SubscribeMike went to the Berkeley Performance Bicycle store, and was able to pick up some goodies. He did a fine job. He came home with Clif mini bars. The big bars are a bit much for me. When I go on really long runs or bike rides, the gels alone, don’t cut it. The big Clif bars are too much for me and hinder me from taking in enough gel. I really like the minis.
When I am doing a long, slow workout, I like to consume nutrients every 30-60 minutes after the first hour. It is a nice change to slip an extra bar in at 30 minutes then another gel at 30 minutes later.
He also brought home a flavor mix of GU energy gel. It comes complete with every flavor of GU including the higher-performance Roctane gels. If you have not tried the Roctane, I recommend it. We usually take every flavor at random and return the chocolate and espresso. We wait for a long 20 mile run to eat the chocolate or espresso because at mile 20, anything tastes good. I am a fan of the mixed packs of products. When you randomly pack your fanny pack with gels, you never know what you are going to get. It is always fun to get something different.
Mike’s Note: I also prefer Roctane over the normal GU gels, even though when he says “we” in the 20-mile run discussion, he really means “me.”
It may seem odd to mention both GU and Clif in the same shout out but they are both great companies with great people. Their products work very well together as variation is a big thing for proper nutrition during long training days. The two companies are located about 3 miles away from each other in Berkeley so we get to meet a lot of the people at the local events. I have never had a bad experience with anyone from either company. Both companies offer more support to events than they have to. I think they do it because they love what they do and they care about us athletes who use their products.
Mike’s Note #2: Unless you’re sponsored by a specific company, don’t feel like you need to show complete loyalty to a single company. Experiment. I really like Clif and its environmental views, but I’m not afraid to say I prefer the GU Roctane gels over the Clif gel. (That isn’t to say the Clif gels are bad, but the Roctane brand just has a great boost in it.)
