Gels

ben@31

6 gels in 70 miles

Having once cycled for over 2 hours on an empty stomach and without eating anything, I learned what it feels like to bonk in the middle of nowhere and when you really need a gel.

Now I carry one or two gels as an emergency if I end up feeling in absolute rag order. From my experience, I reckon I have enough blood sugar reserves for between 1 hour 30 mins and 2 hours of hard cycling, only after that do I need to think about gels.

Consuming them at a more frequent rate would just be expensive!

Just like Isotonic drinks, I'm a bit sceptical of wether I actually need them at my level and if they are just a marketing trick to make money for SiS, Lucozade, etc.

Rather bizarrely, on friday I found a discarded gel packet no more than 100 metres from the housing where I live. Surely they didn't need it that close to home. From there I could have safely took my time and crawled back.

iand-83

I like the idea of Jelly Babies over the gel packs but one thing has me thinking, supermarket own brand or do they have to be Bassett's?

suzyb

Iand-83 wrote:

I like the idea of Jelly Babies over the gel packs but one thing has me thinking, supermarket own brand or do they have to be Bassett's?

And can they be mini jelly babies or do they have to be full sized

mrfpb

My personal unscientific theory about the preference for jelly babies is:

they have a nice powdery coating that makes them stay dry and easy to handle longer than other gel sweets,
as others have said they are also a lot easier to chew than some other sweets, especially when your mouth is dry,
they are big enough to fish out of a pocket without getting too fiddly - unlike jelly beans

I used to use two gels an hour after the first hour of a ride, but realised it was too much. Never had an tummy trouble with gels though, and will still carry a few on a long ride just in case (there's no cake stop).

markhewitt1978

I did a ride yesterday where I just had some jellies in my right hand pocket. Worked really well because I could have 1 or 2 every few minutes while riding instead of stopping to have a gel or flapjack. Meant I kept topped up through the entire ride and I avoided the mid ride lul I would often get before.

drlodge

Iand-83 wrote:

I like the idea of Jelly Babies over the gel packs but one thing has me thinking, supermarket own brand or do they have to be Bassett's?

Tesco jelly babies are waayyy cheaper and I can't tell the difference. Think they were on offer, 3 packets for £2 or some rediculous price.

drlodge

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I did a ride yesterday where I just had some jellies in my right hand pocket. Worked really well because I could have 1 or 2 every few minutes while riding instead of stopping to have a gel or flapjack. Meant I kept topped up through the entire ride and I avoided the mid ride lul I would often get before.

I did a similar ride on Saturday, 60 miles to my Dad's and just had 1 litre isotonic and jelly babies (no flapjack as would be usual). The great thing is, as you say, you can have them little and often. I cut the packet at the top of the remaining JBs and put this in my rear jersey pocket (left side for me), it worked great - didn't get sticky over the jersey pockets and could quite easily get my fingers in to find the JBs. I've used bigger bags before (pastic and paper) and the top of the bag folds over making access difficult.

keef66

I prefer Waitrose own brand jelly babies. The biggest problem is knowing they are in the cupboard and trying not to eat them when I'm just mooching round the house.

markhewitt1978

keef66 wrote:

knowing they are in the cupboard and trying not to eat them when I'm just mooching round the house.

That's my main problem full stop, that and all sorts of snacks. Why is why I can't lose weight

the playing mantis

Grill wrote:

6 gels in 70 miles is ridiculous...

indeed, as i said in my response on p1, but no one else, bar you, seems to have mentioned this.

OP if you are having 6 gels in 70 miles, you need to sort it out. that aint right.

simonhead

Gels are OK but i see them as a quick fix if in trouble, some of them are truly rank (if you get a gel flask they arent difficult to make yourself and taste a darn site better) The inlaws go to the cash n carry quite regularly so i get them to pick me up a box of the red n black berry jellies or rowntrees randoms. Used to like bursting bugs as well but they dont do them any more.

suzyb

markhewitt1978 wrote:

keef66 wrote:

knowing they are in the cupboard and trying not to eat them when I'm just mooching round the house.

