Raw honey a good substitute?

[sundial]

I was wondering if raw honey would work as well as Gu or Carb-boom? I am thinking about filling a flask with this and trying it out on the road. Has anyone had any luck using this in lieu of the commercial stuff?

[LBTC]

I have a friend who is a naturopath who mixes an energy drink with raw honey, lemon juice, and sea salt - so, in addition to the sugar, it's alkalizing and it replaces minerals lost while sweating. I could ask her if she's ever made it into more of a gel and what the ratios would be, if you like.

~T~

[Trek420]

I haven't tried honey but I prefer raisins to GU. The little boxes such as

www.sun-maid.com

You could go organic I'm sure. Hits me just as fast as GU and other products for that " OMG look at that hill" spurt and stays with you longer.

[sundial]

I have a friend who is a naturopath who mixes an energy drink with raw honey, lemon juice, and sea salt - so, in addition to the sugar, it's alkalizing and it replaces minerals lost while sweating. I could ask her if she's ever made it into more of a gel and what the ratios would be, if you like.

~T~

I have that idea too--to mix the 3 ingredients together and through trial and error find the right consistency.

[sundial]

I haven't tried honey but I prefer raisins to GU. The little boxes such as

www.sun-maid.com

You could go organic I'm sure. Hits me just as fast as GU and other products for that " OMG look at that hill" spurt and stays with you longer.

Trek, I'm afraid if I started eating raisins on the road, I'd have to pack a roll of t-paper.

[Grog]

Yes! Mix with some jam and a pinch of salt...

[Starfish]

I haven't tried honey, but isn't there a brand of gel that is basically honey? Stinger, or something?

I know you might be trying to get away from the commercial approach...just thought I'd throw it out there.

[Dianyla]

I've tried this. I found that it was a little easier on the stomach if I mixed a little bit of peanut/almond butter into it. The extra fat/protein helps tone down and extend the sugar hit. And nut butters are a good way to get the saltiness in, as well.

Just, make sure you use creamy nut butter. Chunky style doesn't dispense very well.

[michelem]

This is what I found - it's supposed to mimic the ratios of GU:

Home-brew power goop:

7 and 1/3 Tablespoons of Honey
3/4 teaspoons of Blackstrap Molasses
1/10 teaspoons (just shy of 1/8 tsp) of table salt

Be sure to mix everything together well, and it should make enough to fill a 5 serving GU flask.

[RoadRaven]

Here's a take on this...

My partner finds various gu's don't sit so well in his stomach. He also has difficulty getting them open due to a hand injury which can mean keeping a tight grip on small things is very tricky.

So we tried honey in one of his water bottles, several tablespoons well diluted with water. Too sickly.

So we tried glucose. This works a treat. I put 5 heaped teaspoons of glucose (powder) in one of his water bottles when he is going on one of his long training rides (he usually does at least 1, but often 2, 100km+ rides per week - for example, on Sunday he did 130kms, on Tuesday he did aboput 110kms). The glucose is barely noticable in flavour but gives him the energy he needs to get home.

So he takes a bottle of plain water, and a bottle of glucose water, and a couple of 'bike bars' to eat. He usually stops at a school somewhere to top up his water bottle, and reserves the glucose bottle for the last leg home.

He also uses the same combination on 50-60km races because it is impossible to eat at the pace that is set (usually ending up with a 40km+average). So he takes two bottles and starts the glucose bottle about half-way through the race.

He finds the glucose water provides almost instant energy and is easy on his stomach.

[michelem]

This is what I do for energy drink:

2 qts. water
1/4 c. lemon juice (Santa Cruz Organics bottled lemon juice actually came out to be cheaper than buying whole lemons and juicing them!)
7 T raw honey
1 T organic molasses
1/8 t sea salt

[Tri Girl]

So we tried glucose. This works a treat. I put 5 heaped teaspoons of glucose (powder) in one of his water bottles when he is going on one of his long training rides.

Interesting... Where can you find glucose powder? Health food store? Is it flavored or does it just taste like water? Is the consistency the same as water?
Sorry so many questions, but that sounds like something I'd like to try.

[jobob]

Someone on the Bikejournal forum (Kin perhaps?) came up with a recipe for a gu-like substitute he calls Rocket Fuel. It uses brown rice syrup & agave nectar, which I gather are both available at health food stores.

I haven't tried it yet, but here's the basic recipe:

__________________

Kin's Rocket Fuel

3 parts Brown Rice Syrup (50% complex carbs, 40% maltose, 5% glucose, 5% water) - $3.50 for 1 lb. 5 oz.
1 part Agave Nectar (95% fructose, 5% water) - $2.50 for 11.75 oz.
salt
vanilla
a little water to thin it up

After putting each of the ingredients in a plastic GU dispensor bottle in the proper proportions, dunk it in very hot water to help it mix better.

[onimity]

Honey definitely works for me. Starfish is right, the Stinger folks make little honey snacks pre-packaged like Gu, but they are a little too much honey for me all at once most of the time. Adding honey to water would be a great idea, but glucose sounds like a better way to go if you can find the powder. I don't know where you'd get this, but you can also get glucose tablets (in drug stores, with diabetic supplies) the upside is that they hit you really quickly, the downside is that they usually have artificial flavors and aren't the *best* tasting thing (but if you've tried Gu...). Getting plain glucose powder sounds ideal...anyone know where you can buy this in the states?

Anne

[sundial]

Thanks guys for all the great tips. I will do a trial run of honey in my Gel Bot and see if it works for me. I might add a little pb to it as Dianyla suggested. The glucose tablets is a definite idea since our drugstore carries them.

I have used the Carb-boom and liked it, but the bike shop is an hour away and I don't drive there as much with the steep gas prices.