Riskus:

I have a 20 mile commute, 40 miles round trip.

I usually do not eat out of the ordinary, but I am a big believer of a recovery drink from www.e-caps.com called recoverite. It has 166 calories and a 3 to 1 ration of carbohydrates to protein. I drink a bottle of this when I get to work.

If I feel that I a running on empty for my commute I use another e-caps product called sustained energy which has both protein and carbohydrates. The problem with gels is that they only give you a sugar rush and they do nothing for protein. Unless you have a fairly high protein diet, you are probably becoming slowly protein deficient. Riding 50 miles a day could do this. One of the other benfits of susatained enrgy is that the carbohydrate used in the mixture is maltodexetrin, which is a complex carbohydrate and not a simple sugar.

I have tried everything under the sun for energy, as I ride many 100+ and 150+ mile rides every year. If you would like some more information, just drop me a pm.