Gels / recovery drinks

[pepecat]

At the moment I take either water, or diltued orange juice out on a ride, with some jelly sweets to eat if i need them. When i get back from longer rides I sometimes have a 'for goodness shakes' drink, otherwise it's a pint of squash to rehydrate.
Am thinking of using some gels whilst out on longer rides - i know you can get some that you don't have to drink loads with, cos my brother uses them running. Are there any that are particularly good / bad? (I like berry flavours only....).
And are there better recovery drinks than 'for goodness shakes'? I only use them cos i was sent a freebie by wiggle and liked it!

 

[HLaB]

I think its a matter of try them and see, however I like the taste of Zipvit gels and they agree with my system. Its the same with recovery drinks, my self I've only used the torq stuff and again I like it and it agrees with me.

 

[Fletch456]

I like an orange one by SIS though there is a caveat. They can badly rot your teeth; try and drink and eat other things before you get to consuming gels - I view them as a treat ..I have to ...or really want to. I am currently reducing the amount I drink and using more water and less powder - using powder a little more judiciously and not using it no matter what distance the ride is. Though may be its a sign my fitness is improving if I dont want to use them so much.

 

[Rebel Ian]

A mate of mine raves about "For Goodness Shakes" as a recovery drink. I've ordered some from Wiggle to see if they work.

 

[amaferanga]

I buy flavoured whey protein powder from myprotein.co.uk and mix with water. Works for me and costs a fraction of the branded drinks.

As for gels - racing and emergencies only I say. On a normal ride normal food such as bananas, muesli bars and soreen should be sufficient.

 

[david k]

i take out breakfast bar
gels are easy, but any sugary drink gives you pretty much the same. i had these discussion years ago playing rugby. you eating was done 2 hours before, bananas and porridge, then lots of water, same at half time. after game lots of water and eat fruit as soon after the game as you can. we all struggled to eat for some reason

as high sugar can release insulin i was told it can slow you down if taken in too high a dose before a game, think of eating alot, you feel tired eh? if we hadnt eaten right we would use lucazade as a last resort

so for me, water and breakfast bar if im hungry, suppose jelly babies is good opion if tiring

 

[david k]

just another quick point, it also deends on what type of cycling your doing, i hame of rugby was always 80mins
is it a 5 mile sprint or 60 trip? youd need to adjust to suit

 

[chrishodges]

I have used both 'for goodness shakes' as a recovery drink and the SIS Rego.
I find that they both did a job but I prefer the taste of the SIS drink so use that.
As has been mentioned a couple of times gels I only use when i desperately need one as I find that they make me thirsty, but if I do use them I usually go for the SIS ones again!

Unfortunately it is a case of trial and error, and depends on taste and whether they agree with your insides!!

 

[Boyfrom64]

I realise what I am about to ask will be different for each person, but being a newbie I am keen to learn and digest (no pun intended) as much as I can.

Currently I am just up to riding 20 miles at a time and because I have not yet been out in when it has been too warm, I have still not felt the need to take on liquid whilst riding. I do make sure though, that before I go out I have had plenty to drink and fully hydrated.

I have read quite a lot about the importance to take on liquid and some form of food whilst riding, but after how many miles should I be doing this?

 

[pepecat]

I think as far as liquid goes, whenever you get a dry mouth / throat or feel thirsty. I quite often nip off for a quick 7 mile run and always take water with me as I find a get a very dry mouth or throat, so a mouthful of something usually sorts that out.
As for food....well, sometimes even on a short ride (20 miles) I'll take some sweets, just to give an extra boost chugging up hills, and also i figure it gets me used to taking in food on the run (or cycle).


David K - i'm doing longer trips - 60+ miles. Am quite happy to take flapjack etc with me... I guess it's more the recovery end of things I was querying, but i don't know if you guys take gels on those length rides anyway.

 

[david k]

eating why your excercising will help recovery afterwards pepecat, thats what i was taught many moons ago when playing rugby

 

[jay clock]

I am doing an Ironman so practising eating/drinking whilst training.

High 5 suits me. Hi 5 Zero for drinks on short rides (under one hour). High 5 4:1 for longer rides. Their Isogels are streets ahead of other brands - taste much more watery and do not need extra water with them. For cereal bars I was on Mule but now onto Clif and they are excellent

 

[jonbrackenridge]

With regards to not taking fluids on on "short rides" its a mistake, if you are for instance getting dry mouth, sticky lips etc then you are ALREADY dehydrated, you should always take a bottle with you and take small regular sips if nothing else, otherwise you make the mistake of getting the "dry mouth" etc and so gulping juice / water which then ends up "bloating" you so makes the problem worse lol. I always take 2 500ml bottles and even on rides of 20-25 miles i will empty one at least just from small often mouthfulls

 

[the_mikey]

Energy gels are a bit excessive unless you're racing or putting in a big effort (ie a sportive ride), better to take plenty to eat and an isotonic drink and make sure you drink regularly.

Drinks I've used:

SIS Go - Isotonic energy drink
Isostar Long Energy - Another isotonic energy drink

I've only used a recovery drink after a 60km ride.


I've not needed to use energy gels so far, but I do take flapjacks, soreen, bananas and jelly babies.

 

[yello]

With regards to not taking fluids on on "short rides" its a mistake, if you are for instance getting dry mouth, sticky lips etc then you are ALREADY dehydrated

Someone on here posted a link to a very interesting article (I'd post a link myself if I could remember who or where!) on hydration and thirst.

It basically concluded that the body has developed a pretty darned good method of keeping hydration balances right (because it's essential for it do so) and that drinking to thirst was the best way to maintain your hydration levels. They dismissed the old 'if you're thirsty, it's too late' adage as misrepresentation. Interestingly, they also suggested that regimented sipping every x minutes was not a good idea since you risk over-hydration! I can see the point since if I sip every 10 minutes I end up peeing every 20! 'Drink to thirst' they said.

I can see the sense but ask (in all seriousness) if we know when we are thirsty. Since the dry mouth and sticky lips described above are states we can all easily get to; as it seems we can not see the earlier signs of thirst.


As an aside question of interest to me, when people say their recovery drinks 'work', how do you know that? I used to drink chocolate milk as a recovery but stopped some months ago. I can't say I've noticed any difference (except for being lighter!).