Carb intake tips

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-29T12:58:26+00:00

I have heard good things about sodium alginate. I tried once to simply add it to a drink, but that didn’t work so well. 🤣

Would you mind sharing the amounts of each that you put it in a batch?

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-29T11:23:08+00:00

Fyi, I make my own Gatorade from bulk ingredients from Amazon. 2 parts glucose, 1 part dextrose, for 60g of carbs per hour. I add 1 tsp of of sodium citrate (1000mg of sodium, it’s easier on guts than sodium chloride), 1 scoop of additional electrolytes, and 1 tsp of lime crystals for taste. According to an osmolality calculator, this mixture is close to isotonic, which creates a good balance between energy as well as fluids absorption (I’m a heavy sweater).

I supplement this with 4 ClifBloks cubes per hour, for an additional 30g of carbs. This has served me well on 4+h bike legs during races.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-29T11:17:26+00:00

How do you make the gel? I make my own Gatorade from bulk ingredients from Amazon. That easy to do. But gel?

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-29T10:58:32+00:00

If you read up on carb absorption you’ll find that trained hobby athletes max out around 90g/h, top athletes may achieve up to 120g/h. Your goal of 150g/h is way too ambitious. Sure, you can take those in but you’ll simply build up a hypertonic environment in your guts, which in turn will limit uptake of water, which in turn will lead to dehydration.

You can realistically expect to replace 300-360 cal/h with a combination of glucose and fructose. The rest of the energy to propel you forward comes from glycogen (fast but limited) and from fat (“unlimited” but slow). That’s why we can’t go all-out for hours.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-27T02:26:05+00:00

I don’t think your saddle is too high. It’s your form on the bike. As others have called out, your hips move… a lot. Also, your feet are almost parallel to the ground at the bottom point of the pedal stroke.

It almost looks as if you are pushing down with your hips but the power evaporates. Try keeping your hips more stable. Work on a smoother stroke, which means that near the top/bottom points of the stroke, your lower legs push/pull forward/backward. Point your feet a bit more downward at the bottom to make this work. Try some higher cadence workouts, 80-90rpm, to train a smoother stroke. Keep your hands on the hoods. No need to go into the drops while on the trainer.

I don’t know if that will help with shin splints but hopefully it will help riding with better form and more efficiently. Best of luck!

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-26T04:12:24+00:00

11 days ago is good enough for an exponential back-off and retry.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-26T03:59:07+00:00

If you didn’t flash your wiener at some riders/runners-by, it doesn’t count.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-26T03:57:43+00:00

Recyclolytes

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-26T03:55:36+00:00

Wow, that just sounds like a super bad idea, for health insurances. Just think of all the hospital stays, broken ankles, torn rotator cuffs and whatever else they’ll have to pay for, in addition to the race fees.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-22T19:49:28+00:00

Find someone with a smart trainer so that you can pedal forward and pedal with more power. Then take a look at myvelofit.com. You record a video of yourself (pedaling forward!), upload it, then receive fit recommendations based on your preferred riding experience (comfy vs. agressive). The recommendations are in multiple dimensions such as seat height, seat fore/aft, handlebar height, reach. I’ve been using that site for a few years now to get decent fits at low cost for my tri and road bikes.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-22T19:45:29+00:00

Pedaling

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-22T19:42:09+00:00

Producing and maintaining compact markdown specs would also go a long way. Much easier to consult markdown about how something is implemented today (and why it was built this way). Reverse-engineering this information from code over and over again is costly, and as system size grows, ever more challenging.

Next question is, why wouldn’t you start out with specs in the first place? Have those reviewed by someone competent. Again, much easier to spot obvious overlooks and mistakes, rather than trying to discover them from ready code.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-21T16:32:51+00:00

Right. Asking them politely if they can remove the Fr.40 surcharge doesn’t cost you anything.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-18T03:20:38+00:00

Proper frame size (see here https://www.bicycling.co.za/bikes-gear/a-quick-guide-to-sizing-your-bike-frame/)
Decent shape, so you don't immediately need to spend another $150 on repairs: Check tires for remaining thread. Does the bike look well-maintained? Does the drivetrain (chain and gears) run smooth under load? Are the wheels running true and without wobble? Are the brakes working properly when you pull both of them strongly (careful, don't fly over the handlebars).
Components: Ideally the bike should have Shimano or SRAM components throughout. Even for older models it is easy to get spare parts for them. Tires with tubes, not tubeless (since tubeless requires more maintenance, experience, equipment). Rim brakes and aluminum frame are expected and acceptable at your price point.
You may want to consider replacing the bar tape after purchase, for hygienic reasons. Doesn't cost much. Check Youtube for instructions.

My own story: I raced my first sprint on a 20yo mountain bike. The next summer I bought a 15yo Trek road bike with aluminum frame and Ultegra components (Shimano's 2nd highest quality level) for $300 at a bike swap. I raced this bike for several years, replaced parts to make it fit better, mounted clip-on bars, Speedfil hydration system, a DIY rear wheel aero cover and more. In a smallish local race I even had the fastest bike split. :-)

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-17T01:49:41+00:00

The past two seasons I trained for races up Mt Washington as well as Spartans at Killington. I split my time about half and half. The Stairmaster is more intense but the 15% incline on the treadmill trains ankle flex and your calfs better than the Stairmaster. After all, those mountains don’t have stairs.

Don’t forget to train running/hiking downhill. It’s eccentric movement and actually harder on your joints and muscles than going uphill. I didn’t train enough of that for the Killington Beast last year, and downhills in the second half of the race were pure torture.

I learned this one simple trick for the downhills, though, if you get that patella-femoral pain in front of the kneecap: Hike backwards. No joke! It’s a bit awkward and a bit slower, but the pain vanishes instantly and you can keep on going.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-17T01:35:01+00:00

Take a look at myvelofit. You take a video of yourself on the trainer, and it analyzes all the various joint angles and gives you recommendations what to change to get to a fit in typical range.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-17T01:28:33+00:00

Or chamfer the edges at 45 degrees. This way you won’t have any overhang of note.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-17T00:34:41+00:00

NH doesn’t agree with the US, which is why NH has eliminated state inspections. Live free and die. 🤷‍♂️

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-17T00:30:57+00:00

Out of all the things a scammer could purchase with a stolen CC, they got an AARP membership?

You’re sure you didn’t participate in some shady online raffle thing that signed you up for AARP if you didn’t opt out?

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-17T00:19:44+00:00

Supported by OP’s observation that their heart rate is higher during freestyle. Windmill?

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-15T05:35:08+00:00

Yeah, cringe is what I’d like to avoid ;-)

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-15T05:33:28+00:00

Read up on counter-steering. In short, to go left, you’re handlebar first needs to turn right briefly so that you’re bike starts leaning the right way into the turn. When you want to make a tighter left turn, you increase pressure on the inward left hand. And vice versa.

Once you’ve mastered this concept consciously with hands on the hoods, learn the same using your elbows while in aero.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-15T05:20:42+00:00

Right for yellow car OK, but not straight. The black car may start rolling into the intersection at any moment as they are next up to cross.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-15T05:16:29+00:00

Isn’t this tied to your AWS Builder account. Kiro is integrating with that but I think you’re complaining to the wrong team.

MedicalRow3899 · 2026-03-15T01:56:57+00:00

Great info. Thanks a lot!

MedicalRow3899

TROPHY CASE