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Category Archives: Sports Nutrition

Carbohydrates, protein supplements, and muscle recovery products for cycling and endurance sports

2nd Surge Ultra Energy Gel

Hopefully you’ve gotten the word by now that on long bike rides you need to consume protein in addition to carbohydrates if you want to avoid muscle and brain fatigue (better known to cyclists as bonking or hitting the wall). To paraphrase a familiar verse of the Bible, “Cyclists do not live by carbohydrates alone.” One of the easiest ways to get the needed protein is to buy a carbohydrate gel with protein already in it. Unfortunately, most energy gels that include protein taste rather dreadful. A couple of years ago PacificHealth Laboratories (the creators of Accelerade) introduced 2nd Surge Ultra Energy Gel and it not only tastes great, but has carbohydrates, electrolytes, proteins, caffeine and antioxidants.

2nd Surge Ultra Energy Gel

I always carry a few packages of 2nd Surge with me on longer rides. The truth is that I was hooked with the first package I tried! The chocolate gel is very smooth and has a rich chocolate flavor. Most (but not all) of the other chocolate gels I’ve tried over the years tasted like artificial chocolate, but 2nd Surge is the real deal. Each package of 2nd Surge has 90 calories and includes 18g of carbohydrate, 3g of protein and 100mg of caffeine.

2nd Surge is an all-natural energy gel. I hate giving a long list of ingredients in a product review, but the ingredient list in 2nd Surge is rather impressive. The ingredients include: Agave Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Sugar, Water, Whey Protein Isolate, Glycerin, Pea Protein Isolate, Cocoa, Natural Flavors, Green Tea Extract, d-alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Salt, Grape, Pomegranate, Mangosteen, Goji Berry, Blueberry, Chokeberry, Cranberry, Apple and Bilberry Extracts.

At the moment this product is only available in two flavors: Chocolate and Double Expresso. I love the chocolate gel and the local bike shop always keeps it in stock for me. For the record, I did not try the Double Expresso, mainly because I have never been a fan of any food product that has the word expresso (or espresso) in the title. I hope PacificHealth Laboratories adds a few new flavors before long.

A box of eight packages of 2nd Surge retails for $16 and is available on the PacificHealth Laboratories Website. On the other hand, you could just have your local bike shop order it for you—you will pay the same price but will save the cost of shipping. In addition, your local bike shop might be willing to keep this product in stock for you as well!

14 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on April 29, 2013 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, nutrition, protein, recovery, triathlete

What Is In Your Vitamin Supplements?

18 Mar

It is with great fear and trembling that I approach today’s subject, i.e., vitamin supplements. It seems like every time I mention vitamin supplements I make someone upset—so here is the deal: If you think vitamin and nutritional supplements are a waste of time and money then please stop reading this article and come back in a few days when I have another product review. However, if you do take supplements then this article will probably be of interest to you. In an ideal world we would be able to get all of our needed vitamins and minerals through a normal, healthy diet. Sadly, I’ve never met anyone who has been to that ideal world, so, like many of you, I take a handful of supplements every day.

What Is In Your Vitamin Supplements?

The problem many of us have with taking supplements is finding a place where we can read current, accurate information about the quality, dosage, and side effects of the vitamins we take. For the past several years I have subscribed to ConsumerLab.com, an “impartial and independent third-party evaluator of health and nutrition products.” To put it simply, ConsumerLab.com tests many different brands of supplements and then makes a report about how each brand stacks up. It is amazing to me how many times a company will sell of bottle of vitamins that claims, for example, to have 100 mg of vitamin C in each tablet, but after testing it is revealed that each that it only has 60 mg. of vitamin C per tablet. ConsumerLab.com recently reviewed nearly fifty different brands of Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) and they found one brand that only had 3.8% of the amount of CoQ-10 that was listed on the label! However, under-reporting the active ingredients is only half of the story—many supplements also contain contaminates! Do you really want to take a vitamin supplement that has lead in it?

