Originally Posted by
RMTBaiden
I was actually looking at the chews, so I am just going to try everything I guess and see what I like. I was looking for citrus, and the companies had orange but that's not the same as all the citrus flavors hitting the buds at one haha. Obviously they have to discontinue the good flavors. I have seen a bike blogs that Skratch is a very recommended brand, so I will also give some of there products a try. Just figuring out what works with me on the distance I normally travel.
Finding what works for you (flavors and format) is important. So is finding out how your body reacts to those products during hard efforts. There are a lot of options out there.
For local rides of less than 2 hours, I'll take a gel about an hour into the ride, and probably have just plain water in my bottles. For rides of 2-3 hours, I figure a gel every hour (one of those might get subbed for a pack of chews), plus high-carb mix in my bottles. For rides longer than that, I plan for a gel/chews every hour, 2 big bottles of high-carb mix, a hydro pack of plain water, and a protein bar. I also have my bike computer set to notify me every 30 minutes to "EAT!", which means either a gel or a big drink off my bottle. Somewhere in the middle-ish of a long day, I'll stop to eat a protein bar. This plan has worked well for me, and I'll be putting it to use again this Sunday at a gravel race, which I expect to be 5-6 hours of ride time.