Never Stop Cycling: Bespoke Energy Drink Mix

Ultra distance events have special needs beyond what a typical race or training ride needs. Supplementary carbs are imperative to make up the massive amount of energy used that would be impossible to replace with whole food. Sodium is needed to balance salt lost in sweat. Water drinking must balance lost sweat while avoiding hyponatremia. This video aims to help ultra distance cyclists develop an optimized dry drink mix to carry along and resupply on the road for those very, very long rides while meeting those tough demands.
Download Sweat Chart: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Download Drink Mix Calculator:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Key Reading:
Tiller, N. et al. (2019) International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing
Other sources in order of appearance (some cut from video in editing. Citations abridged for KZbin word limit):
Holland J. et al. (2017) The Influence of Drinking Fluid on Endurance Cycling Performance: A Meta-Analysis.
Lebus, D. et al. (2010) Can Changes in Body Mass and Total Body Water Accurately Predict Hyponatremia After a 161-km Running Race?
Hoffman, M.D. et al. (2012) Hyponatremia in the 2009 161-km Western States Endurance Run
Bouscaren, N. et al. (2019) Heat Stress Challenges in Marathon vs. Ultra-Endurance Running
Valenzuela, P. (2022) Ambient Temperature and Field-Based Cycling Performance: Insights From Male and Female Professional Cyclists
Armstrong, L. et al. (2016) COUNTERVIEW: Is Drinking to Thirst Adequate to Appropriately Maintain Hydration Status During Prolonged Endurance Exercise? No
Hoffman, M.D. et al. (2016) Is Sodium Supplementation Necessary to Avoid Dehydration During Prolonged Exercise in the Heat?
Knechtle, B. et al. (2019) Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia in Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Performance… A Narrative Review
Trommelen, J. et al. (2017) Fructose and Sucrose Intake Increase Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation during Exercise
Gonzalez, J. et al. (2017) Glucose Plus Fructose Ingestion for Post-Exercise Recovery-Greater than the Sum of Its Parts?
Jeukendrup, A. et al. (2009) Effect of beverage glucose and sodium content on fluid delivery
Rowlands, D. et al. (2015) Fructose-Glucose Composite Carbohydrates and Endurance Performance: Critical Review and Future Perspectives
Nikolaidis, P. et al. (2018) Nutrition in Ultra-Endurance: State of the Art
Podlogar, T & Wallis, G (2022) New Horizons in Carbohydrate Research and Application for Endurance Athletes
Hargreaves, M & Spriet, L (2017) Exercise Metabolism: Fuels for the Fire
Watanabe, K et al. (2020) Dehydration reduces stroke volume and cardiac output during exercise because of impaired cardiac filling and venous return, not left ventricular function
Judelson, D et al. (2012) Hydration and Muscular Performance
Adams, E & Casa T The Influence of Hydration on Heart Rate
Baker, L. (2017) Sweating Rate and Sweat Sodium Concentration in Athletes: A Review of Methodology and Intra/Interindividual Variability
Bardis, C. et al. (2017) Prescribed Drinking Leads to Better Cycling Performance than Ad Libitum Drinking
Godek, S. et al. (2005) Sweat rate and fluid turnover in American football players compared with runners in a hot and humid environment
Veniamakis, E. et al. (2022) Effects of Sodium Intake on Health and Performance in Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Sports
Wright, E. & Loo, D. (2000) Coupling between Na+, sugar, and water transport across the intestine
Barr, S. et al. (1991) Fluid replacement during prolonged exercise: effects of water, saline, or no fluid.
Del Coso, J. et al. (2015) Effects of oral salt supplementation on physical performance during a half-ironman: A randomized controlled trial
Burdon, C. et al. (2012) Influence of Beverage Temperature on Palatability and Fluid Ingestion During Endurance Exercise: A Systematic Review
Baker, L. & Jeukendrup, A. (2014) Optimal Composition of Fluid-Replacement Beverages
Blog with digestible article on related topics from notable Team Prescribed Drinking researcher Asker Jeukendrup: www.mysportscience.com/

[@agrove91]

Thanks for making this!

[@suryaprakash-fb5gr]

Excellent video! Please make more like it. Love the comprehensive science paper coverage.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks! These are some of my favorite videos to make, but also take way more time and emotional energy than some other types. I hope to keep doing them though. It's a great benefit to not being bound by an upload schedule like full time content creators.

[@Squashper]

Very good video. I learned a lot. Thanks for condensing all those science papers into one vid and practical sheet. Appreciate your effort. Sure gonna use it.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Glad it was helpful! I would love some feedback on it's use. I've been using the sheet to plan supplemental drink for my last few very long rides and it's working pretty well. Getting new eyes on it will certainly find problems I can't see as the author.

[@wazzup105]

Totally distracted by that butterfly on your shoulder during the intro 🙂

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

It hitched a ride for another 10 minutes or so after that shot.

