What do you do with yours?

Redsteveb

I did the Bristol to Clevedon ride on Sunday as part of an event organised by the City Council to promote cycling.

The route was not a long one, about 40 miles and not too taxing but the weather was very hot.

Usually I take a couple of energy bars along with a bottle of water and another of fruit squash. Anyway the day before the ride my wife was shopping and picked up 3 energy gels as they were on offer in our local Go Outdoors store...she thought they'd be handy for the ride.

Anyway, I've never tried them before but took a couple with me along with my usual bars.

So, about 45 minutes into the ride, I thought I'd give one a go whilst on the move. Ripped the top off and stuck it into my mouth....not the most pleasant tasting things I would admit, and made me gag a little so I held it in my left hand whilst trying to grab a bottle with my right to wash it down a little.

Anyway I'd obviously not finished the entire sachet as some of the gloop was now over my fingers, mitts and hood and boy is that stuff sticky...

So there I am, half empty gel sachet held in my left hand, with a fair proportion of the contents smeared on the bars/hood.

I decide not to finish it, but here's the dilema...what to do with the sachet? I didn't want to throw it on the floor, but likewise I didn't want to put it into one of my jersey pockets for fear of the remaining goo leaking out and making the rest of the ride sticky and uncomfortable.

Without a bin around I just threw the damn thing into some long grass, which I feel really guilty about as I detest littering of any kind.

My question is, if you use them (and I guess a lot of you do), then do you throw them away when on the move or put them somewhere for disposal later, or do you wait until a break to down one and put the empty sachet in a bin.

Anonymous

I tuck my empty wrappers into the leg of my bibshorts

Philby

With gels it is recommended to get and try out ones that you like and don't gag on, and also that don't upset your stomach, so that you can consume the whole sachet.

I generally put the empty wrapper in my jersey pocket until I get home or until an appropriate stopping point where there may be a bin - even if you get some of the contents on your clothing you will probably put it in the wash after the ride.

On the other hand many people who do sportives seem to leave a little trail on the road - you could almost do the Dragon Ride by following the empty High5 sachets on the road instead of the official signs

rolf_f

No excuse at all for littering with them; the state of the roads after big sportives is a disgrace; who is going to remove your litter for you?

Anyway, I prefer the thicker ones like Zipfit as you don't have to consume them all at once (or at least you can avoid making a mess if you don't!); squash the gel towards the back of the tube and roll them up with the open end on the inside.

Goo or not, I can't see why you wouldn't put them in your jersey pocket. Chances are it might make the inside of the pocket sticky but it would have to work through to the outside and then through your bibs to get to your skin. Seems unlikely though you do deserve it

And you do get the hang of how to hold a half empty gel without spraying the rest of the contents everywhere!

Incidentally, most people seem to recommend not to use gels until you really need to - eg back end of a long ride. After 45 minutes, you should still be able to manage on solid food and energy drink.