buzzman

I eat pre-ride in the morning.

I'm an oatmeal guy- w/almonds, dried cranberries, maple syrup. If not that I'll do toasted wheat berries and hulled barley with maple syrup, yogurt and blueberries.

Add to that my morning "smoothie", which includes a banana, frozen mangoes, peaches, pineapples, acai berry, whey protein, milled flax seeds, one packet of "Emerge-n-C" and orange/tangerine juice.

It gets me through my 10 mile ride to work and right through to lunch at my job that is not a desk job.

nkfrench 

My morning commutes have me leaving the house around 6AM which means I would need to eat breakfast well before 5AM to sit well for my 15 mile relatively hilly ride. Instead, I wash down a few dried apricots with some Diet Coke pre-ride and then fix my real breakfast while my computer boots up on arrival to work.

Real breakfast is oatmeal with raisins or (better) craisins, and extra cinnamon; plus a latte with nonfat milk and sugar-free sweetener. That's enough milk to provide protein; the hot oatmeal is low-fat and high fiber. I generally fix the espresso the night before and dump it into a water bottle and add cold milk in the morning to keep costs low. In the summer I'll drink it cold; in the winter I decant to a glass mug and nuke it.

Summers I need to take 2 24-oz water bottles for the hot humid rides to work. I'll be sweat-drenched even with a 7AM arrival and will chug most of that on arrival. I also keep a couple of power bars in the bike saddle bike in case of emergency; they have come in handy when I misjudged on cold rides home or forgot to get my 4PM snack.

chephy

Breakfast preferences are pretty personal. Some people can't even eat breakfast before they ride; some can't ride before having a hearty meal.

I personally tend to crave protein most of the time, so I'm an eggs person. A 3-egg omelette with some cheese and some kind of veggies (mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes... you name it) plus a cup of tea works pretty well for me. Often I don't even have any bread with it.

wunderkind

My commute is 15km one way. I drink a mug of hot chocolate/coffee beverage (gotta be some fancier name than that!) pre-ride. Along the way I always keep myself hydrated every 10 mins. Once at the office, I will eat 2 slices of toast or equivalent for breakfast. YMMV.

woodway

18 miles one-way with about 1000 feet of ascent. I eat a bowl of Rasin Bran and skim milk with a bananna sliced on top and drink a glass of OJ. Perfect fuel for the morning commute.

jrich179

That's what I've gathered thus far. I aim for a balanced diet regardless of my cycling plans (duh), but as for "feeding my ride", I feel like my body tells me carbs before the ride (with a little time to settle) and protein right after the ride. Protein before seems to sit heavy in me, whereas carbs have never kept me full for long. I might try to do a single hardboiled egg before a ride to see what happens, as I am kind of a fan of protein.

Jonahhobbes

A reckon it depends on what you like and can stomach for breakfast and also how long it is before you are going to be able to get something to eat after getting into work.

I eat a small tin of salmon, some nuts and some fruit before heading out. I can go without anything to eat as well, but choose not to as when I get in at 07:00am the time I actually get to properly sit down and eat something is usually around 10:00am minimum, so with getting up at 04:30, that is a long time without food.

Mind you I get bored of stuff and swap my breakfast around a lot, so breakfast can be anything really

Oscuro

Man, I feel like i'm odd in that I eat a rather large bowl of cold cereal with milk (usually 2%). No coffee.

Course, my commute is a scant 6km, but I am up at 2am to get there...bloody baker's hours!

FreddyV

A bowl of warm oatmeal (200ml) works perfect for me. Only found out about that 4 weeks ago, never had oatmeal before that.

