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Which energy drink?

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  • July 23, 2014 at 10:10 am #21970
    parksey

    I’ve been reading the comments on the “fish and chips” topic with interest, as I’ve been thinking about my own approach to fuelling for rides recently.

    I think we’re probably all in agreement that mid-ride stops for cake or lunch are A Good Thing, but in my mind are only really relevant when you’re riding in a group. I’m not one to sit in a tearoom or pub when I’m out by myself, so in those situations I prefer to refuel whilst I’m on the bike.

    Before now, I haven’t been doing much at all, just relying on whatever I’d eaten earlier in the day (or the night before), and then taking gels at points where I needed a boost. I do use electrolyte tabs in my water bottles, but they of course don’t provide any energy.

    However, I’m continually going further and faster, but in doing so am finding that fatigue definitely now sets in as the distance racks up, which I suspect is a consequence of not taking on enough fuel.

    I don’t particularly want to increase my gel intake, as it won’t do either my bank balance or my toilet bowl any favours, and I’ve never really got on with energy bars either. If anything I find them less palatable than gels.

    I’ve therefore been looking at the various tubs of powdered energy drinks that are available. Having an energy source as a drink makes sense to me, and as they mostly contain electrolytes then I can seemingly dispense with the separate tabs too.

    It’s a bit of a minefield of choice though. Do many people use these and, if so, are there any particular favourites out there?!

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  • July 23, 2014 at 12:26 pm #805215
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    Quince

    If it’s not all a bit too
    If it’s not all a bit too stereotypically ‘health foodsy’ for you, blackstrap mollases reportedly contains good levels of most electrolytes other than bog standard salt. I find scooping a teaspoon into a bottle of orange juice with a good pinch of salt contains enough sugars, water and electrolytes to leaves me hydrated and… full of sugar. Which is generally a good thing. OJ’s not the cheapest thing to be guzzling down every day, but I only really use it on longer rides anyway. Squash, tea, or anything else could be used as the base liquid, but the mollases and salt are the main electrolytic components, and they’re a lot cheaper than powders and the like.

    Also, bananas are a cliched cycle-food because they’re cheap, have decent levels of usable energy, and have some potassium as well. Dried apricots are also very good for potassium, as well as sugar, and dates are an excellent sugar hit. I think they all generally work out cheaper than bars. Finally, if all the sweet stuff is overpowering, rice balls (or onigiri) make a satisfyingly savoury alternative to rice cakes, and are very simple to make (http://justhungry.com/2007/01/onigiri_omusubi_revisited_an_e.html). You can balance any of that with gels, and get whatever mix of solid, real food, and sugary goop you find comfortable.

    I’d get a second opinion on the molasses thing though, to make sure it’s not just health-food clap-trap. If not, it should be cheaper than buying specialised products that do pretty much the same thing.

    Hope that helps.

    July 23, 2014 at 11:04 am #805213
    0
    glynr36

    bashthebox wrote:Same goes

    bashthebox wrote:
    Same goes for energy bars, though this is a LOT more faff… you can make rice cakes very cheaply. Google the Team Sky recipe – think it’s on the Rapha site. Ignore the flavourings they use though, because coconut oil and cinnamon is not very nice. Just experimented yesterday with peanut butter and chocolate spread, and it was a proper winner. I reckon PB and jam would be ace too.

    The traditonal first one that Alan Lim did was bacon and eggs, really good ride food.

    The Feedzone book is worth a buy for what you save on buying foodwise I think easily.

    July 23, 2014 at 11:02 am #805211
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    bashthebox

    Eating solids on long rides
    Eating solids on long rides is important though – solely sugary liquids like gels and energy drinks will do your guts no favours, and you need a little bit of slow burn stuff in there anyway. So even if you don’t immediately like it, you ought to be eating bars or flapjacks or bananas or even just a sandwich. The pros do.

    July 23, 2014 at 11:00 am #805209
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    bashthebox

    There’s a far cheaper
    There’s a far cheaper approach, if you fancy a few minutes extra faff. Buy a box of glucose and a box of fructose, and mix them in a 2-1 ratio (I usually go somewhere around 28-14) and then add in a good pinch of salt and flavour with your favourite cordial (adjust your sugars depending on the sugar content of the cordial I guess).

    Same goes for energy bars, though this is a LOT more faff… you can make rice cakes very cheaply. Google the Team Sky recipe – think it’s on the Rapha site. Ignore the flavourings they use though, because coconut oil and cinnamon is not very nice. Just experimented yesterday with peanut butter and chocolate spread, and it was a proper winner. I reckon PB and jam would be ace too.

    July 23, 2014 at 10:24 am #805207
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    glynr36

    Get sample packs of a few and
    Get sample packs of a few and try them out, some sports nutrition places like GNC/Holland & Barrat usually have some in.

    Brand X’s ‘Lemon’ usually tastes different to Brand Y’s lemon, so a few sample packs can save you the £30 for 2kgs of the stuff (bulk buying works out cheaper), only to find on ride one you think it tastes horrible!

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