drmweaver2

I'm curious, considering the cost of Gatorade, Powerade, etc. at convenience stores, truck stops, and wherever else one might stop while on tour, how many of you bring powder mix along rather than buying bottle after bottle?

Today a 565ml (~19oz)(I think) Powerade cost me $1.12 with tax. A Gatorade container with enough powder mix for 6 gallons (~768 oz) cost under $8. Granted, carrying the powder mix would add a couple pounds, even if transferred to ziplocks - but the cost savings seems worth it, doesn't it?

This assumes, of course, that free water is available enroute.

staehpj1

A couple extra pounds is not worth it for the savings. At least it isn't to me. That said you could carry smaller quantities or if the couple pounds was for several riders it would be more reasonable.

We did carry a tub of powder when we were sharing between three people on the TA. The quantity was more worth it for three and we could replenish once in a while since the tubs are pretty available. The drawback was that we could usually only find lemon lime (which we got sick of) or fruit punch which we hated.

On our last trip we really liked having the small 1 ounce packets so we could filter water from a cold mountain stream and have a bottle of cold Gatorade in the middle of nowhere with the very minimum of fuss. Just grab a packet from a jersey pocket and dump it into a water bottle. The problem was that the packets were impossible to find in stores along the way and were more expensive than the bulk stuff in a tub,

You can find the 1 ounce packets in a box of 8 for about $5 on line, I forget what I paid at the local grocery. They are very handy. Too bad they are hard to find on the road.

You could always mail appropriate quantities to yourself via general delivery at various places along the way for long tours. This would work for smaller quantities repackaged from tubs or the little packets.

Yan 

Drink plain water and eat some burgers. Food and electrolytes in one step. I've brought small containers of drink mix on a short tour. It was too much effort and not worth the trouble.

drmweaver2

I'm too cheap to buy cooked burgers when I can buy 1-2 lbs ground meat and some buns for the same price, cook it and have 4 burgers vice 1.

Then again, I was asking whether people carried electrolyte mix or not - not how to get around carrying the mix.

Edited: I responded before you edited your post.

drmweaver2

FWIW, I just found them for $0.44/pkt in quantities of 96. Still, that's 96 times the packaging of a couple ziplocks - both packaging types being negligible weights when one tows a trailer - but 96 times more trash to carry/dispose of.

KDC1956

To me it would be well worth it and I have been thinking about doing just what you was asking.And as far as weight who cares I sure don't with all my gear I have on my LHT 2 pounds more big deal. Its not like it's going to stay that weight for ever as you use it the weight goes down duh.Your ? you ask now has me thinking I better get a tub of Gatorade mix and put into smaller bags.While I'm travel it's all ways nice to save a little money.Thanks for the idea of doing Gatorade mix.

dscheidt

There are also 18.4 ounce containers that make two gallons of the stuff. My local grocery stores only carry lemon-lime, but orange and fruit punch are made. I can only drink the stuff at less than half strength, so one of the cans makes 20 water bottles are so.

SBRDude

Are you looking to tour, or to tour as frugally as possible? Seriously, it seems like you are more concerned about a lot of little details more than the ride and sights themselves. No one likes wasting money and we all have our ideas about what is worthy and what isn't, but from your posts I get the sense that you might not be able to enjoy your trip if you felt like you spent a nickel more than was absolutely necessary for survival. If that's the way you want to roll, more power to you, but just remember that for most people spending a little dough on vacation and to indulge oneself is often part of the fun. For example, who would want to tour through Italy without eating the local cuisine?? Not the cheapest way to go, but then that usually isn't the point of being in Italy in the first place.

valygrl

Tortilla chips & beer. /thread

drmweaver2

Congrats on incorrectly extrapolating what essentially are personality traits from a few questions and comments.

I tend to ask specific questions for specific reasons - choosing my words pretty carefully. Rarely do I reveal exactly why I ask unless there's a reason to do so - like the humor/mascot thread. Sometimes I ask just for the sake of discussion. Sometimes I am actually considering things and would like to hear opinions. Usually, I prefer facts to opinion.

Then again...some people like playing psychologist. No offense intended. But your comment is totally irrelevant to the question asked ----

What is YOUR experience? ---> "how many of you bring powder mix along rather than buying bottle after bottle?"

10 Wheels

Saving money on a tour is better then wasting money on a tour.

SBRDude

I'm not playing psychologist. If you choose to believe that human communication is limited to a literal reading of one's words, suit yourself.

