depends on the distance, as others have mentioned, on your personal body, and on the type of riding you plan to do.
I eat the traditional pasta the night or day before, and I have a consistent breakfast the morning of. For really short rides under 40 miles I may only have a 90-100 calorie breakfast bar, while for longer rides its a small breakfast sandwich.
Once you've gone over a few hours of riding, what you have eating before is no longer important, and it shifts to what you have been and will eat while on the rest of the ride.
Carbo loading is a long time ritual of performance sports, pastas, bread, etc. Stay away from anything fried and limit the fats
When on the bike, short rides 3 hours or less you can hit gu/gels and a small snack if you like.
over 3 hours, continue carbs with a little protein for longer rides. There are specialty powders or you can just bring any of a number of foods. Fig Newtons and similar work well, but for the really long rides you need some protein too. I think it's 250-300 calories per hour you should shoot for on the long rides. Don't overdo it, and don't underdo it. Also realize that what tastes fine at hour 4 may no longer taste fine at hour 10... things happen on long rides and you need some alternatives just in case.
A turkey sandwich with no mayo is one of my faves and seems to perk me up the best. When I'm really run down and need a pickup I might have a soda with real sugar if they have it, and a payday candy bar for a quick hit.
With all rides I also make sure to consume electrolytes. I no longer drink gatorade/powerade but will use Nuun tablets on shorter rides, and Endurolyte tablets on the longer ones.
Also, a little potassium can help cramping too. Bananas are good- just remember they also have calories. I chew a few Tums throughout the long rides.