lsberrios1 

Hey guys,

Recently came across this problem.

I usually take a banana with me for those 50+ mile rides so I can eat it right in the middle. It had never happened to me before, but recently, when I went to eat my banana, I noticed it was soggy and tasted really weird. Didn't mind it much the first time but when it happened 2 more times I started to get concerned.

I came to the conclusion that the banana was actually getting soaked in sweat and it was even penetrating the peel so it gave it a mushy texture and a very unpleasant taste...

This seems odd. Does it happen to any of you? Do you wrap your bananas in something as to avoid it?

Does your banana get sweaty?

Thanks,
Luis

rpenmanparker 

Perhaps it is sweat, but it could just as easily be the heat from your body even in cool weather. Or a combination of the two. Warm air rises from your back and is likely cooking the banana in a sense. Some small bubble wrap might work to protect it.

Elvo

Wrap it in a latex or polyurethane or lambskin layer. That way only very few organisms or particles will leach in or out.

datlas 

Worst thread title evar.

bikepro

+1 It must be winter again.

RollCNY

They make a product called a banana hammock, and you can use it to hang your fruit off of the top tube.

Darth Steele

make sure that you handle it properly before sliding it into a back pocket, don't just ram in there because it might just pop and let out cream

also, some people wrap it up for protection. As for me, I don't mind it getting a little bruised up.

datlas 

Is that like the kuku penthouse?!?

FLvector

Never had a sweaty banana, but you should try these....

datlas 

Could someone post the link to Alec Baldwin's "Schweddy Balls" SNL skit? Seems relevant.

edit: see above post. Thanks.

rpenmanparker 

I think the risk to your berries would be worse.

Shimagnolo

I'm peeved that B&J actually released the product, but the local supermarket never carried it.

Schweddy Balls | Ben & Jerry?s

Machka 

I can't believe no one has posted it yet.

Products | Banana Guard

lsberrios1 

I would have never thought of that. My ability to cook bananas on my back was not on the radar. However, still suspect it is sweat due to flavor issues. As a puertorrican person, I have eaten massive amounts of cooked bananas and plantains, they do not taste like that...

That sounds like it could be poisonous though.. Latex is not something you want on your mouth.

You SIR are a freaking genius! I have a banana hammock and that would actually be feasible for rides that are 100+ miles where I take 3 to 4 bananas.





I hate to get my back pocket full of nasty stuff. It happens a lot with GU when I cannot discard them while riding....

lsberrios1 

Genius! How much does it weigh? Is there a carbon version? Perhaps an S-Works banana guard of sorts?

hardcharger1

Newbie here.
Ok, I'll bite, what's with bananas for riding?

mcours2006

I thought 'banana' was a euphemism for something else. Never mind.

Never happened to me before. Perhaps banana was already soaked/overripened before you packed it.
In any case, wrap it in a baggie. Problem solved.

Machka 

They run about 75 - 100 calories, so they provide you with fuel, and they are a moderate source of potassium, one of the electrolytes.

lsberrios1 

They have good nutritional value for work out snacks and are also handy for when on the run. They do not need a wrapper and you don't need tools to open them up. There is a more concrete explanation but I won't go into detail. It's because they are cheap too vs cliff bars etc.

The problem with that is having to take the banana out of the bag while riding to eat it. Seems like a very complex tax when you are on a group ride or a race.

Machka 

Do a search for banana guards ... there are heaps of those things around. You'll probably find several threads about them here on Bikeforums.

They are sometimes advertised as "the gift for the cyclist who has everything". In fact, that's where I thought you were going with this thread what with Christmas coming up and all.

Lazyass

A banana on a ride? A couple of fistfulls of seedless grapes in the jersey pocket is better. Pop one in your mouth every few minutes. Good thirst quencher as well.

lsberrios1 

Never thought of this. Not a big fan of grapes though. Big fan of bananas. And in 10k+ miles my bananas only started getting sweaty two weeks ago.

Bandera

Seriously they have been the mainstay for on-bike nutrition for many decades: easy to slip (sorry) into a jersey pocket, full of nutritional goodness and they come wrapped in a neat bio-degradable cover. Never "soaked" one w/ sweat but I have cushioned the fall in a mountain bike race on one and can't stand the sight of them anymore...... I was so sick of them that Powerbars tasted good......

-Bandera

79pmooney

Yeah, bananas are excellent replenishment, esp in warm weather. Potassium, the salt that you cannot train your body to sweat less and that must be replaced. Also sugar in a form very kind to the body. Packaged with water and in a biodegradable container.

(A little aside about salts in sweat. I practiced eating a low salt diet year round in my racing days. My sweat was not salty tasting adn did not sting when I got it in my eyes. In hot races, I did not have to eat large quantities of salt (sodium). My sweaty jerseys were not salty. I did have to replace potassium which I did with bananas and the electrolyte drink ERG, now called Vitalyte. The book I learned this from pointed out that inhabitants of hot portions of the world where salt was scarce did far better than the westerners who visited them eating the same local foods. The challenge is that one has to abandon the American diet completely.)

Ben

Lazyass

I like bananas, too, but I'm not going to stuff one of those in my jersey for a ride. When I stop to eat something it's a 250 calorie Cliff bar. Bananas aren't too good for, umm, constipation either.