General Cycling Discussion - What personal mental/physical preps do you do before a long ride?

How do you prepare yourself before a major event ride.. or even just a solo ride you've been looking forward to? Do you have a special mental/physical exercise a night before or just right before the ride, a special meal maybe.. what do you do? do you pray (for safety)?

Put water bottle in the freezer the night before. Take out morning of the ride and put on bike. Put whatever food I am into at teh time in the pockets of my jersey. Likely includes some kind of energy bar.

eat, hydrate, get on bike. ride away.

How do you prepare yourself before a major event ride.. or even just a solo ride you've been looking forward to? Do you have a special mental/physical exercise a night before or just right before the ride, a special meal maybe.. what do you do? do you pray (for safety)?

Warning: Response may be offensive to some readers.
I ride for fitness and fun--if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it, so prepping isn't a very big deal for me. I expect difficult rides to be difficult; I knew that when I decided to do them. They'll be more difficult if I haven't trained, so I try to stay on top of that. When i do a major ride with a group of people I've ridden with for 20+ years, we perform what we call "the ritual pumping of the tires" before the start, but that's more or less a joke.
As for prayer: No way. If I believe in the standard American version of God, which I'm not sure I do, then I have to assume he knows my situation at all times. Seems to me insulting to question his attention span or his judgment, and anyway, why should he change his mind about throwing me under a bus just because I ask him not to?

Fill the bottles, stuff a nature valley bar in my jersey, make sure I have the tires pumped up and the chain lubed, and hop on the bike.

I don't really practice any sort of ritual. I just get on the bike and go for a ride. ;)

Drink coffee, play a game of Sudoku, and hope the hangover wears off quickly.

Before a MAJOR event:

2 nights before the event, I pack and make sure I've got everything ready, including the bicycle.
1 night before the event, I eat, relax, and sleep.


Before an ordinary evening ride, weekend ride, century, or something along those lines, I might go so far as to throw a few things together the night before, but most often that usually happens shortly before I ride.

No special meals ... I don't see the point. And I often pray while I ride.

3 days before a ride I slep well cause Iknow the night before will suck!:D..I usually have a hard time sleeping since I get excited about the ride.

I eat a big pasta dinner the night before. I eat a couple of hotcakes, eggs and sausage the morning of the ride. I always start slow, ease into the ride then finish strong. I make sure not to dash off the startline like most rookies that blow up 15 miles into a century!:D

Depends how major. Up to a metric centurty and no prep necessary. 100 miler on the road and make certain I sleep enough and hydrate the day before- aswell as on the ride. 100 mile offroad and carbo-load for a fortnight before- hydrate well for two days before and make certain that the Back up crew have everything on board that I may want on the ride.

But then I am a wuss. Don't do rides of longer than 15 hours or more than 15,000 ft of climbing.

Take good rest on previous day so that during the time of riding the body does not feel exhausted and don't eat anything heavy during the ride or the previous day. Carry some energy drinks and something to eat during the ride and prepare yourself mentally.

I like keeping a printed "packing list" if I'm taking my bike out of town for an event.

Helps me remember all my bike gear, riding clothes, extra tools, post-ride clothing (if I'm changing after the ride), etc.

My favorite meal prior to a ride is a nice cup of coffee and homemade oatmeal with some kind of fruit and brown sugar. The oatmeal really stays with you throughout the ride, but I finish eating at least an hour before I start riding. Hydration is big for me so I always either make sure I have enough water for the ride length I'm planning, or know places I can stop along the way to refill. Other than that... no mental prep. That's the beauty of cycling to me. It let's me just go for it, let go, and absolutely think about nothing other than enjoying the moment of the ride. I'm feeling pretty good about riding right now as I just got off my bike from my morning commute.

Sometimes I'll put a bottle or two of water into the freezer the night before. Sometimes I'll even remember to get it/them out the next morning. That's for "organized rides." Stop at the 7-11 for coffee and to fill the bike bottles with ice.

If it's Saturday and I'm meeting the BFFs for breakfast after the ride, I might grab a banana while I'm at the 7-11. Sunday I usually stop at a fast-food place after the 7-11 stop for coffee and ice and have the least offensive option I can find on the menu. Then when I get to my parking place I make sure I stuff a couple of nutrition bars in the trunk bag, top off the bike bottles with water, record my starting odometer, grab the helmet, and go.

If it's what passes for winter in these parts, I'll put on an extra layer or two, as well as the full-fingered gloves. If it's cool but warming up, I'll probably put on the windbreaker and wear the "fingerless" gloves. If it's sunny and warm, I'll try to remember the sunblock.

If I wake up,I'm ready.

drop a nice big deuce....

Can't have one of them comin on mid ride... I'm surprised noone else mentioned this!

Oh heck yes. That kills a ride when you are desperately looking for a place to do your business.

I just keep chanting, "Don't get hit. Don't get hit...", over and over. So far, it's worked.

Try reverse psychology. "Hit me Hit me"