The original idea for this post hit me at the end of my intervals today when, at the beginning of my cool-down on the D999 coming into town, I reached into my Ziplock sandwich bag and popped a date and prune into either side of my mouth. The slow taste explosion that ensued put a smile on my face. Yes, I was actually going to write a blog post about a dried fruit taste combo - at least it would have been original.
But that thought developed as the D999 ended at the old town and a new, more mainstream one, popped up: Eating on the Bike.
I've been through the whole gamut of bars and gels and secret homemade potions, but many many months ago I landed on dried fruits. Figs, dates, prunes and apricots always find their way into my back pouch and I don't even give a gel a second look unless my ride is over 100 km. In long races it's the same, except I'll gladly take a banana, or pain d'épices, if offered. And yes, gels have helped towards the end of a long day. I brought 2 kg of dates to Haute Route last year and pretty much survived on them exclusively.
The reason I bring this up is because I just spent a small fortune on gels and bars for our tour clients and was amazed how many screens I could scroll through on Bike24.com before getting to the end of the stuff they had on offer. The energy-bar / gel / sports drink industry is pretty omnipresent in our sport and I really don't know anyone except me who rides without something powdery in their bidons, or something gooey in their pockets. I'm probably missing out on something, but I don't care, especially after discovering how good prunes and dates taste together.
I know I ask a lot of you, dear reader, but you are an intelligent and thoughtful lot. What do you eat on the bike?
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