partly because i’m canadian, and a cheapskate, and because i like to tinker, i’m looking at maple syrup as a gel replacement.
the price is right, tastes good, and the ingredients are simple. with just a dash of water in a flask, i find the consistency is great. but i’m also wondering about electrolytes - i guess i could also be getting them from the carb mix i’m drinking, or plop some nuun into a water bottle or something.
who else is doing this? what recipes do you use - do you add in salt/etc?
I’ve been using maple syrup or honey or golden syrup mixed with water and chocolate powder for almost 20 years of multi-week bike tours.I just mix a couple of bottles at the start of the day and I am good to go.Electrolytes are in different water bottles or in pill form.
I am doing Ironman West Oz the first week of December followed by a 3,000k bike ride back across the country and will be using the same on the bike for the race and ride.I probably mix mine a little weaker than Lionel does though.
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That sounds interesting and tasty- what are the proportions of syrup/honey, water and chocolate powder (is that cocoa powder or the chocolate powder stuff you mix with milk?)
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That sounds interesting and tasty- what are the proportions of syrup/honey, water and chocolate powder (is that cocoa powder or the chocolate powder stuff you mix with milk?)
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I probably put in my 600mil bottles (20’ish ounces), 90-100mil (3’ish ounces) of honey and a Gatorade scoop worth of chocolate powder (Quick or Milo) If it is cold I add more if it is hot,then less.
It is quite the treat a couple of hours into an Ironman ride. If I am out bike touring or in an Ultra-tri,especially on cold days/nights I will mix that liquid with oats and drink it.If it was good enough for Shackleton in the Antarctic it is good enough for me.
My brother in law met one of the founders from Embark Maple syrup a couple of weeks ago and mentioned to him that I did endurance events. The guy from Embark gave him the sampler pack for me to try. I used it on some longer indoor rides this spring….two to three hours. Pretty good taste and easy to digest.
I use maple syrup in my water bottle – about a ounce in a 16-ounce bottle. Never tried is as a gel, but Untapped has a whole line of maple syrup flavored endurance products. Ted King is one co the co-owners.
I used them for one year in training for an IM. Maple syrup and infinit go far, that was it. It worked exceptionally well in training. IM race day did not go well nutritionally. I can’t confirm or deny whether the maple syrup had anything to do with it, I’d say not. I blame a poor breakfast and pre race fueling episode on race day. Bc they were perfect to me for 8 months of training .
I go back to them again sometimes. So delicious compared to gels. Compared to anything, really
I haven’t used them in a triathlon but I do use them running. On the bike I haven’t found a solution that doesn’t get messy (gel flasks leak a little and get sticky liquid everywhere, empty gel wrappers do the same, and I don’t like sticky hands while riding). I’ll either use untapped or put maple syrup and a little salt in a run flask. I find it really hits the spot and tastes great, so I look forward to taking it. Maple Syrup is expensive, but it’s a lot cheaper than sports gels.
Both Lionel Sanders and Paula Findlay have indicated that they use maple syrup. Lionel had a bottle with maple syrup and salt for nutrition on the bike at Oceanside…at least until it launched. Seems to work well for those that like the taste (personally maple is not my go to flavor).
Untapped are actually pure maple syrup based (not flavored) and are incredibly simple (and tasty) alternative to other sports nutrition products. Really good products
If you enjoy the taste, maple syrup works very well.
I put it right into my gel flask for a half-iron and it works like a charm.
It pours easy and when you chase it with water at an aid-station, quite tasty.
It’s also (at Superstore) cheap as compared to traditional gels.
Naturally you will want to try it out in a race sim. before you hit the start line.
For a lot of the same reasons I use honey as a gel replacement. I mix a nuun tablet with a bit of water and then pour that in with the honey in a reusable gootube(I think that’s the name)- the only real drawback is that for winter time endurance activities the honey freezes up more than a gel.
Myself and my team are sponsored by Anderson’s Maple Syrup and Pure Fuel. But I am not a professional athlete so choose what I feel works.
I have used maple syrup exclusively for gels for over 5 years. I have done up to 15 hour races and consume over 20 ounces of maple syrup in those races.
I use flasks in cargo pocket kits and it’s perfect. Just 1 flask in each pocket and if I want more 1 in a bento box or even one more in a rear pocket. 4 flasks is 2000 calories. I mix my flasks 5 oz maple syrup with 1 ounce of coffee to thin the syrup just a bit.
Every so often I’ll do a ride where I’ll really go to the limit arriving at the 5-6 hour mark feeling ready to bonk. I swear hitting that syrup flask or packet (or 3) is almost like rocket fuel. Certainly not suggesting it’s going to prevent someone from bonking from poor pacing, but it certainly makes me feel better when things get hard.
100,000 miles + in the last 5 years = a BOAT LOAD of maple syrup consumption
Maple syrup, a pinch of salt and a pinch of dried ginger.
thanks - i’ve seen ginger on some recipes. do you like the flavour? also, i realize i might be overthinking this, but when it comes to adding a pinch of salt, are you at all concerned about getting mineral content right? i suppose if you’re also drinking sports drink or nuun or something, you’re already getting all the electrolytes you need so the salt with the syrup would just be for a bit of flavor.
Maple syrup, a pinch of salt and a pinch of dried ginger.
Sodium is the one thing this had been missing. With 20-24 oz. of water I’d add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of sodium citrate. 6T maple syrup, 4T Nesquick (or similar), and 1/2 tsp sodium citrate is 105g carbs and 785mg sodium. Pretty good for an hours worth of fuel consumption.
