Looking for some advice on how to fuel for early morning sessions. I am not concerned about Zone 2 sessions in a fasted state, but certainly high Zone 3 and above could prove to be difficult to complete with solid performance. I will more than likely be doing 1 hour workouts the majority of the time. Please don’t tell me to get up at 4:00am… 
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On one of the most recent Podcasts Jon and Nate answered a similar question. Their guidance was to have some juice and try to keep your breakfast carb heavy while minimizing fat and protein. Take that in after the ride.
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Some existing topics worth review.
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I literally just eat a handful of skittles and chase it with a big swig of my homemade carb drink. I do this right after I get up and while I’m making my coffee. I’m on the trainer within 20 minutes of getting out of bed. I keep taking in some skittles and drink during the warmup.
Obviously this is weird and not optimal and probably won’t work for everyone, but it works for me so far.
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Breakfast skittles… I think I might try this strategy!
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Carbs with dinner the night before. Juice + white toast w/jam morning of. Try to get at least 1g/kg carbs in each.
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An English muffin or two toasted with a little bit of butter + jam. That + cup of black coffee and straight to the bike. Coupled with in the bike fueling, never felt like a limiter to completing any type of workout.
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If it’s a trainer ride you can just start fasted and drink your fill of bottles since you can line up as many as you like next to your trainer. Bring your coffee as well and put 1-2 tsp of sugar in the bottom which can be like a gel for the end.
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Black coffee, three sugars, get it done.
If you have more time, 50g rolled oats 150g semi milk, 2mins microwave with a squirt of honey - wolf it down about 20-30mins before.
Eggs and ham afterwards 
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You can do VO2 right after eating? I’d barf.
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Toast and marmalade
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My goal is always to be on the bike within 30 minutes of waking.
For the past 4-ish years I’ve done a Cliff bar with caffeine (~50mg) and a glass of water right off the bat when I wake up (Cool Mint is the only one I can find in the stores these days but they also use to have some latte flavored ones)
If I’m still hungry I’ll grab a Larabar or Bobo’s or something else with ~40 grams of carbs before jumping on the bike. For the ride I’ll usually have 1 regular bottle with ~60g of carb per hour.
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I have steel cut oats with 1 scoop vanilla protein mixed in every morning. I batch make 3 days at a time in the crock pot. I’ll have a few big bites before I hop on the bike and whether or not I fuel during the ride depends on the intensity or duration. 1 hr easy rides and I’m usually fine - 90 minutes I’ll have around 25g carbs at 30 & 60 minutes, 3 hrs or more and I start getting into a dialed 100g carbs per hour.
I usually make a pre-workout drink with around 40 mg caffeine before bed and place it on my night stand for when I wake up. It’s gone great most the time, but one time I woke up wide awake, assuming it was time to get up, and drank it. It was like 2 a.m. My wife was laying next to me with our newborn wondering WTH I was doing lol.
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I am usually on the bike riding around 10 minutes after I wake up, so I usually eat a honey sandwich on the way to the bike. Then I’ll just have regular on the bike nutrition to get in the appropriate g/h of carbohydrates. This usually includes drink mix, high-carb cereal, and haribos. Also, make sure to get everything ready the night before to save time in the morning. I think it is just something that you have to get used to over time. Also, make sure that once you wake up, you get straight out of bed, otherwise you will feel groggy if you try to squeeze in another 5 minutes.
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Im up at 5 and try to be on the bike by 530, so i feel your pain. My goto is to maple syrup. I extend my warm up by about 10 minutes and get about 30 ml maple syrup in during the warmup. Then a mouthful between each interval. Seems to work pretty well. Ive read/heard that the these simple carbs hit the blood stream in about 15 minutes so by the first interval I’ve got a boost.
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My take on 1 hour workouts that require some hurried fueling. A caffeinated gel will help get you going fast. Easy to digest and the caffeine will not only help digestion but stimulate the gut brain connection.
“Caffeine affects digestion primarily through its stimulant properties. It can increase gastric acid secretion in the stomach, which may enhance the breakdown of food. This boost in acidity can lead to quicker gastric emptying—the process of moving food from the stomach to the small intestine. “
The small intestine is where the majority of nutrients are absorbed.
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I eat a banana right when I get up. Today I woke up hungry so I added a package of pop tarts and felt pretty good during a 90 minute sweet spot ride with no additional fueling, other than some Gatorade endurance powder in a bottle.
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Within 15 min of biking, I eat a banana. Then when I am on the bike, I fuel accordingly with liquid calories or white rice cakes even on 1 hour rides. When I’m off the bike, I eat breakfast. Then I shower.
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Toast and vegemite. And sometimes a black coffee.
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My go-to quick meal for morning rides or trainer sessions is a pb&j sandwich, chocolate milk, and a 100mg caffeine supplement. Sometimes yogurt as well. I can get it all down in under 5 minutes and it’s pretty easy on the gut.
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