Pre-ride Meal — Does the Right Mix of Carb Makes a Difference?

Eating the right kind of food, primarily carb, 1 to 2 hours before the ride can signficantly improve on the bike performance as well as how one feels during the ride.  That was what I read.  I didn’t pay too much to the detail of the article, but the author essentially suggests a mix of simple and complex carb.  It makes sense, in theory anyway.

So I follow it as a general rule, never really paying attention to the mix.  I eat just hoping that I raise my blood sugar high enough and pack enough quick fuel that I don’t bonk in my weekend hammer feast.

Sometimes my pre-ride breakfast would consist of bowl of old fashion oatmeal with 1 or 2 tablespoon of cereal for a 2 to 3 hour ride.  Other times, it might be one or two Belgium waffles with real maple syrup.  (No fake syrup made from high fructose corn syrup, please.)  Or I would have a big bowl of cereals with slices of banana.  Never mind what kind of cereal.  Just none of that stuff kids eat that is package with sugar.  My favorite usually have a touch of sugar or honey it in to make it interesting.  Sometimes, I would eat a combinations of the above.  Well, I hardly bonk on these rides.  But I also never felt a huge performance gain from the breakfast I ate, until today.

It was just like any typical Sunday ride, a mix of fast tempo on the flats, solid effort on the climbs plus a couple of all out sprints, except my legs seems to recover quickly after each effort, and I didn’t feel like I need to eat midway to keep up the rest of ride.  (Well, people says waiting till I feel hungry to eat is too late anyway.)  I didn’t feel any craving for food after the ride either.

So what was the secret sauce?  I had no idea, except this was what I ate before the ride, and I am interesting paying closer to attention of what I have for breakfast.

• 1 Trader Joe’s whole wheat British Style Crumpet, top with
• 1 table spoon of Apple butter (not butter but more like Apple puree)
•  2 cups of Special K, top with
• 1 large banana (slices), and
• 1 cup of 1% low-fat milk