# Biking before work in the a.m.



## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

So I want to start riding more during the week...I bought a set of lights for the night rides but I am going to try and get up atleast 1 day a week early to go for an hour ride before work.

What should I do as far as food? Should i eat a snack before i head out or wait until I get to work a couple hours later and eat?


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

'm usually starving when I get up so I get up early and eat a decent breakfast that's got 3-500 calories of carbohydrates and some protein. And a big cup of good strong coffee. Then I'm set for a couple hour ride but by the time I get to work I need a snack.

I find that it's a lot easier to get in a good ride before work than after, but I'm a morning person and I work in an industry where it's normal to not come into work until 10am.


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## JoeDaddio (Sep 3, 2005)

Can you not ride to work?

Either way, I generally like to eat what I'd normally eat for breakfast and then give it some time to settle while I take a shower, check my email, etc. I don't like riding on a stomach full of Weetabix, milk, blueberries and bananas and generally give myself at least a half an hour to let things settle before getting on the bike.

I'd stay away from juice and coffee before a ride. In my experience that's never really turned out that well, though things might be different for you. And, if you are a coffee drinker, you might find that you don't need it after a nice morning ride.

This is for a commute though, and I'd think that if I were doing a full on ride I'd probably do the same thing only have myself a snack after I got home.



joe


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## Bianchiguy (Sep 8, 2005)

On my commute mornings, I keep it simple with a small bowl of instant oatmeal and a cup of coffee. My ride is 1 hour each way also and you aren't going to go into any kind of glycemic deficit in that time/distance. After I get to work, shower, hang my riding clothes and log on at my PC, I'll maybe have a bowl of cereal or maybe another bowl of oatmeal.


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## peterjones (Apr 25, 2007)

I don't have the luxury of showering at work, and it's not far enough away for any exercise value, so I get up two or three mornings a week and go for a 20-25 mile ride before work. 
Those are my favorite mornings of the week, I get to ride, watch the sun come up, then cool down with a cup of coffee and a smoothie or the like. Then shower up and head in for work feeling good. I don't feel the need to fuel up beforehand because I'm only riding for slightly longer than an hour.
I try to get in a couple longer rides in the evenings and on the weekends. I pay a little better attention to what I eat before the longer rides.
It seems to work for me...


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*A light snack*



stunzeed said:


> So I want to start riding more during the week...I bought a set of lights for the night rides but I am going to try and get up atleast 1 day a week early to go for an hour ride before work.
> 
> What should I do as far as food? Should i eat a snack before i head out or wait until I get to work a couple hours later and eat?


Some people can ride an hour with nothing, but it depends on how hard you want to ride and a lot of personal factors. If you want to go hard, you still only need 100 calories of something fairly fast acting, so one slice of toast with jam, an orange, or if you want to spend more money, a GU. Any of these would be fine and plenty. You can have a full breakfast when you get back from the ride.


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## B-Fun (Nov 15, 2005)

When I was doing hour long rides first thing in the morning I would just grab a bagel and head out the door with it and my bike. Durning my warm-up I would munch. I always had a hard time eating while on the bike, but this seemed to help me out, plus it saved me time by giving me a few extra minutes to ride.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Another vote for eat before. A very quick way I do it is to use frozen fruit, a little milk, and protein powder. I combine 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup water (or 1/2 cup water and 1 small yogurt), about 5 frozen strawberries or similar, 1/2 serving of the protein powder, blend it in a blender and drink it down. It digests fairly easy and you get a good mix protein and carbs. I usually do it first thing so that by the time I've gotten dressed and out the door I've already digested for 15 minutes or so. Works great.


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## fuskin (Sep 30, 2005)

I've been able to get out and ride before work around 3 days a week, usually have a couple of cups of coffee to wake up and a banana as I'm headed out the door. My rides are around 25 miles and that will hold me until I get home. I take a clif shot in case I need it but rarely do. In the summer I'll take an extra water bottle with frozen gatorade, it usually melts about halfway thru and gives me a little pick me up. When I get home I am ready for breakfast though.


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## kk4df (Aug 5, 2006)

stunzeed said:


> So I want to start riding more during the week...I bought a set of lights for the night rides but I am going to try and get up atleast 1 day a week early to go for an hour ride before work.
> 
> What should I do as far as food? Should i eat a snack before i head out or wait until I get to work a couple hours later and eat?


I ride most mornings before work. I don't eat anything beforehand, ride for about one hour, then shower and eat breakfast before going to work. I might commute if it was less than 23 miles each way and not such busy highways.


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## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

I was always told that coffee dehydrates you? If this is true is it wise to drink before a ride?


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## denmikseb (Aug 7, 2005)

It depends on which issue of Bicycling mag you are reading! If you don't like what the gurus are saying this month wait a month or two, it will change.


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## bchy (Dec 29, 2006)

If you have a decent dinner the night before, you really should not need anything for an hour ride. I've been excercising before work for over a year now and I've never needed to eat anything before. I usually eat after which makes breakfast more enjoyable.

Regarding Caffeine... It is a stimulant and a diuretic, so it can help you and it can hurt you. You just need to be aware whenever you're consuming caffeine while riding.


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## Bianchiguy (Sep 8, 2005)

What works for you doesn't translate into something that will work for everyone else. I to have a little over a 1000ft of climbing in my short 15 mile commute and definitely feel better having something in my stomach.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

stunzeed said:


> I was always told that coffee dehydrates you? If this is true is it wise to drink before a ride?


Coffee's a mild diuretic. For someone who isn't a coffee drinker, drinking four cups before a ride would probably be a bad idea. OTOH if you are alreay used to it and take care to drink a little extra water to go with it, a moderate amount won't hurt.

I have four espressos every morning (the espresso pot makes four, I pour them in one big cup). I use some decaf beans and it's not super strong espresso, more like halfway between strong coffee and espresso. It's probably got the caffeine of 1-2 cups of regular coffee. I drink some water too but I drink a lot of water during the day so it's not like a bit of coffee is going to make me dehydrated. If you're already dehydrated, coffee's going to make it worse. So be sure to drink plenty of water during the day, not sodas or coffee all day.

If I'm away for a race, I'll drink one or two cups of coffee with breakfast. No more. You don't want to have to pee during a race, in most lower cat races stopping to pee puts you off the back.

Coffee is also an intestinal tract irritant. That can be good if it helps you "lighten up" before the race. Not so good if there's a big line for the porta-potties or only toilet around is clogged.


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