QUESTION: What is better to use while riding? Energy bars, gels or energy drinks? —Tom C.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: Since all three deliver a good dose of carbohydrates, which are what you need to keep energy flowing while you ride, it doesn’t make a lot of difference whether you use bars, gels or energy drinks, provided you also drink water with the gels and bars. The energy drinks, of course, supply their own fluid. (See this study.) So what it comes down to is which of the three, or what combination of them, do you most enjoy or are easiest on your stomach.
The biggest advantage of the bars, gels and drinks, however, is that they are easy to consume without getting off the bike, which is why you’ll see professional riders devouring lots of them when racing. But assuming you are not racing, you can sustain your energy similarly with real foods like bananas, fig bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trail mix, chocolate milk and other items, all of which are generally less expensive than the commercial energy products. Coach John Hughes has more about what’s best to eat while cycling.
I don’t race, but I ride regularly and typically go 30-40 miles each time. With a banana and PB&J sandwich on wheat bread in my jersey pocket, along with some fig bars (and, in hot weather, something salty, like pretzels) in my bike bag, I’m all set for eats on the road.
I like ice water in my bottles, but when I can’t get ice, I prefer an energy drink, often diluted, because the flavoring encourages me to drink more than I do when the water has warmed. In cooler weather, I sometimes include some hot tea in a thermos that fits in a water bottle cage. On hot days, I find stopping somewhere to purchase and drink a cold Coke gives me a good boost, and I’m not above picking up a Heath bar while I’m at it.
Lots of riders use a combination of regular foods and energy-specific products. Whatever high-carb sources you like best and sit well in your stomach are likely to be what is best for you.
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.
Why not be social and stop for lunch (turkey sandwhich) and a coffee? You didnt just pay $150 for a frustrating round of golf so you have a lot of money left for lunch…dont be so cheap! Ps.. Why rush home to cut the grass?
I like the road bike rider’s energy drink (aka electrolyte drink) recipe and I make the cooks illustrated toasted oats and almonds energy bars, eating and drinking these keeps me from getting so hungry I need to stop to have a meal. (It’s a bike ride, not a bike stop, ymmv). I also carry dried cranberries and almonds mixture and sometimes apples..
If I want to stop for quick food chocolate milk is my go to. Never had a gel in my life. To me it sounds like it’s a food substitute, not a food.
I like to ride and keep riding for a long time when I’m on bike rides so this keeps me from getting hungry and I don’t stop for lunch, but after a few hours will start to take short sit-down rest stops in scenic locations. Would like to know more tasty on-bike food recipes to make and bring on rides. I take baked potatoes to on cross country ski adventures, some warm up huts have stoves or microwaves where we can heat them up (hard to do on bike !)..
If I’m only riding 30 to 50 miles I don’t need any food, and all I take is either straight water or 75% diluted Gatorade Endurance if it’s hot outside. Of course, it is important to lower your core body temps when it’s hot outside so I fill up a Polar Bottle with ice and then pour in a mixture of 50/50 diluted Gatorade, as the ice melts it will dilute the Gatorade more. My stomach is a bit sensitive when I ride, if I use anything more than 50/50 I might have to find a restroom someplace! I found the Gatorade Endurance to be just as good as the bike boutique drinks for about 50 cents a drink instead of $3 or more.
I don’t take any food unless I’m exceeding 50 miles, or if I’m on my touring bike and loaded with gear, I can get hungry fast pushing another 75 pounds I wouldn’t normally be pushing. Sometimes those little bars won’t cut it when I ride the touring bike loaded, so into a mini-mart or fast food place I go! Otherwise on my regular road bike going over 50 miles I take along a Met RX Big 100 bar, it’s a lot more filling than the stupid little bike boutique bars that I would have to eat 2 or 3 to equal one Met Rx bar, plus it’s cheaper bar vs bar if you don’t get the variety pack.
For a shot of caffeine, I have a very small plastic flask which I simply put in a couple of shots of espresso that I make at home, again, doing that is a lot cheaper than energy drinks can cost $3 per drink and more, and it does the same thing for around 5 cents to fill the flask.
Nestle Nesquik Chocolate Powder Mix has been proven to work as a recovery drink better than the much more expensive bike boutique recovery drinks, so when I get home after a long ride, I put in 2 1/2 tablespoons of the Nestle, a banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter, 2 scoops of Cytosport Cytocarb powder, and blend it all with milk.
If by chance I feel a cramp coming on after I get home, then I’ll eat a dill pickle and drink a full bottle of Gatorade Endurance.
I learned a long time ago not to believe the marketing hype with all their scientific mumbo jumbo put out by the cycling industry to get you to buy their crap, all that stuff does is make you spend money when there is no need for it. The Cytosport Cytocarb is the only thing I buy that is cycling-specific, and I get the large 31.6-ounce tub from Amazon for half the price of what my local bike shop sells it for, and I only use 2 scoops instead of the recommended 4…unless I went on a really long ride like 100-mile ride, then I’ll put in 4.
There are things a person can do to make cycling more affordable, you just have to think about it more and research more.
Al that is needed is a breakfast with carbohydrates like pancakes and to snack while riding on dried fruit such as raisins. The fiber in fruit moderates the uptake of the sugar and avoid spikes. I buy the snack size paper boxes of raisins and have a couple in a handlebar mounted bag for easy access. The paper is actually recyclable unlike ALL plastic packaging used for industrial beverages and waters and UPF food like products. There is the erroneous impression that one needs to drink special beverages to replenish electrolytes when the science has shown that only sodium needs to be replaced while exercising and only when you see the salt on the individual’s skin. What is important is staying hydrated to keep the blood from thickening and the problems that creates for the heart and internal organs.