Thursday, October 7, 2010
As people who race bicycles go, I am NOT the most coordinated of the lot. You'll never see me cross a finish line with both hands in the air, my left had rarely leaves the handlebars, and while I can ride around all day with my right hand in the air, if I hit a bump, it'd better be ready to save the day from a wobble and crash.
Taking all of this into account, I have had one (maybe two...) not so awesome experiences with refueling during rides. These include chugging down a big glob of undissolved electrolyte "beverage", and disasterously finmbing a stramberry Gu, resulting in strawberry Gu all over my hands, shifters, cables, stem, and tire, which, PS, is not easy to get off. Gross. So, with these various catastrophes NOT making my rides more enjoyable, I went on a quest for something that would provide adequate fuel, taste good, and not make a mess if fumbled. Enter: electrolyte "gels". There are many many brands, and I tried lots of them. Two of my favorites, in texture, flavor, effectiveness, and ease of eating/access are Gu Chomps and CarbBOOM energy chews. I've had more experience with the CarbBOOM chews, so I thought I'd throw them up in the Gear section, and give them the props they deserve.
Taking all of this into account, I have had one (maybe two...) not so awesome experiences with refueling during rides. These include chugging down a big glob of undissolved electrolyte "beverage", and disasterously finmbing a stramberry Gu, resulting in strawberry Gu all over my hands, shifters, cables, stem, and tire, which, PS, is not easy to get off. Gross. So, with these various catastrophes NOT making my rides more enjoyable, I went on a quest for something that would provide adequate fuel, taste good, and not make a mess if fumbled. Enter: electrolyte "gels". There are many many brands, and I tried lots of them. Two of my favorites, in texture, flavor, effectiveness, and ease of eating/access are Gu Chomps and CarbBOOM energy chews. I've had more experience with the CarbBOOM chews, so I thought I'd throw them up in the Gear section, and give them the props they deserve.
They come in citrus and wild berry, and I'm definitely a bigger fan of the citrus. I think it's a bit more refreshing, especially when I'm hot and thirsty. So what I like about these chews: the flavor is excellent, the package is easy to open, the proportion seems excellent, they don't melt/stick together if they get warm, each piece is small enough that you don't feel like it's a whole mouthful. The one con is that they are incredibly sticky, so it's pretty hard to "chew" them. It is, however, easy to get them stuck on your teeth and suck on them until they dissolve, which, for me, works wonderfully.
I will say that sometimes, I need faster fuel (ie: rapidly impending bonk), and gels are definitely better in those situations (and I do use them, they just sometimes make me gag a bit...). But, for general timely refueling during long rides, these CarbBOOM chews hit the spot.
What is your refueling item of choice?
Avoid the bonk,
Kari
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