Borden's Bike Brew, the 5 hour bottle

Since you've found this page, chances are you are looking for an inexpensive nutrition source for those long training days.  I have been there and tried all kinds of stuff.  There is a lot of information out there, but I am going to make every effort to keep this as easily digestible as possible.  :)   If you want more information beyond what this posts provides, I've included links to some of the sources I thought were most helpful.  Feel free to post questions to this blog as well.

Let's start with what options are readily available and their pros and cons.

Sports Drinks

Gatorade/Powerade/Perform have always left me feeling bloated (you'll read why later). Hammer's Heed tastes great, but its only recommended for short sessions.  Hammer's Perpetuam works great too until you hit 3 hours when it turns rancid.  If you haven't found InfinIT yet, it is a great solution that is completely customizable, but its pricey. 

Energy Bars

Bars taste great and are filling, but they are a pain to open and eat on the move, and are full of fiber.  Who wants to fill there gut with indigestible tangles during a time when you want maximum absorption of calories?  Another issue with bars is titrating them for the ride time.  Its annoying to get 1/3 bar every 15 min and have to deal with a loose, gooey wrapper. Again, cost is a big deterring factor here too.  I find Cliff bars and Powerbars around $1.50, but some of the fancy ones with LA's picture on them run $3.  

Energy Gels

Gels work well but 100C cost ~$1.50, and I am shooting for >300C/hr.  That's a lot of $1.50s for a 5 hour day ($22.50).  Then your left with sticky Gel packs to wag around all day or risk making the Indians cry by littering.  Hammer makes a large serving size you can put in a dandy flask and carry which cuts down cost and improves transporting, but then you run into difficulty trying to exract that last 100C out of the flask.  It ends up being a lot of wasted gel too if you clean your flask regularly.  Surprisingly, if its cold out, good luck getting the gel out of the flask. It's demoralizing to realize you can't have those last few hundred calories when you are already on fumes.

3 Sweet Potatoes & 2 Bananas!

Natural Foods

Finally there is real, honest foods. This is my favorite choice by far. My buddy Kenny says "Eat as close to the ground as possible" and I like it.  It gives us a lot of options, its pretty darn inexpensive, and tastes great.  The problem is carting it and eating it.  A PB&J is great if you are stopped, but scarfing one down in Zone3 is pretty unpleasant.  Sweet potatoes and bananas are easy to transport and eat, but they can make a mess of a jersey and come with a high fiber cost.  There is also a pretty significant weight in the back of a jersey if you are toting around 6 spuds (~550C) and 2 bananas (~200C) for a long ride.

Infinit is still my go-to for Race Day
Below I explain why

My personal strategy before the HomeBrew

 I have always chosen INFINIT Nutrition (link to my own personal blend) for race rehearsal days and race days.  (Honestly, Infinit is a great solution for everyday, but I just feel like I am throwing money away sense I can make my own so much cheaper.)  For anything less than 2 hours, I choose real food and shoot for 150-200C/hr.  I will typically just toss a couple of sweet potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes and grab a pair of bananas before heading out.  If it's a group ride with a few chances to stop, I really like the Jif Extra Crunchy & Nutella Flap over on wheat.  It's like warm gooey crack.


My goal for the mix
For this mix to be successful, it needs to accomplish a few things:
1) Complete nutrition source for long training days
2) Provide all Electrolytes needed
3) Sufficiently filling to stave away hunger pangs
4) Stable and palatable for 5 hours in the heat
5) Transportable in 1 bottle
6) Cheap enough to justify the additional trouble

I use this mix for training rides >3 hours.  The mix completely replaces Infinit in my training day arsenal. I mix it 250-300 C per hour fitting into one bottle.  It provide everything I need except water, just as Infinit does but at 1/4 of the price.

Follow up reports!

8/01/12 I have successfully managed a few 180/30 minute bricks using the mix on the bike, supplemented with water, and nothing on the run.  So far, I have had great success (no cramps, no problem running) with a bit of OJ, vanilla protein powder, and table salt added to the MD.  This combo tastes like an orange cream sickle.  I started with pineapple instead of OJ, and it was way too sweet.  The next update should have SaltStick instead of table salt, but I think i've got a good handle on everything else.  Its worth noting that a 3hr supply of MD completely fills my 24oz until I add water, then it quickly dissolves and I could add more mix.   

