Sugar.

1 bottle of water
1 bottle of sports drink

Water is definitely NOT useless. Have you ever ridden more than 12 or 15 hours .... you really, really appreciate plain water when you get up into those distances. It's so much more refreshing than sports drinks.

thats ok saying that machka but 15 hours in the saddle requires more than water alone and saying theres only sugar in these drinks ,well thats a load of c.......? .im sure they have to go through a million tests before there allowed on the market,why then would the top sports people use them they work thats why .
and no ive never spent more than 8 houres in the saddle but i was sure glad i had clean bidons filled with energy drink thank you...

15 hours in the saddle requires food ... energy drinks are just incidental. And yes, most energy drinks are just some sort of sugar. If, for example, gatorade is your drink of choice, you could just pour table sugar into your water, and add a dash of salt and have the same thing going for you. If HEED is your drink of choice (and it is mine), then a mix of maltodextrin acquired from your local wine making shop will give you something similar. Read the ingredients.

And of course they "work" to give you more energy ... sugar is the essential element in our fuel. Everything we eat breaks down to sugar. So drinking some sort of sugar drink just eliminates the need for an extensive breakdown process.

Over long periods of time, however, plain sugar is somewhat less than adequate ... it boosts your blood sugar levels quickly, but drops them equally as quickly. That's where eating complex carbs, fat, and protein comes in. They've got staying power.

So your energy drink might give you a quick boost now and then, but your food is where your real energy comes from.

These things are all discussed on the Training and Nutrition forum, and on this website: http://www.ultracycling.com/


And plain water clears the palate, refreshes, and tastes so good after consuming a lot of sugary stuff.

+1

Sport drink (half the "regular" dosage of powder) on short <50km rides

Water in one bottle + Sport drink in another on longer rides.

Gatorade has some potassium in it as well, which is essential for our bodies cells to function properly. That being said. I would rather have a large bottle of water and a banana than two or three bottles of Gatorade.

In addition to the benefits of drinking plain water, having a bottle of plain water on board is very useful for other purposes, like washing or pouring over yourself to cool down.

All right then, rather than a dash of ordinary table salt in your sugar water, you could use a dash of "Half Salt" (which I have sitting right in front of me right now, and bought from my local grocery store). 1/4 of a teaspoon provides you with 200 mg of sodium, and 260 mg of potassium.

When I make my own energy drinks, I use "Half Salt" mixed with maltodextrin, and a few other things.

But you're right, I'd much rather have a banana than to depend on multiple bottles of Gatorade. And salted almonds are my favorite source of electrolytes - both sodium and potassium, as well as numerous other vitamins and minerals.

Mmmmm... almonds are delicious. I wish they weren't so expensive. Do you get "Half Salt" in the spices aisle?

Machka, I'm going from memory here from my Dr. who said the potassium chloride in salt substitutes is not the same potassium found in fruits and vegetables. Would you say they both achieve the same desired effects?
It would be convenient.

Stop believing the commercials. You do need nourishment and you do need water and you do need electrolyte replacement, but you do not need to buy it mixed in one bottle. "Top sports people" use the products (or the labels of those products) that they are paid to use. The people who sell these drinks pay many millions of dollars to get stars to use them or at least use their stickers on the water bottles. If these products were truly superior they wouldn't have to make those deals.

Sugar water is a very bad option for some of us - see sugar high and crash. What we are talking about here is not a short sporting event, but day after day activity. Mainlining sugar is not helpful for that. Eat real food, drink real water, take real supplements if needed. For a race or a fast day trip sports drinks can be very helpful, but that isn't what we're doing here. Even a three week race, like the TdF of GdI is not comparable. Those guys are willing to hurt themselves pretty bad during a race. That is not what I want to do on the bike. I'm not a 145 pound 29 yo with a hummingbird metabolism and a willingness to suffer malnutrition. Yes, some "top sports people" are malnourished. I'm not and you don't have to be.

Those drinks are allowed on the market because all they are is sugar and water and some minerals. There are no rules requiring that sugar water is effective, only that it isn't tainted or poisonous. They are not sold as anything other than another soft drink they don't have to meet any higher standard than bottled iced tea or soda pop. This world is not organized in the way that you seem to imagine. There is not someone out there looking to make sure you can't buy the wrong food or waste your money on overpriced sugar water.

There are serious products for replacing electrolytes and for promoting recovery and for providing energy while riding, but you won't find them in a supermarket and I've never seen a TV commercial for them. I also don't see them "endorsed" by famous athletes, though many are used by professionals and top level amateurs.

You really need to get a check on your trust in advertising and especially this weird idea that they couldn't sell it if it didn't work.

Well said.
Hummingbird metabolism?.. LOL

Yeah, I think so ... or the salt area.


And the almonds I get are from convenience stores along the way. You can often pick up a little packet of them for about $1.

I'm not sure, I'll have to look into that.

+1

I also find it interesting that you hardly if ever see them drinking out of the same packages that are sold in stores. usually they are in a big cooler or in individual bottles, I suspect that what they drink is not the exact same mix sold in stores. Trainers probably add extra things and change the mix/water ratios.

There are several mentions of the Klean Kanteen in this thread and wanted to let people know I just posted a review of the the Klean Kanteen on my blog here if any one is interested: http://austinbikeblog.org/?p=967.

A Steri-PEN will kill all the bacteria and chemicals, it costs around £50.
Basically you put it in a water bottle for about a minute and it kills all the bacteria in the bottle, it will make any water drinkable.
I use it when i go abroad and dont know how well i adapt to different water like i can get water from lakes and it will be drinkable with no bacteria :)
Worth the money espically when touring
hope it helps

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...132&hasJS=true

I thought about getting one of those.

what is 'half-salt'

can u explain ?

is himalayan rock salt (the pink stuff) any better then normal sea salt ?

I've heard of cheap alternatives to gatorade .... which included salt and something else

but i'm confused about this 'half-salt' ... ?

+1 as well. When I'm going to go riding over 3 or 4 hours and I leave with 2 bottles frozen, the 2 that are completely are still half ice. So I have to make adjustments on how much I should freeze. Last summer I had to ride with a bottle open in order for it to defrost to get a drink.
I carry 2 frozen and 1 half frozen and the last one with just ice cubes. I know while touring you wont get a chance to freeze them, but for long rides they are great.

Gross! Who puts milk in their camel pack! I cant imagine slurping up a half gallon of Vitamin D Whole Milk while riding a bike all day!