Riding on an empty stomach affects the quality of your ride, and doing this can lead to glycogen depletion, to avoid this you want to eat something before your ride. It's an especially tough balance for cyclists how much and what to eat. Check out these tips.
You should eat and fuel up hours and not just minutes before the ride or event.
You need enough food to supply sustained energy but not so much that you get to full.
Eating to much before you head out the door can lead to nausea, but not eating can leave you to bonk in the middle of the ride.
The night before
The food you eat four to eight hours before is the primary fuel stored away in your muscles as glycogen. If your ride starts in the morning, eat a carbohydrate rich meal the night before. Pasta is a good choice. If the ride is in the late afternoon or early evening, then a good breakfast such as pancakes, bagels or oatmeal is the way to go. Carbs are the key, they are very important to maintaining blood glucose levels during exercise and replacing muscle glycogen.
The day of the ride or event
The last food you eat before a ride it's essential for good performance. It raises your blood sugar level, getting your body ready to release your energy, also keeping you from feeling hungry. Food eaten before a race or hard ride should be light, instant oatmeal, bagels, granola, bananas, toast with honey is a good meal, it's easily digested and out of your stomach before you hit the ride. Don’t eat heavy foods as when you ride hard, your stomach only gets about 20% of the blood it needs to digest, so you can't as easily digest fatty foods. Try eating the meal 1 to 2 hours before, but if not possible then you can eat a lighter meal 45 or even 30 minutes before your ride.
Certified
Want to ride with us? See our group rides area for more information.
