Commuter Fuel

[Dora]

I've just returned to commuting by bicycle, with a longer and harder commute than I've had before.  It's now on the verge of becoming a 'real' commute, and I hope to move on to doing the whole distance (hills included) soon.

But what's the best strategy for fuelling up for exercise so early in the morning? 

I tried eating porridge or even pasta first thing, but I guess it was too close to the ride to be any use.  I'm still finding it hard to be out of bed in time to ride to work so my getting up at 4.30 to be ready to ride at 6.30 just isn't going to happen, I'd guess any fuel I eat before bed is going to be consumed by the time I get up.  Beyond that I can't think of when or what to eat to keep me going through the day.  If I can't cope with the nice, flat part of the journey, I've got no chance on those hills!

[Chris N]

Eat something small just before you leave the house - I have a piece of toast, mug of coffee and a glass of juice - then eat properly when you arrive at work.  I can just about manage my commute on just coffee and juice (it's 80 mins each way) but I find I need to eat much more during the day to compensate.

[Dora]

I guess as long as I've had something reasonable for tea the night before a stop at the butty shop round the corner from work is a great idea!
Brilliant - can't wait to try it! 

[mrcharly-YHT]

I'm the same as Chris. At the most, I eat a banana before setting off. I try to make sure I have some emergency bonk fuel with me, just a toffee or some chocolate is enough. This is for a 25mile ride (sometimes I ride to the station, so it's only 7miles. No fuel needed then.).

[andygates]

A shot of espresso.   

[Simon Galgut]

I can't eat before a long ride, so I have nothing before the commute. I make up for it by eating like a pack of starving wolves for the rest of the day (until 2 hours before leaving for home)

[Charlotte]

You people with regular 80 minute, 25 mile rides into work scare me.  I left the house at 7:30 this morning and got to the office before 8am.

[Chris N]

So I can eat more pies, innit?

[LE]

On the few occassions I have cycled the whole way to work (26 miles), I had coffee and a piece of toast and jam before I left and then  a slice of toast with beans when I got to work.  It worked well for me, but then I am not doing that day in day out and using up reserve.

I guess if you find you struggle, keep a breakfast bar in you pocket and have a bite now and then.

[hellymedic]

A glass of orange juice and some toast & jam or a bowl of cereal before leaving the house and a toasted teacake or similar on arrival should do the trick.
CAKE at teatime may also help.

[Greenbank]

I hate eating early in the morning so I always commute on an empty stomach. I start Audaxes on an empty stomach but then I know I can do 100km+ on an empty stomach before I have to eat. A well trained fat metabolism is a nice thing to have but I always carry some form of emergency food just in case my super powers desert (no pun intended) me out on the road.

My commute is only 30 minutes but sometimes I make it 90 minutes by taking a longer route via Richmond Park (with a lap for good measure). My fuel is my corpulent self and I carry a single bidon of orange squash.

When I get to work I have a small coffee which gives the metabolism a shunt and then wait until midday before I eat anything. A couple of hours feeling hungry (or sometimes with a rumbling stomach) doesn't hurt you, it's just a bit uncomfortable. I then eat roughly the same thing each day from the work cafe (a baguette and a sandwich, the fillings vary so it really isn't as dull as it sounds). Another small coffee at 4pm-ish and leave for home at about 6pm-ish. One of us cooks an evening meal made from fresh(-ish) ingredients trying to eat before 8pm and trying not to pile my plate up to mountain like proportions.

Building up this level of self-discipline with food took a long time but it was worth it. I dropped from 94kg to 76kg last year.

Anyway, this is my plan for running a minimum of a 500-kcal deficit and it works out at about 1lb a week weight loss. When I don't want to run a deficit to lose weight I add in an afternoon snack or, shock horror, force down three weetabix at breakfast.

[inc]

But what's the best strategy for fuelling up for exercise so early in the morning? 

Eating before you leave will have no effect on your cycling, (unless you can't keep it down). The fuel for your ride is already in your muscles ( glycogen ) and fat. If it was me I would take my breakfast with me and eat it on arrival. For best fueling the meal should be mostly carbohydrate and eaten within 30 min of stopping.

