Which Gel or energy drink do you drink??

[tulip]

Water works for me. Bananas and Luna bars, too. My 14-mile commute every morning is done without food beforehand (can't eat that early, either), but when I get to the office, I'm HUNGRY!

My longer rides do include bananas and Luna bars and water. Nothing more is needed for me, but we are all different.

We should just be aware of the marketing that strives to make us NEED special foods for riding. I just don't think most of them are necessary.

[SadieKate]

Really, for rides of fewer than 40 miles or so, you only need water (PLAIN water) and a banana. Otherwise, you're likely going overboard with the sugar and calories.

Not necessarily. I know a lot of people who get upset stomachs from banana during a ride (especially with anaerobic hill climbing spurts or intervals) and anything over an hour in our summer weather means you need electrolytes.

I think the point of the discussion is to find what each person’s GI tract, metabolism demands and taste buds can tolerate or prefer. Then, try to gauge how to apply that to one’s own exertion level (intensity and distance). You can't just make the assumption that your 40 mile ride is equivalent to anyone else's 40 mile ride. My 34-mile ride tonight will include 3 4-mile intervals at time trial pace in 90 degree weather. A banana (or any solid food) and water only is recipe for disaster. If I were to do the same course at a recovery level, I might be OK with a banana, but one benefit to gels and drink mixes is the lack of needing to fumble with the wrapper or store the trash. Very easy for on the bike calorie intake.

[FreshNewbie]

SK I agree, I think food on a ride is as individual as a saddle

[Lenusik]

You can't just make the assumption that your 40 mile ride is equivalent to anyone else's 40 mile ride. .

I totally agree. My shortest ride is 25 miles, which you may consider nothing. But I include 2-3 good hills on the way. I would not even try to take them just on water in a 100 + degree weather.

Another great thing to take with you is CASH. Sometimes I am in modd just to go a little longer and the only thing that I have is Propel. I would make a point to stop at a convenience store to get a Power bar and gatorade.

[Aggie_Ama]

I agree, I think Gatorade is bad about marketing to the general public what we don't need.

For hydration and nutrition, it is completely up to an individual. My stomach tolerates pretty much everything, so I am not as cautious about what I eat. I do love PB&J at any break point. It should be required. DH has more issues and thinks about it more.

Personally, I can go about 50 miles without eating. I think I am the minority. I am perfectly content with a bottle of water and gatorade. I might take in some Sport Beans. For me, I cannot ride over 30 miles in the Texas heat without replenishing electrolytes.

I need Gatorade (my sugary drink of choice) because I also experience a drop in my blood sugar. The drop in my blood sugar tends to aggravate my movement disorder and I extremely uncomfortable. Again, most people on this board do not have the factor of the movement disorder. I would venture to guess no one has the same disorder.

[Dogmama]

I like cytomax with a small scoop of vanilla protein powder. It cuts the buzz I get from cytomax & gives my muscles a boost.

I think the article about simple carbs is not true for most people. When we run out of sugar, we bonk. Ugly.

[jobob]

If I don't have enough to eat, even on a 20-mile ride, I can get lightheaded and shaky.

And although at this point a 20-mile ride is "nothing" for me (and, rest assured, 20 miles used to be a very big deal for me!), I still need to eat early and often, and I find that an energy drink like Cytomax helps me considerably, especially in hot weather.

What I'm saying is, what works for one may not work for another.

That's why I cringe at blanket statements such as "you only need (this) for (that)".

- Jo.

[Grog]

I also need SOMETHING to prevent me from bonking on any ride, because I'd rather be on the safe side than stuck in a headwind 10 km from home (or more!!) with no energy left to go and the desire to kick myself for not getting properly fueled. Usually it's some calories in my bottle (lemonade, Gatorade, Clif electrolytes) and a gel or other "food" in my jersey pockets. Whenever the ride is longer than an hour, I make efforts to intake about 150-200 calories/hour, and this would be insufficient on a ride longer than 3 hours.

This is especially true if I ride towards 5pm, before dinner.

Even if you're trying to loose weight, I don't think it's safe not to fuel-up on rides that are longer than an hour. You don't want to bonk. Plus, I'm nearly certain it actually impedes weight loss if you don't intake enough calories while exercising, because you'll almost certainly feel like you need to eat more later. If this works for you, tulip, good for you, but I'm not sure the 40-mile ride is a generalization we can make so easily... I do agree however that marketing is intense in this area and that we have to remain critical of what's offered.