In addition to rating the contents of the supplements, ConsumerLab.com also does a price comparison for all the brands they review. One of the biggest things I’ve learned from reading their reviews is that the price of a supplement has almost no correlation to the quality. Sometimes the most expensive brand of a certain vitamin will fail their tests, but one of the cheapest brands will pass with flying colors. Before they give you the test results for any vitamin or supplement they reviewed, ConsumerLab.com will also tell you what the vitamin is supposed to do and how they evaluated to product.

The membership fee to join ConsumerLab.com is $33 a year and this gives you access to all of their reviews (and there are a lot of them). I realize that many people will think $33 for an online subscription is pretty expensive, but that price is nothing compared to what some people spend on vitamins that are mislabeled, missing key ingredients or contain hazardous additives. As regular readers know, there are very few products that I have ever placed in the “highly recommended” category, but a subscription to ConsumerLab.com is definitely one of them.

43 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on March 18, 2013 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, fitness, nutrition, sports, vitamins

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery by Sage Roundtree

19 Dec

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery

I am always amazed by cyclists and other endurance athletes who spend thousands of dollars buying the best equipment so they can get a competitive edge in their next race, but then neglect the steps necessary to help them recover faster after the event. A great bike ride doesn’t begin when you put your Lycra on—it actually started the moment finished your last ride. If you would like to improve your athletic performance I would highly recommend you buy a copy of The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery by Sage Roundtree (VeloPress, 2011).

This book is divided into three sections. The first section is rather short and deals with how we measure and define recovery. The second section is the heart of the book and deals with specific recovery techniques, such as nutrition, hydration, supplements, sleep, massage and other recovery aids. The third and final section discusses how to put all the pieces together.

One of the most valuable sections of the book is the one on Nutrition And Hydration (chapter 9). Most athletes have heard of the recovery window (AKA, the glycogen synthesis window). This window is the short period of time after exercise when, if you follow the right steps, your body can quickly absorb nutrients and give a jump-start to your recovery process. Consuming the right amounts of carbohydrates and protein after exercise will replenish your energy stores and help rebuild muscle fiber. I was surprised to find out that “female cyclists responded very differently than male cyclists when they ingested a recovery snack containing protein” after exercise. In addition, if you are a vegetarian you need to pay special attention to your protein intake since plant proteins are not digested the same way as animal proteins.

The section of the book on Technological Aids (chapter 13) discusses products like therapeutic ultrasound devices and electrostimulation (E-stim). A few years ago I bought both an ultrasound device and an E-stim unit and they make a world of difference in my recovery time. However, I know of very few cyclists who have invested in these devices—even though they are both cheaper than a good saddle.

If you suffer from muscle pain very often you are going to appreciate the section on Self-Massage (chapter 15). Not only does this chapter explain the importance of foam rollers and beaded sticks, but it shows you how to use them properly. You can buy a foam roller at most sporting good stores for around $30, and if you follow the instructions given in the book you can massage your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and IT bands and you will feel like a new person in just 15 minutes or so.

This paperback book is loaded with charts, graphs and tables (for my fellow visual learners). This book is very well documented and illustrated. There are some chapters that will probably tell you more than you want to know, but I am one of those people who likes to see authors “prove their work.”

Like most amateur cyclists, I’ve never had a coach or fitness instructor and everything I know about muscle recovery had to be learned the hard way. If I could have found a book like this ten years ago it would have saved me from a lot of grief and pain.

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery is 248 pages long and retails for $19, but Amazon.com sells it for under $13. If I haven’t convinced you yet that you need this book, you can download a free preview of The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery from the VeloPress Website (see link the bottom of that page). The preview is a small PDF booklet that contains the table of contents, preface, and first chapter of the book, along with a few other sections.

31 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on December 19, 2012 in Book Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, fitness, health, recovery

Vi Fuel (Product Review And Giveaway)

16 Nov

When companies ask me to review one of their products I always tell them that it takes about 30 days for me to evaluate the product and publish the article. Last week I was sent a few boxes of Vi Fuel Endurance Gel to review and it only took one bike ride for me form an opinion about the gel—it’s great! In fact, I started writing the review in my mind halfway through the ride. Let’s cut to the chase: Vi Fuel is a great tasting energy gel that is easy on the stomach and delivers a steady stream of carbohydrates to your body. At the end of this article I’ll tell you how to get a great discount on Vi Fuel so you can try it for yourself—and some lucky reader will end up with a three free boxes of Vi Fuel (see details below).

