AM pre-ride nutrition

Shaggz

A strong 7
in an attempt to salvage what's left of the season, i am starting my AM mtb rides again. the problem is finding something with nutritional value that i can stomach prior to the ride. i find that if i don't take in any nutrition, i am spent pretty quickly, and if i do, i am ready to throw it up 10 minutes into the ride.

any thoughts? it takes me about 40 mins from the point i wake up to when i hit the trail, so it would have to be something readily digestible.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I was using Carnation Instant Breakfast for a while. Probably any Sugar Bomb cereal would work as well. A sports drink like gatorade or Accelerade would probably work. If you need solid food I would go with a cereal with simple carbs and rice milk. Anything that burns hot & fast is probably better. If you can get away with liquid calories that probably works better/faster.

What have you been eating?
 

elzoller

El Guac-Oh
if it helps, my routine is:
1)get everything ready the night before. (bike, gear, food, etc)
2)roll off bed, hit bathroom
3)pick-up stuff from the fridge: Camelback, mini whole wheat bagel w/cream cheese, small bottle with OJ and Starbucks Double Shot.
4)start driving and eating! (probably not the safest ;) )

I sometimes might eat a banana, apple or a granola bar while getting ready at the park.

I guess it is about 20 mins before I roll out of my house, but usually it takes me about 35 to 60 mins to get to the trailhead (depending where I am going)

I never feel hungry or too full. I start getting hungry probably about an hour from the start.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
good points. i usually am ritualistic about getting my stuff together the night before, with the exception of the food. it's usually a banana or some gatorade or a gu gel or clif bar. the sweeter stuff seems to be more of the culprit. i may try out the carnation drink and a handful of cheerios.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
Try a protien shake. They can hold you over for a good bit. Try that w/ a few peices of fruit and a granola bar. That is normally what i do if im pinched for time.

Nothing beats hash browns and egg mcmuffins however.
 
S

Stan LeCupp

Guest
I've changed my pre-ride breakfast a little lately. A few scrambled eggs and some oatmeal or cereal seems to work well. I try to get up early so I have a minimum of 2 hours between eating and riding.

Edit: I may cut the eggs out and try something else after reading this..

http://www.bicyclesource.com/body/nutrition/preride-eating.shtml
 
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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Stan,

Eat what makes you feel best. Throw out these experts. I follwed all their guides to the letter and all it ever did for me was make me bloated. If I have enough time my favorite breakfast is a ham/egg/cheese sandwich. Maybe it's the salt but it just works for me.

The article also says drinking sugar drinks right before you exercise will actually lower your blood sugar. While it may technically be true I've read stuides where performance is better when a sports drink is consumed right before exercise.

In all this I'm coming to the realization that so much is personal it takes a lot of experimentation to get something to work. I think last year I read Harlan Price used to eat smoked salmon on his rides. I'm pretty sure none of the experts recommend that.
 
S

Stan LeCupp

Guest
Stan,

Eat what makes you feel best. Throw out these experts. I follwed all their guides to the letter and all it ever did for me was make me bloated. If I have enough time my favorite breakfast is a ham/egg/cheese sandwich. Maybe it's the salt but it just works for me.

The article also says drinking sugar drinks right before you exercise will actually lower your blood sugar. While it may technically be true I've read stuides where performance is better when a sports drink is consumed right before exercise.

In all this I'm coming to the realization that so much is personal it takes a lot of experimentation to get something to work. I think last year I read Harlan Price used to eat smoked salmon on his rides. I'm pretty sure none of the experts recommend that.

Norm- You make some good points. I haven't experimented too much with pre-ride meals. I may try a few different things and see how they impact my overall energy/endurance. I just read that Lance has an egg over pasta among other things before the tour de France.
 

ytc100

New Member
<snip>Throw out these experts.<snip>

In all this I'm coming to the realization that so much is personal it takes a lot of experimentation to get something to work. I think last year I read Harlan Price used to eat smoked salmon on his rides. I'm pretty sure none of the experts recommend that.

I agree a lot with this too. While much useful info can be gathered form the experts they are usually mostly expert at what works for them I feel. After much reading and experimenting I think I'm finally figuring out what works for me regarding nutrition and riding.

I love smoked salmon and I bet it's loaded with a lot of great stuff for riding but man that guy must have an iron stomach to eat that during rides. erf.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
you guys touched on something i was going to ask about. does it matter what you eat the night before? again, i am not looking at this from a performance enhancement point of view, i am looking to meet that middle ground between hurling and falling over riding the needle, in that 40 minute window between getting up and throwing my leg over the saddle.

scott, i never thought about eating during the ride, especially since these will be 60-75 minute rides. might be something to look into.
 

elzoller

El Guac-Oh
Like others mentioned, you have to try and see what works for you. Everybody has a different metabolism and I believe genetics play a roll too. I don't pay too much attention at what I eat the night before, if I happen to go out for dinner I try to order pasta, but that is as far as I go. I don't shy away from a few beers the night before either ;) . It also depends what you are aiming for. I am just out to have fun, I guess if my goal was to finish top 3 at the races I participate, then I would be looking more closely at what I eat :)

I always eat during the rides, but I am usually out 3 to 5 hrs depending. I normally only eat Cliff bars. I hate all the goo "thingies"
 
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anrothar

entirely thrilled
40 minutes from rising to riding is a very short time. i would go with the most digestible foods you can find. perhaps a small bowl of oatmeal, not the instant, packet kind and some fruit. a banana, maybe some dates.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
you guys touched on something i was going to ask about. does it matter what you eat the night before? again, i am not looking at this from a performance enhancement point of view, i am looking to meet that middle ground between hurling and falling over riding the needle, in that 40 minute window between getting up and throwing my leg over the saddle.

scott, i never thought about eating during the ride, especially since these will be 60-75 minute rides. might be something to look into.

I avoid a heavy carb diet the night before, contrary to the carb-loading thing. For me, carb-loading works too well. I can put on like 4 pounds if I do it "right". In theory that's what you want but I don't like the water tanker feeling before a ride. At this stage I haven't correlated anything good or bad in regards to riding the next day. I do try to eat enough fruits.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
you guys touched on something i was going to ask about. does it matter what you eat the night before? again, i am not looking at this from a performance enhancement point of view, i am looking to meet that middle ground between hurling and falling over riding the needle, in that 40 minute window between getting up and throwing my leg over the saddle.
What you eat the night before, and when you eat it, definitely matters. A good deal of the glycogen in your liver will be what you've stored there in the last 8-12 hours.

I'd add another vote for trying out the liquid-calorie choices for the morning, based on what you've said.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
tomorrow's plan: grape nuts, which i already have at home, and carnation drink, and a dilute cytomax bottle for the ride.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
which soy yogurt do you use? i tried the yogurt/GN combo before riding, and while I am not lactose intolerant, it did not sit well during the ride.
 
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