Power bar gel Blasts

[crazycanuck]

Mmmm..Chocolate GU..mmmm...

LaraBars..mmmmmm..

[Veronica]

There's a chocolate LaraBar. It seems pretty solid. And it's fair trade, even!

We use to love Larabars - until Thom got violently ill from one. That's part of the risk of things that don't get processed I guess.

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We use to love Larabars - until Thom got violently ill from one. That's part of the risk of things that don't get processed I guess.

V.

Yikes ok I guess I'm not going to try them then!

Hmmm....maybe some chocolate covered espresso beans wouldn't melt? Probably just wishful thinking...

[SadieKate]

Sure. Take them. Then try to figure out what to do with the gooey, messy wrapper after . . . .

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sure. Take them. Then try to figure out what to do with the gooey, messy wrapper after . . . .

Figure out what to do with a piece of waxed paper? Um....throw it away of course....it's totally biodegradable. (Unless it's fairly clean or you can easily rinse it off, in which case put it in in the paper recycles.)
Or, use a piece of tin foil and then rinse the chocolate off at home and recycle it.
Or if there's room in your saddlebag, use a really small plastic tub snack container that you can re-use over and over again.

[Veronica]

Is there a way to carry and ingest chocolate in some form on a 3 hour ride over 80 or 90 degrees?

I like peanut M & Ms and a Red Bull.

Jo, do you look at what I buy on my permanent receipts?

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I like peanut M & Ms and a Red Bull.

I know you do some long hot rides- do peanut M&M's hold up in the heat ok? I do like them!

[Veronica]

I keep them in my Bento box or in one of my bags and they do fine. I think it's that "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand," candy coating.

I wonder what sorts of nasty ingredients M & Ms have.

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I wonder what sorts of nasty ingredients M & Ms have.

V.

Well here it is:
http://www.sugarstand.com/sc/sc0057-...ut-xxl-bag.htm

Yes they do have some non-healthy ingredients, especially the fake colors. But the substantial amount of chocolate and nuts in them are at least more real than just a sugar/gelatin combo. And m&ms are more earth-friendly packaged (in a giant bag rather than individual plastic foil packets), they're cheap, and they don't disguise themselves as a hi-tech sports wonder food and charge a fortune for basically just textured sugar.

That's a good idea, thanks! I think I may start carrying some peanut m&ms on long rides. Good to know they don't just melt into liquid in the heat. I like chocolate.

[GLC1968]

I love chocolate, but I cannot eat it when riding. It always upsets my stomach...always. Ick.


My favorite cycling 'real food' are PB filled pretzels. They handle heat well, they don't upset my stomach, they have a nice salty-sweet goodness and you can buy them in bulk at many stores. As long as I eat them before I'm seriously glycogen depleated, they work great!

[Veronica]

Well, there you go. Something you can feel good about on all counts.

I don't buy them in a giant bag. It would be too easy to eat them when I am not riding. They are one of those things I buy mid - ride when I need to get a receipt - along with Red Bulls.

V.

[SadieKate]

Petroleum-based waxed paper thrown out with each use. Any biodegradable coating better be made with food by-product or its not enviromentally friendly either.

Use of precious non-renewable water that's been treated and transported to your tap to re-use an item. It takes a ton of water (plus soap) to wash the goo off plastic wrap.

Sometimes you can only choose the lesser evil.

I love Nectar bars when I'm riding.
http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_nectar/

And the wrappers can be recycled.
http://www.clifbar.com/soul/sustainability/

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I don't buy them in a giant bag. It would be too easy to eat them when I am not riding.
V.

Hmmm... i didn't think of that.

Petroleum-based waxed paper thrown out with each use. Any biodegradable coating better be made with food by-product or its not enviromentally friendly either.

Use of precious non-renewable water that's been treated and transported to your tap to re-use an item. It takes a ton of water (plus soap) to wash the goo off plastic wrap.

I don't wash goo off plastic wrap with soap, I agree that it negates most of the re-use benefits. I hardly use plastic wrap at all anymore. I try to use plastic bags many times, as I also do with pieces of tin foil. But I admit I do use 'non-renewable water that's been treated and transported to my tap' for cooking, washing myself, drinking, flushing, and cleaning.
Here's an example of non petroleum based waxed paper:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/items...al_Waxed_Paper
Check your food co-op or health food store.

[Veronica]

And then there is the electricity we're using to be on the internet.

V.

[SadieKate]

Then some of us work from home and don't even burn up a bicycle tire to commute.

We have a friend who lectures us constantly on not washing every single jar so it can go into the recycling. Here in Central Oregon, all glass must be stored at the recycling collection site and then transported long distance to be recycled. He just cannot lift his eyes to the big picture of water use and transportation as part of the cost to the environment. A beer bottle that needs a tsp of water to rinse goes into the bin. A peanut butter jar? No. The fish need that water.