Vi Fuel Endurance Gel

Vi Fuel is a carbohydrate gel designed for endurance athletes like cyclists, triathletes and runners. Vi Endurance, the company that makes the gel, is fairly new so don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of them before. They spent a lot of time researching what it takes for athletes to achieve optimal performance and I believe they have developed a product every endurance athlete needs to try.

One package (32g) of Vi Fuel delivers 100 calories with 23g of carbohydrates. The main source of carbohydrate is maltodextrin, and dextrose is the secondary carb source. This blend of carbs makes for very easy digestion. A lot of energy gels just fill you up with simple sugars that gives you a quick burst of energy, followed by a crash, and ending up with stomach distress. The Vi Endurance Website claims that Vi Fuel “has allowed people with Crohn’s Disease to resume training, as their systems can handle the digestion process of Vi Fuel with no trouble.” Each package of Vi Fuel also has a small amount of taurine, citrulline malate, magnesium aspartate, and potassium aspartate to reduce muscle fatigue and aid in muscle recovery.

Vi Fuel has the consistency (or viscosity) of honey and is available in three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Peach Cobbler. Since I am a cyclist and not a food critic I always dread attempting to describe the flavor of food products, but let me try. The chocolate gel is made with pure, organic cocoa powder and has a smooth chocolate flavor—it tastes like dark chocolate. The vanilla gel is made with real vanilla—not the cheap imitation vanilla a lot of companies use. The peach cobbler gel is my favorite and it is made with organic peach extract (and a hint of cinnamon).

When the folks at Vi Endurance first approached me about writing a review they asked if I would be willing to include a special discount code in the review for my readers. They also inquired about me offering a product giveaway (something I’ve never done before). However, I did not want to commit to either of their offers until I tried their product. Now that I’ve had a chance to use Vi Fuel on several rides I am willing to highly recommend to other athletes (if you’ve read many of my reviews you know I seldom “highly recommend” anything). So here’s the deal: Vi Fuel is not available at many bike shops yet, so the best way to order it is from their Website. A box of 24 packages of gel sells for $32 (a very competitive price). When you place your order just enter the code listed in the graphic above and you will receive a 25% discount on your first two orders (sales tax is added only for orders shipped to a Colorado address). The discount code is placed inside the graphic to keep Google from reading it and giving it to the whole world. It is obvious that the code can be traced back to this blog, but I assure you that I have absolutely no financial interest in the company. For those not familiar with this blog, I have no sponsors, paid links or advertising.

Special Discount Code Listed Above

Now for the product giveaway! Vi Endurance is going to give one box of each flavor (three boxes total) of Vi Fuel to the winner of this contest. To enter all you have to do is pick a number between 1 and 200 and enter it in the comment section below (you don’t actually have to make a comment). On November 30, 2012 I am going to have a friend of mine, a local business owner, use of random number generator to pick the winning number. If no one has the exact number the person with the number closest to, but not over, the winning number will get the box of Vi Fuel. In case two or more people chose the same number the first person to pick the number will be the winner. This contest is for U.S. residents only and only one entry per household allowed. When the contest is over I will publish the results in the comments section of this article.

55 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on November 16, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, carbohydrates, cycling, endurance, fitness, health, sports

Honey Stinger Energy Bars

31 Oct

Honey Stinger nutritional products have been a part of every single bike ride I’ve taken in the past few years. Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels are the only carbohydrate gels I ever buy, and the highly addictive Honey Stinger Waffles go with me on every ride. After a bike ride I always need some protein, and the Honey Stinger Protein Bar is the only protein bar I ever buy (the Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond is simply awesome).

Honey Stinger Energy Bars

The folks at Honey Stinger recently sent me a box of one of their newest products to review, the Honey Stinger Energy Bars. While these bars are not strictly either carbohydrate or protein bars, if you enjoy natural food products I think you will find a place for them in your pantry. These bars are made with over 30% honey and offer 10g of protein, along with 22 vitamins and minerals, calcium, and antioxidants. These energy bars average about 180 calories per bar, and 30 to 50 of those calories are from fat. All Honey Stinger energy bars are Kosher certified (OU-D).

