I’ve been using Nuun Active Hydration tablets ($19.50 for a 3 pack) for a while and just wanted to give a quick heads up on this product. Unlike other tablets on the market, these babies can be used in your hydration pack without fear of growing a funky science experiment. The Nuun tablets are also crazy easy to use, no measurements required - just pop in one tablet for every 500ml of water in your hydration pack. For instance, I have a 3L pack so I pop 6 tablets in and go.

Nuun tablets add a little flavor to your water but more importantly they deliver a combination of fundamental minerals and electrolytes that promote hydration during exercise. The tablets also feature a catalyst to speed up the absorption of water while you’re active. The best part? No added carbohydrates or sugars means no harsh crash later.

Now everyone is different so I won’t offer any performance claims however I can tell you that I didn’t feel any worse off using Nuun. I actually felt pretty good on rides when I used Nuun and I enjoyed all the flavors I tried including lemon+lime, tri-berry and banananuun. I was also happy that cleaning my hydration pack was not an issue; a simple rinse with water (and occasionally some dish soap) left the pack without a sticky mess afterward.

If you’re interested in more details, check out the Nuun website.

Cheers folks and happy trails.

Let me start this out by saying I almost never review nutrition or hydration products. Nutrition and hydration choices will generally be specific to each rider and what works for me might not work for you (and vice versa). And that’s precisely what makes Me & Goji so interesting and different: it’s customized nutrition that’s perfect for mountain bikers, whether you’re in training or just trying to stay healthy.

When I started training for the Sumter Metric Century back in March I’d typically eat a bowl of sugary cereal (something like Corn Pops or Honey Comb – no kidding) before heading out on a long weekend ride. Of course I’d feel full when I left the house but by the time I drove to the trailhead I’d start to feel hungry and I’d typically eat a pack of peanut butter crackers right away. During the ride I ate stuff like granola bars, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, etc. – whatever I could to get the calories I needed. Clearly this is not the diet of champion riders

About halfway through my training program I got the chance to try a custom cereal mix from Me & Goji and not surprisingly it made a huge difference. First off: one bowl of the cereal kept me full until lunch time, even on long rides. In designing my custom cereal mix I stuck to the basic artisanal cereal base which is made from organic multigrain oat bran flakes – hearty stuff that fills you up and stays with you, even on epic spins.

Of course the artisanal cereal base is good for you and has a nice crunch but frankly it’s not all that sexy or tasty on its own (it’s no Honey Comb I can tell you that ). The really cool thing about Me & Goji is they allow you to customize your cereal by adding various dry fruits, nuts, seeds, and flavors. I added quinoa flakes (revered by Incan warriors for the stamina they provide – all 9 amino acids in one package), goji (a superfruit from the Himalaya packed with phytochemicals), and chia seeds (also used by ancient warriors, chia seeds absorb 12 times their weight in water and prolong incredible levels of hydration). For flavor I added dried apples, cinnamon, and pecans

The Me & Goji website makes it easy to drag and drop ingredients into your cereal mix and within a few minutes I was able to create and order my creation. You can even name your mix and the name is printed right on the cereal canister – how’s that for customization? All the nutrition info is updated as you create your mix so you can make sure what you’re getting is good for you.

Building a custom cereal is certainly more expensive than buying “off the shelf” but with Me & Goji you’re actually getting 21 oz. of food (compare to 15 oz. or less in a typical cereal box). In terms of nutrition and fuel for your body you really can’t do much better than a personalized mix from Me & Goji – give it a try before your next epic ride!