[Dora]

You people with regular 80 minute, 25 mile rides into work scare me.  I left the house at 7:30 this morning and got to the office before 8am.

I'm glad you posted that!  I was starting to feel inadequate with my tiny short commute - I'm glad I'm not the only one!

[Wendy]

You people with regular 80 minute, 25 mile rides into work scare me.  I left the house at 7:30 this morning and got to the office before 8am.

Hahahahahaha!  That has got to be a first.

* BentMikey is not believing you.  Look at the difference between my slowness and low mileage, and your speedyness uber riding.  PBP, TRAT, and all that.

[LE]

You people with regular 80 minute, 25 mile rides into work scare me.  I left the house at 7:30 this morning and got to the office before 8am.

I'm glad you posted that!  I was starting to feel inadequate with my tiny short commute - I'm glad I'm not the only one!

My normal commute (during summer only, as I am a fair weather cyclist) is about 7 miles.  So I'm sure you commute futher and more often than me

[Charlotte]

You people with regular 80 minute, 25 mile rides into work scare me.  I left the house at 7:30 this morning and got to the office before 8am.

Hahahahahaha!  That has got to be a first.

* BentMikey is not believing you.  Look at the difference between my slowness and low mileage, and your speedyness uber riding.  PBP, TRAT, and all that.

I'm not all that, I promise you.  At the moment I am probably two stone overweight and sphincter-clenchingly scared about the Poor Student 200k at the weekend.  For shame 

[TheLurker]

The following worked for me when I was on long commutes (25s and 30s).  Your mileage (ha ha) may vary.

Bowl of cereal, cup of coffee, banana.
Handful of dried apricots in the jersey pocket.
Start eating the apricots about 30 minutes in, then at about 15 minute intervals. 
Try drinking little and often as well, dehydration might be stuffing you up as much as lack of fuel.

You might also want to do alternate days (M, W, Fr) rather than 5 straight.  I dunno how old you are, but I found that once I got past 40 I couldn't do more than 3 days a week like that.  I guess it's the old chestnut about recovery time increasing with age.

I don't bother with the inflight refueling on the current run cos it's only 14 miles.

[Wendy]

/still not believing you, LOL!

JiveTime, how far is your commute round trip?

[Dora]

My Commute is just an 11 mile round trip - it really shouldn't take any consideration, I'm fairly young, I cycle regularly, etc etc.  I can't understand why it was so difficult.  The idea about hydration might be something though!

The one I'm working up to is 8 miles along and 500m up - and I'm not good at hills!

[Wendy]

Oh that's OK, I wouldn't worry about food/drink much with that sort of distance.

I tend to have a full breakfast before I leave for work, but then I'm this:  ALWAYS HUNGRY.

[Chris N]

I can't understand why it was so difficult.

Probably because you're knackered from getting up so early!

[alan]

You people with regular 80 minute, 25 mile rides into work scare me. 

You cannot be scared.
I look to you as an example of fearless cycling achievement,Trat,PBP,24 hr ride, etc.

I refuse to accept that you have feet of clay.

[LEE]

My Commute is just an 11 mile round trip - it really shouldn't take any consideration, I'm fairly young, I cycle regularly, etc etc.  I can't understand why it was so difficult.  The idea about hydration might be something though!

The one I'm working up to is 8 miles along and 500m up - and I'm not good at hills!

5.5 miles first thing in the morning doesn't really need fuel to be honest.  You'll be full of carbs from the previous day.

You WILL most likely be dehydrated.  A big glass of orange juice will fix that and get some good, natural sugar flowing through your body.

Much better to use the eating time at the far end and set off a bit earlier.

I find a bacon sarnie in the works canteen works a treat as a reward.

Remember.  Cycling NEVER gets easier, you just go faster (Greg LeMond or someone)

[tonyh]

Glad to see so much advice about the merits of not eating (much) before riding, and it fits my experience. But it seems to go against a lot I hear from the "Normal" world, along the lines of Breakfast Is Important, Eat It First!

[Dora]

I tried the something small and a glass of juice approach this morning - It works much better than a 'proper' breakfast!
No bacon butty today though.  Maybe tomorrow