A Canadian endurance rider has turned to homemade energy gels to fuel his training, claiming his simple DIY recipe cut his nutrition costs by more than $70 a week – and it’s easy enough for any rider to create their own at home.
Oliver Dowd says he began experimenting with gels after realising the volume he needed for long rides made shop-bought products unaffordable. “I wanted the convenience of gels in training,” he explains, “but with the amount I was going through, I couldn’t afford to buy them.”
Dowd consumes between 25 and 30 gels each week. At retail prices, that would typically cost him around $80.
By mixing his own using little more than sugar, sodium alginate and water flavouring, he estimates he spends only $5 per week.
Each serving contains around 70g of carbohydrate – “the important metric everyone cares about,” he says in a video posted on his Instagram feed – putting his recipe in line with commercial gels.
- Read more: Are your energy gels lying to you? New study shows many products contain fewer carbs than claimed
Dowd originally developed the recipe while preparing for an attempt at the cross-Canada cycling record, which was derailed after an accident left him injured.
“I needed a way to make gels in a hotel room with no stove,” he says. A friend suggested sodium alginate as a substitute for cooking down the mixture, enabling him to refine the formula. Sodium alginate is used by brands, including Maurten, to create a gel-like consistency.
Before the accident, Dowd tested the gels during two days of back-to-back riding, consuming 15 servings per day without any stomach issues.
He hasn’t ruled out another record attempt in future, but admits it is “a lot to ask [of] my friends to take that much vacation to support me for two years in a row”.
For now, the gels remain his go-to fuelling option for training and long rides. “After tonnes of long rides as my main fuel source, I can confirm they do work,” he says.
Want to make your own?
SQUIRREL_PLAYLIST_10207918
Oliver Dowd's simple energy gel recipe
- Place 70 g of sugar and a pinch (about 1/8 teaspoon) of sodium alginate into a measuring cup
- Pour in boiling water until the total volume reaches 100ml
- Mix thoroughly until all the dry ingredients dissolve. You may need to add a little more water to maintain 100ml
- Stir in a liquid flavouring, such as Kraft Heinz’s Mio or another water enhancer
- Once the mixture has cooled slightly, pour it into soft, reusable containers or silicone bottles for use on the bike
Dowd packages the gels in refillable silicone travel bottles bought online.
He says these are “no more messy than a regular gel” and reduce the waste of single-use wrappers. While the flavour doesn’t quite match his favourite store-bought options, he describes it as “good enough to eat for the whole day”.