I sampled each of the four original Honey Stinger Energy Bar flavors (Peanut Butter’n Honey, Berry Banana Buzz, Apple Cinnamon and Rocket Chocolate). While I liked all of them, the Berry Banana Buzz was my favorite. Honey Stinger has recently introduced a new flavor, Blueberry Buzz, but I have not tried that flavor yet.

I mainly use these bars as a between-meal snack—they are also great to take to the movies with you! While you might also use them during exercise, I need to mention one thing that might impact cyclists in particular. Both the Peanut Butter’n Honey and the Rocket Chocolate have a chocolate coating on the bottom of them, while the Berry Banana and the Blueberry Buzz have a yogurt coated bottom. These coatings have a fairly low melting point and if your store the bars in one of your back jersey pockets (like most of us do) then this coating is going to melt. Therefore, it would be best to keep these bars in a seat bag or top tube bag while cycling.

Anytime I review food products I like to give the ingredients list. I am not going to give the list for each flavor, but I will give it for my favorite, the Berry Banana Buzz Energy Bar. Ingredients: Honeystinger (Honey, Sea Salt, Water); Honeystinger Fruitsmoothie Blend (Apple, Banana, Cranberry, Strawberry Bits & Honey); Almonds; Soy Nuggets (Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Malt, Salt); Coating (Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Yogurt Powder {Cultured Whey Protein In Concentrate, Cultured Skim Milk and Yogurt Culture} Non-fat Dry Milk Solids, Soya Lecithin {an emulsifier} and Natural Flavor); Soy Protein Isolate; Vitamins and Minerals.

Honey Stinger Energy Bars retail for $25 for a box of 15. Because retail shelf space is always limited, I doubt if you find this product at your local bike shop. However, it is available from Amazon.com and from the Honey Stinger Online Store.

17 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on October 31, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, carbohydrates, cycling, fitness, health, honey, protein

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

17 Oct

I am a distance cyclist and usually consume 250 to 300 calories per hour while cycling (and burn around 1,100 calories an hour). The food products I take with me on rides have to be compact and taste good. I also like to have a bit of variety in my food and therefore I use products from several different companies. A few years ago Jelly Belly, the world-famous manufacturer of jelly beans, came out with Jelly Belly Sport Beans, a nutritional product for athletes. When the product was introduced it contained high fructose corn syrup so I didn’t even try it. However, once Jelly Belly switched to all natural ingredients I tried them out and am glad I did! While Jelly Belly Sport Beans will never be the only carbohydrate product I consume, I now take a package with me on just about every ride.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

If you have never tried Jelly Belly Sport Beans then you are missing a real treat! I rotate through a dozen or so carbohydrate products while cycling (not all at the same time), and I can tell you that Jelly Belly Sport Beans have the most robust flavor of any of the products I use.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans come in six flavors (Orange, Berry, Lemon Lime, Fruit Punch, Watermelon, Cherry). Two of the flavors (Watermelon and Cherry) contain caffeine. Anytime I review nutritional products I like to list the ingredients, and since the Cherry flavor is my favorite I’ll give you the ingredients list for it: Evaporated cane juice, tapioca syrup, and cherry juice from concentrate. It also contains 2% or less of the following ingredients: natural flavor, thiamine hydrochloride (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacinamide (vitamin B3), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), citric acid, citrus pectin, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, sodium lactate, black carrot (color), black currant (color), grape skin extract (color), apple (color), purple carrot (color), hibiscus (color), beeswax, carnauba wax, confectioner’s glaze, salt, and caffeine.

Each one-ounce package of Jelly Belly Sport Beans has 100 calories. Every serving also provides 25 grams of carbohydrates, 80mg of sodium, 40mg of potassium, along with a small dose of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C. This product is also Certified Kosher (Orthodox Union).