11/09/12 At this point, I have a ton of rides with the Brew, 9 of which are over 4 hours.  I think I have it pretty dialed in for my tastes.  My favorite juice is Tropicana Orange with Pineapple, and I like to add a bit more vanilla protein powder for the dreamsickle flavor (6g/hr instead of 4g).  I am still using 2x Salt Stick caps per hour opened and dumped into the mix, and have yet to have a cramp issue.  I did read on the Salt Stick website that the cap contents don't dilute very well and its important to give the bottle a shake before each squirt.  I haven't really noticed any increasing salt taste as I near the bottom of the bottle, and I haven't detected any undissolved bits in it either.  The only real problem I have is that it taste so freaking good that I tend to over drink it.  I have also got a ton of comments from guys that have followed the recipe and had success.  I appreciate the emails, but please, if you find this helpful, create your own recipe, or have any issues, post in the comment section so others can learn from your experience too!  

Good shot of the single bottle setup. 

IRONMAN Florida 2012 Nutrition (click for race report) After a great day rocking a single 1500 calorie bottle on the bike on my way to a 4:59 bike split and executing a "max potential" 3:24 run split, I got a lot of questions about my what magic was in my bottle.  The secret, I chose to use Infinit on race day.  There are a few reasons:    

1. Much easier to transport than wagging all the ingredients for the brew.  When I pack, I put all my calories in my bike bottle and throw it on the aerobars.  Done.  Using the brew works, but the main advantage to it over something like Infinit is cost.  I can spring for the super-go-fast-race-fuel-magic-juice on race day.  
2. Infinit is very consistent. No worries about getting the juice wrong, or tracking down my "oh so special" OJ/Pineapple.  It's also very easy to get a few extra grams of this or that in the brew while you are workiing it up.  That is no big deal in training, but I don't want to find out 7-8g/hr of protein is too much for me on raceday because I tumped a glob of protein on accident.
3. Infinit mixes better and I can get a wee bit more calories in the bottle than I can with the homebrew.  With the brew, I have to alternate malto and water to get enough dissolved to  get a 5 hour bottle.  Honestly, its a tight fit.  With Infinit, I can get all the calories in the bottle and add the water race morning.

 I have assembled a lot of information about creating my own sports drink below.  It took quiet a bit of sifting through different resources before settling on what ingredients to put in the mix and what amount of each to use.  The rest of this post will be what I've learned.

50 pounds of GPC's Maltrin M500
bagged up and ready for distribution!

Maltodextrin (MD)

MD is the most significant part of the mix.  It's the vast majority of the calories in the bottle.  MD is a fundamentally a long chain of sugar molecules that quickly gets broken down into smaller simple sugars for digestion.  I know you're thinking:  Why can't we just use simple table sugar like I have in my cabinet?  When we overload our guts with too much stuff, the stomach has to dilute it to extract the calories.  That becomes impossible as we become progressively more dehydrated and progressively more challenging as our body diverts blood away from the digestive system to feed the muscles. With simple sugar, it takes a whole lot of water to get it dilute enough to be absorbable.  Since MD is one big molecule, it can provide the same amount of sugar without needing as much water to dilute it for absorption.  Now you are wondering why not just drink more water?  Well, there is a limit to how much water you can absorb too.  You can, of course, keep dumping water down your throat, but your body is just going to send it right on through.  We've all been there where you are motoring along, and you feel like your stomach contents are just sloshing around inside you.  This is a result of one of these things being poorly managed.  Digestion has slowed, fuel begins to run low, athletes think they need more calories, and the inevitable explosion happens.

Osmolality 101
InfinIT nutrition explains the importance of proper water:stuff ratio in your stomach.

*EDIT* Dang what an ordeal to get this stuff ordered.  Its easy enough to order random Maltodextrin off the internet, but to get the good stuff, GPC's QD M500, I had to make a dozen phone calls and pull some favors to get local pickup (2 hours away) and sweet talk the nice lady in charge into letting me have it. The good news is that Borden Dental now has an account and we can get it without too much hassle.
As of 2/2013, its $1.05/lb here:  John R. White Co.

Electrolytes

You can read all you want about how much and what kind and when to supplement with salts.  Ultimately, I think it comes down to personal preference.  So this part of the mix is open for a lot variation.  Basically, we are primarily concerned with Sodium (Na+) and Potassium(K+) with some Calcium(Ca+) and Magnesium (Mg+) sprinkled in.  There are quite a few options so I'll just list some of the choices that I think are best and there limitations.

A Few References if you need more info:
The Grip by Mark Allen, Training in the Heat 
Mark Allen covers Na+ & Mg+ replacement needs and consequences of avoidance, also discusses proper re-hydration strategy
Waterlogged: The serious problem of over hydration in endurance sports
Tim Noakes discusses why salt supplementation is a myth.  I have yet to experiment with the idea, but if you do please report back!

