Training & Nutrition - Pre-Ride Meals

Hi, 4 days out of the week I go for ~30 mile rides at around 17.5 miles an hour, maintaining an average cadence of 90, so I figure I get a good workout. That said, I usually eat a sizeable carbohydrate meal before I go out. I usually have around a half a cup of beans, and a half (before cooking) cup of brown rice or barley. It's basically an all-carb meal, with some fiber and protein, but almost no fat.

I see a lot of people saying they eat a PB&J sandwich before a ride, but I've always heard that fat slows digestion and isn't the best calorie source before aerobic activity. I'm wondering if my pre-ride meal should be almost all carb, or an equal split of carbs, fat, and protein. Any thoughts? My calorie limit is around 420 for this meal. Any thoughts or ideas on what to eat? I don't mind beans and rice, and I don't really care what anything tastes like. I'm just interested in giving my body the best possible fuel so I can ride as hard as I can.

I'm about 5' 11" 155lbs with ~10% body fat, if thats of any consideration.

Sheesh! It's only 30 miles and it's not race pace.

(I probably shouldn't read these threads much less reply. But it's a Friday and I can't help myself.)

I'm 18, not a racer, and it's hilly around here, help me out a bit.

Why do you think you need to have a special pre-ride meal? I'd think any nutritious meal would do. Just avoid food that you can't digest properly and you should be okay. (I guess I have been riding too many years without doing anything special.)

I don't think I need a "special one," per say, I'm just really interested in nutrition and want to know what's popular / what works best among forum members, that's all. I like seeing how different things affect the way my body acts, kind of like a long-term experiment.

I try to have an extra serving of complex carbs(oatmeal is my favorite) before a ride and from what I have heard a 4 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein is best for post ride nutrition. I think pb&j is a staple of the riding diet because it is calorie dense for long rides and has complex carbs(from bread), simple sugars(jelly) and fat. Its a powerbar that actually tastes good and stays with you.

if you wnat to eat oatmeal but stay away from the fat grams...get cream of wheat, put some dried cranberrys, blue berries...whatever you want in it...its great. but before i go for a ride in the after noon, i will usually drink about 8 oz of water, eat an apple, two banannas and 8 more oz of water. and let it digest for a little bit. and im usually great for up to about 35-40 miles (i might stop and get something small like a clif bar or something similar)

I'm 18, not a racer, and it's hilly around here, help me out a bit.

Hey Blaise655 welcome to the world of cycling.

I think it would be easier to tell you what things to avoid, such as soda's, beer, high fat foods and junk foods in general.

Like an earlier post said, you do not really have to load up on carbs for a 30 mile ride, although its not going to hurt you either. Just make sure eat something light and keep yourself well hydrated.

Good Luck

hmmm, 420 calories. I seem to do fine on 300 even if it's 2 hours before I ride. I go for about the same distance but at a lower average speed. I think anything really works as long as it isn't dissproportionately oriented. For example I went out this morning about 10 minutes after eating a Clif Bar (carbs+fat+protein) and a Sweet (all natural) Rice Cake. I dunno, but I'd try different things and see what works best for you.

for a 30 mile ride, you don't need a lot. what works for me on a hard ride that distance is a slice of whole wheat bread, bananna, and a clif bar. if it's really hot outside, i'll take two water bottles and fill one with a sports drink and the other with water. that's good for about 50-60 miles. then i start getting hungry again.

I'll do a banana or granola bar before, and a yogurt smoothie after.

I haven't had anything "bad" to eat for years now, I'm into bodybuilding, so I know all the ins and outs of clean eating. How are Clif bars? I've heard some people say they're good, and some people say they're like eating dirt.

(Just a side note, I notice many of you are saying you eat a bar, a banana, and a sports drink or something, and say you don't need a lot of calories. But what you've listed is probably higher in calories than my current meals...)

Holy Cow! I'm afraid to tell you people what I eat...I used to ride forty miles a day five days a week, do a short ten one day, then all my errands, visiting friends, and the like, the last day (that was about a century or so that day) and I still haven't completely "recovered" from it. I can eat a large pizza with lots of cheese and stuff for dinner once a week and still lose weight (note I maintain my caloric intake as much as possible every day, so it's all the same). For a thirty mile ride I start off four hours prior with two or three frozen waffles with a low fat/low sugar maple syrup, two medium eggs scrambled with cheese and a cup of black coffee. Follow that two hours later with a bowl of low sugar cereal and skim/1% milk. Then, fifteen minutes before I go out I have another bowl of cereal but higher in sugar so I can start off strong since that's where most of my issues lie. After about half the ride I stop (since I'm not talented enough to eat on the bike in traffic) and have a gatorade, smart water, or some other electrolyte replenishing liquid, ride for twenty minutes, find a restroom, and continue on my way.

Afterwards I will usually have a meal replacement somewhere between 280 and 560 calories, depending on whether I can stand solid foods. If I can, I have the 280 meal replacement with a pb&j sandwich, egg or tuna salad sandwich, or a low fat 2/3 pound cheeseburger and shake. Then later on I eat dinner and have a snack in the middle of the night to split up that fast so I don't go into a starvation mode and wake up the next day to go on a junk binge.

All in all, on days I ride, I ingest around 4k - 6k calories, depending on how far I rode and how hard I pushed, but that's only because I can not take in any more. I've dropped from 170 to 142 in 6 wks and, by way of junk food (my poor arteries!) and eating till I pop have gained four pounds this month.

Really, I think it all has to do with your individual body, since some people's basal metabolism sky rockets with even a modest amount of exercise, while others have to work extremely hard to simply maintain and not gain.

Of course, this is all merely my two pesos...

I eat protein powder..'Spiru-tein' sprinked over bran cereal. i add soy milk, banana and fresh ground flax seeds, somtime raw sunnflower seeds and raisins if I'm going for a longer trek...I FEEL GOOD!!!!!!!!!!STRONG!!!!!!!!