Wow! That’s a lot of Honey Stinger product.

I had finally run out of my supply of nutrition from that OTHER company and was looking forward to getting a resupply from my new sponsor. Plenty to keep me running for the upcoming slate of stage races. I ordered a little bit of this and a little bit of that so I could try out all the flavors and products and find my favorites. Let’s see what we had in the box:

• Apple Cinnamon Energy Bars: love these for longer rides on hot days because they don’t have any chocolate coating to melt in the sun.
• Peanut Butter & Honey Energy Bars. Mm, is this a Snickers bar? Butterfinger? I probably won’t be stuffing my jersey pockets with these, but they will be good for pre-race fuel (an hour or so before the race).
• Peanut Butta Protein 10g Bars: smaller serving than the usual gigantic protein bars, for those of us who don’t weigh 200lbs and need 30g of protein to recover. And really tasty. Softer consistency than the energy bars; goes down easily after a hard race.
• Fruit Smoothie Organic Energy Chews: way, way better than the chews I used to eat from that OTHER company. They don’t get super sticky in my jersey pocket, so I can actually grab them during a race! And then once I am trying to chew them, they don’t get stuck in my teeth. Amazing how these little things make a big difference when you have little energy to spare.
• Cherry Blossom Organic Energy Chews: yummy.
• Gold Gels: no caffeine. The original. Tastes like honey.
• Strawberry Gels: naturally caffeinated (kola nut).
• Ginsting Gels: naturally caffeinated, plus ginsing! Loving these. All the gels are easy to tear open and use on the bike.

I love that the Honey Stinger products are natural and organic wherever possible. I’m a fan! Thanks, Honey Stinger!

Thanks again Nicollet Bike Shop and Specialized Bikes.

Availability: Specialized makes a limited number of 49cm Tarmac frames, so I wouldn’t get my new bike until April.

Components:  The Tarmac comes with Rival, which I like slightly better than 105 because it seems to be narrower and easier to grip with small hands.  Unfortunately with the Amira, there is no option for Rival.

Gears: The Tarmac Comp Rival does not come with a compact gear ratio, but if I go with 105 I can get compact.  But do I really need to have compact?  I’m not a strong climber so I think I should.

Geometry: I have short legs and a long torso.  The Amira in a 51 cm has a seat tube length of 450 cm and a top tube length of 518 cm.  For a 49 cm Tarmac the seat tube length is 460 cm and the top tube is 518 cm.

Is there anything else that I should be thinking about?  Do you all have any advice for me?  It’s always so hard to make a decision on a long term commitment.

After a long hard training and racing season, I found myself feeling more tired and run down than usual. I decided to try a couple of protein/recovery drinks. I didn’t like the way they made me feel; I felt bloated and full after drinking them – I didn’t feel much benefit from it so I went back to water.

Later, during our team training camp, a teammate convinced me that I should try Fluid. So, after a long ride I decided to make a recovery smoothly… I’m sure glad I did. I blended 2 scoops of the Chocolate Fluid Recovery, 8 oz. of vanilla yogurt and lots of ice. Yummy!!

The results—I had more energy, reduced aches, pains and muscle soreness following my workout and the next day. I didn’t experience any digestive problems! I now have a recovery drink following all my workouts and I feel great!

Fluid is ideal for athletes who are performance-conscious, want a product free of sugar-substitutes and artificial sweeteners, and who want a great tasting drink—this is the best blend of taste and performance.

Joining a new team, I got the opportunity this week to try out some exciting products offered by our generous sponsors. Yesterday’s local circuit race at McDowell Mountain gave me a good opportunity to battle-test some of the new nutrition and gear!

