Hydration/Nutrition: Embark "Good Energy" Part 3

N.Y. Roll came through again. Another packet was tested!

You might recall that I've been trying out this nutritional product that N.Y. Roll got a hold of at the CORE4 event. (Last post on that HERE) Well, at our latest recording of the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch (Episode #102 HERE) he found another packet of Embark to share with me. This time it was the Coffee Maple Energy flavor. 

I decided to use this one during my 30+ mile ride detailed yesterday here on the blog. I just diluted the packet half and half in my two water bottles- one half a packet per bottle- and then I just sipped along the way as I rode. 

I'm pretty in-tune with how a 3 hour long ride feels after 3/4's of the way through and I can say that, without any doubt in my mind, Embark was helping me to power through the last third of the ride. I think I can articulate why with a couple of reasons here.

Firstly, I have a pretty messed up left shoulder. I fell hard on it back at the end of May which exacerbated things and set me back again with having to deal with a dull, aching pain during riding. Well, that's been marginally getting better, but I feel that shoulder after a couple of hours and I still could feel it yesterday. Obviously, Embark isn't going to dull my pain. And that's true as well concerning fatigue of tissue on my behind, which I was feeling a bit there toward the end of things as well. But that all stood out more because of what was missing, in my opinion.

And what was that? It was the general lack of power. or to be more truthful, the waning of power, in my legs. That did not happen. In that sense, I felt that I could maintain a pretty decent pace with relative ease compared to what I have felt before. 

So, I was pretty impressed by that, and what is more, I never once felt any bloating or other gastrointestinal distress. That's a really good sign for me that this stuff is worth buying for my longer rides. 

And it tastes great. Much like the last packet I tried out, I loved the flavor here. Mixed into the water bottles I found that half a packet was pretty strong, in terms of flavor. These were large sized Polar water bottles, by the way. So, I think one packet could be split into thirds, maybe, and then the flavor wouldn't be so intense. Honestly though, I didn't mind the flavor intensity here. It was that good. 

My only complaint is with the packaging. There is no way to measure out a half, third, or quarter of the contents beyond pouring it out and using measuring cups. But I also realize that Embark is changing the packaging, (thus the "Prototype" badge on the packages I had), so I cannot really claim that as a negative at this point until I see whatever the new packaging is. 

Maybe another nit would be the price. At 6-plus dollars a packet, it seems a bit spendy for 3 ounces. Hammer Gel, for instance, is less expensive. But you probably are not going to slam an Embark packet down, (but you could), and if you cut it into your water, well then that starts to make it a bit more easy on the wallet. Plus- if that is what works for your body, then you have to consider that as well. I mean, what good is it if a product is cheaper but it makes your gut do somersaults?

Again, I wasn't asked to write this up, and as far as I know, Embark has no idea I'm writing this up. I got the three packets I tried from N.Y. Roll who in turn got them in his entry for the recently run CORE4 event.