Pre ride meal

[Eric 13]

Any thoughts on what to eat before a longish ride? Was thinking about things like sardines, Cliff bars- like that. Nothing really heavy. Any secret formulas out there? Anyone try those little energy shots?

[RobAR]

Wow. A forum full of cyclists and no-one has a comment on nutrition in over 3 hours!?? Very strange. I like food though, so, I will break the ice, Eric.
I would say that it depends on what your current diet is, the time of day that you expect to ride, and what a persons idea of 'longish ride' is.
For me, Frame Of Mind also comes into play. Distance or Time?
As I primarily manage to do my rides early in the day, I tend to Carbo-Load the night before. Pasta, Garlic Bread, Pizza, Beer, Refried Beans and Red Beans & Rice are faves - chased with beer if I am planning a MTB ride. Less beer for a road ride. Heck - I've been known to have a Hair Of The Dog on the way to the trailhead at 6 AM. Depends on how bad the pizza was. And yes, there is such a thing as bad pizza!

All joking aside... What you consume immediately pre-ride is very important. Your 'gut' is just a big mass of muscles that have a job to do by digesting things. On the bike, you are asking your body to concentrate its attention on other muscles. Water is the primary fuel carrier for Any muscle function. Water is what transports this fuel to the muscles currently in use. AKA - Glutes and Hams and Calf in the legs. The 'Power Trio'. Hydration is your Key.
With that said - yes, you would be wise to eat a (light) pre-ride meal of a food item that your body is already accustomed to. I like a banana and a big glass of Orange Juice. These are foods with a low Glycemic Index (Sugar Conversion to Simple Carbs - Google it) that can fuel working muscles until the Complex Carbs from last nights Pizza Party can be accessed and kick in. Breads and Pasta are high on the GI scale and can cause cramps by absorbing too much water.
If you can swallow Sardines, we are brothers! I love 'em! But, I dunno about pre-ride. After a nice ride on a chilly Autumn morning, it is nice to return home and pour some Tobasco Sauce over a Sardine-On-Rye sandwich with a Dill Pickle and another beer!

[Painkiller]

(09-08-2012, 06:26 PM)Eric 13 Wrote:  Any thoughts on what to eat before a longish ride? Was thinking about things like sardines, Cliff bars- like that. Nothing really heavy. Any secret formulas out there? Anyone try those little energy shots?

Well that would depend on the time of day you start your long ride, your age, state of health and so on.
But I think it is always best to stay well hydrated a day or two before such an event and during. this would be most important. The jury is still out the energy shots, you should try it for your self. I prefer light meals like salads with potassium rich ingredients and protein. I use salsa for the dressing, low calorie and can slop on a lot. If calories are not your concern use what you want. I like GNC Mega-men vitamins.
I think the secret is protein and potassium and micro-nutrients and hydration. However you go about it.There are many potassium rich foods, even more so than bananas. Google is your friend here.
Little power bar snacks or even jerky or a dried fruit nut mix in the bag are nice for the snack along the way.
but at the end of the ride it is a must to finish with a wine or beer of your choice !
this should put a little more gas in your ass ! not that way.. get out of the gutter !

---

Dang it you beat me again! I was thinking the same thing.. no response ha I am glad you said hydrate. so often over looked for some reason

[RobAR]

delete. was picking on a Yankee bro of mine..
PopTarts with Ice Cream sprinkles are good with GatorAde.

[barefooter]

(09-08-2012, 11:35 PM)RobAR Wrote:  If you can swallow Sardines, we are brothers! I love 'em! But, I dunno about pre-ride. After a nice ride on a chilly Autumn morning, it is nice to return home and pour some Tobasco Sauce over a Sardine-On-Rye sandwich with a Dill Pickle and another beer!

+1 .... and I thought I was the only one who likes Sardines after a ride!

[Eric 13]

This has to do with a semi competitive ride next week- a total of fourteen miles. Realizing this is a short jaunt for probably most on here, but there will come a point during it that I will surely tire.

"Training" has consisted of rides through a local park, and through a really nice riverside greenway. A cool feature are the maps posted along the way- showing your exact miles. Sessions vary from 6 to 12 miles. Very doable, but with rest stops to catch my breath and enjoy the scenery!

So the point I guess- the gist of the first post- is to figure what foods may help increase stamina. The only rest on ride day will be coasting on downhill runs.

Robar, I have to say your night before feast sounds pretty darn good. In my case such a meal might render me without company though.

Really taking a shine to the spaghetti garlic bread angle. Got a two pack of the energy shots yesterday (little fellas' are PRICEY)- will down one before today's ride and see how it goes.

Thanks for the replies, and "food" for thought!

[Bill]

Want to add a warning about the energy shot, that too many of them may cause your body harm in the long run. All I can offer is your ride. Keeping your cadence to the conditions of the course is one of the keys . Most will push it on the downhill parts and straight stretches. Personally those previously listed is where I merely keep a steady enhanced cadence, and hammer down on the uphill parts and the corners! Suicide but not expected . Train yourself to work harder on the hard parts of the course and your body will adapt to those variables and increase your cadence level too . I can hear already ,"BILL ARE YOU NUTS?" lol. Yes sometimes I am. Don't kill yourself just always have a "few tricks" up your sleeve is all I am saying. Find how steep the biggest hill is on the course and then find a bigger one somewhere else, ride up the biggest hill in the hardest possible gear you can stand. If you don't complete it, go back the next day and try again. Conquer it by getting to the top and you will notice what I said above will hold true! This sound easy? Try it on a gravel hilly road. (joke). If interested just say so I have a couple other things I can add.