At one time Jelly Belly Sport Beans were made with corn syrup, but that has been replaced with evaporated cane juice. For me this is a big deal—I refuse to buy any product that contains high fructose corn syrup. Jelly Belly has also switched to all natural ingredients for the coloring used in these beans. These beans are coated with beeswax and carnauba wax. You might think these waxes are just for making with beans shine (which they do), but the advantage is that your fingers will not get sticky while eating these beans even on a hot day (due to the high melting point of carnauba wax).

The only thing I do not like about Jelly Belly Sport Beans is the packaging—they are very difficult to open while on the bike. These packages come with a resealable top and to me this is totally unnecessary since they only contain 100 calories per package.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans retail for around $1.25 per package, but you can usually save a lot of money by buying them in bulk (24 packages). If your local bike shop does not give you a discount for buying in quantity then you should shop for them on Amazon.com.

39 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on October 17, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, nutrition, sports, triathlon

Bonk Breaker Gluten Free Energy Bars

26 Sep

One day back in the spring I walked into the local bike shop and one of the owners tossed me a small package and told me to try it out. When I looked at the package it had the name Bonk Breaker on the front—it was a product I had never heard of before, but have since become very well acquainted with. In fact, if you ride very much at all you need to get acquainted with them as well.

Bonk Breaker Gluten Free Energy Bars

Bonk Breaker is an all-natural energy and protein bar that is made without dairy, gluten or soy products. These bars are designed for endurance athletes (cyclists, runners, etc.). I have only tried four of the ten flavors of Bonk Breaker that are available, but they have all be simply delicious so far. The ten flavors available are: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Peanut Butter & Jelly (High Protein), Almond Cherry Chunk (High Protein), Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip, Apple Pie, Blueberry Oat, Espresso Chip, Almond Butter & Honey, Peanut Butter & Banana, and Fig.

This would be a very long review if I gave you the ingredients list for each of the bars, so let me just list the ingredients for the Apple Pie Bonk Breaker (my favorite) so you can get a general idea of what they contain. Ingredients: Rice Nectar, Organic Gluten Free Oats, Honey, Coconut Oil, Brown Rice Flour, Non-GMO Brown Rice Protein, Apples, (Freeze Dried Apples), Brown Rice Crisps (Brown Rice, Rice Nectar, Sea Salt), Ground Chia Seed, Ground Cinnamon, Natural Apple Flavor, and Sea Salt. One 2.2 ounce bar has 250 calories (72 from fat), and has 34g of carbohydrates, 7g of protein, and 4g of dietary fiber.

Do you need Bonk Breaker energy bars? Well, it depends on how far you ride your bike. On short rides (anything under two hours) you would probably be just fine with carbohydrate gels and/or energy drinks. However, it is very rare for me to go on a bike ride that lasts less than two hours so I nearly always take a Bonk Breaker or two with me. After two hours of exercise your body needs some protein, and one regular Bonk Breaker bar has around 7 grams (the High Protein bars have even more). By the time I’ve been on my bike for three hours I want something that tastes and feels like real food—and Bonk Breaker fits the bill perfectly. These bars are soft, full of flavor, and taste great.

Because I am a distance cyclist I sometimes have to take over 2,000 calories worth of food products with me on a ride, and because I like variety I never confine myself to using just one brand of energy product. However, Bonk Breaker is one of the few “must have” foods I take with me on nearly every ride.

Bonk Breaker Energy Bars retail for around $25 for a box of 12 and if your local bike shop does not have them in stock I am sure they can order them for you. You can also order these bars from the Bonk Breaker Online Store and other online retailers, such as Amazon.com, REI, and Colorado Cyclist.

33 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on September 26, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, fitness, nutrition

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels

11 Jul

Cyclists burn a lot of carbohydrates during a long ride and if you want to finish under your own power you need to replace some of those carbs during the ride. Honey is my favorite source of carbohydrates since it offers a perfect blend of both simple and complex carbs which prevents the energy “spike, crash and burn” that you get from most “energy gels.”

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels

The folks at Honey Stinger recently sent me a few packages of their new Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels. I am not a tofu-eating vegetarian. However, when given a choice, I will choose organic food every time. This is especially true when it comes to the food I eat while cycling. I’ve found that natural ingredients are easily digested and quickly absorbed into the body. Energy gels that contain a lot of chemicals make me feel uncomfortable while cycling.

