1. many a football player swear by spaghetti and meatballs/meat sauce, and even though i stopped watching football many many years ago, that peace of advice stuck with me. i always eat a good size plate of pasta and meat now before riding to deleon springs or orange city, both of which require very fast, very constant speeds.
2. yes, gatorade is much, much better than water to take with you on a trip.
although you could have gotten these answers on google..