Accelerade is Kool

My good friend and new riding buddy Nate gave me a giant tub of Powder Lemon Lime Accelerade. He said it makes him puke so he pawned it off on me, one who is always willing to try new sports drinks.

I mixed up a batch in the kitchen to give it a shot. Now I understand why Nate gave it away so easily. Not only is there a gag reflex in the aftertaste, but when I gave some to my neighbor who happened to be over, he said immediately upon consumption, “this tastes like toilet water,” and I concurred (so did my 7 year old daughter).

So that was my initial impressions along with those of the innocent bystanders in the kitchen with me. With 55 servings left in the tub, I thought I should give it a go in action, you know on the trail… I will tell you this: When you are out in the wild all food tastes a different. I say different, but what I mean is better. Instant oatmeal is nothing but a slop of tasteless mush if you eat it in the comfort of your own home surrounded by a fridge full of bacon and eggs. But when you are miles and miles from civilization, camped out on a plateau in Escalante, and you wake to an unexpected bone cold snow covered desert, with nothing but 2 cups of water, a couple of instant oatmeals and a 15 mile hike ahead of you, those precious oatmeals taste like heaven. You see I’m setting you up for the taste of Accelerade on the trail..

Now I won’t go as far as saying that on the trail Accelerade tastes like oatmeal in the wild, but I will say that out on the trail Accelerade does deliver as promised in energy, hydration and recovery, and the taste…is bearable. Nowhere on the tub does Accelerade boast taste as one of its strong points.

So I’m down to 52 servings left. (I used a couple more out on the trail). This morning as I was tossing and turning in and out of sleep crunching work numbers in my head, I had a vision. Why not add some cherry Kool-Aid to the Lemon Lime Accelerade to enhance its flavor factor?

So there you have it, new and improved Kool Accelerade. I’m still working on the proper mix ratio, but 16 oz water, 1 scoop Accelerade and a half scoop cherry Kool-Aid is a compromise that I can swallow.