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It's the plastic use which is why I swapped to making my own, using a soft flask is actually better as you can modulate how much you take. I make it for my GF too and she much prefers them as she never uses the full shop bought gel so she can have as much as she needs. I'm definitely not that accurate with my measurements, I follow the grams but just pour the salt in and hope for the best..... Also maybe test try the homemade ones for the TTs, you could definitely put the flask down the front of your skinsuit which could have some aero benefits depending on your body shape. One of my mates who's pro-conti does this and swears by the benefits although he never does 12hour TTs.
@frank9755 i'm definitely a fan of making a batch up for the weekend for the 2 days but now that I've got a multi day ride coming up I will stick to solids as you and hippy have mentioned. I've only done gels for a few hours at a time and not multi day races like you have and found my mouth is less than desirable.
What do you guys do about staying well? I'm the vitamins below and cold showers which has been working but I'm interested in what a lot more experienced people do.
My breakfast looked like the below today with a glass of OJ and a double espresso, does this mean I'm an endurance cyclist....
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Norfolkbound
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I stopped taking most supps - there's actually some evidence they do more harm than good.
Vit D is all I use nowadays (unless there's a specific issue, ie. I would use B12 again for nerve damage).
Although I'm still a big unit, I think my diet is much healthier than it used to be - I try to get more variety in my food and more fruit and veggies these days. Nuts and seeds too. All of these are my multivitamins. Less ice cream more fruit and yog. Less sweets more dark chocolate and dates.
There is some evidence for Zinc re: colds or upper respiratory stuff but I try not to get the cold in the first place by noting when I'm feeling run down and increasing rest and staying the fuck away from the Tube (easy with Covid lockdown).
Chocolate milk. I do still have bags of Torq recovery powder left over from when I used it a lot so I use that now and then after bigger sessions or if I know I'm doing back to back sessions. My on the bike eating has got pretty bad though since moving from x grams / hr of carbs to "whatever you can buy and carry from the gas station" hence looking into DIY gels again.
Oh, on longer, hotter ultras I might take electrolyte/salt pills with me. I don't really cramp these days but they're insurance against my heavy sweating.
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I've never got unwell on a long ride - usually feel great. Apart from being knackered, everything hurting, that is!
Pretty similar to @hippy
Some people do take vitamins. I think I might have read @skinny saying something about it (apols if not you - was someone at the top end of ultra world!) but I also only take vitamin D in normal life, and don't bother with it if I am going to be out on a bike in the sun all day.
Showers are great when you can find them but I prefer them to be warm!
I try and eat the best food I can. When racing it tends to be pretty poor, but the quantities are high so bound to get some vitamins if you eat enough of it. I eat a lot of cereal bars on the bike as good trade off between ease of carrying / eating on bike, carb-dense, reasonably nutritious esp if bits of fruit in them, ok flavour, etc. I always grab a sandwich if available when I stop. Byrek is great if in London or the Balkans but hard to find in between. Sometimes it has to be croissants, cakes chocolate bars and other junk as nothing else available. I don't think I've ever eaten a 7-days while stationary, though!
I use electrolyte powder if it's hot (>25). Carry a tiny bag of it with me and put a small pinch in each bottle.
The big risk I take is hand hygiene. Don't wear gloves unless cold which helps a bit as easier to wash / sanitise hands. But everything gets smeared on my bar tape.
hippy
frank9755
Do you have this with proper measurements? I love a recipe that uses grams and "1/32 tsp" haha
For 10 years now I've been thinking of making my own gels and I've never actually tried. But I'm trying to reduce my single-use plastic output so a bulk quantity in a squeezy bottle might work for 1-2 day rides. Need to find a source of maltodextrin and fructose though.
His recipe does seem quite high in Potassium relative to Sodium so I'd probably adjust that ratio.