Hi,
I’m trying to figure out the best breakfast before going out for a big ride as I’m looking to take on a big challenge at the end of the summer. Any recommendations for the best way to pre-fuel before heading off – what are your favourites?

thanks!

Slow realese carbs, in many ways the previous evening is also important. There are a lot of things about glycogen absorbtion etc.
http://www.hammernutrition.com/hnt/294/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12617691
So you want to make sure you max out but don’t over do the night before then something that is going to release over the day. Usual suspects are poridge etc. but some people have a bad reaction to too much milk so just check that one out.
Best thing to do is try a few different things and see when you crack. Alsow the tip of eating before you are hungry goes a long way, by the time you know it’s all over.

Something tasty. last thing you want at the start of a sufferfest is to be eating something you’re not enjoying.

personally, I’d be wholemeal toast, couple of poached eggs, beans, and grilled smoked bacon medallions, or leaner equivalent. so nothing too lardy, but tasty.

then wait at least 45 mins before heading out, or you’ll see it again.

Oats and nuts. Maybe an egg or two as well [fried is OK] 🙂 Eat a lot, but don’t eat twice, three times as much volume as normal! I had a friend who was supposed to do a 50 miler with me and turned up after eating 9 weetabix when he normally had 2. We had to abandon the ride on the way out of the town.

scrambled eggs on toast or porridge works best for me.

some nicly laid out info
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/competition_and_training/eating_before_exercise

Porridge.

If it’s a long ride take stuff to nibble on throughout the ride (proper food, not gels!) and don’t wait till your hungry.

As above eating well the night before helps.

What appears to work well for me is chicken with rice in a cream sauce.

On the day I tend to eat porridge and a banana.

I used to shove as much porridge down me as I could, but actually I now find I’m actually better if I just eat a sensible portion.

During the ride I find those Malt Loafs in a packet great. I also carry a Nature Valley cereal bar. I found them good, but they are very very dry and can be difficult to eat on the move.

9 weetabix

Yeah, right.

I’ve heard some whoppers but…

Porridge has virtually no calories. Big cooked breakfast, whatever you like, works best for me.

Good link that by mikewsmith.

I’d just eat whatever I normally eat for breakfast, which would be a bowl of porridge. Don’t tend to do anything specific before an event that I wouldn’t do when training. If I had a big long ride to do I’d not try and shove down a load of extra food, I’d just eat a normal breakfast and then take things to nibble on during the ride.

My 9 year lad when on a growth spurt can easily knock back 4 – 5 weetabix, his normal morning portion is 3, not really any fat on him, but is on the go pretty much all the time, wish I had his energy!!

Your Body can only store and convert so much food to energy when you ride. Normal meals should suffice really. A banana mid ride is all I really need. Always have porridge for breakfast on ride day and normally leave a couple of hours before I ride.

When I was in my teens I ate 9 every morning. That’s where he got the idea. :/

Porridge has virtually no calories

May I politely suggest that’s not 100% correct.

Porridge for me, big bowl with some fruit and maybe some honey. And a good espresso. If it’s a silly long ride then some protein is no bad idea either so scrambled eggs.

It also depends on what you’re defining as a “big challenge”. Anything under 100 miles on the road and I can eat normally, over 100 and I like to think about things in advance so lots of carbs in the 2 days before.

When I was in my teens I ate 9 every morning.

over 100 and I like to think about things in advance so lots of carbs in the 2 days before.

Unless you know what your consuming it’s a bit of a funny one, the body can only absorb so much carb properly and you can fill your stores in one meal the evening before. Any more and your just carrying and passing it.

No, really! Three in a wide bowl, arranged in a triangle with honey on top first and the milk added from the sides to prrserve the dry crunchy layer on top. If no honey id use Benco chocolate powder.

Porridge has virtually no calories.

Biggest load of shite I’ve seen posted here for a long time!!

Slice of wholemeal toast drizzled in olive oil. Smash an avocado up with a bit of chopped fresh chilli and some black pepper. Spread on toast. Top with a couple of poached eggs. Then a bowl of porridge topped with some fresh fruit, small glas of orange juice, large coffee and then keep sipping water on the drive out before a ride. I usually drive to riding location so its well over an hr before I start riding after necking that lot!