Sorry to get off topic. Good luck
Bill

[RobAR]

Bill. Are you nuts!? You said it first!
To add to Bill's advice on energy gels, jelly beans and whatever else is offered out there - they are intended only as an 'anti-bonk' fuel and MUST be consumed with copious amounts of water. Seasoned cyclists can feel the dreaded 'Bonk' coming on by knowing how thier body is responding to the brains demands.
I regularly use the products Hammer Gel and GU and will often take along a little bag of Sport Beans if I feel the need for "solid food". Contrary to the way the advertising is written for these products, they will NOT make you stronger, faster, or anything else. They are simply formulations of sugars, salts and aminos that cyclists deplete rapidly, in a convienient package. I like to call it the GatorAde Theory. But these are for mid-ride replenishment and are not a substitute for Pizza and Beer. A BIG WORD OF WARNING!!! Your body needs to be slowly conditioned to absorbing the product (WITH WATER) or it can make you feel quite sick.

Eric - Now that you have provided more detail 2 posts above, we know what you are looking at. However, we are not your doctor nor do we know how you feel after a 10 mile excursion. I still stand by my original advice to eat what you are accustomed to. To stray from that will only cause problems. Pre-ride, you need a light meal that contains Carbohydrates, Fibre, Fats and Salt. AND WATER. Never forget the WATER.
Two pieces of toasted Wheat bread (carbs & fiber), buttered heavily (with real butter = fat), with Peanut Butter (salt and very filling) and a banana (potassium) is an ideal combo that is easily digested and provides a timed release of nutrients to the blood stream. That's what Elvis Presley ate for breakfast and look where it got him! So - take my advice lightly.
Elvis didn't ride his bike enough, though.
The lack of Potassium (banana) is the biggest contributer to muscle cramps.
In short - it doesn't matter 'what' you eat as long as you eat what your body is used to. As you ride more, it will adjust to the new stresses and new fuels. Garlic Bread and Shrimp Gumbo! Yumm!!

[Eric 13]

[attachment=3492]Well thought out intelligent advice that I appreciate. (Pizza and beer, who knew?) Water is the main thing. Will stay hydrated. A couple bananas are on the menu for race day.

Feel great after today's 12 mile ride. In better shape now than when I first started riding again, for sure.

Thinking it was the bike that got Elvis all the ladies.

[RobAR]

(09-09-2012, 01:01 PM)Eric 13 Wrote:  Thinking it was the bike that got Elvis all the ladies.

Elvis had a Limo and a little mansion in Memphis and you have a bicycle that you ride. Who is the better man? (careful with that answer,,, I might have been in the Memphis Mafia - you never know!)

[Eric 13]

I dunno, I'm pretty fond of that bike! Pretty reserved also. Wouldn't like the legendary Eric thing. Well maybe some aspects. Most aspects. What were we talking about again?

[RobAR]

Good food and Rock n Roll.

[Painkiller]

(09-09-2012, 01:34 PM)RobAR Wrote:  Good food and Rock n Roll.

Well congrates to you Rob, you have corrupted Eric just like you did me. Raping me of my bicycle innocence. Who will be the next victim?
Keep up the good work Bro

[RobAR]

(09-09-2012, 04:00 PM)painkiller Wrote:  

(09-09-2012, 01:34 PM)RobAR Wrote:  Good food and Rock n Roll.

Well congrates to you Rob, you have corrupted Eric just like you did me. Raping me of my bicycle innocence. Who will be the next victim?
Keep up the good work Bro

'Tis true, dear PK. I am the Corruptor of Champions and the Destroyer of Diets (among other less forum-friendly bestowments) .
Just you wait 'til I get in my Jerry Lee Lewis groove-thing. "Who Will The Next Fool Be?". Then again... "Rockin' My Life Away" is my fave jam when wooling rust off of old Schwinn fenders and bars. "I got a gal called Nelly, she's a chili pepper, Hot. She knows how to roll, the Killer knows how to rock and I'm rockin' ". See. It always goes back to food.

[Eric 13]

What about Queens' "Bicycle Race"?

How about filling the tires with helium to make the bike lighter? Wipe it down with WD 40 to make it cut through the air slick like?

[RobAR]

Sorry, Eric. After almost 40 years of playing electric guitar, my hearing is diminished but my sense of taste is more in tune.
Here's a taste of bicycle jam for you!
http://forums.bikeride.com/thread-2578.html

[Eric 13]

Robar, with my horrid breakfast of sardines, clif bar and banana-

I whipped all co workers. Goodness, it feels fine right now!

Earned me some bacon and eggs tomorrow! RIDE ON!

[Eric 13]

BTW, dropped my water bottle during the ride too. Figured it's easily replaceable. But DANG needed a drink at the end of the ride, luckily, found good people waiting at the finish line!

[Bill]

Congrats!!!

[Eric 13]

Thanks Bill. Dang it feels good right now!