Homemade "On the Bike" Energy Drinks and Bars

[michelem]

I think I found what I've been looking for!

2 liters cold filtered water
1/2 cup organic lemon juice
6 tbs fruit juice sweetener (such as Wax Orchards Fruit Sweet, but agave nectar works well too)
1/2 tsp. sea salt


No refined sugar, no artificial flavors or colors . . . I'm going to try this out for tomorrow's 50 miler. I'll let you know how it is!

[margo49]

I make up a litre of drink with 3 or 4 teaspoons of fructose, 1/3 tsp salt, water and some flavour (eg a tea bag, lemon juice,etc)
But I am not very professional. I think the main thing is some kind of sugar and salt. The rest is fine-tuning (funny minerals and salts they have found in sweat by taping plastic bags under athletes arm-pits - yukkity yukk)

[michelem]

Well, I ended up using this for our 50-miler today:

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

This came out very close to the 30g. carbs, 10mg. sodium, 100mg. potassium ratio suggested to me.

My water bottle holds about 28 oz. and I filled it up to the top. Drank a bit right as we started out, and then drank every 45 min. to 1 hr. (I think our ride time was around 3 hrs., but I crashed at one point and that added to our total ride time). I had filled another 10 oz. bottle and froze it and left it in the car, but when we got back it had barely melted. Probably got about 3 sips out of that one.

Anyway, the homemade energy drink, coupled with getting up at 5am and eating hot cereal with raisins, an omega-3 egg, ground flax, and nutritional yeast flakes mixed in, eating a rice pasta/cannelli beans/spinach/onions/olive oil combo for dinner last night, and drinking lots of fluids yesterday made for a very pleasant ride today (minus the crash). No dips in energy and was able to keep up with the group.

[DarcyInOregon]

Well, I ended up using this for our 50-miler today:

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

This came out very close to the 30g. carbs, 10mg. sodium, 100mg. potassium ratio suggested to me.

My water bottle holds about 28 oz. and I filled it up to the top. Drank a bit right as we started out, and then drank every 45 min. to 1 hr. (I think our ride time was around 3 hrs., but I crashed at one point and that added to our total ride time). I had filled another 10 oz. bottle and froze it and left it in the car, but when we got back it had barely melted. Probably got about 3 sips out of that one.

Anyway, the homemade energy drink, coupled with getting up at 5am and eating hot cereal with raisins, an omega-3 egg, ground flax, and nutritional yeast flakes mixed in, eating a rice pasta/cannelli beans/spinach/onions/olive oil combo for dinner last night, and drinking lots of fluids yesterday made for a very pleasant ride today (minus the crash). No dips in energy and was able to keep up with the group.

Michelem, is this energy drink still effective for you through the summer months since you started to use it?

The reason I ask is because the commercial products have too much sodium in it for me, and I need to start experimenting on my own so as to reduce sodium consumption during my long rides. I have gotten an edema problem, in that I am retaining water in the lymphatic system, the tissues of my abdomen and maybe the thigh muscles. For example, I will do a 70-mile ride with 4000 feet of climbing, and after drinking the commercial products during the ride my body weight will be up 3 pounds the morning following the ride, and the retained water does not release itself. Then my next long ride, the weight goes up some more, and you get the picture. I love the commercial products because I don't have to worry about low electrolytes and low blood sugar, but I need to get off the commercial drinks in order to deal with the edema problem.

Does anyone else get water weight gain from all of this sodium during the long bike rides, or is it just me? I know I am sodium sensitive, and I eat low sodium off the bike, and have done so for years. Currently, I estimate I have at least 10 pounds of excess fluid in my system, and maybe as much as 20 pounds. It is ridiculous. Thank goodness it doesn't show in my feet, ankles and legs.

Darcy

[michelem]

Hi Darcy,

Long time no see! It's good to see you back.

Funny (not "ha ha," but as in what a coincidence) that you mention edema. I just got over a horrendous bout of it, due to side-effects of colonoscopy prep (phospho soda). I gained 12 pounds of fluid, couldn't see my ankles or knees and my eyes almost swelled shut. It was horrendous, so I really feel for you!

But, to answer your question about the drink. I'm still using it and it's working great. After the edema went down, I used it and the edema did not return. There really isn't much salt in it - just 1/8 tsp. per 2 qts. of liquid. I'm pretty low-sodium in my eating habits too, just 'cause I'm more of a sweet lover rather than salt lover.

Anyway, for this morning's ride (which was a hill-climbing route that took me about 2-1/2 hrs. ride time and 3 hrs. total time) I drank 1 large bottle of the replacement drink (I'd estimate my large bottle holds about 24 oz.) and one large bottle of plain water. I did not consume anything else on the bike, however, when I do longer rides (over 3 hours) I take along some raisins and almonds. I ate hot brown rice farina with blueberries, ground flaxseed, and hemp-based protein powder about 90 minutes before getting on the bike. I drank an emergen-c when I got home and then ate another bowl of cereal, this time with 1 whole omega-3 egg and 1 egg white mixed in instead of the protein powder. Normally I would have eaten something else, but the cupboards were bare! I felt like I had plenty of energy (considering the windy conditions and I was by myself, so no drafting!) and no cramping.

Anyway, I do hope you find something that works for you and you find some relief from your edema.