Training & Nutrition - i just had a genius idea!

ok, so I was riding in the extreme cold of maryland (ok...I'm a wuss, it was 36F) and I went to eat my powerbar. now, I'm an experienced cyclist, and generally, I have no trouble unwrapping and eating a powerbar on the go. however, I had a ***** of a time trying to get the thing open. it took me probably 30 seconds of no-hands riding to get it open. once that hurdle was done, I had to eat the thing, and of course it was hard as a rock. I bit off a piece and held it to the side of my mouth so it would melt enough for me to be able to chew it. it was unpleasent to say the least with a hunk of powerbar lodged in my cheek. I had snot dripping out of my nose as I tried to breath with a HR of ~130 or so out of my nostrils.

anyway, this experience galvanized me. why not a "winterblend" powerbar? I switched to 5W-30 instead of 10W-30 oil, and I have winter blend washer fluid in my car. Sam adams even has a special winter beer. Why not winterblend powerbars? It could have bigger flaps to open with gloves, maybe two of them with reinforced material so that it opens up into one piece. the flaps would be texturized so that gloves can grip better.

the bar itself would also have to be different, softer in cold weather, with perhaps a different nutritional blend for cold weather sports.

i think its a pretty decent idea, lemme know what you guys think.

I've included a rough "paint" sketch of what the packaging could look like. note the texturized flaps.

Ummmm ... I think most winter cyclists eat the more "cookie" type energy bars in the winter. I personally prefer Peak bars, but if Clif bars would qualify under that description too if people like them. I also often opt for basic cereal bars that you can buy in the cereal section of the grocery store.

As for getting them open, that's what my bento box is for. I open the bar(s) ahead of time and put it/them in my bento box ... ready to eat! :) Another option is to break the bar into pieces ahead of time and put them into a baggie, in the bento bag. Also quick and easy.

A good idea. From a marketing point of view offering a product specially blended for winter uses where the demands on the body and energy uses could be different.

good for marketing but powerbars suck IMO. All they are is processed sugar and they don't taste very good either. Like someone said, I'd go for a more "natural" type of energy bar that has structure like Clif, Luna, Kashi, Peak, Odwalla, etc...

I do a fair bit of mountain camping, so it's frequently frozen-***-COLD in the mornings/nights. For me, nothing works better than a harvest bar. Don't know about the flaps, but harvest bars are dry, and don't get frozen solid like powerbars do.

Clif bars, Powerbar Harvest, Snickers Marathon, and Mojo bars are all "winter friendly" compared to the original Powerbars.

i open mine ahead of time. usually before a ride i open the container but leave the food inside, then just put that in my jersey. when i reach for it, i can just push the food through with one hand into my mouth. works for me.