Tandem Tom

What meal do you eat before venturing out on a long ride?

pdlamb

Give me a plate of pancakes, some sausage for protein and to keep my energy up, coffee, and maybe a large orange juice. As slow as I am, I don't have to worry about digestion during the early morning (until it gets hot). A breakfast like that will keep me going for three hours or more!

thebulls

+1

The McDonald's Big Breakfast with Hot Cakes works well for me. I can't quite finish it, so I take some of it along in the handlebar bag and eat it as I ride.

rando_couche

A BIG breakfast, high in protein and fat: omelet or French toast if I'm eating out; a double helping of granola and yogurt if I'm at home. And a double shot of straight espresso in either case.

But the real key is dinner the night before. LOTS of carbs then: usually a big helping of pasta and a pint of a good microbrew. That keeps me rolling at good pace for a couple hours into the ride.

Keep in mind that I'm a mid-pack rando, averaging 20+ kph start-to-finish on the 200-400k brevets. None of this "sub-5-hour century" business for me!

SP
OC, OR
RUSA #3481

StephenH

I tend to go easy, muffin from the convenience store or poptarts or something like that. Still not a "healthy" breakfast, but not the full works either. I'd avoid greasy foods, tho. On "big" rides, I figure to be stopping and refueling every 30 miles or so, so that's all I need food for.

aggiegrads

A huge helping of oatmeal with brown sugar, nuts, and whatever fruit is handy.

Regardless, I start eating as soon as I get on the bike.

Carbonfiberboy 

Not a big breakfast. It's not like I won't have food for hours and hours. I always have the same thing: 400 calories of a 7:1 mix of maltodextrin and flavored whey protein in about a pint of water, 2 hours before the start. I eat on the bike pretty much constantly.

Machka 

Two pieces of wholegrain toast with 2 or 3 hardboiled eggs.

jwalther

Getting ready to log off and eat now before my 9:00 ride. . .Ham/egg/cheese on a bagel, Greek Yogurt with fresh strawberries.

Carbonfiberboy 

That's what I eat before I go downhill skiing!

jimincalif

What do you mean by "long"? A bowl of oatmeal with a little brown sugar, banana and a cuppa coffee. 1/2 or 2/3 of the way thru a ride another cup of coffee and a Clif bar. This is gets me thru a metric century.

thebulls

Hmm, I used to do this but ultimately concluded that nothing that I eat more than 2 hours before the ride start does anything except fill up my intestines with more stuff that I have to poop out, that much sooner.

I guess you could do an experiment to see if the food the night before actually does any good. Try just eating the feast the night before and no breakfast. Then try eating normally the night before and eating breakfast. Which works better?

Nick

unterhausen

I like to eat high calorie, low volume, low fiber food during randonneuring events, which includes breakfast. Nothing worse than having to find a bathroom. I found that on my local permanents, if I eat my normal breakfast and then eat a candy bar and some chocolate milk at the start, it works pretty well. Never tried to simulate that at an organized brevet, but they usually start really early.

for the purposes of the long distance forum, a metric century is not "long." If I am half decent condition, 60 miles doesn't even require food along the way. I keep having randonneurs telling me that 200km is "short," and by the end of the randonneuring season I hopefully feel the same way.

rando_couche

Never did a formal "experiment", but I always ride better the day after a hi-carb dinner, so...

SP
OC, OR

joewein

Personally: A bowl of oatmeal with a banana and yoghurt and a cup of coffee.

But what you eat before a long ride is pretty much irrelevant as long as it doesn't get in the way of what you eat *during* the ride, which is what really matters for staying fuelled during a long day in the saddle.

skiffrun

My guess is that there could more answers to that Q than there are active randonneurs.

Yesterday, for the solo pre-ride of the RUSA Highpoint Region Jan-16 brevet(s), I had an IHOP Colorado Omelet. Was the only food I really needed the whole day, although I did pick up a couple snacks late in the ride (a Snickers and a couple Nutter Butters). The snacks may have helped ward off "hunger knock" or they may have just served as excuses to get off the bike for a few minutes during the final 58-miles, which were a slog into an interminable, interminable, inteminable headWIND.

unterhausen

I have a perm that returns into a headwind. I try to remain on sheltered roads, but it's not a perfect approach. Around here, the prevailing winds get channeled up the valleys, so it can be pretty brutal. I found that reversing some courses actually made more sense because the headwinds are better earlier in the morning.

seajaye

If driving to the start:

1) Oatmeal made with milk, PB & J mixed in, one banana mixed in.
2) Orange juice
Depending on if I have time/if the start is NOT at a diner or cafe, then 3) some toast with PB or Nutella

At the start:
1) Some sort of pastry
2) Coffee to 'get things going' if they haven't already

I'm trying to be better with eating on the bike (e.g. preparing sandwiches and not having to eat Clif Bars all the time). Usually I find myself fueling at controles, and then liquid calories (Hammer Perpetuem) in between controles.

I have to say that I enjoy hostel-starts a ton here in Eastern PA. Staying over the night before, and then a breakfast of all of my preferred food, coffee, and bathrooms means I am not scrambling and have plenty of time to dress, eat, take care of business, etc.