The risk beyond the digestion problem is that if I eat too much protein while still exercizing I seem to go into the recovery phase while I'm still riding and want to stop and rest alot rather than continue on.Too much milk in particular seems to do that to me and the lactose can be a problem for some people but I think your taking the right approach to gradually try this too see how it affects you.Some of the protein powers that are included in the sports drinks/bars are very light and easily digested.In fact recently I have been using a fairly balanced as to nutrition bar called "Soy Advantage" that in addition to having 14 grams of sugar and 5grams of fiber out of 23 grams total carbs has 15 grams of protein(mainly soy isolate)and 5 grams of fat(palm oil/ground almonds) plus a variety of added V&M's .It is very easily digested and I seem to do well on it for quick as well as sustained energy.Only problem is I bought them cheaply at a store that keeps rotating their inventory so I don't know where to find them when I run out of my current supply lol.