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Being a cyclist that's almost 100% vegan, it's tough to find a decent way to hydrate and replenish during intensive spinning workouts and rides without having something that has animal products in. "Animal products?" You might ask? Indeedy! Taurine is an amino acid derived from animals... No thanks...but I promise that there will be no soapbox lectures here about all of that though... So let's move on.
For the last two years of my endurance cycling career I've been an avid user of Vega Sport products. I was fan of plant-based nutrition for before preparation, on the road, and for post-ride recovery. However, while they got me where I needed to go, powering me over 800km, the taste never sat well with me. I always felt bloated and I had an upset stomach more often than not... Not exactly what you want to be dealing with on an endurance ride of over 200km.
TASTE:
We love this stuff! Even though it has over 200mg of sodium in it, you really don't have that weird salty taste from other sports drinks... Since it's a powder mixed with water you don't need to keep shaking it along your ride to keep everything mixed up like you do with gels and other denser powders. Top it all off with the fact that it's flavoured with natural ingredients (plus a little bit of dextrose) rather than 15 syllable chemical compounds? I don't know about you guys, but we're sold.
EFFECTIVENESS:
This stuff works pretty much on par as other products to get you through your ride.. But Skratch will get you across the finish line feeling MUCH better. As mentioned in the video above, it's only 80 calories per bottle, so your body doesn't have to expend energy so it can get energy from what you're drinking. Makes sense right? Since the Ride to Conquer Cancer I've used Skratch products almost exclusively (except for when they run out of stock at the local bike shops), and I definitely notice the difference between mixes.
If you have the opportunity, get yourself some of this stuff and give it a shot! You'll be happy that you did.
Enter Skratch Labs hydration mix.
After seeing an ad for them on YouTube I figured it was worth a shot to try their mix out. Flavoured with REAL fruit, is light on calories so it easily replaces electrolytes that you sweat out and it's vegan friendly? BAM! I'm on board.
After seeing an ad for them on YouTube I figured it was worth a shot to try their mix out. Flavoured with REAL fruit, is light on calories so it easily replaces electrolytes that you sweat out and it's vegan friendly? BAM! I'm on board.
Available in single serving pouches or in 454g "bulk" bags, it's available to try before you invest in a bag of the stuff. It averages about twenty servings per bag, and I paid $24 at Dukes Cycle so it nets out to $1.20 per bottle... not too bad at all! It ends up being about twice as much as a bottle of Gatorade or Powerade or Powerthirst or whatever (roughly $0.50 per 500ml), however it's not nearly as harsh on your system! The price is certainly worth having something naturally flavoured and doesn't taste like salty fruit punch.
So what do Lisa and I have to say about it you might wonder?
TASTE:
We love this stuff! Even though it has over 200mg of sodium in it, you really don't have that weird salty taste from other sports drinks... Since it's a powder mixed with water you don't need to keep shaking it along your ride to keep everything mixed up like you do with gels and other denser powders. Top it all off with the fact that it's flavoured with natural ingredients (plus a little bit of dextrose) rather than 15 syllable chemical compounds? I don't know about you guys, but we're sold.
EFFECTIVENESS:
This stuff works pretty much on par as other products to get you through your ride.. But Skratch will get you across the finish line feeling MUCH better. As mentioned in the video above, it's only 80 calories per bottle, so your body doesn't have to expend energy so it can get energy from what you're drinking. Makes sense right? Since the Ride to Conquer Cancer I've used Skratch products almost exclusively (except for when they run out of stock at the local bike shops), and I definitely notice the difference between mixes.
If you have the opportunity, get yourself some of this stuff and give it a shot! You'll be happy that you did.
Want to donate to the cause of punching cancer in the face?
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