Like someone else above stated, riding after a big meal makes me feel like crap. Something small before a meal (bagel and cream cheese) is much better for me.

I don't drink coffee, so no opinion on that.

If it's a ride where breakfast will matter, metric century or longer for me, I pack in protein. I also plan for enough time to digest. This is good for me because I'm always taking it easy for the first hour or so of a long ride and then not going incredibly fast after that point either. Afterwards I keep a steady intake of carbs, with a decent bit of protein initially, pbnj or equivalent, transitioning to liquids around mile 80 to finish strong.

So I picked the coffee one.

The BF 41 is a fairly diverse group in terms of age, cycling experience, fitness, health, distances/time ridden, terrain covered and levels of intensity as well as body type, chronic illnesses and diet. What food appeals/applies to one can be meaningless, misleading or problematic to another.

Since I cycle all year around several times a week, still maintain a seasonal training schedule for endurance, power and speed for >40 seasons adaption to the machine went beyond getting quality seat-time and recovery long ago and has affected my diet as well. "Normal" diet for me isn't any different than a "training" or "healthy" diet. Fresh whole seasonal foods made from scratch well seasoned and prepared with solid technique to my tastes are almost all that I eat. Like [MENTION=21971]Macha[/MENTION] I learned a very long time ago what to avoid and what to take, if anything beyond water, on a ride and how/when to consume it at pace. I chose option 1) although "what I consume" has been pre-selected by trial(s), experience and an interest in nutrition/cooking because "it does matter". That is anything but careless, random or typical, but normal for me.

Anyone interested in what meals are actually served to World Tour riders in accord w/ current nutritional theory and to be mighty appealing and tasty should read and try cooking from "The Grand Tour Cookbook" by Hannah Grant.

"This is the number one book for cyclists, It's all about what you eat." -Greg LeMond:

I wake up really early to ride.
And usually I force down half a cup of coffee and a quarter bowl of cereal.

That's obnoxious at best.
Disrespect for a former world champion and multiple TdF winner by some moronic ranting YouTube twit who has accomplished exactly what as a competitive cyclist?
He must be a 41 member, all mouth and zero palmares.

-Bandera

I wouldn't call Greg Lemond morbidly obese. He's overweight, yes. The guy in the green shirt riding on wheels far, far narrower than he should be, now that guy is morbidly obese. But I'll give him this. At the moment that photo was taken, that fat dude was on a ****** bike, and not sitting on a couch chowing pizza and beer like a lot of other people. Hopefully he keeps it up, and burns off some of that fat.

Btw, I did a sprint triathlon when I was around 374 lbs and actually beat like two people. Kinda funny.

As far as eating goes, I've got lots of experience trying to lose weight while also trying to cycle long and hard (for me). Shorter distances (like up to 32-35 miles, say) can be done fairly fast, up to around my tempo speed. At real tempo that can be pushing it, depending on my overall energy state. Further can be done on bodyfat alone but not fast. It's all about knowing how much energy my body can provide on bodyfat alone. That's going to be different for each person. I know that if I'm in zone 2 I can provide most of the energy on burnt fat, and if I'm significantly into zone 3 it's also having to tap either glycogen stores or else externally provided sugar. How long that can go on depends on the state of the glycogen stores. Since I have no way of measuring that, all I've got to go on is past experience, including the several times I've full-on bonked on long, fast rides. Having bonked before, I can generally watch out and see the signs before it gets that far. If I don't carry any calories on my bike for a long ride I try to plan routes that never take me more than a few miles from a gas station, and carry my wallet with me.

There's no shame in having to stop and eat something on a 45 or 50 mile ride or longer. When you bonk, it's not a matter of willpower. All the willpower, grit, stubbornness, strength of character, or whatever else isn't going to make up for the fact that your brain is dying due to lack of fuel, and shutting your body down to keep that from happening.

That said, I fully believe that it's possible to train one's body to be better at metabolizing fat, so that one can ride harder/faster on internal stores alone.

I'm also in this category.

I will have coffee if the ride starts before 1PM - because I always have coffee before 1PM. Eating before exercise just makes me feel kind of sick.

I also have no idea how to consume small to moderate portions of food - I'm a binger, not a grazer. It's more effective for me to simply eat an extremely large meal the night before a long or strenuous ride.

+1

Yes, Greg Lemond at his age and weight and with all those lead pellets still lodged around his heart can kick anyone on this forum's ass all day long in the saddle; don't forget that.


Now, relative to the OP's question, I eat breakfast before a ride but since I'm not on the pro circuit it doesn't seem to matter what or when I eat though I don't want to feel like a stuffed pig at the beginning of a ride.

^^^ what [MENTION=37853]bbattle[/MENTION] said, both parts. Well done sir.

Bill

A quick note to say I didn't mean to offend Greg LeMond fans. Was merely poking fun at his endorsement of the book associated with eating for cycling and his present weight. Yes, his weight maybe a result of other physical challenges due to unfortunate life events many know about.

I have and continue to be a huge Lemond fan and am old enough to remember when he raced at his best. Should also be noted it was Greg LeMond who was really instrumental in putting American cycling on the map and not the guy who came after him who was stripped of his titles.

This.

Fitness, intensity, duration of ride, number of planned stops, time of ride start, availabity of food/water on the route, temperature, and logistics like what I'm able to carry with me on the bike all play a part in determining what I eat/drink on the bike and the timing of when I do so.

Making the poll unanswerable for me. I guess it might make sense to someone who pretty much always does the same types of rides, but I need a button to chose that says "It Depends".

How about Deleting those disrespectful images of fake-LeMond as a huge fan of the man?

-Bandera

Wouldn't that be contrary to the guarantees provided by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution?

I have a better idea. Let's start a new thread, featuring that same video, and throw darts at the miscreant who created it? Way more fun. I'm into fun! :D

Bandera, do you want to take the lead on doing this? They say that there is nothing sweeter than revenge . . . .

No, had my say: Done.

-Bandera

Killjoy.

Deleted. I recognize as you said...the 41 is made of a very broad demographic. Within this demo as we come from all backgrounds, there is huge polarization which of course even portends to sense of comedy or humor.

The comedy...if you saw me taking shots at a hero was...since you didn't see it...the pictures I showed were clearly not of Greg Lemond. That was the joke. It was quite apparent that the pics were not of him and why I posted them thinking it would elicit a giggle. Irony Bandera, sadly lost on some but not all.

But Bandera and you come across as a pretty serious guy which btw fits the type A paradigm of a racer...I like to poke fun to keep it light. Others not so much who are offended easily.

However, out of respect for you and others that didn't appreciate this attempt at humor, I do honor your request.

That much was obvious. There is a noticeable difference between 20 year-old skin and 56 year-old skin!

The people in those pics also don't deserve to be made fun of in a forum or in social media.

Have some class, folks.

Anyway, to get back to the subject at hand, I just love all of these precious people who refuse to participate in the poll because they are just so . . . unique!

Like most polls, not only is it stupid, but it simply aims at the typical. Just answer the damned poll and quit making yourselves out to be so special.

I totally agree.

I hate social media with a capital "H."

Gee, does that make me a hater?

Some are on a pretty high horse. I have a pretty strong sense of what your politics are. Better luck next time.

For the record, my political affiliation is Campagnolo.

I like that. Shimano for me, but the real question....

Electric, or the old guard, good old boy driven, cable? We can't even think of going into disc at this point.

Its kinda like that isn't it Scarbo? Doesn't take much to divide people. Good one. :)