XOOD’s natural energy drink gave me a good mix of carbs with just a touch of protein to help me get through not only warmups and my 40-minute race, but another 2 hours of spinning on the bike afterwards. The mangosteen flavor was light and didn’t give me that too-sweet, dry mouth feeling I get with other drink mixes. A few hours before the race I fueled up with a HoneyStinger Peanut Butter & Honey energy bar, and found it to be tasty and a good consistency for easy eating on the bike. At the start line I topped off my tank with a HoneyStinger Gold gel; the 120 calories were plenty to propel me through the coming laps and the slightly lower viscosity than some of those other brands made it super easy to eat quickly, with no mess. My nutritional explorations continued during my after-race spin with a HoneyStinger 10g Peanut Butta Protein bar to help my muscles recover, and the smaller size was appreciated–I don’t need the same amount of food as a 200lb male racer! I worked on rehydrating with a FLUID drink mix, which gave me 100% natural carbs, protein and also a touch of glutamine to reduce inflammation. I had the Tropical Escape flavor and it mixed up quickly without leaving a chalky residue behind in the bottle.

Genuine Innovation’s new Top Dog Legend floor pump made it easy for me to get the perfect air pressure in my tires. It is stable and the high-volume cylinder made it easy to push high pressures without struggle. The presta/schraeder magic head easily popped on and off my valve stems without damaging them. I fine-tuned my brake caliper positioning with the Flat Stack mini-tool and even though it is a tiny multi-tool, the bits were smartly designed and allowed me to get the 5mm allen into my brake mount bolts at a tricky angle with no problem. It slipped into the Genuine Innovations seat bag along with the rest of my flat kit, tube, and ID with no argument.

The new products I got to try out at McDowell gave me confidence that I will be well prepared for the upcoming races. Very excited to get the season under way!

XOOD is a natural, healthy energy drink with no added sweeteners and no artificial colors or flavoring. It is composed of a blend of maltodextrin, whey protein, fructose, electrolytes, and vitamins meant to go easy on your digestive system.

XOOD is a product of HeartWise Fitness & Nutrition and was developed by two cardiologists who sought to provide endurance athletes with a nutrition product composed of only high quality, natural, heart-friendly ingredients. One of the founding docs, Sal Tirrito, is an Ironman athlete and an occasional writer for our Doctor’s Corner section of Women’s Bike Talk. Lou Lancero, the other founding cardiologist of XOOD, is also an avid bike racer and triathlete.

XOOD is available in three varieties:

XOOD Green Tea Lemon, with a natural source of caffeine from green tea extract, designed to energize your workouts. Personally, this is my favorite flavor of XOOD.

XOOD Pomegranate, which contains polyphenols from natural pomegranate extract, designed to act as powerful antioxidants to cleanse the body of toxins built up during sustained exercise and reduce oxidative damage.

XOOD Mangosteen, which contains mangosteen, a unique tropical fruit with anti-inflammatory properties thought to revive tired muscles, as well as to decrease fatigue and gastro-intestinal issues.

Although XOOD is not as well known as, say, Gatorade, it’s definitely worth giving a shot. In my opinion, it does not disappoint.

As I have a tendency to fall off my bike on occasion, I have dealt with my fair share of injuries over the years as a cyclist. Various injuries, surgery, etc. tend to alter how you sit on the bike, and given the repetitive nature of cycling, it’s important to ensure that you are positioned correctly on the bike. At the beginning of this season, I was coming back from a long rest to try to recover from some crookedness in my hips. Naturally, I wanted Don to check out my bike fit to make sure I was in the correct position. Bike fitting can help prevent injury and also help you increase power on the bike, so I highly recommend it! I visited Don in the awesome bike fit studio at Bicycle Haus, where he looked reviewed my flexibility, body structure, bike position, cleat adjustment, and more. Don’s fit definitely helped improve my riding this year, and I must say, it was pretty cool to have lasers and cameras pointed at me while I was riding and project it onto the big screen. So for anyone in Arizona, stop by Bicycle Haus sometime to get a bike fit from Don Williams. While you are at it, you can enjoy the fancy bike fit studio at Bike Haus and maybe even get a massage! You will definitely be glad you did it.

Please note: one should wear bright pink Recovery Socks during a bike fit…

Checking myself out on the big screen.

Don enters my numbers. I have lasers pointing at me. Sweet.

Don puts cleats on my new Specialized Women’s BG Pro Road Shoes

Even my dog thinks bike fits are cool!

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