Q - Eating breakfast before commuting

"HarryB" wrote in message
...
Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles. (I've heard that one
shouldn't exercise immediately after eating a meal, but maybe that is
an old wive's tale?) It would be possible for me to eat a breakfast
after arriving at work, but I'm concerned about not having the energy
to ride 10 miles without a breakfast. Since I would need to leave the
house at about 5:00am, it might make a difference in my decision to
commute if I would need to wait, let's say an hour, between eating and
riding.

Probably part of it depends on how fast you ride, but personally I avoid
eating just before riding, not because of cramps but mostly because I'm
afraid I'll hurl (as I did once after going on a _very_ hard ride, with two
people with much lighter bikes, right after eating).

Instead I bring to work something nice and portable like cereal bars and
little orange juice containers and munch in the office.

"HarryB" wrote in message
...

Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles.

It is A-OK. If you find you have problems -- stomach cramps? then try:
o Eating first, then getting dressed, to give a little time to digest
o Picking foods that are digestible, like a banana and hot rice cereal

I've tried so-called bonk training, where you wake up, have a caffenated
beverage, and then do a hard hammer for 30-60 minutes. It's supposed to be
great for losing weight. I felt so miserable, though, I knew it wasn't for
me.

At first, you'll probably have a second breakfast upon arrival at work.
After awhile, though, you'll get used to the ride, and you'll find that
won't be necessary.

Bicycle commuting is the greatest -- I hope you really enjoy it as much as I
do.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Email me the new Tiferet CD (http://www.tiferet.net)

HarryB wrote in
:
Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles.

Your breakfast is not going to digest in the time it takes most people to
ride 10 miles. You're burning energy stored from last night's dinner. Drink
some orange juice or hot chocolate to hydrate yourself a little and provide
some quick calories immediately before you ride. Eat an energy bar when you
get to work to replenish your muscles.

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 21:38:34 -0800, HarryB
wrote:

Since I would need to leave the
house at about 5:00am, it might make a difference in my decision to
commute if I would need to wait, let's say an hour, between eating and
riding.

TIA,
Harry

Try it both ways. On the weekends, maybe. It's a good idea to do test
runs of your commute at low-traffic times anyway. You will be familiar
with the roads and more confident.

I won't ride after any significant food. I find it better to wait
until afterwards. Or during. Rather than only eating before or after,
you could do some eating while riding. You won't gain much for the
ride itself, but it's a way to get some food moving into you without
loading yourself down. Some nibbling while riding in and then a bowl
of cereal or whatever when you get to work.

A bike ride is a great way to start the day. I hope that you can work
out some of the details.

Background: My wife and I purchased a tandem this fall and have done a
little (~400 miles) riding. I have so enjoyed the biking that I'm
considering commuting to work (about 20 miles round trip.) I'm 50
years old, have not really ridden a bike since my early 20's, and am
in reasonably good physical condition. I would need to purchase a
commuting bike (riding the tandem alone just doesn't seem like a good
idea - I'm considering a recumbent) but have to resolve a few issues
first. One of them is about breakfast.

Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles. (I've heard that one
shouldn't exercise immediately after eating a meal, but maybe that is
an old wive's tale?) It would be possible for me to eat a breakfast
after arriving at work, but I'm concerned about not having the energy
to ride 10 miles without a breakfast. Since I would need to leave the
house at about 5:00am, it might make a difference in my decision to
commute if I would need to wait, let's say an hour, between eating and
riding.

TIA,
Harry

"HarryB" wrote in message
...

Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles. (I've heard that one
shouldn't exercise immediately after eating a meal, but maybe that
is
an old wive's tale?) It would be possible for me to eat a breakfast
after arriving at work, but I'm concerned about not having the
energy
to ride 10 miles without a breakfast. Since I would need to leave
the
house at about 5:00am, it might make a difference in my decision to
commute if I would need to wait, let's say an hour, between eating
and
riding.

TIA,
Harry

I don't like to eat before riding to work because my body wants to
start digesting the food instead of powering up my legs. I just have
a cup of coffee and go. Instead I take granola bars with me and eat
after I get to work. My commute is 17 miles with about 1000 feet of
climbing and 800 feet of descending and I'm only a little younger
than you, at 45 years old.

In article vHR3c.2388$i76.42698@attbi_s03,
"Claire Petersky" wrote:

"HarryB" wrote in message
...

Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles.