SBRDude

It depends on what one considers to be a waste - what I consider a waste might be something that makes your experience worthwhile.

positron

salt, sugar and lemon juice. all free at fast food chains.

gatorade sucks.

Bacciagalupe

Sorry to say that your comments so far clearly indicate that you are, how shall we say, frugal.

More importantly, who cares what other people do? You're an adult, the pros and cons are fairly clear, you can make up your own mind I presume.

That said, I've switched to powder mostly for environmental reasons. You can likely find a low-cost source of maltodextrin and whatever other ingredients you prefer and roll your own, if you're willing to carry the powder. I can't imagine it's a problem for a week, longer is more likely to take up too much space. So for longer tours, commercially available powders are a better option.

Machka 

I bring powdered versions of my sports drinks on my long distance rides, but not on my tours. On a long distance ride, I've often got a time limit, a speed I need to maintain, so I don't have time to be mucking about in too many convenience stores, grocery stores, etc. to pick something out, so carrying my drink powder of choice is more convenient, plus I know it works for me.

But a tour is different ... I'm not on a time limit so I can ride at a more relaxed pace and can take the time to wander through a grocery store or whatever. On a tour, I will usually have a either two bottles of water on board, and then will pick up an orange juice or coke or something at lunch or other breaks, or I will have one bottle of water and a bottle of some sort of soft drink. I rode around France in 2007 with a bottle of water and a bottle of Orangina.

If you want to flavour your water, rather than bringing a couple pounds of ziplocked gatorade, pick up drink crystals in the grocery stores you stop in at lunch or late in the afternoon before you head to your campsite. If you tour in Canada, stop in at a Superstore now and then. Superstore's store brand is President's Choice, and in the President's Choice brand, you can get "singles" with electrolytes in a variety of flavours, called PC Cool Delight. Each box contains 6 "singles", and last I checked, I think they went for about $1.50 per box ... so $1.50 for six 750 ml bottles.
This is the lemon-lime:
https://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOn...roductId=19637
They've also got Tropical Fruit, Pomegranate Blueberry, Fabulous Fruit Punch, and Lucious Orange:
https://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOn...s=108&next=25&

Perhaps you can find something similar in other stores as well. They don't have any calories, so if you want your drink to contain calories, then I'd recommend swinging by a wine making establishment and picking up a small baggy of maltodextrin. I often created my own drinks by throwing a scoop of maltodextrin into a bottle, adding one of those "singles", adding water ... and there you go! The last time I bought a 250 ml baggy of maltodextrin, it was $1, and that would do about 6 bottles too. Adding the price of the "singles" to the price of the maltodextrin and dividing by 6 works out to about $0.42 per bottle.

If you can't find something like these "singles", get a small container of HalfSalt. HalfSalt is a potassium/sodium blend ... your major electrolytes. Make your drink as above with the maltodextrin, but instead of the "singles", sprinkle a bit of HalfSalt into the bottle. You can also use it to salt your food, so it does double duty .... and it isn't very expensive. If you want flavour, pick up a packet of koolade or similar for a few cents and add a dash of it to the mix. When I've done this, I like the grape flavour.

Unless you are touring in a remote area, you should be able to pick up this stuff every few days along the way so you don't need to carry 2 lbs of powder with you. Go to your local grocery stores and have a look at what's available where you currently live ... it might give you some idea of what you might be able to pick up along the way.


I also get my electrolytes from the food I eat. I eat a variety of food on my tours, and make sure to salt my meals (often using HalfSalt, as mentioned above).

NoReg

Seriously though, is there any evidence gatorade is of any value at all? Like medical evidence. My doctor so far hasn't bothered to warn me I need to be sure to replace my electrolytes. Though I guess at one time smoking was supposed to be good for you. Anywho, I started watching salt, and it becomes rapidly evident that the last thing people eating food in NA need is more salt, or sugar for that matter. Isn't this just subject specific junk food.

drmweaver2

The difference there is not "frugality", being cheap, or any other adjective anyone cares to throw at it. It adds up to real money when one does the math at a cost per mixed liquid oz level. Buying in quantity generally saves money. Pedaling a bit harder on hills may add to the "cost" slightly.

In any case, I appreciate the responses detailing the experiences of others. Thanks.

drmweaver2

If you Google the history of Gatorade, you'll see that the original research wound up finding a way to replace SWEAT. And sweat isn't just salt water. Surprised me. But that's what researchers did when they made the original Gatorade for the Florida Gators football team - identified the components of sweat and then added flavoring. So, there you have it for what it's worth.