Table Salt & Salt Substitute

This will give you the option to control exactly how much Na+ (table salt) and K+ (substitute) you get, but will limit your Ca+ and Mg+.  You may be able to find some fancy salts to fill this void, but I am unlikely to choose this route, so I didn't invest much time in it.

Hammer's Endurolyte Powder

The relative amount of Na+ and K+ is too low compared to Ca+ and Mg+.  To use this product, you would need to supplement with additional Na+ & K+.  Basically, Hammer's blend has very little NA+ and K+ in it.  Hammer products really skimp on electrolytes in general.  Hammer has the lowest amounts of any other option.  And its expensive.  

Nuun Tablets

These guys provide a good ratio of salts in their blend with the additional benefit of providing flavor and potentially caffiene.  I actually love these things.  They are great for dropping in a water bottle for some added flavor and salt on your rides. And their Kona Kola tabs are pretty darn good if you are avoiding the cola demons.  Nuun would be my favorite choice if it weren't for the cost.

SaltStick

This is the cheapest and best blend for the portions I am personally looking to achieve.  There is also an option to add caffeine.  With SaltStick, the solubility may be the limiting factor, I will update as i find out!  This will be my first choice, and I will see how it dissolves in the mix.  SaltStick also has an option for a Pez Dispenser-esque delivery system that can be mounted or pocketed.

Protein

Why do we need protein if we want fast calories?  There are a few ideas about why to add protein.  We know there is some muscle catabolism that happens as training events stretch into multiple hours and we use this protein as a fuel source.  There is some debate about does the muscle get catabolised  in search of fuel or if the protein is used because its available.  Regardless, lots of drink makers include protein in their formulas.  Some of the research also suggests small amounts of protein during exercise decreases recovery time and may limit muscle damage.  What I can say for sure, for me, protein provides the feeling of being full.  I find that without a small amount of protein, I will begin to get hunger pangs pretty quickly.

A Few References if you need more info:
Hammer Nutrition's article on protein, scroll down
TrainingPeaks Protein 202
 Easy read on the importance of protein from pre- during and post-workouts.  If you don't know, this is a great place to start.  Well, maybe even if you think you know.

click for larger image

The big problem with protein is which one to use.  There are quiet a few that have been listed as containing high amounts of arsenic and cadmium.  Consumer Reports did an article in 2010 that ruffled a lot of feathers when they reported the amounts of Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury in a lot of leading protein powders.  I chose Optimum Gold Standard Whey as a result of this study and have used Optimum products exclusively for all my supplements.  It has the added benefit of providing some BCAAs.  Some findings report that the addition of branch chain amino acids during exercise limits the amount of muscle atrophy during training.  Here is a good article Ben Greenfield wrote on the subject.  I am not sure that I would directly add BCAAs to the mix, but its one more thing the Optimum blend provides.

Your protein should come in the form of whey.  Whey is quickly and easy absorbed. Regardless of which option you choose, I recommend sticking with something that is primarily protein and not a recovery/weight gain mix.  Look at the nutritional facts, and don't add protein/carb blend to your mix!

Warning! adding protein causes the blend to mix  frothy and may mean you need to mix it up and let it settle before topping it off with water.  Protein may also make the blend turn rancid after being out in the sun for 5 hours.  I haven't found this to be the case, but if you notice an issue, cut the protein.  

Fructose

Fructose is abosrbed with a seperate pathway from the glucose in MD.  Therefore, the addition of fructose is  a great way to sneak some extra calories in without overloading the digestive system.  There is overwhelming research that suggests increased performance from adding Fructose.  One of the problems is that a lot of people don't tolerate it well (Ever ate too many apples at once?).  So we limit the overall calorie contribution of fructose.  One benefit of choosing to use fructose is being able to blend in some of your favorite fruit juice for flavor.

This is a good reference for the use of Fructose:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18202575

Flavor

As I said, adding fruit juice is a great way.  A lot of people recommend adding Crystal Light.  Nuun tablets taste great and work well.  You can also consider just drinking it flavorless, its not too bad.  I have found just putting a few ounces of juice in serves this purpose just fine.  A lot of juices are already pretty sweet, adding too much can make it way to sweet.

So how much of which one do I do when?

There are a lot of approaches to what, when, how to get calories.  I've read of coachs recommending up to 750C/hr.  From what I've found, most folks should shoot for a TOTAL 250-300C/hr as a starting point and build up. Realistically, we should limit our calories to as few as possible and still have an ideal race.  It seems "too much" is a more common problem than "too little."  But that is a tricky balancing act.   I tend to go with the mantra of "as many calories as possible on the bike, as few as possible on the run" so I try to train with a lot of calories on the bike. Infinit describes how to estimate caloric needs.


