My husband and I road cycle and mountain bike together. As I’m getting faster and we’re riding longer and farther – and as the weather is hitting peak heat and humidity in July and August – we’ve started experimenting with during-ride fuels. We eat a diet pretty heavy in veggies, fruit, and protein; we’re relatively light on carbs at this point, with the occasional treat pasta night. I feel better and am able to train better eating this way.Â
Yesterday, we were doing 2,000ft of climbing on a 32-mile ride. It was hot (95 degrees) and we were leaving at 11am, so we wanted something to help with endurance. My husband mixed up a batch of Hammer Perpetuem – Strawberry-Vanilla flavor. We were also carrying Hammer Gels and Gu Gels. Maltodextrin is the first ingredient in all of these products — it’s an easily absorbed, low glycemic-index, fast carbohydrate source. We frequently have Clif Bloks and Honey Stingers on or before our rides, but I have been frustrated with these because I tend to get more spikes and crashes (they use a different carbohydrate/sugar source), and have more heavy-stomach feeling when I eat them because they’re less quickly digested. More about the short-release, short-ride fuels in another post.Â
While Hammer designed the Perpetuem for longer rides (3h+) than we were doing, we found it extremely helpful on this ride. We split it over two water bottles, consumed gradually as we rode. The 8:1 carb-protein ratio kept me feeling fueled and clearheaded, and neither of us bonked on our way up Bear Hill. I even set a PR! [See my ride here.] My husband drank his more quickly than I did; he’s also, obviously, bigger than I am. We both felt tired and hot, but able to keep riding at a relatively normal pace – I felt like I was able to maintain until the very end. I had 3 Clif bloks about 10 miles into the ride, and Gu Gel just before we started our longest climbing stretch; I could feel the boost from each of these wear off after about half an hour, but didn’t have a corresponding lag. I really thing the small amount of protein in the Perpetuem helped regulate this better for me!
Now, my first sip of Perpetuem was chalky. Chalky, and boring. We diluted slightly more than recommended in order to spread a serving across two 20-oz water bottles. However, as the bottles warmed and the ride progressed, I found that I enjoyed the slight strawberry taste and hint of milky sweetness. The taste came out more the warmer the water got, but was never cloying or unpleasant. We’ll be trying the Caffe Latte flavor on our mountain bike ride this weekend – stay tuned!