Every four weeks, a box shows up in the mail crammed with a huge variety of bars, waffles, gels, protein mixes, almond-butter pastes and other tasty nutritional snacks. As a hungry cyclists, we only have one problem with this: our family members quicky poach our stash.
The Feed is a new company focusing on portable nutrition for cyclists. It's like a hyper-specific, online grocery store that delivers. Think wine of the month club, but for cyclists. (Sadly if you're reading this from outside the US, it's nothing more than a cool concept as yet – and one we hope comes to our shores soon!)
At first blush the concept seemed a little indulgent. Why not just go to the store or bike shop and pick up something? But after a couple of boxes, we enjoyed being pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of product. Here are just a few things we had never heard of, much less tasted, but ended up loving and subsequently seeking out: Taos Almond Agave bars, GoMacro Granola Coconut bar, PocketFuel Pineapple Coconut, and Purely Elizabeth Cranberry Pecan granola. Rip Van Wafel? Yum. All told, there are nearly 700 products from more than 60 brands.
Once you have a subscription going, you can tailor your monthly box online, just have it as a random surprise, or use the assistance of a specialist at The Feed to help you. We had Tally Latcham assist us. "Sure you can walk into Whole Foods and grab a handful of bars, but chances are the guy stocking the shelves isn't going to be able to tell you exactly when during your Ironman you should switch from bars to chews," Latcham said.
"He won't suggest switching to Honey Stinger gels over Clif gels because it's actually the maltodextrin that's giving you gut rot. He can't diagnose your cramping issues, or give you meal suggestions to increase your sodium intake before your next big event," he added.
Ever had a personal shopper? Neither had we
As much as we all love real food, the convenience of being able to just grab something and stuff it in your jersey as you head out the door is a big factor for many of us. Having that convenience plus a refreshing variety, in healthy options, is better.
Bottom line: If you regularly use Clif Bars or something similar, but you're a little bored with your options, The Feed is a pretty cool — and certainly a very convenient — way to spice things up.
