photonick

I have a ride at about 6 am tomorrow, it's going to be about two hours, mostly climbing. Usually when I ride in the mornings I get to eat breakfast and wait half an hour or so, but tomorrow I'll be up and on the bike asap. I'm curious, would you guys recommend eating a bowl of kashi go lean and some yogurt or cottage cheese (my typical pre ride breakfast). Or should I take two gels, pop one before I ride and one in the middle and eat afterwards.

What would you do?

Machka 

Personally, I'd drink one of the many cans or bottles of Ensure I have sitting here for exactly that situation.

larryfeltonj

For two hours strenuous you could do just about anything that involves carbs. The gels won't kill you in the short run, so I'd go with that if you don't have time to eat breakfast.

Here's a quick off-the-cuff suggestion. I'd eat a handfull of any kind of nuts or legumes as soon as I got up (to stave off hunger pangs). Eat a bit of cereal. THEN do the gel packs immediately before and in the middle of the ride.

photonick

Well I can eat within 15 minutes of riding but I"ve never gotten on the bike right after eating hence why i was going to do the gel packs. I ate ALOT today and only did a 30 minute run so I'm going to bring two gels and go off maybe a hand full of cereal. Then do breakfast and whey afterwards, if it doesn't work oh well, lesson learned.

supcom

A glass of orange juice has lots of carbs. Or, a can of Starbucks DoubleShot Espresso if you want the caffeine kick to help jump start the day. Oh, heck, do both. That's my magic potion when I'm suffering on a brevet. They go down quick and straight into the bloodstream.

bwunger

I think everyone is different. For a 2 hour ride early in the morning, I don't think I'd eat anything beforehand. Make sure I had a good dinner the night before and start with a bit of food, maybe a gel as soon as or maybe 15 min after I got rolling and just eat some while I ride.

photonick

Well I had a half cup of cottage cheese right before I headed out then a gu then another gu half way through, I did 1:40 because of a flat tire but felt more tired than normal. I didn't have as much oomph as I normally do on a ride like this.

ericm979

My preference is to get up early enough to eat a decent breakfast. If that means getting up before 5, that's what I do.

caloso

How long does it take to make a bowl of cold cereal and yogurt? I'd just get up 10 minutes earlier and eat my normal breakfast.

nofish

Something lite if you eat at all

photonick

It's not the time to eat, it's hopping on the bike right after I eat with a full stomach that bothers me.

Creakyknees

I skip breakfast entirely on rides of up to 3 hours in the morning. If it's longer than 2 hrs or so I'll bring some carbs or mix a bottle of go-go powder.

I suspect that the oomph you were lacking was because of what you ate. Try skipping sometime and then follow the normal ride-fuel formulas.

HWS

I would have a banana and 1/2 a bagel.