Good idea, I'll try it.

chocolate milk has oxalic acid which blocks calcium absorption.

Try a real dictionary: Oxford

The dairy council's opinion is that there is no scientific evidence to back that claim up. Of course, they have a vested interest in milk so take it for what it is worth.

https://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/...dMilkPage4.htm

Okay... from Oxford:

nauseous

• adjective 1 affected with nausea. 2 causing nausea.

I rip the top/tab off with my teeth. Squeeze the GU all over the ground for the squirrels and eat the foil rapper..............

I am just another slob on the electron highway of life, but I thought I read somewhere that most of the calcium in milk was tied up in protein metabolism.

I wonder if that's why I always get cramps if I buy Gatorade in a pinch when I've run out of Accelerade during a long ride.

How many times do you goo eaters stop in a ride?

I almost never use them, they have only about a hundred calories per pack. You'd have to stop or fumble around with one every 20 to 30 min to really even help delay a bonk at all. I put my fuel in 32oz bottles for up to a three hour non-stop ride. There's just no way I'd want to mess with the 8 to 12 gel packs I'd want on a 4 hour metric.

750cal/hour x 4hrs = 3000cal
3000cal - (120cal x 2) = 2760calorie defecit

2 gel packs is like p!$$ing in the ocean.

Well, I used 3 gels today. One 15 minutes before my ride, one about an hour and a half into the ride, and one about 3 hours into the ride, as well as a GU20 over the first hour and cliff bar around 2:45 hrs. My first impression: pretty amazing. I did 60 miles, which is so far my longest ride by 17 miles, and I felt like I had energy to spare on all of the hills. In fact on the last and toughest hill I passed a guy on a real nice bike (although he was probably 30 years older than me..) I had no cramping, no headaches, generally no problems at all, and did the last 17 miles at a fast pace for me. All in all, I think I'm sticking with gu's gels for all over my over 2 hour rides. Thanks for the advice everyone, and the definition of nauseous. Any recommendations on if I should go with a protein drink for a century?

I did a 151 mile ride yesterday. I brought 2 power(type)bars, and a Gu flask with 5 Gu's and topped with water. I road with a friend of mine, we are training for the Desperado Dual in 2 weeks. We took 3 stops to fill up with fluid (and loose some). I used the Gu Flask in between stops. A 1 1/2 ounce or so hit each time. It worked great. It definitely was not "p1ssing in the ocean", in fact it gave me a great boost that had me feeling great at the finish. FWIW: 151 miles, 18.6 mph average, 8724" climbing

Also, how bout a good place to buy these things bulk?

Damn, 8724.. According to map my ride I didn't even break 1000'. And my avg mph was 14.6. I need a lot of practice.

Ok so maybe I'm an ___, who still needs constant fuel intake on multi-hour rides. Anyway, that map my rides site it pretty neat. I have never been able to tell what my elevation changes were before.

I'm sure there are other places, but these guys seem pretty good.
Lucky Vitamin

I've read that it's best to just drink water with energy gels as mixing them with sports drinks that have lots of simple sugars can can somehow counteract the benefit of the gels.

Some high altitude climbers have gone for two or three days eating nothing but GU (going so far as to peel open the packets and lick them clean) and water, especially on steep technical routes where it isn't feasible to stop and "cook" a meal. Probably not the greatest diet, but enough to keep a motivated person performing at a high level in a demanding environment.

+1

Or right above your knee, just under your shorts. They are basically self adhesive.

I usually stuff my first clif bar wrapper under my right shorts leg.... then use it to wrap around carefully folded Gu wrappers for later disposal.

That keeps the sticky carefully wrapped and out of the way... and if a little slips by... a sticky thigh is a lot less annoying than a sticky pocket full of stuff and sticky hands.

What does foil rap about?

Performance sells Gu in 6 and 24 packs.

I use a flask too. I put about 4-6 GU's (or hammer gel) in there and mix with hot water to dissolve it. I then take a couple pulls off the flask every 30-45 minutes or so, trying to get about 200+ cal/hour. (before the ride I do a rough estimate of how much gu I get in a swig of the mixture). The mixture is a LOT easier to swallow than thick gel. Also, if it's chilly (or cold - as in winter XC skiing), the thinner mixture works much, much better.

Always chase gels with fluids.

I HATE gu wrappers on the road. The flask solves that problem. Plus, it's very easy and less distracting to use one handed over the packet.

The key to avoiding bonk and sugar spike is to start early, and keep it up the whole race - or at least until the last 30 minutes or so. If I eat power bars, I tend to do that earlier in the event as they take longer to digest and get used by the body. They are better for recover though, than gu.

Another option: Shot Blocs by Cliff. These are like "gummy" candy, and have the composition of gu/clif shot kind of gels. A good change of pace from the gels.

I use them. I alternate between Gu and granola bars every 45 minutes if I'm riding longer than 1.5 hours.