The new Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels are available in three flavors (Vanilla, Fruit Smoothie, and Acai & Pomegranate). The Fruit Smoothie has a mild strawberry flavor. The Vanilla gel has a strong, but not overpowering, vanilla flavor, and the Acai & Pomegranate tastes like fresh Acai berries, but I couldn’t really taste the Pomegranate. However, the Acai & Pomegranate is my favorite flavor and after eating just one package of it I ordered an entire box of these gels.

The ingredients list for the Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels is about as simple as you can get: Organic tapioca syrup, organic honey, water, potassium citrate, natural flavor, citric acid, and sodium chloride. Each one-ounce (32g) package provides 100 calories with 23g of carbohydrates. Each serving also has 50mg of sodium and 50mg of potassium—the essential electrolytes that cyclists need during a ride. This product is made with 95% USDA-certified organic ingredients and they are also gluten-free.

Honey Stinger has offered Energy Gels for several years and the original flavors of those gels are still available and are now referred to as their Classic Energy Gels. The classic flavors (Gold, Ginsting, Banana, Chocolate and Strawberry) are made with pure honey, along with sodium, potassium, B complex vitamins and all-natural flavors. The Strawberry and Ginsting flavors contain natural caffeine. I like all the original flavors and usually order them in a box of 24 assorted flavor gels.

Can you really tell the difference between the Classic Energy Gels and the new Organic Energy Gels? Yes, but the difference in taste has nothing to do with the organic ingredients—the tapioca syrup in the new gels make for a much smoother product. As much as I like the Honey Stinger gels, they are never going to be my only source of food while on a long ride. However, I do take them with me on every ride. These gels are absorbed quickly into the body and just a few minutes after ingestion it feels like someone kicked on the afterburners.

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels retail for $1.35 per package, or $32.40 for a box of 24. If your local bike does not carry these gels yet they would be glad to order them for you. I’ve found that most local bike shops are willing to give you a decent discount if you buy three boxes of nutritional products at the same time—and you won’t have to pay for shipping! These gels are also available from R.E.I. and from the Honey Stinger Website.

14 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on July 11, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, carbohydrates, cycling, endurance, honey, nutrition, organic

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes

09 Jul

Cool Off Quick Chill Citrus Ice Towelettes

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes

For the past few weeks the weather in the Upper Midwest has been absolutely brutal for cyclists—even if you leave very early in the morning the temperature has hovered around 100 degrees (F) by the time you get home. While there are several ways to keep cool on a ride, I’ve recently started using the Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes and they have been a real lifesaver! The single-use Cool Off packets are individually wrapped and are about the same size as a Wet-Nap (2.5″ width x 3.5″ height folded; 6×6″ unfolded).

The instructions for using the Cool Off towelettes are given on the back of each package: “For maximum cooling: Remove towelette and shake lightly. Then press on the back of your neck, inner arms, or back of knees for several seconds to allow the herbal infusion to fully penetrate and build the chill. To reactivate the cool, splash a little water on the skin where you used the towelette.”

The manufacturer claims that “Cool Off can lower the user’s surface skin temperature up to 12 degrees F., maintaining the coolness for over 60 minutes.” After using the product for several weeks I have to agree with their assessment.

Last week we had three straight days with temperatures of over 100 degrees (F) and a friend of mine had the air conditioner in her house break, but decided to stay there anyway. I gave her a couple Cool Off towelettes and the next day she told me the towelettes worked great—and then asked me for a few more of them!

The ingredients list for these towelettes includes Witch Hazel Extract, Alcohol, and Glycerin along with the following extracts: Aloe Vera, Arnica, Sea Weed, Chamomile Flower, Lemon Peel, Red Clover, St John’s Wort, Oat Kernel, Flaxseed, Fennel, Evening Primrose, Wild Yam, Tea Tree, Black Cohosh Root, White Tea Leaf, and natural or organic fixatives (Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butyparaben), Menthol, and Fragrance.

