Endurance Nutrition

I go back and forth between lemon, orange, and naked. I like the extra caffeine in the berry, but that one was too "fruity" for me. It reminded me of the overly sweet stuff I've used in the past. I may get a bag next time, and mix it with one of the others... I'm probably going to try the green tea when it comes out. I missed the demo sale...
 
Faust29 said:
I go back and forth between lemon, orange, and naked. I like the extra caffeine in the berry, but that one was too "fruity" for me. It reminded me of the overly sweet stuff I've used in the past. I may get a bag next time, and mix it with one of the others... I'm probably going to try the green tea when it comes out. I missed the demo sale...
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Green Tea? interesting.... I got a Cliff bar and some cold green tea
 
Faust29 said:
I go back and forth between lemon, orange, and naked. I like the extra caffeine in the berry, but that one was too "fruity" for me. It reminded me of the overly sweet stuff I've used in the past. I may get a bag next time, and mix it with one of the others... I'm probably going to try the green tea when it comes out. I missed the demo sale...
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Skratch Labs came out with a Green Tea, and it was horrible. Then again, I am not a green tea fan anyway. Fortunately, my wife liked it, so it didn't go to waste.
 
Hey @Mikie when we did Joplin together, I thought I heard you say that you just put Tailwind in your hydration pack. Did I hear that right? Do you find that you get gunk build up in your hydration pack from that? I've been a firm believer of only ever putting water in there to limit the cleaning regimen I need to do. Do you just clean it regularly and so be it?

I'm finding that Tailwind is working well for me, but on days without a water refill, I'm limited to the two bottles I can carry. So I'm still carrying water on my back, but I'm using it less and less as I get acclimated to Tailwind. I like my hydration pack, but carrying it around with no water in the bladder seems to be a missed opportunity.
 
Cougar said:
Hey @Mikie when we did Joplin together, I thought I heard you say that you just put Tailwind in your hydration pack. Did I hear that right? Do you find that you get gunk build up in your hydration pack from that? I've been a firm believer of only ever putting water in there to limit the cleaning regimen I need to do. Do you just clean it regularly and so be it?

I'm finding that Tailwind is working well for me, but on days without a water refill, I'm limited to the two bottles I can carry. So I'm still carrying water on my back, but I'm using it less and less as I get acclimated to Tailwind. I like my hydration pack, but carrying it around with no water in the bladder seems to be a missed opportunity.
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Yep! @Fijirob is correcto-mundo, I have put it in my Camelbak for the longer rides. I figure 2 large scoops per 25 oz. of water gives me a plus or minus ride of 4 hours. Has worked out very well both times.
I also use Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide in my Camelbak as well to keep it clean of gunk...
 
Mikie said:
Yep! @Fijirob
I also use Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide in my Camelbak as well to keep it clean of gunk...
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Ah ha. I just bought one of the generic hydration pack cleaner kits. Using only water so far I haven't had to clean it very frequently at all. (I'm a low maintenance sort of fella - don't ask my wife) I'm sort of hesitant to add some time to my post riding chores by putting a hydration pack cleaning regimen in :(

The other thing that you get from bottles that you don't with a hydration pack; visibility into how much (or how little) you are drinking. "Okay, I need to finish this bottle before XXX - oh crap I'm behind". There needs to be an invention that can measure your hydration pack levels and remotely sends a signal to a device on your handlebars or cell phone (I retain all rights to this invention idea if there isn't something like this already! :P)
 
Cougar said:
Ah ha. I just bought one of the generic hydration pack cleaner kits. Using only water so far I haven't had to clean it very frequently at all. (I'm a low maintenance sort of fella - don't ask my wife) I'm sort of hesitant to add some time to my post riding chores by putting a hydration pack cleaning regimen in :(

The other thing that you get from bottles that you don't with a hydration pack; visibility into how much (or how little) you are drinking. "Okay, I need to finish this bottle before XXX - oh crap I'm behind". There needs to be an invention that can measure your hydration pack levels and remotely sends a signal to a device on your handlebars or cell phone (I retain all rights to this invention idea if there isn't something like this already! :p)
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http://shop.camelbak.com/flow-meter/d/1143
 
StrandLeper said:
Does the Tailwind dissolve and disperse well enough to allow for this? My concern is that I think that I am spot on for my nutrition, but due to varying concentrations at the top of the bladder versus the bottom, I am not. Thoughts?
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The nice thing about Tailwind is that it dissolves pretty easy. You could dissolve it by mixing it in a pitcher then pour it into your bladder. Or you could do it the old fashioned way and put the scoops of Tailwind into your bladder and fill 'er up! Just shake it around with air in the bladder to dissolve it, then release the air as normal. Remember, Tailwind is not that thick so it is easy to work with.
 
