WRT the salt/electrolyte thing: NuSalt can be found in the seasoning/spices section of the supermarket. NuSalt is 100% Potassium Chloride. 1 gram (1/6tsp) is 15% of your RDA & about 3 bananas worth of Potassium. It is often called "Salt Substitute." There should be only one ingredient on the lable.
You'll find that all the leading electrolyte drinks & mixes are suspiciously light in potassium content. Favoring Sodium Chloride (table salt) Calcium, & Magnesium in various forms. Potassium salt & table salt, although similar, are not interchangeable. Potassiums big benefit is staving off cramps, regulating blood pressure & heart function.
I always make sure to add 3 grams (1/2 teaspoon ~45% RDA) to my water bottles in addition to NUUN tabs before any rides that are going to be particularly warm, long, or intense.
Honey: Honey is made of glucose & fructose. Basically glucose is muscle fuel & uses 1 uptake channel. Fructose is easily converted to muscle fuel & uses another uptake channel. So by taking honey, you can tremendously increase the amount of energy you can replace in a given time. Up to some theoretical maximum of ~500 calories per hour.
If you simply must buy prepackaged supplements, Shot Blocks are straight glucose.
In the absence of honey or Shot Blocks: To sort out the second easiest sugar to take in fructose: Dried mangos & figs travel well.
HFCS, maltodextrin, & others are ok. But it takes 45 minutes for your body to break it down to something useable & still isn't as readily available in the multiple uptake channels in the way that honey is & are expensive unless your plan is plain candy bars, anyway.
Don't forget nut butters. A big ol' peanut butter & jelly sandwich is calorie dense & has all the protein you need to keep absorbing carbs. Not a nutritional road block you'll likely experience on a century, but you probably will on a double.
As always, not everything works for everyone. Experiment around & find out what works best for you. As for me? Potassium was the key to getting my blood pressure & heart palpitations under control.
Last edited by base2; 07-05-20 at 09:04 PM.