Machka 

Ummmm ...

What do you suppose is in milk, chocolate syrup and peanut butter?

surgeonstone

Icy cold can of diet coke.

slims_s

I'm surprised nobody said an ice cold glass Coke (yeah, the regular one that gives you insta-diabetes). I know it's like poison, but after a hot long ride it's sooooooooooooo good (with a proper recovery drink after it, of course).

Machka 

That's for about halfway through a long ride ... to give you a bit of energy to get to the end.

sfrider 

Chocolate milk has too much fat and not enough sugar. To get 500-600 calories before the cell permeability window closes would require drinking ridiculous amounts of it. Three scoops of R4 is 600 calories, which is just perfect.

Bob Dopolina 

+1.

Most adults no longer have the lactase enzyme needed to properly digest milk. This means that the majority of the nutrients are bio unavailable. So you get all the fat and none of the nutrition.

Milk is NOT a healthy thing to drink but their marketing boards are very well funded and connected so bogus studies continue to gain traction in the media.

Skip the milk.

Post ride your body wants simple sugars and some BCAA. Considering the amount of salts in the modern Western diet most people have no need for electrolyte replacement except under extreme conditions.

Also skip the Gateraid. It's most colored sugar water. More empty calories.

BykOfALesserGod

Arrogant Bastard or Guiness Extra Stout.

Bob Ross

Hell yes.

tjax

Peach tea not sweetened.

bikepro

or, chocolate Soy Milk -- SILK or others.

Rwc5830

All the convenience stores where I ride they carry the glass bottled COKE from Mexico. I'll have one or part of one sometimes during a real hot ride. Very nice!

I will not drink a COKE any other time but diet sodas don't count. For me, the one's from Mexico are much better like others have said.

Most of the time after a ride I will make a protein drink with milk, bananas, strawberries and muscle milk powder. Other times it's chocolate milk.

Yetidave

Coconut water.

Sixty Fiver

I don't understand why people drink diet soda... water is better for you and lacks the acids in soda that can cause tooth decay, bone loss, kidney malfunction, and for some folks, weight gain.

All it is missing is some sugar which would actually give some nutritional benefit... we don't buy very much soda and prefer Jarritos cola over coke as it has less sugar, less phosphoric acid, and tastes so much better.

Can someone explain why they are addicted to diet soda ? What is in it that is so wonderful that one would choose this over a healthier drink ?

Anyways... in the summer beer is a favourite post ride drink and in the winter a cup of hot chai really hits the spot and warms you up enough that you can really appreciate the beer.

shyonelung

I gave up diet soda several years ago. But then I tend to avoid anything that has ingredients that I can't pronounce.

JCNeumann

Guinness - forces you to sip,and has very low calorie count.

If I have a morning ride, some Lactaid with a little peanut butter in a half-assed smoothie.

Mayday328

Coca-cola in a glass bottle. Cold.

dobrado

Beer

beatlebee 

On the ice cream front: Arctic Zero is all natural and a pint is only 150 calories. It has 10 g protein from the whey. It is expensive though. I like the Mint Cookies and Cream.

Machka 

I like the flavour, lack of sugar, and carbonation of Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. If someone could come up with a healthy drink that had the same flavour, lack of sugar, and carbonation, I'd go for that. Especially if they nailed the flavour.

I can't drink milk (and it tastes bad anyway). Fruit juice is OK, and I'll drink it mid-ride, but it's packed with calories which I don't need, and I'd rather eat fruit than drink it. Sugared soda is horrible ... the sugar coats my teeth and tongue and leaves a nasty after-taste. Plus I don't like drinking my calories. Iced tea is nice, and I like it sweet, but if it is sweetened with sugar, it has the same problems as sugared soda. So when I drink iced tea it is artificially sweetened.

Water is so hit and miss with flavour. I do drink water but sometimes I like something with a nice flavour.

So what else is there?



I could ask a similar question to you about beer ... What is in it that is so wonderful that one would choose this over a healthier drink? Beer tastes horrible, absolutely vile and disgusting. It even smells bad, so it puts me off before I get close to it. It's got calories, and the last thing I need to do is to drink my calories. And it makes people not very nice to be around.

DoninIN

My new-found pseudo scientific recovery routine usually goes like this. Protein drink, possibly low sodium v8 or "superfood" all real fruit smoothie thing, huge thing of water as needed. Then Newcastle brown ale, or bourbon if my stomach doesn't feel like pounding any more liquid. It's the "cheapest" drunk I can get, as a beer or two, or a single glass of bourbon will make me feel pretty good and usually send me off to sleep. The bonus is given that at that point I'm almost incapable of drinking too much, so I don't have worry about that.

36Oly_Rider

A nice cold Coke...followed by more water, and on occasion an icy brewski...preferably a lager...

Dunbar

I'm pretty sure most people start off getting "addicted" to regular soda and switch to diet (soda) at some point. My dad did that in his 40's and lost a 20lbs (he still drinks 5 Diet Cokes a day.) I also think some people drink more diet soda since it has no calories.

I still drink 1-2 regular Cokes per day. Just like my two morning cappuccinos it's one of lifes simple pleasures that I have no desire to give up.

Sixty Fiver

Beer is a rather healthful drink and does not need to be consumed in vast quantities... would agree that it is an acquired taste but a cold beer on a hot day is a wonderful thing.

Per bottle:

140 calories
92 mg of potassium,
14 mg of calcium
48 mg of phosphorus
Soluble fibre (10% of suggested daily allowance)
High in B vitamins
Stimulates digestion
Anti-carcinogenic
Reduces stress and aids sleep

MarkThailand

You should try Nuun Kona Kola tablets - 8 calories, a good helping of salts, and tastes exactly like flat coke and has the calories to match. However, my limit is 4 tablets per morning ride - I switch to Nuun Triberry or Strawberry Lemonade.

I still confirm my choice of fresh, young coconut juice, ice cold with a little bit of flesh for extra flavor.

I used to like Thai iced coffee until I realized (admitted to myself) that I was probably drinking about 500 calories of sugar and artificial creamer.

So, another healthier choice is cold low-fat chocolate milk, though your addition of peanut butter could make it more wholesome. I will have to try your recipe one of these days.

I have to admit that I like beer but not as after ride drink - besides, the readily available Thai beers like Chang, Leo, and Singha are sold in 700 mL bottles and all have 5 % alcohol!

Mark

pallen

+1 on the Nuun Cola. Its not a Coke Zero, but its pretty good.

I don't drink the diet drinks anymore, but I get their appeal. Fizzy, tasty drinks are good. No calories makes you feel like its "safe". I know a lot of people who like diet drinks because they don't taste as syrupy sweet as the regular sodas. I have about one a month now, but I'm down to straight water.

Not ideal for recovery, but I will say, a full-sugared Coca Cola is not a problem if you're in the middle of a hard bike ride and can be a great boost. That's the one time your body actually needs and can make use of fructose.