10 Wheels

I like Gatorade so I drink Gatorade. Why would that bother anyone?

Machka 

Yes, but riding at a relaxed pace on a tour doesn't raise much of a sweat. I see people out for a stroll drinking Gatorade ... mothers giving their kids Gatorade ... all sorts of situations where Gatorade is overkill and even potentially harmful (tooth decay, to name one harmful side effect), but Gatorade marketing has convinced these people that the moment they get off the sofa they've exerted themselves enough to need Gatorade.

If all you do is to exert yourself at a moderate level and don't sweat much, the food consumed in western society has ample salts and other electrolytes to compensate ... more than ample in many cases.

If you are riding in hot conditions, or sweating a lot because you're doing a lot of climbing or something on your tour, you should consider replacing your electrolytes. The electrolytes are •sodium (Na+), •potassium (K+), •chloride (Cl-), •calcium (Ca2+), •magnesium (Mg2+), •bicarbonate (HCO3-), •phosphate (PO42-), and •sulfate (SO42-)

1) You can do this by eating foods specifically high in sodium and potassium in particular (they are the two main electrolytes) ... consuming salted almonds, for example, would do the trick. Salted almonds not only have the sodium and potassium, but they have most/all of the rest of the minor electrolytes too.

2) You can consume electrolyte pills. Hammer Nutrition products have an electrolyte supplement which is quite good, or you can find similar things at some Health Food stores. Carrying a small bottle of electrolyte pills for those occasions where you might be losing a lot of sweat is a lot lighter than carrying 2 lbs of powder. A good multivit with minerals would have most of these electrolytes too. I often carry a multivit on tours.

3) Or you can do as I suggested above and make your own sports drink using HalfSalt.

If you are particularly attached to Gatorade, and if you want to carry an extra 2 lbs around with you ... go for it. I'd rather use something that tastes so much better, has what I need, and is lighter to carry around.


Have a read through some info ...

-- Scroll down and read the articles about electrolytes here: https://www.ultracycling.com/siteindex.html
-- About electrolytes:https://health.howstuffworks.com/well...uestion565.htm
-- Salted almonds: https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/3170/2 ... scroll down and you'll see that they are high in sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, another vitamins and minerals.
-- Compare with lemon gatorade powder which only has sodium and potassium: https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3861/2 , and orange gatorade powder which, for some reason, has a little bit more: https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/9232/2
-- And compare with ready-to-drink gatorade https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/9233/2 which doesn't have much of anything in it either.

LeeG

if the sugared electrolyte is what you desire, yes it's worth it. I found that a small bag of sunflower seeds, fruit and lots of water works too.

badamsjr

I have my own version of electrolyte replacement. Two Endurolyte caps, two Potassium + tabs, and three SportLegs caps. On long 'sport' rides, I take these every 4 hrs. Touring is not as physical usually, so every eight. (start and end). I do carry powdered energy drink mix though--I am not a fan of Gatorade or other 'sport drinks', so use Hammer Nutrition products. Do not find them in mini-marts.

chasm54

These are tours, not races or endurance rides. When touring I tend to eat and drink a normal diet. There's simply no need to worry about electrolyte replacement at all if one eats properly in the first place.

drmweaver2

Machka, I guess the fact that I am in nowhere near the shape you are (from your website) goes without saying which may be a factor. Then again, living in the US Southeastern area, I walk out of my house and begin to sweat profusely as the heat index is usually over 100 in the summer (90F+ and 75-85% humidity on a regular basis). Put me on a bike with even moderate exertion and my skin is wetter than a turned on water faucet in the bathroom. Then again, I sweated like this when I was a kid here, some 50 years ago.

I've never heard of Halfsalt or some of the other products/chemicals mentioned to make my own mix. Seems like they wind up trying to duplicate the Gatorade mix --- just like CocaCola tries to do with Powerade. Shrug. In this case, I'm happy with the Gatorade, even liking multiple flavors but I don't drink it like water. I drink 2 bottles/1 liter of it on a 5-7 hour ride day. Like the Florida Gator and the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs football players in a few blind studies, I find it does help me with long-term exertion in the heat so long as I keep myself hydrated as well.

Those were interesting links you posted concerning Gatorade/electrolytes. I'd be really interested in finding similar info concerning Powerade, Gatorade's main competition. Definitely food for thought. I wish I had links to post in return. All I have is my personal experience with it - and that has to fit in with my allergy management (almonds, for example).