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What’s Your Favorite Drink Mix?

09.16.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 20 Comments

I was riding out in the country recently, and noticed one of the riders in my group take a drink from his bottle.  The bottle was clear, and the liquid inside was an unappealing yellow (yes, that color of yellow).

I asked him what he was drinking.

“It’s Accelerade,” he said, “with one scoop of lemon lime R4, and one Nuun lemon lime tablet.  It’s the best drink mix I’ve come across.”

Wow.  I carry two water bottles.  One is plain water, and one is water with one Nuun tablet.  Nothing fancy.  But it turns out I’ve heard from lots of people who have their own ideas of what kind of drink mix to concoct for their rides.  Here’s a sample:

As a certified Cheap Bastard, I put the following into a 28 ounce water bottle on rides that will last two hours or more:

  • enough Gatorade powder to reconstitute a quart of Gatorade
  • 1 tbsp unflavored whey powder
  • 4-6 ice cubes

Works for me, and it leaves me feeling much stronger at the end of a ride than Gatorade alone.  It costs a metric buttload less than Endurox, Cytomax, etc., too.

When I used to race on the pro duathalon circuit, my water bottle was always filled with defizzed Coke for shorter bike stages (say, 40K or less).  If longer than 40K, I’d carry two bottles – one with Coke, one with water.

Hammer Perpetuem works for me…along with Thermolyte buffered sodium supplements (capsule).

From Bicycling magazine: “Sipping a sports drink with carbohydrate, rather than plain water, from the start of a long ride can help spare your precious muscle glycogen stores by about 50 percent in the first hour alone, according to a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. This means you’ll have more energy for the long haul.”

I’ve used Accelerade before — by itself, not mixed with anything else.  It seems to work.  That is, I’ve never had any issues while using it.  But the taste takes some getting used to.  After my first jar of Accelerade was gone, I didn’t go back for another.

I did try Hammer Heed, on the advice of a friend.  I thought it worked about as well as Accelerade, with its own funky taste.  I haven’t gone back for a second container of that stuff, either.

The guy in the first example here said he thought the Accelerade was fine, until it warmed up.  “Then the flavor is enough to make you sick,” he said.  He used lots of ice in his bottle, but in the Texas summertime heat, it doesn’t last long.  “I drink it pretty quick,” he said.

I have bought bottles of G2 — the low-sugar Gatorade — from convenience stores when out on a ride.  That stuff seems to help, too, without the crazy taste.  However, some serious athletes don’t use bottled energy drinks of that ilk.

If I can keep hydrated, and take the occasional food, I’m good on rides up to 100 miles.  I’ve never felt the need to develop a personal energy mix of my own.

How about you?  We’re nearing the end of the warm weather riding season, so a discussion along these lines might be superfluous, but it’s fun to hear different ideas kicked around. Do you have a special drink mix that you rely on?

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Categories // food Tags // sports drink

Cycling and Heart Health

08.03.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 19 Comments

The news was stunning. A member of my bike club emailed word that a local man prominent in cycling circles had a massive heart attack while leading a morning group ride today. The news hit close to home, because while I didn’t know him well, he was the guy who taught the Road I course I took two years ago.

A passing motorist gave CPR, and paramedics got him to a hospital where he was put into an induced coma. One of the arteries to his heart had a 100 percent blockage, and doctors made a temporary opening to get blood to his heart.

It was eerily similar to what happened to Belgian cycling star Kim Kirchen during the Tour of Switzerland in June. He, too, had to go under an induced coma. Kirchen is now out of the hospital.

I thought cycling was supposed to make us invincible.

It turns out that endurance athletes might face serious heart risks of their own — partly because they’re in better shape.  As an article on Active.com by Dr. John Mandrola points out, cyclists are more likely to have a 20 percent blockage than the 80 percent blockage often suffered by couch potatoes. But that 20 percent blockage is more likely to lead to a heart attack, because it is more likely to cause blood to clot on it.

Hm. Never knew that. Okay, I’ve never really paid much attention to food. In fact, my wife often complains that I eat like a teenager.

That’s about to change. I’ve enjoyed the effects of losing some weight lately; but that’s stalled out for the time being. Time to get back on track. Time to notice what I put in my body. Time to get serious about total health, not just exercise. And time to recognize that while I’m relatively healthy, I am not invincible.

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Categories // fitness, food Tags // diet, heart

Today I Bought Bananas

08.01.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 13 Comments

It’s a mild summer in Austin. Here we are in August, and today will be our first 100-degree day of the year. That’s way different from last year, when we had 69 100-degree days — nearly every day during the summer. What do you do when it’s that hot? You go for a bike ride.

I was feeling pretty good this morning. Yesterday, I rode 33 miles and felt strong throughout the whole ride. No reason that shouldn’t be the case again today. I ate my usual big breakfast, got the bike in order, and went out to meet the club for the start of the ride.

They were taking a route I didn’t want to ride, so four miles in, I broke off and went my own way. My route took me through a hilly residential area, then out to a four-lane highway with a nice shoulder. Lots of other cyclists rode the same road, so there was plenty of opportunity to chat while passing and being passed.

I took a break at the turnaround point, about 17 miles out. A big tree at the edge of a parking lot provided plenty of shade. I ate a Clif Bar, and drank from a water bottle with Nuun added, as well as plain water.

Did I mention all the rolling hills on this route? I could feel them on the return leg, when I was pedaling directly into the late morning sun. I leapfrogged with a young woman, who stood on the pedals to power away on the uphills, but gave way when my heavier mass passed her on the downhills.

Finally, I was within eight miles of home, going up a bridge along an expressway. Suddenly, it hit. A cramp in the right thigh! I eased back on the pedals, shifted into an easier gear, and slowly climbed the rest of the bridge.

A decent hotel stands at the top of the bridge, and I took advantage of its cool lobby to relax and refill the water bottles. The air conditioning helped revitalize me, and the cramp wasn’t a problem anymore.

But the rest of the way home was slow going. Every so often, I’d get a twinge in my thigh, but made sure it didn’t hit me like before. A mile from home, one of the club riders caught up to me. I’d gone 35 miles. He’d gone 50. We talked about my cramps.

“Do you have a potassium supplement?” he asked. “Like a banana?”

“I’ve got a water bottle with Nuun,” I replied.

Then it hit me. Yesterday, I had capped off my breakfast with a banana. That was the only difference between then and now. I shoulda hadda banana this morning, too!

After a cold shower and a nap, I made a run to the grocery. During the upcoming spate of hot weather that’s coming, I’ll be eating a banana every day.

What’s your favorite cramp preventer?

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Categories // food, Heat Tags // bananas, cramp, heat

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