Originally Posted by grolby

I use Gatorade powder all the time - when I can get it. It's bizarre, but none of the supermarkets around here seem to carry the tubs of powder anymore, just the box full of individual pouches. Whatever, I'm moving in two weeks. Anyway, Gatorade works great. Personally, I prefer the original lemon-lime flavor. Really, there's no need to worry about needing the fancy-pants sports drinks like HEED or something. Good ol' Gatorade does the trick. Heck, iced tea will do in a pinch - I used homemade iced tea (English Breakfast, btw) cut with some water on my last hard ride, worked fine. Just make sure you're getting your electrolytes. In principle, you could just mix up water with sugar and salt and probably be all right, but it might not taste too good.