Straight out of Durango, CO comes Tailwind Nutrition. Providing fuel for strong rides the formulations are a simple and clear choice for on-bike nutrition and post-ride recovery fuel. Tailwind Nutrition was born out of a need for a great tasting, easily absorbed and assimilated fuel for endurance athletes.
The last thing you want to worry about on a ride is running out of gas. Running out of fuel can be a dangerous way to end a ride. For instance, not being able to react to terrain with a clear-thinking brain starving for fuel can lead to injury. Also, finishing a hard effort, event or race feeling like you have a little left in the tank can be a strong motivator. This is achievable if you practice a smart and well-designed nutrition strategy.
What is in there?
Tailwind Endurance Fuel is a mixture of non-GMO simple sugars (Glucose and Sucrose) organic flavors and some important natural minerals like sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium. This combination helps keep muscles keep firing efficiently. Together with nice mild flavors some have caffeine (35 mg -about the same amount as a 12 oz Coke.) Incidentally, caffeine has been extensively studied and shown to be an ergogenic aid.
er·go·gen·ic /ˌərɡəˈjenik/ adjective
1) intended to enhance physical performance, stamina, or recovery.2) increasing capacity for bodily or mental labor especially by eliminating fatigue symptoms
Huge Variety of Delicious Flavors:
The endurance fuel comes in 4 varieties of non-caffeinated (Berry, Lemon, Mandarin and Naked) and 4 varieties of caffeinated (Tropical, Green tea, Colorado Cola, and Raspberry.) I prefer the Colorado Cola and Raspberry varieties. The Naked is literally like drinking water without clothes on. This is your best bet if you are not feeling particularly adventurous or have trouble getting fuel down while riding.
Fuel For Strong Rides:
I’d suggest getting a mixed pack of the stick packs (double-sized servings of 200 calories each) so you can taste them all. Figure out your perfect strategy to keep going all day by testing out the mix ratio. I usually bring one bottle of water and one concentrated flask of Tailwind with a filter on my longer rides, here in Pisgah. That way I can take a squirt from my flask, drink from my water bottle and fill up with my filter from the mountain springs if it’s more than a couple of hours long. It’s nice to have an all-natural option for sports nutrition. I also appreciate the fact that I can actually pronounce everything that is in it.
The instructions are easy. No you really don’t need those gross gels or chews which can be hard to get down especially during a race or harder effort.
“Gluten free/vegan/no soy/no dairy, crystal clear with no dyes, preservatives or 4-syllable pixie dust.”
The Rebuild recovery mix helps after a long, hard ride to replenish with complex protein and carbohydrates. It literally tastes like a delicious milkshake. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never mixed it in the blender with some coconut milk ice cream! It comes in chocolate, vanilla and now COFFEE! The coffee tastes like a latte. I like to mix it up with a little of the chocolate for a MOCHA twist. This stuff goes down super easy and I always look forward to getting back from a hard ride and getting my recovery started!
Pricing:
The cost of Tailwind is slightly less expensive than other nutrition mixes of this caliber. This is high quality stuff so keep in mind you get what you pay for. If you start thinking about what type of fuel you are putting to stoke your “engine” you’ll realize that you don’t want to skimp here. It’s also important to figure out what works for you, so start with the sample packs.
Single servings of the endurance fuel ranges from $0.72-$1.50 depending on the volume you buy. If you get the 50 serving bags you can get the cost right down. Just be sure you like the flavor!
The Recovery drink goes for 2.50-$3.00 per serving with a whopping 245 calories per serving, when mixed with water as instructed. :}
Right now Tailwind is offering a way to give back to the hospital workers that are putting their lives on the line to take care of COVID-19 patients. You can donate to send stick packs directly to the hospital workers and keep them all fuelled during this Pandemic! As they say: “Together is the only way forward!”
A little more about the author…. Tricia Davis has been a Physical Therapist and endurance coach for most of her adult life. She and good friend and all-around amazing person – Melissa Ross run Killercoach.com an online endurance coaching company. Offering individualized and structured training along with injury prevention and biomechanical efficiency assessments, we’ve had plenty of time to test out nutrition strategies personally along with our athletes. The coaches at Killercoach can help you too.