It is A-OK. If you find you have problems -- stomach cramps? then try:
o Eating first, then getting dressed, to give a little time to digest
o Picking foods that are digestible, like a banana and hot rice cereal

I've tried so-called bonk training, where you wake up, have a caffenated
beverage, and then do a hard hammer for 30-60 minutes. It's supposed to be
great for losing weight. I felt so miserable, though, I knew it wasn't for
me.

De gustibus non disputandum est, and if I knew more Latin, I'd make a
joke about not being able to dispute one's stomach either (de
gastronomus non disputandum est?)

At first, you'll probably have a second breakfast upon arrival at work.
After awhile, though, you'll get used to the ride, and you'll find that
won't be necessary.

I ride to work, barely 30 minutes away (it used to be farther, but I got
faster), on nothing but the water in my bottle. I eat a sandwich shortly
after arrival, though. It seems to work best for me. I used to eat
before going to work (cold cereal, usually Life brand), but found I was
just as hungry when I got to work whether I ate at home or not.

I think the current exercise theory is that you eat some carbs and
protein as soon as possible after exercise to replenish glycogen stores
and rebuild muscles. I don't know much about physiology, and sometimes I
just eat 5 or 6 big cookies at a time because, you know, I just rode my
mountain bike for over an hour, and there were cookies at the function I
attended. So what I'm saying is that while I give advice, I'm not
exactly Lance weighing his pasta during the training season.

--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles. (I've heard that one
shouldn't exercise immediately after eating a meal, but maybe that is
an old wive's tale?) It would be possible for me to eat a breakfast
after arriving at work, but I'm concerned about not having the energy
to ride 10 miles without a breakfast. Since I would need to leave the
house at about 5:00am, it might make a difference in my decision to
commute if I would need to wait, let's say an hour, between eating and
riding.

It shouldn't be too tough to figure out if you can go 10 miles without
eating in the morning- try it and see! What's the worst that can happen?
Probably just a mild case of bonking, although at 5am, I doubt your body
would even recognize the symptoms :)

I'd just bring along a pack of gu or something else that you can digest
really quickly, just in case. But for what it's worth, I do a 31 mile ride
(with just over 3k feet of climbing) twice a week, leaving the house at
7:30am, and eat absolutely nothing beforehand. My only fuel while riding is
a bottle of Cytomax, and I rarely feel bonked or really hungry at the end of
the ride. Maybe an hour or two after, yes, but not during the ride.

This, of course, is one of those your-mileage-may-vary things. I know
others who can't believe I don't eat before I ride. In general, I can do
about a 100k morning ride without food first, providing I drink Cytomax
(although I will most definitely start feeling a but hungry towards the
end). Of course, I could be carrying more reserves than you!

By the way, the only reason I don't eat prior to a morning ride is simply
that it allows me to get up a bit later. I put a high value on being able
to set the alarm for 7:05 (for a 7:30 ride) instead of 6:45am. Then again,
it's well known that I'm simply not a morning person.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

HarryB wrote:

Question: Presently I eat a cold cereal breakfast before driving to
work. I'm wondering if it is "ok" to eat a breakfast just before
getting on the bike and riding 10 hilly miles. (I've heard that one
shouldn't exercise immediately after eating a meal, but maybe that is
an old wive's tale?) It would be possible for me to eat a breakfast
after arriving at work, but I'm concerned about not having the energy
to ride 10 miles without a breakfast. Since I would need to leave the
house at about 5:00am, it might make a difference in my decision to
commute if I would need to wait, let's say an hour, between eating and
riding.

My suggestion would be to eat just fresh fruit. This is the only meal that
works for me before exercise. Fruit, especially acid fruit like berries or
citrus, passes through your system in about half an hour. There isn't that
heavy, performance clogging effect that comes from eating concentrated
foods. The only hick is that if you don't wait for it to pass, you will
need to stop to pee after you set out.

EFR
Ile de France

Wed, 10 Mar 2004 22:22:22 -0800,
, Ryan Cousineau
wrote:
\snip
So what I'm saying is that while I give advice, I'm not
exactly Lance weighing his pasta during the training season.

Lance's people pay somebody to weigh his pasta for him. Poor ol' Fab
just looks at the pictures on the box and guesses.

Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Look Ryan, being His fan club president is great, but don't you think
He'd be better off first having a manager who could land Him a decent
contract so our boy doesn't have to eat all that cheap pasta stuff in
the first place?
--
zk