I can ride all day on 1 double helping (90g) of Alpen no added sugar muesli, and a bottle of Pro:Long, or two if hot.

If we do stop at a cafe on a long ride I supplement with poached eggs on toast no butter (butter/fat inhibits carb ingestion).

Pizza the night before.

150g of oats, handful of raisins and 30g of protein powder. Wait 30-45 mins and go cycle.

This combo plus a couple of small homemade flapjacks gave me enough juice for an 130km solo road ride.

banana and/or egg sandwich , 1 litre of water

Half a kilo of sugar washed down with three espressos. Sorted.

plan for Sunday (pre RideLondon) is a decent sized bowl of porridge with a chopped up Banana+ honey before I leave home, then a mix of NAKD bars, flapjacks and jelly babies during the ride.
i’ll have a couple of gels in the back pocket in case I need them at the end.
I’m pretty sure you can only absorb something like 60-70G of carbs per hour, so will be trying to maintain this throughout.

I suffered a bit on last years event, I think it was due to a combination of dehydration and not enough food. This won’t be happening again this year.

A croissant, a pain au chocolat, some cold meats and slices of cheese, a spoon of jam, a glass of juice, and two cups of espresso.
My Sunday rides tend to be 50 miles minimum and up to 80 miles, either road, or mixed road/ off-road. Maybe a piece of cake and a coffee after 2 hours at a nice cafe.

Porridge fans, next time you make it weigh your measure of oats and do the maths. Swells up hugely on cooking. A standard measure of oats is about the same calorie-wise as a couple of slices of bread. Bare. Not much of a hearty breakfast for a long ride. A good breakfast on a cold morning when you don’t want to eat too much but don’t want to feel hungry before going out.

Of course you can stuff your porridge full of sugar and fat in various ways to get in more calories. But a bowl of granola is probably a better starting point for that, and neither of them would hold a candle to a cooked breakfast.

Aaaah – I see what you’re getting at.

Personally I eat it raw, with honey and full fat milk, which seems to work nicely. I’m still talking about 2 large bowls… and I mean large 😛

and neither of them would hold a candle to a cooked breakfast.

But a belly full of protein is not that easy to digest and won’t be as easy to digest as carbs and especially not carbs the night before.

scrambled eggs on toast or and porridge works best for me.

Large bowl of porridge with a sliced banana, a dollop of Greek yogurt, a dollop of honey and a handful of mixed seeds/nuts. 2 cups of tea. Bingo.

I can’t think of anything worse to fuel me for a ride than a full english. It’d be repeating on me the entire ride, even if I ate it 2 or 3 hours before. I make sure I eat well the night before including a snack before bed. Then 4 or 5 weetabix with full fat milk about two hours before the ride and a banana.

100 grams of porridge with full fat milk, strawberries and a banana on top, might also neck some whey protein down if a longer ride.
I always carry a bag of mixed nuts and an apple, in fact i eat approximately 1000 calories worth of nuts every day.

Cooked breakfast has plenty of carbs and fat too, not just protein. Admittedly, for that I’m thinking more of the case where I have to drive somewhere first, perhaps roughly 2h between eating and riding. But I generally don’t have a problem exercising after a meal, I often run straight after a (light) breakfast or supper. Night before is important though, I generally make sure I’m well enough stuffed though not too much to sleep 🙂

scrambled eggs on toast or porridge works best for me.

Ditto – alright for up to 4hours on this.

Gofasterstripes as a teen:

The one on the right! 🙂

Is that my right or your right?

If it’s a silly long ride then some protein is no bad idea either so scrambled eggs. I can eat normally over 100 and I like to think about things in advance so lots of carbs in the 2 days before.

Wow….that’s a lot of eggs!! 😯

I can’t think of anything worse to fuel me for a ride than a full english. It’d be repeating on me the entire ride, even if I ate it 2 or 3 hours before

Haha – same for me!
I did a multiday ride from London to Mt Snowdon about 18 months ago, we stayed in Premier inns along the way.
Some of the guys on my ride were putting away HUGE fry-ups before we got going.
Now I do like a fry-up, but the thought of a truckers breakfast before a big ride does not appeal.. I think the best I managed was scrambled egg on toast a couple of times.

So lots of anecdote in here, for those that think their breakfast fuels them what did you eat the night before – more important probably.