Those calories should be broken down based off what all you have in the mix.  In other words, don't max out your calories with MD then add protein and fructose.  Think of the total calories as a ceiling and adjust your portions accordingly by starting with appropriate amounts of protein and fructose then filling in with MD.

For a little more tailored answer to total calories, the starting point is 1g/kg/hr.  Let's work through figuring up a 165 pound rider:

Fructose
starting point is ~0.25g/kg/hr and its around 3.9C/g.  Again, fructose is used when you want MAX calories getting in the system.  The risk is tolerance as fructose content increases, but the reward for taking the time to figure out your tolerance will be more fuel for the fire.

165pounds / 2.2kg/lb = 75 kg
0.25g/kg/hr for 75kg is 18.75g/hr.
Fructose is ~3.9C/g
so 18.75g/hr X 3.9 C/g = ~73 C/hr for the total Fructose contribution in our 165 lb rider's 1 hr bottle.
*I would never use this much.  I only add as much fructose as I get from a precious few ounces of the fruit juice I add for flavoring.

NOTE: Typical fruit juice is 50% fructose, if you are using it for flavor.  Table sugar is 50% Fructose.  As much as I think there is a benefit to fructose, it is also a great way to get sick and its a bit complicated.  Don't over do it.  If your choice of Fructose delivered as a disaccharide, keep in mind you may be getting an additional caloric contribution from glucose.
http://www.infinitloop.com/search?q=fructose

Protein
Hammer recommends 5-15% of your total calories being protein.  I train with about 4% protein for the bike.  So for our 165 pound rider:
His Total Calorie ceiling is 281C
281 x 4% = 11.25 calories
protein has around 4C/g so I would add 3g/hr.

Maltodextrin

165pounds / 2.2kg/lb = 75 kg
1g/kg/hr for 75kg is 75g/hr.
MD is ~3.75C/g
so 75g/hr X 3.75 C/g = ~281 C/hr if only using MD in our 165 lb rider's 1 hr bottle.



Total Calorie Example per hour
Our 165 pound rider has 281C to spend.
He has 12C (3g) of protein leaving him 269C
He has 73C (18.75g) of Fructose leaving him 196C
He now needs to fill his calorie needs with MD at 3.75C/g so 196/3.75 = ~52.25g of MD
To complete his bottle, he needs to decide on an electrolyte source and a flavor source.

Electrolytes
This couldn't be more subjective. I've read lots of stuff that say salt is the way-truth-and-the-light, and lots of folks.  I will give you the amounts I use and you can pick one of the choices above to supplement your mix with electrolytes.
Na+   426mg
K+     123mg
Ca+    34mg
Mg+    26mg
This is my tested ratios over a few races and a lot of training days.  But its specific to me.  I suggest you start somewhere close and adjust up or down as you see fit.  If you choose table salt, I suggest 1g/hr to match up with the numbers listed above.

Recovery Drink
The next thing to talk about is turning this super fuel bottle into an inexpensive recovery drink.  Its pretty simple really.  Just total somewhere in the ball park of 25g of protein and sprinkle in 4g of Glutamine (per LAVA) then rehydrate like a champ.  Glutamine has been shown to aid in recovery, and it is in virtually every recovery drink you can find.  The essentials in a recovery drink are 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein.  My advice is to get  1-200C of MD with ~20g of protein in a nice shake, and finish off your carb/protein requirements with a meal within 30 minutes.

Glutamine reference:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/440031-l-glutamine-for-muscle-recovery/




Finally!
Here is an absolutely exhaustive thread on Slowtwitch.com with tons of information on making your own drink mix.
Who is still using bulk maltodextrin in training?

Don't forget you must add lots of water!  Without water, none of this gets absorbed!  With a 5 hour nutrition bottle, I can easily suck down an additional 100 ounces of water.

  Trouble Shooting

• Getting hungry?  Use more protein, it works great at keeping you from needing a snack
• Cramps?  Try cutting down the intensity, drink more water or use fewer calories, add electrolytes 
• Nauseated?  Try cutting down the fructose/juice, drinking more water, or consider fewer total calories
• Sloshy Stomach?  Try drinking more water, using fewer calories, or drink smaller portions more frequently.

DISCLAIMER:  All this information is compiled so I can answer all the questions my buddies have been asking.  This is my understanding after digesting the information.  I encourage you to do the research yourself.  Happy training!