Cougar said:
Hey @Mikie when we did Joplin together, I thought I heard you say that you just put Tailwind in your hydration pack. Did I hear that right? Do you find that you get gunk build up in your hydration pack from that? I've been a firm believer of only ever putting water in there to limit the cleaning regimen I need to do. Do you just clean it regularly and so be it?

I'm finding that Tailwind is working well for me, but on days without a water refill, I'm limited to the two bottles I can carry. So I'm still carrying water on my back, but I'm using it less and less as I get acclimated to Tailwind. I like my hydration pack, but carrying it around with no water in the bladder seems to be a missed opportunity.
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Hey Cougar, one time I had some tailwind left over on my camelbak for a week, and when had time to clean it, no gunk build up, and just rinsed and was good to go for another ride, I love tailwind !!
 
Gears, hydration packs, rear shocks... Sounds way too complicated! :whistling:

I've only worn a pack with Tailwind once or twice, but I did not have any issues, and it cleaned out easily. My son has used that bladder a couple times since then with plain water... He didn't complain about any residual taste.
 
Update: For my Sunday ride with J I just did Tailwind the entire ride. Used three bottles. One water, two Tailwind. Consumed five bottles of Tailwind on the ride... and then two more on the ride home. No cramps. I ate a bonkbuster on the way home... because it was sitting next to me saying "eat me." Feeling pretty comfortable that this will be my main nutrition in Temecula... but I will probably supplement with a little bit of Gu every two hours just to make sure that I don't fall into a nutrition deficit. At around hour 8, I am sure that my mind will be messing with me BIG TIME.
 
So just to add to the database:

I rode the Tour de Palm Springs today. 101 miles, 2,600 feet elevation gain, 6:09 riding time. I discovered that, for me, a hearty breakfast (ham & cheese omelet, hash browns, English muffin, coffee) 30 minutes prior to the start, plus 3 bottles 1st Endurance and 1 of water, was perfect.
 
Varaxis said:
Results since making my own formula, starting some time in July.

View attachment 7456

Probably not enough to conclude that there's some endurance boost coming from it, but based on my first impressions, I will not be going back to plain water. Recovery time is greatly reduced. Formula can really be boiled down to 1/2 tsp salt and 6 tsp sugar per liter (33.8 oz) of water, no real fancy stuff needed.
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So I was actually wondering about filling a water bottle with salt but then you augmented the idea with the suger. I tried Skratch Orange exercise hyrdration mix today (1.5 scoops in 24 oz water bottle) and although it was a much shorter duration ride (10miles; 1.5 hrs) I didn't have the same stomach area cramping I head for a very similar duration ride earlier this week. Tasted fine and I didn't carry a Camelbak this ride (i.e. no other food or liquids ingested). Had to urinate once at the top of the mountain but that's it.

Varaxis's solution is way more cost effective, but won't taste the same. Anybody else tried the home-made method?
 
I started out with the WHO "pedialyte/ORS" formula, then made it more cycling oriented. It's very much like Skratch's formula at the moment. Got all the ingredients stored in plastic containers, some in pre-mixed states, but prefer the separated state for versatility, that and I don't trust that it mixes evenly if I try to do a big mixed batch. I go for a lemonade flavor... I tried using the bottled lemon juice (from concentrate, also lime juice), but it has a heavier metallic roof-of-your-mouth type of aftertaste, so I switched to citric acid. I see why manufacturers have done the same... tastes fresher, for lack of a better word. I've added random stuff for flavor depth and buzz, including 5-hour energy free samples, some cans of juice I got from work, tea, etc.