[@HorshamHaberstroh]

Outstanding presentation! I always learn something that I can apply immediately.

[@MrBillboeing]

Amazing information, thank you 😊 I downloaded your bottle calculator. Ride on !

[@kiocpm22]

What a great video! You are one of my favorite youtubers, keep it up! Cheers from Brazil

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoy the content

[@lostingear]

That was great! Thank you. I am suprised you have so few views. I would suggest changing the name b/c you really give a lot more than a new ingredient. Well done.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thank you for enjoying and for the feedback. I'll change the title a bit and see if it helps.

[@lostingear]

@@overbikedrandonneuring yeah, b/c this is important. I actually found it from your other video then almost didn't watch it. You literally give a solid lecture on this stuff and PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW! :) lol

[@5x5boy]

Excellent video, as always. I wonder what your thoughts are about Protein intake strategy, especially on multi day events 600k-1500k and further, PBP / TCR

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thank you! I consider carb drinks to be supplemental, so plenty of regular food should be eaten as well. Of that regular food, moderate levels of fat and protein feel good to eat and help with satiety, but foods should still generally be carb focused for energy availability. I've found it's easy to overeat fat, protein, or fiber during the day especially with roadside food options. These foods sit heavily in the stomach or cause stomach aches, which can harm future fueling. If you've seen my video on sleep, I recommend maximizing sleep, hopefully 5+ hours per night. A large, balanced meal (fat, protein, carbs, veg/fiber) that includes significant protein eaten before a nice sleep should maximize protein availability for tissue repair/recovery, minimize stomach aches, and facilitate a BM in the morning for a fresh start. Carb biased days with a big balanced meal at night helped me maintain weight for over 5 months of thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Carb drinks are a nice modification of that strategy to support shorter, more intense activities like randonneuring.

[@ehudgera]

Thank you for the awesome videos! A quick question if I may. What is your method of dividing salt and sugar during the ride, considering no scale or a spoon are at hand?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

When poured from a bag, the sugar in grams is about equal to milliliter measurements on a bottle, a 500ml bottle will hold about 500g of sugar, maybe a bit less. Pack sodium citrate (or salt) in separate little tubs or baggies at home so that one tub/bag mixes with the 1 bottle of sugar. Then just shake it well. Koolaid packet or other flavor powder can be added to the sodium citrate at home to make it a quick process. Wish we had old style Koolaid packs here in Korea. Maybe time to import some.

[@bdooley8]

Nice video! I’ll have to give sodium citrate a try! Got a couple questions for you. Do you take into consideration the osmolarity of your mix? My understanding is in the 70kg rider example, 72g of sugar in a 600ml bottle would be quite hypertonic, leading to a high risk of stomach issues and inefficient absorption from the stomach into the body. Is this something you’ve experienced? Also, would body weight even matter in the calculation? We wouldn’t be trying to replace all of the energy losses per hour through ingesting carbs because we’re limited by the absorption rate of the stomach. So while a 90kg rider may burn more calories per hour than a 60 kg rider, their stomachs would act in the same way by only absorbing similar amounts of carbs per hour, right?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Hi Brandon, thanks for watching, and very good questions. Regarding osmolarity, my personal sweat rate is quite high, and target carb intake is moderate, so having too concentrated a mixture is not an issue. There does seem to be some conflict in whether one is targeting complete fueling or more complete hydration with carb concentrations. Rowlands, Kopetschny, & Badenhorst (2022) found isotonic concentrations to hydrate the best, for example. I've personally found 10% carb concentration trouble free as long as I stay hydrated. Dr. Harrison over at Saturday has suggested up to 14% concentrations may work in a hydrated state, but I've had no interest to test that one out myself. The example in the video was just to illustrate how the calculations work. Someone with a low sweat rate and high carb target may have difficulty balancing fuel and hydration though. WRT body weight, it will have a significant impact on sweat and the related salt loss rates. Research on carb ingestion rates by body size has not been tackled to the best of my knowledge. There is still little agreement on average size athletes, so I don't expect that variable to be addressed any time soon. Body size and height are linked to stomach size though, and thus surface area too. By my back of the napkin calcs, the difference could be 20% or more stomach surface area in a large, tall person. With all of the variables, there will be great variation within similar groups and across individuals. The calculator should allow users to test different values to find suitable solutions.

[@xwatzzz]

very nice video :) thx for sharing! what about other important minerals like magnesium?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks! Other components of sweat can be easily replaced with whole foods from a reasonable diet. Most randonneurs I see eat 3-4 meals per day and many snacks of real food too. There are pretty large reserves the body can draw from to balance their losses. The research I looked at regarding an imbalance in other elements of sweat were focused on other medical conditions as a cause, rather than exercise. Sodium balance is more sensitive and has a relatively small reserve to draw from compared to magnesium or calcium. Maybe in an extreme race situation, a pure liquid diet and more complete replacement of all lost sweat elements would be called for. I believe Strasser did something like that for his 24 hour distance record.

