more and I'll puke at some point. Too much less and I'll bonk...

Just reread my comment. Stupid auto-correct. Nutrition grain? Could nutri grain be further from it???

[dude18]

for me l find dinner the night before more important than breakkie. Digestion is fairly slow process anyway, so I doubt breakfast will have an impact on the ride. Maybe it might help with the post ride hunger though.

[boss]

for me l find dinner the night before more important than breakkie. Digestion is fairly slow process anyway, so I doubt breakfast will have an impact on the ride. Maybe it might help with the post ride hunger though.

I think it takes 30-60 minutes or something for food to work its way into the energy stream. Eating pre-ride and during a ride on longer rides (3-4 hours, 100km+) will have plenty of impact on your performance as well as helping you to avoid a bonk.

I'm not sure what impact food the night before has (if any) but I try to eat a good meal the night before, if nothing other than to enjoy some food and the placebo effect. Haha!

[greyhoundtom]

It takes anywhere from four to five hours for food to completely clear the stomach, and then it takes anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to pass all the way through the small intestine.

Most nutrients are absorbed into the blood stream from the small intestine. So logically it should take a minimum of 6 to 7 hours to get the maximum benefit from a meal.

However simple starches and sugars filter directly from the stomach to the blood stream and therefore some foods do supply a very quick energy hit as within 5 to 10 minutes.

[TDC]

I have to eat 3 hours before a hard ride... so if racing early I will wake up, eat and then maybe go back to sleep.
Less than race pace I don't have an issue eating 30 minutes or so before.
But if I am trying to lose weight nothing works better than a slow and steady for an hour or two on an empty stomach... straight into the reserves.

what do you define as 'slow and steady'? (probably fast and furious for me )

[MarkG]

I never eat before rides, even fast club rides I won't eat.
Before a TT, like 2 hours before, I'll have a tiny bit of breaky, like toast with Nutella, but hardly anything.
Not saying that's ideal, or to follow that method, but it suits me.
The only time I did eat a decent meal before hand, was ironically last Sat before the SPR ride, and I ended up spewing my ring up after 6k, but in saying that, I've been off sick with gastro for a few days since!

[Krank]

However simple starches and sugars filter directly from the stomach to the blood stream and therefore some foods do supply a very quick energy hit as within 5 to 10 minutes.

What are some examples of these foods?

Krank

[sb944]

Weekdays, 500ml water, 2 eggs and 2 bacon, veggies, BBQ sauce, 10-20 minutes before an often spirited commute 13-22km.
If I'm doing proper hill intervals in the morning, I'll sometimes swith to 500ml water, 2x raisen toast, butter with jam, more like 40 mins before the ride.