RT

Oatmeal waffles with a little butter and syrup, coffee and fruit. A 13 mile commute will use all the energy you are eating. Just don't overdo it. Waffles are yummy. Ok, butter and syrup are yummy.

imi

Hope I don't gross anyone out but I usually eat a bowl of chopped bananas, oranges and raw tofu with soja milk... my coffee is mixed 50/50 caf/decaf...

linux_author

no commute, but i ride 15-20 every a.m.

banana, bowl of 1C skim, 1/2C granola (Mona's) and 1/2C of:



(or sometimes half a plain bagel with some form of smoked fish [whiting, mullet, eel, or salmon])

Rhodabike

Another vote for oatmeal. I seem to get less hungry later in the morning when I eat it. I make up a big pot at the beginning of the week and then nuke individual servings in the microwave with a half cup of frozen blueberries and a sprinkle of sugar under it. It comes out as this island of oatmeal floating on a lovely dark purple sea of blueberry juice.

exile

I like whole hard boiled eggs. They tend to fill me up without the "weight" of meats and/or milk. I think the fat content helps as well. I can also make a protien shake with just water and be fine. I usually give it time (15 minutes or so) before I ride.

Like another poster mentioned you might also want to think about how soon you will eat after arriving at work.

DallasSoxFan

I like something with complex carbs so I don't get hungry until later combined with some quick sugar for the actual ride. I find good, old fashioned cold cereal with skim milk works well (frosted mini-wheats). If I had more time, I might go with hot oatmeal with brown sugar or maple syrup.

tarwheel 

I eat breakfast soon after getting up, but I get bored eating the same thing every day. So, some days I have milk and cereal (bunch of different brands), others oatmeal with dried fruit and pecans, others frozen waffles with yogurt and light syrup. I crave carbs when I get up, so I seldom have eggs, which also take longer to prepare. I have ridden to work with no breakfast when I've overslept, but where do you guys work where you can eat breakfast on the job?

For a healthy carb breakfast that will stick with you, try steel-cut oatmeal. I make mine the night before. Just bring the water to a boil, add the correct amount of oats, stir, cover the pot with a lid, turn off the stove and leave it sitting overnight. In the morning, all you will have to do is heat it up. I add dried cranberries, raisins and cherries to mine, along with pecans. Delicious with a small amount of brown sugar and milk, and it keeps me full until lunch time.

CCrew

Oatmeal or a bagel here.. Shredded Wheat if my son hasn't snorfed the whole box

rumrunn6

stick with foods you trust and that you know digest well. I like scrambled eggs and toast about an hour and 1/2 before I leave, and then a small box of raisins just before I leave

vaticdart

Lots of oatmeal eaters here. Every combination of oatmeal (steel cut, regular, with nuts and fruit added, etc.) I've tried leaves me starving after a couple of hours. Even worse when I eat cold cereal, regardless of whether I throw in fruit, yogurt or anything like that. Doing something along the lines of toast or a Nutri-Grain bar isn't even funny. Maybe my metabolism is weird.

But then again the two eggs, toast and meat thing tends to leave me gnawing on my desk by 10:30 or 11 am, unless conditions are such that I had to ride in like a granny. Luckily there's a good bagel place just around the corner for those times I don't bring anything and really can't wait. Normally I bring something snacky I can eat before and after lunch.

Right now I eat around 5:30 - 6:00 am, get to work at around 7:00 for the 7:30 start time. So yeah, it's good to wait a bit between eating and riding, but I really don't need that time. I've eaten a spicy Dante's Dog with everything then hoped on my bike and hauled ass for a few miles.

Lot's Knife

Milwaukee's Best Ice.

Three of 'em.

Scheherezade 

This thread makes me want to go out and buy some oatmeal.

nkfrench 

I do software development. It takes my laptop forever to boot up and then there's all sorts of terribly important email / corporate website postings to sift through. That's plenty of time to nuke and slam down breakfast and coffee at my desk.

electrik

Oatmeal and frozen fruit.

Not much beats oatmeal for breakfast because it is "slow burning" so it keeps you feeling full for longer. Add the fruit for taste and nutrition.

It's really easy(5 minutes) if you have the boiling water ready for coffee or tea.

audi666

Hmm you all eat alot before work...

I guess it matters how early you wake up to go to work. Give your self at least 30-45 min after eating.

I try to get out of the house as soon as I can so I dont eat for my 15mi trip, then eat at work. Usually fruit, quinoa, oats, flax, dates, nuts and some vega powder.

Artkansas 

I do either steamed oats and raisins with some flax seed and cinnamon thrown in; or a finely chopped salad with several kinds of greens, tomatos, peppers etc.