My Favorite Sports Blocks, Bars & Beans for the Trail

My husband was looking for a new, healthier addiction a few years back and took up mountain biking. Soon after he started, I rarely saw him on the weekends anymore. That's when I decided to give it a try. Now, my 40-plus-year-old body and I are always looking for ways to make our biking experience more enjoyable. Here are my personal favorite energy supplements that I use whenever I'm out riding my bike, whether on road or off.

Nutritional Bars

I never eat nutritional bars during a ride. I find they aren't that easy to eat while riding a bike and they end up feeling like a lump of lead in my stomach. My husband and I use nutritional bars as an instant breakfast solution while we are driving out to the trails. We like to eat one or two bars around a half hour before we plan on arriving at the trailhead.

My husband likes PowerBars but I can't stand them. I've tried them chilled right out of the refrigerator but they are still horrid. However, there are many other nutritional bars on the market that I actually enjoy.

Clif Bars by Clif Bar & Co. come in a variety of flavors. A couple of my favorites are crunchy peanut butter and carrot cake. Luna bars, also by Clif Bar & Co., come in delicious flavors such as nuts over chocolate, lemon zest and chocolate pecan pie. Although I don't like the regular PowerBars, I do like PowerBars Pria nutrition bars, especially the chocolate mint crisp flavor. I had one the other day on my way to a long bike ride and thought I was eating a candy bar because it tasted so good.

Nutritional Gels

I always thought those gooey gel packs were for macho men. I tried choking down a few gel packs once or twice but just couldn't get past the "I'm eating baby doo-doo" stage. But my husband and I started doing some longer bike rides while training for a century ride for a local charity. I was experiencing major bonking half way into the rides so my husband kept bugging me to try the gels again.