Training & Nutrition - Calorie consumption question (another)

Example: If I consume 1000 calories of carbs for breakfast, for how long is it available? Is it better to eat 500 calories for breakfast, ride about 1.5 hours, then eat another 500 during the ride?

500 calories is a pretty big breakfast. I wouldn't try to eat that much before riding. And no way should you try to eat 1000 cals at a single sitting before riding. Eating well the night before is a better plan. If you eat the right carbs they'll be around as glycogen the next morning.

Wow 500 is considered big? Even if I intend to burn it all? Or does it not work like that?

I normally eat about 2 cups of Cheerios plus milk, so I guess I should cut back on the Cheerios then. So I guess some complex carbs at night also (I actually really know this).

for me, depending on what I eat, I'll at least wait for 2 hrs before riding after a meal. if I eat carbs, I usually start my ride 2 hrs after a meal since my body has had some time to digest the food, but I usually wait for 3-4 hrs before jumping on the bike, espacially if I ate more proteins because it takes longer for me to digest proteins than carbs (as everyone I guess). I prefer to wait for 4 hrs after a really good meal, and if I'm a bit hungry before the ride, I'll eat some fruits to get some energy rapidly. As for now, I've never eaten on a ride, since the most I've done was 90kms and didn't feel the need for it except in the very last kms.

like youngster I try to eat atleast 1 hour before I go for a good ride or run and upon return eat within 30 min. helps recovery.

Also 2 cups of cheerios with even whole milk is under 500 calories
2c Cheerios=240calories
1c whole milk=144calories

Your body can only store so many carbohydrates as glycogen, about 2000-2500 calories. Once your glycogen pool is filled, eating more just becomes fat.

The idea of eating before and during rides is to have some carbohydrate bleeding into your blood stream so your glycogen depletion is delayed.

However, stuffing yourself is not a good thing. It is hard to exercise on a full stomach because the blood flow is diverted from the digestive system and into the muscles.

Also, in order to get a whole bunch of calories, you need to eat fat and I don't think fat consumption helps performance.

Most people just eat a modest meal before starting on a longer ride. I eat an orange, a banana, and a bowl of cereal. I would suggest periodic snacks along the way and no big meals.

So at two hours, can I eat a complex carbohydrate and digest it in time for an hour down the road, or do I start eating it earlier? I guess it's starting to make sense to me now, common sense at least. Looks like it's boiling down to complex carbs, a little at a time no?