Thresholding my Hand

I think a lot about nutrition.  Just think.  Not do.

I like to eat things regardless of the nutritional content information on the side of the wrapper or box.  I think my ability to vigorously exercise on a billy goat diet is thanks in part to the way back times when I was a busy as fuck messenger nine hours a day with no time to eat reasonable food at a reasonable pace.  I should be ashamed to admit (but I'm not) that at one point I was eating the Super Size Double Quarter Pounder w/cheese meal every day.  That's more than 1,700 calories of pure shit that I would sometimes have to power through when I'd get an ASAP call right after placing my order.

And then I'd go hammer out the rest of the day without stopping.

But it taught my body to just deal with it.

At the last PMBAR, it was mostly cheap Gatorade, gels, and the couple energy bars I picked up from the aid stations fueling my efforts.  I usually eat a lot of gels when I race.  They're great nutrition for lazy people, but according to Stacy Sims, they're not such a great idea after all.  The article uses lots big words like osmotic, co-transporter and polysaccharide, but you get the gist that she thinks gels are bad, mmmmmkay?

Then reading through the comments (and if you're not reading the comments on Bike Rumor, what are you even going there for?), I see that the author is a co-founder of Osmo Nutrition.  Apparently her "scientific opinion" may require a grain of salt when ingested.  She also never suggests where to get those calories IF NOT from gels.  Thanks, Stacy.

When the guy (who I now know was and still is Joshua Mitchell) handed me a Threshold Provisions bar at an aid station said he'd love for me to review his product, I blathered something in my muddled state and continued on with my making of great bike race.  He followed through on his end, and sometime last week, I received a variety pack of bars.

Through process of elimination, I was able to determine that I ate a Cherry Coconut Bar at PMBAR.  It woulda been my first choice.  It was quite delicious and we did win, so there's all that going for it.  I wanted to test the bars and flavor selection a bit more before the Pisgah 111/55.5K weekend, but the most arduous thing I did last weekend was ride over to Kürdt's house to help build a shed...

So I ate one to fuel those massive efforts.

By the end of the weekend, Kürdt had a shed.

So I'd say that's win number two for the Threshold Provisions bars (although I only contributed four of the hundred man hours required to build Kürdt's guest house).

Interesting (to me) bullet points about the product:

*Gluten, dairy, and soy free (for those that have issues with them things)

*The main ingredient is organic pumpkin seeds.  I've never seen that before.

*They're "handcrafted in Asheville."

*The fat content is relatively high for an energy bar, counting for 110-130 of the total 230-240 calories.  I'm not saying it's a bad thing.  It's just "a" thing.  I'd love to hear the logic behind that decision (that's not sarcasm even if I am the one who wrote it).

I'm going to give them a go this weekend at both events.  There are plenty of gravel climbs where one would have a chance to chew a real food item, so why not these bars I have in my possession?

I will try this one some other time though:

  
I'm not a fan of ginger. I think it tastes like soap, and I don't want to eat soap while I'm racing. I'm not saying this bar tastes like soap as I have yet to taste it. I'm just afraid it will taste like soap, and I don't want to find out that I'm right as I'm climbing up to the top of Laurel Mountain.