That's my main problem full stop, that and all sorts of snacks. Why is why I can't lose weight

+1

slowbike

markhewitt1978 wrote:

keef66 wrote:

knowing they are in the cupboard and trying not to eat them when I'm just mooching round the house.

That's my main problem full stop, that and all sorts of snacks. Why is why I can't lose weight

Ride hungry - you won't be as fast but the fast will encourage your body to burn fat ... best to do it before breakfast.

Then, when you get back in (or to work) down a bottle of water/iso drink to replace the fluids - which also fills you up so you're not tempted to eat as much.

For me the best way to loose weight was to remain a little hungry.... hard, but it worked.

markhewitt1978

Slowbike wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

keef66 wrote:

knowing they are in the cupboard and trying not to eat them when I'm just mooching round the house.

That's my main problem full stop, that and all sorts of snacks. Why is why I can't lose weight

Ride hungry - you won't be as fast but the fast will encourage your body to burn fat ... best to do it before breakfast.

Then, when you get back in (or to work) down a bottle of water/iso drink to replace the fluids - which also fills you up so you're not tempted to eat as much.

For me the best way to loose weight was to remain a little hungry.... hard, but it worked.

Yeah, I've been doing that. I normally ride 40-50 miles on the weekend. But once or twice a week I do an hours ride in the morning, and I get up and do that with no breakfast, but then eat my normal food during the day.

slowbike

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

keef66 wrote:

knowing they are in the cupboard and trying not to eat them when I'm just mooching round the house.

That's my main problem full stop, that and all sorts of snacks. Why is why I can't lose weight

Ride hungry - you won't be as fast but the fast will encourage your body to burn fat ... best to do it before breakfast.

Then, when you get back in (or to work) down a bottle of water/iso drink to replace the fluids - which also fills you up so you're not tempted to eat as much.

For me the best way to loose weight was to remain a little hungry.... hard, but it worked.

Yeah, I've been doing that. I normally ride 40-50 miles on the weekend. But once or twice a week I do an hours ride in the morning, and I get up and do that with no breakfast, but then eat my normal food during the day.

But do you spend any time feeling hungry?
I didn't need to loose much - a stone was/is enough - and although "active" I didn't do much riding before. Increasing the exercise whilst remaining hungry shifted the weight pdq ...

Schoie81

drlodge wrote:

t4tomo wrote:

A gel every 10 miles is a tad excessive!
proper food ie. flapjack or jelly babies etc are far better than gels anyway, gels are a bit like bit fits -- the emporers new clothes.

Who mentioned a gel every 10 minutes?.

No-one!! They mentioned a gel every 10 miles!! The OP said he used 6 gels on a 70mile ride - so assuming they were used evenly throughout the ride, that's one every 10miles.

markhewitt1978

Slowbike wrote:

But do you spend any time feeling hungry?
I didn't need to loose much - a stone was/is enough - and although "active" I didn't do much riding before. Increasing the exercise whilst remaining hungry shifted the weight pdq ...

I'm always hungry!

diamonddog

HERE'S ONE FOR THE NUTRITIONISTS
Jelly Babies = Gelatin = No to vegetarian on a bike- What options? :shock:

Grill

diamonddog wrote:

HERE'S ONE FOR THE NUTRITIONISTS
Jelly Babies = Gelatin = No to vegetarian on a bike- What options? :shock:

Medjool dates are king, but any other variety will do.

diamonddog

Grill wrote:

diamonddog wrote:

HERE'S ONE FOR THE NUTRITIONISTS
Jelly Babies = Gelatin = No to vegetarian on a bike- What options? :shock:

Medjool dates are king, but any other variety will do.

Cheers but don't like dates :oops: was thinking more of the sweetie options.

Grill

I'm guessing you've never had a Medjool date. They taste like caramel.

Barring that other dried fruit will do the job.