Early morning riders
 

I don't like the heat and have figured out that early is the only time of day tolerable for me to be outside. What do you morning people eat before a ride? I have been having food issues (I don't eat enough) and need ideas for how to fuel my body so I can get out and ride. I'm not trying to lose weight so not concerned about calories or fat.

Oatmeal with cinnamon, sugar and raisins. Also coffee and some orange juice.

Otto

My early morning rides are generally on the shorter side....15-25 miles. Sometimes I will eat oatmeal. This morning I ate a banana and had some beet juice. So, basically, not much.

Carbs are your friend. Fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, granola bars, etc are good breakfast staples that should give you good, usable carbs soon after eating. You can also get into gels and drink mixes if you're pushing for more performance.

I pretty much have to have something in my stomach before riding hard in the morning. Steel cut oats cooked in a crockpot the night before and warmed up works. If you're riding at a pace you can sustain for hours, go crazy -- eggs, pancakes, coffee, and juice. That'll keep me going for about 40 miles, by which time it's heating up.

The everything bagel with half a brick of cream cheese, though, is best saved for after the ride.

Depends on the ride. If it's a mellow ride of an hour or less, then just coffee. If I'm going to be doing work, I'll usually eat a few eggs.

Anything under 90 minutes, nothing but coffee. Longer rides, yogurt and walnuts, and some fresh or dried fruit stirred in, if available. That will keep me going up to 3 1/2 hours.

Just how early is "EARLY MORNING?"


After 90 minutes (or less) of a quick nap I will head out 10pm, 11pm, 12:01am, 1am -- basically whenever -- on nothing eaten because of dinner 5 hours earlier or after midnight I might have 1/2 banana with almond and peanut butter, maybe coffee, Medjool dates with pb, slice of N.Y. Style Cheesecake, M&M's all depends on distance (at least 50 miles) and effort I plan on riding. When weather was cool and feeling OK (before my Prostate Cancer dx in 2015) I would begin a Midnight Madness Over-nighter 100 miler having 1 OR no stops with a gel before leaving and then my stores as I rode. For my 70th Birthday Ride of 141 miles that I began around 9:45pm on July10, dinner was only 4 hours earlier so no eats but within 20 miles I had a banana and gel then ate, drank, had 2 stops with kit change and eats.

Morning breakfast is a power shake. One banana (frozen), 1/2 of an avocado, scoop of protein powder, soy or almond milk. I supplement this with one piece of whole wheat toast and local honey.

Coffee and Costco Aussie Bites. Be careful, they are addicting.

I like going out first thing in the morning when the traffic (vehicles and other bicycles) is light, typically starting anywhere from 4AM-7AM; maybe an occasional 8AM start, but that's 'late' for me. Typically 15-25 miles. Food intake is nothing more than a big glass of water. Don't believe what the food industry tells you, the need for eating immediately before a ride is BS as almost all foods take some time to digest and won't be available for use as a fuel in your cells for a few hours. Just eat a normal diet, maybe add a few calories if you're loosing weight and don't have any other health problems, and you should be good.

Longer, all-day and multi-day rides are different, but still focus on eating some snacks along the way and eating the calories I'll need for the next day.

2 eggs, 2 mini muffins and some tea. i bring a banana and 2 gels for the ride.

Out at sunrise and get between 30-40 miles in before it gets hot.

My daily commute is 2 x 25 mi. and I'm out of the house by 8:30. It has been getting hotter here in Nor Cal, but not too bad yet here by the coast. Every day I ride I also make a smoothie: 1 banana, frozen berries and frozen pineapple with almond milk. I will sometimes toast up some homemade bread and drizzle it with olive oil. I always have a Nespresso as well. I've done the ride on just coffee and been fine.

I find food to be mostly unnecessary in the morning. I do my workouts indoors on the trainer each morning and usually just have a coffee, mainly as a way to mentally wake up and not really as a pre-requisite to workout. Our bodies carry about 1,400-2,000 calories of glycogen, and given the fat burning that occurs at lower intensities, the need to fuel shorter rides is overrated. A lot of my workouts are in the 1200-1400 calories range of work done, I just eat throughout the day and don't feel the need to eat in the morning, especially if the stuff I eat in the morning isn't going to actually be used to fuel the workout.

