spectastic

this whole time, I've been using water as my primary source of fuel for long rides. pretty stupid... I did some reading, and I want to get carbs (2:1 glucose:fructose), electrolyte, and some protein. I'll blend everything in a small container, and mix it with my water as I go about my rides. figure I can get it for cents on the dollar if I make it myself... it comes down to finding the right sources. this is where I can use some recommendations for what's easy and appropriate

source of glucose/fructose: table sugar is sucrose (1:1 glucose:fructose), so mix 2:1 table sugar:dextrose (basically the same as glucose), you can get 2:1 glucose:fructose, right? I mean just because sucrose is a disaccharide, it should still be metabolized the same way as glucose and fructose individually, right?

source of salt: is table salt sodium fine? or should there be some potassium in there too?

source of protein: can I get away with cheap whey, or is it better to get specific amino acids like BCAAs?

anyone have experience with this stuff?

dim

for electrolyte:

half a cup of fresh orange juice
half a cup of fresh lemon juice
a cup of coconut water
good pinch of himilayan salt (or similar)
tablespoon of organic maple syrup

some say that V8 vegetable juice is also excellent for electrolye replacement.

The problems with the tablets such as High5 is that they contain asparatine and similar junk

spectastic

correct me if I'm wrong. the juices you suggest would be a good source of vitamins and minerals, in addition to the salts and sugar used during the ride. are they really necessary though? functionally, will there be a difference between getting sugar from fruit juice vs getting sugar from straight up sucrose/dextrose?

mollusk

Long training rides? You could go really old school and take a cold baked potato. You can eat the whole thing so there is no wrapper to throw away.

Adding something to your water for electrolytes is not a bad idea. Just find something that you can stomach whilst riding. Everyone is different on that.

notwist

i usually add maltodextrin and nuun tablets depending on the temperature. it's an easy way to carry calories on the bike without stuffing your pockets full of rice cakes and bananas. i've also tried adding BCAAs to my water on long endurance rides but haven't experimented enough to ascertain whether they helped or not.