Can find sugar for 2 lbs/$1 (ran into brown sugar at this price at 99c only, which replaced typical C&H/Domino brand white stuff), and get the Salt Balance or Salt Lite (salt with potassium) for about $4 from Stater Bros. Got the dextrose, sodium citrate (4mular brand) and calcium+magnesium citrate (NOW Foods brand) from Amazon.

Tried adding Vit B to it, but it made it taste (and smell) awful and gave it a brownish yellow color (also affected my piss similarly)... so bad I dumped the whole batch. Reminded me of those baby vitamin drops... the citrate version of calcium and mag absorb well compared to lactose and carbonate and go with the tangy flavor better. The sodium citrate has a side-effect of enhancing your sense of smell, which may affect your nose breathing if you're some place stinky or some place pleasant smelling. ;)

Let us know about how well it works for recovery, if you feel like you can do the same ride or harder on consecutive days without feeling sore nor the urge to sleep in.
 
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Varaxis said:
I started out with the WHO "pedialyte/ORS" formula, then made it more cycling oriented. It's very much like Skratch's formula at the moment. Got all the ingredients stored in plastic containers, some in pre-mixed states, but prefer the separated state for versatility, that and I don't trust that it mixes evenly if I try to do a big mixed batch. I go for a lemonade flavor... I tried using the bottled lemon juice (from concentrate, also lime juice), but it has a heavier metallic roof-of-your-mouth type of aftertaste, so I switched to citric acid. I see why manufacturers have done the same... tastes fresher, for lack of a better word. I've added random stuff for flavor depth and buzz, including 5-hour energy free samples, some cans of juice I got from work, tea, etc.

Can find sugar for 2 lbs/$1 (ran into brown sugar at this price at 99c only, which replaced typical C&H/Domino brand white stuff), and get the Salt Balance or Salt Lite (salt with potassium) for about $4 from Stater Bros. Got the dextrose, sodium citrate (4mular brand) and calcium+magnesium citrate (NOW Foods brand) from Amazon.

Tried adding Vit B to it, but it made it taste (and smell) awful and gave it a brownish yellow color (also affected my piss similarly)... so bad I dumped the whole batch. Reminded me of those baby vitamin drops... the citrate version of calcium and mag absorb well compared to lactose and carbonate and go with the tangy flavor better. The sodium citrate has a side-effect of enhancing your sense of smell, which may affect your nose breathing if you're some place stinky or some place pleasant smelling. ;)

Let us know about how well it works for recovery, if you feel like you can do the same ride or harder on consecutive days without feeling sore nor the urge to sleep in.
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Dude you'd be better off buying a sports mix and synthesizing some variant of LSD-25 such that it has an immediately unique and therefore legal chemical structure (remember bath salts was actually sold legally for a while in stores - or still is?). But that sounded like an interesting experiment nonetheless.

I'm not a professional endurance racer so I honestly don't mind the cramping as much. It eventually goes away unlike my back pain :mad:
 
Proper nutrition is beneficial for everyone, not just endurance racers.

I hesitate to let this through my tactful/politeful filter, but I get the impression that you're fresh out of your mother's womb, venturing into the real world as an individual, and have defensively narrowed your personal world to be so minimalist that you can't really see anything, and that's limiting your ability to figure the basic stuff out by yourself*. By posting here, you seem to be finding what you need to take steps forward, seemingly millimeter by millimeter, to expose yourself to more of the world, and quite frankly, even you're testing my patience with your pace. You don't appear to show that you're satisfied by perfectly good answers to your questions. Numerous people are giving you the special snowflake treatment by avoiding you and/or branding you as troll, and that doesn't seem to be working. How about doing some give and take here? Here's a chance to give back: I'm curious, please find me a 1-2 word term that best describes you in your perspective, and also what term you think others would describe you with. Perhaps that will cut to the chase and id the problem that truly needs fixing, so we can move on from this "no-drop" style of forum "riding".

Will rate the term(s) according to the Varaxis "Viviracy" scale. The less vivid, the more likely you end up on ignore. Bonus points for accuracy.

* That or the size of your personal world is limited by your lack of ability to understand and figure things out.
 
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