[@xwatzzz]

@@overbikedrandonneuring ty :)

[@keven-matthewlarrivee-font2678]

Awesome video! What are your thoughts on a hyper concentrated drink mix supplemented with plain water from another bottle? I am starting to experiment and was able to easily dissolve 425gr of sugar in a bottle from which I would take a sip once in a while. I knew I had to have the bottle finished within X hours. Takes a bit more managing, but is much easier to cary and refill. I would simply need to add Sodium Citrate to the mix and call it a day.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks! Since this video was made, I've tried the Jesse Coyle syrup preparation and like it. Doing a little prep and heating up the water/sugar mix to completely dissolve the sugar helps with mouth feel and makes it easier to consume. It's still lighter in texture than a gel. I like being able to separate hydration and fueling as long as I keep close to a plan. Having sodium with the syrup keeps the two goals somewhat intertwined. Taking a giant swig of the syrup when energy feels low is nice, as it having plenty of plain water available. Having 2 clean bottles of water is nice too, since sometime splashing water to cool off is helpful. I think my teeth suffer less abuse with the syrup + fresh water system. Give it a try and report back!

[@bigmac3006]

Grest vid! What helmet were you using?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks! It's an HJC Furion

[@pip119]

With regards to fats and protein, is there really no performance benefit (if one is not concerned about calorific balance e.g. in a race) from including a certain amount of them? Can the body not process even a few grams of fats or proteins per hour in addition to the carbs?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

I always consume plenty of fat and protein from whole foods on long rides, especially around dinner time or before sleeping on 400k+ rides. Fat used as energy in a carb fueled athlete seems to come mostly from stored fat, rather than exogenous fat though (Muscella, 2020 for a review on the topic). Protein is also certainly consumed for energy, although most studies I've seen compare a set carb intake to the same carb intake plus extra protein. Their result then can only conclude that more calories = better performance. I'd recommend a solid base of whole food throughout each day, and to use drink mix as a vehicle to better meet the very high water, carb, and sodium needs of endurance exercise. The mix is not intended to be an all-in-one energy source.

[@Ty-er5ok]

Thanks for this. My only issue is that I could not open either up in Google Docs. Any suggestions?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

I set it up the link download an excel file of the Google doc. I had issues trying to share as a webpage or Google doc before, so hoped this would be trouble free. Is anything in your download folder?

[@dodger2051]

Did you look into potassium for your drink mix? It is usually included alongside sodium in commercial electrolyte mixes, as well as medical Oral Rehydration Salts. I'm wondering how important it is for a homemade mix. And what about magnesium and its relationship with cramping? If you haven't seen it yet, this KZbin series is relevant: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpisl3ZpidOjhLc

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks for the link, I look forward to watching those. Good to see backpackers being more mindful of performance nutrition. I thru-hiked the AT (2009) and PCT (2011), and typical food choices were pretty suspect. I managed to avoid losing much weight on the PCT with a heavy fueling strategy. I would allocate about 1200 kcal of snacks per day and enjoy what I called 'double dinners'. It's been a while since the research was fresh in my mind, but I remember that potassium stores in the body are pretty robust and the amount lost in sweat is quite small compared to sodium. Maybe 1/10th the concentration IIRC. I think urine, stool, and potentially vomit have higher potassium concentration which is why it is common in ORS solutions, since those are made for sick people rather than athletes. If one is eating decent quality food regularly and has no relevant health conditions, no potassium should be needed in a supplementary drink mix. A pure liquid or sports nutrition diet over several days without real food, such as some RAAM racers do would require mixes to have potassium and other electrolytes too. As far as exercise induced cramping goes, it is generally agreed to be a complex problem, with the two main causes thought to be dehydration/electrolyte imbalance and the other simple overexertion. Here is a review on exercise cramping: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901412/ Another recent review found magnesium to be unlikely to help reduce exercise induced cramping. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8094171/ My perspective is proper fueling using concepts in this video or tools like the Saturday App manage dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and allow a higher work load for longer before overexertion is reached. Together, these reduce cramping frequency. I've noticed research designs often ignore carb intake. For example, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7962362/pdf/12970_2021_Article_414.pdf, uses a ORS vs water methodology, and the ORS outperforms water for preventing cramping. The paper talks a lot about the electrolyte component of the ORS helping, but fails to acknowledge the possible beneficial effect of having 38g of glucose after an hour of exercise versus none. Same with bananas as a folk remedy. Is it mineral content or the carbs? I would venture to say carbs, water, and electrolytes all do their part.

[@simonedwards5179]

Great video but what on earth are 'freedom units"?!

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks! Degrees Fahrenheit, for US viewers.

[@ianthomas3155]

Lost me at 99 freedom units.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

99 degrees Fahrenheit