The old phrase "You are what you eat" had new meaning for me on this morning's ride.

This last weekend my wife and I left our kids with my parents and stayed in a Portland hotel Friday night. It was a late Valentine's Day celebration, complete with a full steak dinner, a few glasses of wine. We topped it off the next morning with a rich Eggs Benedict breakfast, and by then I was about ready to pop.

Fast forward a day to Sunday morning, and I got up at 5 a.m. to give my morning breakfast plenty of time to digest before a 7 a.m. ride. The mistake I made though was eating too much food that, combined with the weekend's feasting, zapped my energy and put me close to heaving during the ride.

This morning's menu? Two hard-boiled eggs and a peanut butter sandwich with banana slices. Thinking back on it, I'm not sure why I decided to stuff myself. All I know is that Frank and Dave had to wait for me on many hills this morning, and I struggled to keep up with them even on the flats.

It was a miserable ride.

I'd still do the steak dinner and breakfast mind you (after all it was Valentine's Day), but I'd only eat a bowl of cereal in the morning before the ride.

What do you normally eat before a ride?