Gel/Mora Vasaloppet

Hi all,
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa. Thanks for the input.
Also, does the Vasa have any good climbs, or is it flat like pancake.

Thanks for any input,
Matt Liebsch
UofM skier
PioneerMidwest Ski Team

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 22:06:15 -0600, "Matt L." wrote:

Hi all,
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa.

Brian May did a test last year:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=bm...umn.edu&rnum=1

JT

Matt L. wrote:
Hi all,
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa. Thanks for the input.
Also, does the Vasa have any good climbs, or is it flat like pancake.

Thanks for any input,
Matt Liebsch
UofM skier
PioneerMidwest Ski Team



Mora's 58K course is relentlessly flat. There are some rollers, a few
gradual climbs and a section in the woods in the 3K to 10K range that
has some stand in line hills if you don't get a good start. It has been
a few years since anyone has done the full course, but i recall
somewhere around 25K there was a downhill to a narrow bridge over a
creek where at least two guys I saw running had broken skis. It was
very icy that year by the time I got to that decent.

I tried the Gensen gel for the City of Lakes Loppet last weekend (-5F).
It stayed quite liquid stapled to my bib. Gensen supplied the energy
drink for that race.

"Matt L." wrote in message
...
Hi all,
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something
a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa. Thanks for the input.
Also, does the Vasa have any good climbs, or is it flat like pancake.

Something I've done which helps: buy a "gu flask". There are Gu brand
flasks as well as generic. If you don't recongnize that, it's just a tiny
plastic container with a pop-up top (like the squirt tops on dish soap
containers). One hand operation - hold the flask and squeeze with one hand,
and use your teeth to open and suck. It's made to hold multiple gels. But,
I've also used it to mix my gel with water - proportions to suit your fancy
(use warm water to dissolve the gel). I make a really thick slurry that
seems to avoid becoming unmanagably thick with the cold, but is still pretty
concentrated and easier to push out of the container and swallow than
straight gel, especially when you're really tired. Even diluted, you can
fit a couple to several gels in it, depending on the size (there are large
and small ones).

An alternative is the Rubbermaid "juice box" containers - plastic containers
with flip up "straw-like" things on the top that kids use to drink juice
without spilling. They hold quite a bit more than the little gu flasks,
therefore you could cut it a little more or prepare more gels. Again, a one
hand squeeze/suck operation.

With both of these things, you can figure a way to put them in a convenient,
but warm place if you put your mind to it. With the little gu flasks, I
tape a lanyard onto it and hang it from my neck inside my top - it's pretty
easy to yank out to use. As easy as ripping a gu stapled to the bib and
messing with trying to bite off the top and eat it at least, and that's the
bench mark, no? Of course, if it's warm enough, you might not even have the
need to dilute it with water or hang it inside the clothes - but I like it a
little thinner and warmer anyway for swallowing purposes.

HTH, FWIW, YMMV, etc.

Grissy

Hey Matt,

First of all, congrats on an awesome COLL!

The little test I did last year had the following order of "liquidy":
i) Enervit, ii) Gu, iii) PowerGel. I figure the Gu would have been
Ok, the PowerGel was definitely solid. I'm not sure if there is any
difference in the flavors. I usually staple gels to the strap on my
bottle holder. The last couple races, I've worn a vest (windproof
front) over my ski suit. It has a pretty handy pocket that I put a
gel in (advantage at Pepsi because I tossed my bottle holder at the
half-way mark). It also provides my bottle with a little protection
from freezing.

As for the Vasa course, I remember it being really flat, punctuated by
occasional short climbs. In a pack, the effort definitely spikes on the
climbs, with a lot of pretty relaxed skiing in between. Oh yeah,
hammer the first few km because the course narrows significantly when
it heads into the woods - that's when gaps start to open up and it's
pretty hard to bridge them if you get stuck behind. You want to be in
good position early.

Good luck,
Brian


In article , Matt L. wrote:
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa. Thanks for the input.
Also, does the Vasa have any good climbs, or is it flat like pancake.

Thanks for any input,
Matt Liebsch
UofM skier
PioneerMidwest Ski Team

Hello,
For that matter, you definitely need to get Hammer Gel. www.hammergel.com
I used them in marathon in -15f and they just become like Powre Gel in the
Summer.
That is tha way to go. Overmore, they taste great. Try Apple-Cinnamon or
Raspberry.

Christian Fillion.

"Matt L." a écrit dans le message de
...
Hi all,
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something
a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa. Thanks for the input.
Also, does the Vasa have any good climbs, or is it flat like pancake.

Thanks for any input,
Matt Liebsch
UofM skier
PioneerMidwest Ski Team

Try Hammer Gel. They are the best in Cold weather.www.hammergel.com

Christian.
"John Forrest Tomlinson" a écrit dans le message
de ...
On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 22:06:15 -0600, "Matt L." wrote:

Hi all,
What energy gel stays the most "gel like" in cold conditions. At the
City of Lakes Loppet, the GU packets I had stapled to my bib were pretty
well frozen by the time I needed the use them. I'm looking for something
a
little more "liquidy" for the Vasa.

Brian May did a test last year:


http://groups.google.com/groups?q=bm...umn.edu&rnum=1

JT