LesterOfPuppets

This is my favorite recovery drink. They're $6.50 a pint, though.

Farmer's Favorite: Carrot, Kale, Beet, Ginger, Lemon

RPK79

If I'm paying $6.50 for a pint it better have hops and barley in it and the purveyor damned well better have some good food as well.

caloso

Of course. That goes without saying.

LesterOfPuppets

+1. Mexi-Coke or no Coke!!!

Passover Coke is another good choice for HFCS haters.

Leinster

Just back from the Pyrenees. At every summit cafe, 5 minutes after arriving, our table would be covered in empty Orangina cans/bottles, with the occasional coke.

This thread's been done before; a small can of coke is a quick blast of sugar and caffeine, and it tastes better than a lot of hydration/evergy drinks. Some people like to take the suffer-score into more areas of cycling than it really needs to. On a 3-week bike race, you can bet that the riders are delighted to get an occasional treat like a coke here and there.

mckeithen

I drink a coke in the last 10-15 miles of a long ride (60 miles or longer). Gives me a nice boost of sugar and caffeine to get home on.

LesterOfPuppets

Barley pops are another great post-ride treat!

RPK79

Or mid-ride.

RPK79

PaulRivers

Lol, yeah.

I could drink Coke all day and I'm ok.

My first "real" job, they didn't have a cafeteria nearby and the closest restaurant was McDonald's. So I ended up eating there (at first) - a lot. Let me tell you - after eating there for lunch 2 days in a row, I would simply think "I'll grab lunch and McDonalds" and my stomach would immediately give me this strong negative emotion reaction. I'd go somewhere else for a while, then get lazy and go back to McDonald's - same thing would happen again. 1 meal there was fine. 2 meals wasn't as good. By the 3rd-4th meal my body was going "wtf are you doing????".

The fact that pro riders drink coke - the kind of people who hire nutritionists and pay $10,000 for a wheel set or something - says that they think coke is at least not the "horrible poison" that some of the posters in this thread think it is.

bbattle

I gave up soft drinks years ago but every now and then, an ice cold rootbeer just hits the spot. 2-3 times a year.

If somebody who's been riding 25-30mph for the past 100 miles or so wants one of those mini cans of Coke, let him have it. I'm always looking to improve the variety of my riding food and drink. Accidentally bought one of those lime-cucumber Gatorades. funky aftertaste and it made me burp but I've since had a couple of riders tell me how much they love the stuff.

Reynolds 

On a hot day hard ride, the thought of having a cold Coke when I arrive has motivated me many times.

Shimagnolo

Anyone consider that the "Cokes" the pro riders are drinking might just be as authentic as the brand names painted on their bike frames?

1748357

The pros need more than a small can of coke to recover. They probably just drink them because they taste amazing after a long, hard ride. One time right after riding in the heat of the Florida Keys, I drank a glass of tomato juice and it was so good, I literally shuttered. Yay for salt and sugar.

LesterOfPuppets

I had that experience with a bottle of Clamato one hot day.

1748357

The concept of clamato is nasty, but the end product is awesome. It's also really good when added to a cheap beer like Bud Light.

Brian Ratliff

It's sugar water with some ingredients that makes it seem not so sweet as to upset the stomach. If you need quick calories, the only faster way to get them is an IV.

EDIT: caffeine too.

roadwarrior

No.

Some riders lie them for the sugar and caffeine.

Generally, you'll see them using the pony cans not too far out from the end of a race.

rms13

a guy I know is a ironman triathlete and he swears by mexican coke with real sugar as his go to recovery drink. I've also asked how it's different than gatorade or any other sugar water which is basically what most drinks are, highly available fast carbs/sugar. He swears there is something in coke (mexican variety specifically) that makes the sugar absorb into the bloodstream quicker. I don't buy that but whatever works for you. My long rides are usually 30-40 miles and my recovery of choice is waiting till I get home and having about 1 cup of white rice

rms13

Fun fact that I read recently. All coke sold in Mexico is made with corn syrup now. The only Mexican coke with real sugar is made exclusively for export to the U.S.

RNAV

Negative, ghost rider.

Can we agree that the chances of me being able to effectively persuade you over the internet are pretty slim? But, if you were to invest the time yourself into researching the topic, you might change your own opinion. Here's a quick primer to get you started, though.

A quick google search for "dangers of drinking coca cola" will reveal tons of studies, scientific evidence, etc. A quick google search for "health benefits of drink in coca cola" will provide results ranging from how-to-clean-rust-with-Coke to employee benefits working for the Coca-Cola Corporation . . . but you won't find any scientific evidence demonstrating health benefits of consuming Coke.

I'm not saying you're going to die from drinking a Coke. What I am saying, however, is that if you are interested in improving your health and athletic performance (which I assume most of us here are actively trying to do), Coke isn't going to do that for you, and there are a plethora of better options that will.

Now that I think about it, Russian Vodka might be worse for recovery

bconneraz

I'm a fan of a post-ride coke after a long hot ride.

ovoleg

dude you're trolling. Do you know how many pro athletes drink coke on a regular basis?

Tyler Hamilton was addicted to Cola. He had to switch to Diet Coke to keep the weight down. He would normally drink like 5-6 cans a day.

RPK79

Pretty sure you can search for "dangers of verbing noun" and get results for any combination of verb and noun you can think of.

Look at the dangers of throwing eggs results:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...hrowing%20eggs

LesterOfPuppets

Just ask Justin Bieber.