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes are available in several sizes, including packages of 24, 40 or 100. I purchased a bin of 100 towelettes from Amazon.com for $47 and the order was fulfilled by First Aid Global Wholesale. The towelettes are made in USA.

One more note: I’ve read many reviews from women who claim that these towelettes work great for hot flashes caused by menopause. However, I have no way of verifying this claim on my own and am not dumb enough to ask any woman I know to try them out for that purpose.

14 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on July 9, 2012 in Health And Hygiene, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, sports, triathlete

Honey Stinger Protein Bar

29 Jun

My kind and gracious wife allowed me to take over one of her kitchen cabinets so I can store my nutritional products. The cabinet is 42″ wide and has three shelves. The top shelf is used to store two CamelBak hydration packs and over a dozen water bottles (some are insulated and others have special lids for different types of cycling). The bottom two shelves are used to store 20 to 30 boxes of the different carbohydrate products I eat while cycling (I buy my favorite products in bulk). While I use several different brands of carbohydrate products during a ride, I only keep one brand of protein bar in the cabinet for after a ride—the Honey Stinger Protein Bar.

Honey Stinger Protein Bar

Let’s make this easy—the Honey Stinger Protein Bar is absolutely the best tasting protein bar I’ve ever tried! These bars come in two sizes (10g or 20g of protein). These bars are made with over 30% USDA certified organic honey, either 10g or 20g of high quality whey protein isolate, 22 vitamins and minerals, calcium and antioxidants.

Cyclists usually eat protein bars immediately after a ride to aid in muscle recovery. The problem is that most protein bars are simply dreadful! However, the 10g Honey Stinger Protein Bars are so delicious you will find yourself craving them. When I am running late in the morning I eat these bars for breakfast, and they are my favorite snack at the movies (I can’t watch a movie without one). One warning: the chocolate layer on the outside of these bars has a low melting point, so don’t leave them in a hot car or the chocolate will melt (it will still taste good though).

In the past year I’ve bought over a dozen boxes of these bars—all in the Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond flavor. I knew Honey Stinger made other flavors, but this one is so good I never even thought about buying any other flavor. A few weeks ago the good folks at Honey Stinger sent me samples of the other flavors for review purposes, and while I liked all of them, the Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond is in a class all by itself—it is simply awesome! You can actually see (and taste) bits of dried sour cherries in the bar.

The 10g Honey Stinger Protein Bars are available in four flavors: Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond, Dark Chocolate Mint, and Chocolate Coated Peanut Butta. The 20g bars are only available in Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond and Chocolate Coated Peanut Butta.

The ingredients for each of these bars varies slightly, so I will just give the ingredients list for the Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond: Semisweet Dark Chocolate [Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Milk Fat, Soya Lecithin, and Vanilla]; Organic Honey; Whey Protein Isolate; Almond Butter; Dried Sour Cherries (Cherries, Apple Juice, Sunflower Oil); Almonds; Vitamins & Minerals [Dicalcium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Ascorbic Acid (Vit C), Alpha-tocopherol Acetate (Vit E), Biotin, Zinc Oxide, Niacin, Ferrous Fumarate (Iron), Molybdenum Glycinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper, Manganese, Beta Carotene (Vit A), Selenium, Pyridoxine (B6), Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Chromium, Cyanocobolamin (B12), Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide]; and Natural Flavor.

Honey Stinger Protein Bars are made with 25% organic ingredients. The are also made with gluten-free ingredients and contain no soy products. These bars are available at many local bike shops, REI stores, Amazon.com and from the Honey Stinger Website. The 10g Honey Stinger Protein Bars retail for $2.20 each, or in a box of 15 for under $33.

7 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on June 29, 2012 in Health And Hygiene, Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, honey, nutrition, protein, triathlete

All Seasons Cyclist

Category Archives: Sports Nutrition

2nd Surge Ultra Energy Gel

What Is In Your Vitamin Supplements?

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery by Sage Roundtree

Vi Fuel (Product Review And Giveaway)

Honey Stinger Energy Bars

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

Bonk Breaker Gluten Free Energy Bars

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes

Honey Stinger Protein Bar

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