A homemade waffle, sugar free syrup, banana, and coffee 1 1/2 hours before I leave--every day.

agree. plus you can eat a late night snack of anything you want, then in the morning, get up and hit it on nothing. then eat after

As mentioned above, yogurt with some granola, blue berries and some nuts. Contains carbs, some fat and some fiber. On fruit, all sorts of dried fruit works well with granola.

I'm not doing well in the heat this year. I wish I could get out early but it's too much like going to work:( Interested to see what works if I'm ever able to get out with the sunrise. :thumb:

Right now its nasty for me too so I ride early as well. I will either eat a couple of waffles or oatmeal or some granola. But when I get back I hit the coffee and some eggs.

Now if I am not riding more than 60 minutes or so, or not a great hard effort I will just grab some simple snacks and go but if I know I am going longer I have to eat and carry stuff or I suffer badly.

I'm not much of a morning person and usually ride in the hottest part of the afternoon, but take it easier. Heat adaptation from riding at 100+F makes rides in the 80s and 90s feel cool.

I don't eat much before a ride but feel better when I do. It's better to give it an hour or two to digest. I usually eat a full meal a couple of hours before my afternoon/early evening rides.

Occasionally I do fasting rides of 60-90 minutes and take it very easy -- just water, sometimes with electrolytes. Very important to pay attention to the body's warning signs during fasted rides. If you want to try this do it on an indoor trainer first. Adaptation can take awhile, regardless of body fat, so take it easy at first.

If I plan to ride immediately after eating I'll eat a little oatmeal, sometimes adding an egg for a custard texture. Or a banana and a little yogurt. Or a homebrewed protein shake, or Fairlife lactose free chocolate milk, or A2 milk while I can digest fine. Otherwise too much dairy causes me digestion problems.

I usually carry a Clif bar or Larabar and a couple of Clif gels in case I feel bonky on longer rides. Sometimes I'll nibble one after an hour or two, sometimes not. I just go by how I feel. But I don't ignore the early bonk warnings. If I stay in zone 1/2, I usually won't need to eat anything. But even a single sprint or spirited hill climb that pushes me into zone 3/4 can disrupt that and require refueling.

If you know how long & about how much effort you plan to put in during the ride, eat sensible the day before at dinner & enjoy a mornings coffee the day of the ride. Take plenty of water & maybe some dried fruit, if your pushing hard.

nothing sucks more than blowing chunks mid ride after a breakfast meal... or the urge to duce duce after working up the cadence. Some people can gnaw on slimsjims & cheese right before a ride & be fine. Others cannot keep down a banana. Sometimes I just have water before riding & bring along a sports drink.

Like others have said, it depends on how long and hard you are going to ride and how much time you have to eat/digest before you start riding. For me, on weekend rides I will have a glass of water when I get up (before my coffee), then have coffee and oatmeal (with a banana). I typically finish eating 30-45 minutes before I ride. Then I have a 7.5 mile easy ride to where I meet my group. With this regimen I'm usually good for 60-65 miles. If I do a short 60-90 minute ride on a weekday morning, I have coffee, and sometimes eat a couple of handfuls of Cheerios or similar, sometimes not, depending how I feel.

I don't eat before any of my morning rides. I usually leave around 6 AM and ride for 90-120 minutes. If I ride more than 35 miles or so, I'll stop and grab an energy bar or something similar.

I'm a morning rider and don't eat much nor need much. Cereal and coffee for the most. Water too. Then during a ride pop in a gel pack.

I gotta have food. A bowl of Cheerios with fruit, 1 or 2 eggs with toast and juice, usually apple/berry blend. I also have 3 cups of coffee. I sometimes get a snack mid-ride, depending on miles. I am also a big water drinker, about a quart per hour when it is warm. I like to get on the road by 6 am. and back home by 9 am.