Sy Reene

Got any winning recipes?
I'm considering trying to make some concoction made up of weak Iced Tea, couple teaspoons of turbinado sugar and some amount of salt (per water bottle); maybe a squeeze of lemon for flavor.

Bugstomper2000

You know, I've never thought of putting anything other than water in my water bottle, but I have all summer to experiment and come up with some recipes! I'll post them on here as I come up with them!

Machka 

Mostly, we just drink water.

If we are going to add something to it, we'll only do that for a long, long ride, and not always even then.

Rowan has an actual recipe, but when I put it together, I generally just put in a couple scoops of maltodextrin (acquired at your local beer and wine making establishment), a dash of "half salt" or "lite salt" (that's a salt which combines sodium and potassium, found in the salt section of your local grocery store), and sometimes a sprinkle of sugar for flavour.

cderalow

about a gallon of water in a jug. 6-8 tea bags, three scoops of Gatorade lemon lime powder.

Shake, leave in sun for 4-6 hours outdoors.

Remove tea bags, shake some more, chill.

Elvo

1 sugar cube
2 oz of rye
3 dashes of bitters
Club soda

RogueRadio

Just mix gatorade powder in. That or the tabs, I really like Gu Brew Watermelon flavor.

FLvector

You can often keep the first bottle cold by freezing or lots of ice cubes, but even if frozen solid the second bottle will be warm for many who live further south. Just be aware that some drinks taste great when cold and are awful when warm. Water always works for me.

Lazyass

Get a jug of powdered Gatorade at Walmart for 10 bucks for some extra carbs and calories.

coolcamaro12

There is this tea I drink everyday called Sportea. It is a citrusy tasting tea advertised as an "energy tea". I don't care for the energy effects as I like the taste, but I definitely think that it would work well mixed with other things to make a sports drink.

Johnny Mullet

If I put anything besides water in my water bottles, I taste it for a week! Just water is my usual.

SempreCycling

Water in one bottle and the other bottle is water + appropriate squirts of MIO Fit for electrolytes. Cheaper than buying Gatorade all the time.

etw

Here are some recipes I have found, but have not tried yet

Make Your Own Electrolyte Energy Drink | Everyday Roots

A simple homemade electrolyte drink | MNN - Mother Nature Network

alexaschwanden

Water shanken not stirred.

supe1

Strong sun tea with about a half scoop of Gatorade. When it's hot I'll fill a bottle halfway with tea freeze it on its side and top it off with Gatorade so it gets weaker as it melts.

kbarch

I tried making a home-made sports drink once; it was disgusting.
Before a planned hard ride I'll add a pinch of electrolyte or sports drink powder. It's nice now and then along the way, and seems to provide a real boost, but without the heavy sweetness or overpowering flavor.

GlennR

Whatever you do, try it on a short ride. Last thing you want is something to "disagree" with you when you're a good distance from home.

Homebrew01

Water, with a splash of lemon juice, and teaspoon of sugar. For hot, long rides, I might add a dash of "Lite" salt because it has potassium and magneium.

Dave Cutter

I really like solar green tea.

But this year I've been using the little bottles of MiO like products. A squirt is just enough to flavor a 28oz water bottle. There is all sorts of flavors.... I try to match flavor color with jersey color.

JamesRL

Suggestion I read in a cycling magazine a long time ago, which I used in some long yours was 50:50 water and apple juice.

GlennR

Matchy, matchy... too funny.

ThermionicScott 

I prefer plain water in mine. Easier to keep clean (free of bacteria/mold), and you can get all the calories, sodium, whatever else you need from food.

Soody

The key is making a sugar syrup. You can't just add sugar to stuff and try to get it to dissolve. Just add 1 part cold water to 1 part sugar in a pot, bring it to a boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes. It will thicken as it cools.

For ice tea with it, make some strong black tea, sweeten to taste with your syrup, add lemon juice to taste, then chill. Fill a bidon/ glass with ice to pour it over. You can add a tiny bit of salt too, and it won't be noticeable.

I did a ride in the national park late last year - 60km to the chateau, 60km back, with a climb over Mt Pihanga at the start/ end of the ride. I finished my snack and my drinks riding there and I expected them to sell chocolate bars or gatorade or something, but they didn't. I didn't have time to get some real food (expensive and crap at a tourist spot like the chateau) with the sun going down so I got a ginger beer, and filled a bottle with a sachet of salt, 4 sachets of sugar and a squeeze of lemon from the reluctant bar guy.

Here is a recipe for wanting to throw up for hours after a 120km ride

Water
1 sachet of salt
4 sachets of white sugar
Squeeze of reluctantly procured lemon


Looking at web receipts I've gone through about 6.5 kg of sport drink this year too : O

rm -rf

This dry mix fits into a 24 oz Ziploc storage container. Use 2 tablespoons to 3 tablespoons per large water bottle. It tastes way better than Gatorade.

2 1/2 cups sugar
4 packets of Kool Aid natural lemon
1/2 tablespoon light salt (which is half salt and half potassium)
1/2 tablespoon regular salt.
Mix together.

About 40 tablespoons of mix, or 14 to 20 bottles.
Per tablespoon:
50 calories
approx 120 mg sodium
approx 40 mg potassium

(The Gatorade web page says, per 12 oz: 80 cal, 160 mg sodium, 45 mg potassium, so a 22 oz water bottle
of gatorade would be 145 cal, 290 mg sodium, 80 mg potassium.)

Luigii

Usually just water. But if it's really hot I fill one with coconut water. I usually drink one before a ride or other exercise.

SpeshulEd 

Water in one, skratch labs in the second bottle for longer rides.