Buzz Bomb: Worth a Try If You’re Trying for ‘Smooth Energy, Mile After Mile’

By Kevin Kolodziejski

Six hours 44 minutes and 22 seconds.

Let’s say that’s the time you decide to shoot for in your first attempt at what’s often seen as the recreational rider’s 100-mile rite of passage, the century. CyclingLevel.com calls that time a “good” one and the average one for all ages and genders. So it becomes your goal time — even though the pace you’ve been keeping since you started doing the local weekly club ride suggests you’re probably better than average.

It’s just that the guys on that ride — the guys who talked you into doing your first century — tell horror stories about this one’s final 50 miles. It’s nothing but roller after roller with two nasty climbs thrown in for good measure.  Yet when those guys go slower up the first roller, surprise, surprise, you decide to go faster.

Surprise, Surprise

You’re feeling it, so you keep accelerating and leave those guys behind. A few miles later, you catch a group of eight who tell you they couldn’t keep pace with the four absolute hammerheads who went hard from the start and then went harder after that. Once the rush of catching them dissipates, however, you struggle to keep pace on any sort of incline. You get dropped on the climbs, but manage to chase back both times.  You even manage a pull or two once you’re told there’s only three flat miles to go.  And then, you can’t believe your eyes.

No, it’s not the guy who dresses as the devil at the Tour de France or even an image of God suffused in bright light. It’s that the first two numbers on the digital clock at the finish line are both fives.

Later as you partake in the meal that’s part of the event, your time of under six hours is all the guys from the club want to talk about. Kudos to you, my friend. You were feeling it, had the audacity to act upon it, and have created quite a buzz.  Which is what Ashley Paulson did last February, albeit under different circumstances.

What Exactly Did Ashley Paulson Do?

The 44-year-old female covered 100 pancake-flat miles in 12 hours 19 minutes and 53 seconds.  Yeah, I know.  That’s more than double your time. But she did so not on bike but on foot — and set a new world record in the process.

So why mention a running world record to you? To rain on your riding parade?  Oh no, exactly the opposite.  So you can peddle amongst the marching bands, floats, and beauty queens waving from convertibles time and time again.

Because you and I know the feeling you felt midway through that century is as good as cycling gets. And because Paulson attributes part of feeling it during her world-record run to a product she took “every hour” during it. A product that gave her “smooth energy, mile after mile.” That product, like you at that century, has created quite a buzz, and just so happens to be called Buzz Bomb.

Buzz Bomb: An Energy Drink Replacement

Buzz Bomb is a sugar free, flavored powder that contains 50 milligrams of caffeine. While most 16-ounce energy drinks contain three times that — and a few up to six — research has found 50 mg of caffeine is just enough to aid any type of physical activity. Since you take Buzz Bomb sublingually, it gets into your system much quicker than the caffeine contained in energy drinks or coffee.  In fact, the estimated “Kick-in Time” for the latter two found on the Buzz Bomb website is 20 and 25 minutes, respectively.

Take Buzz Bomb, though, and you’ll know it in one to four minutes — and it certainly is easy to take.

All you do is tear the tiny packet open and sprinkle the powder under your tongue. In about a minute or so, the powder totally dissolves, and soon after that you feel energized, but without the jitters you can get from energy drinks or too much coffee. Or as the website says, you’ll “feel sharp, not shaky.”

‘Feel Sharp, Not Shaky’

That’s a suitable slogan since the supplement can be used for more than enhancing exercise. Like getting going in the morning after a late night out, staying awake during a long drive or study session, clearing out what the website calls “midday drain fog” or fending off the dreaded “midday sleepies.” It’s also good at providing a middle-of-the-workday boost during what my brother calls those “ugh afternoons” when “I look at the clock, expect to see a ‘4’ and see a ‘2’.” He liked the taste of Buzz Bomb, too.  Especially the Peach Mango flavor, which he finds “borderline tart, but good.”

Since he also likes lifting weights and usually sips on an energy drink just beforehand, he asked for a few more of the samples the ChicExecs marketing company sent to me. What he experienced it seems is the weight training equivalent to what the ultra-marathoner Paulson experienced during her world-record run: smooth energy, set after set. For even though the heavy sets felt just as taxing as they usually do, he noticed he was recovering quicker and needed less rest between them.

I’ve noticed less need for recovery time on the bike between all-out efforts as well. But I’ve found an even better reason to use Buzz Bomb. Well, a better time, really.  It’s just after my usual 30-minute warmup, especially if my legs seem to be lacking their usual power or my mind its usual motivation. Each time I’ve used Buzz Bomb in response to either I’ve had the sort of ride I would’ve expected if everything had felt right as rain during the warmup.

That’s saying a lot, so it only makes sense to also say, “Whether you’re planning a long night out, an all-out lift, or a pretty demanding ride, why not give Buzz Bomb a shot?”

It comes in Peach Mango, Mixed Berry, Tropical, and Coffee Mocha, a single serving is less expensive than any 16-ounce energy drink, and the positive effects of one serving can last up to 4 hours.

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Kevin Kolodziejski began his writing career in earnest in 1989. Since then he’s written a weekly health and fitness column and his articles have appeared in magazines such as “MuscleMag,” “Ironman,” “Vegetarian Times,” and “Bicycle Guide.” He has Bachelor and Masters degrees in English from DeSales and Kutztown Universities.

A competitive cyclist for more than 30 years, Kevin won two Pennsylvania State Time Trial championships in his 30’s, the aptly named Pain Mountain Time Trial 4 out of 5 times in his 40s, two more state TT’s in his 50’s, and the season-long Pennsylvania 40+ BAR championship at 43.