In the interest of my performance in the MS 150 Ride, I've begun sampling energy gels for the ride. I've concerned myself mostly with taste and consistency over straight performance of the gel, because basically, there will be rest stops so I can load up on carbs if I need to (I imagine it would be somewhat embarrassing to bonk on a charity ride). I'll be looking into Clif Shot, Hammer Nutrition, Enervitene, Gu and Power Gels among others, starting tonight with Hammer Gel:

Flavor: Raspberry
Consistency: Really thick
Ingredients: Long-chain Maltodextrin, Water, Raspberry Puree, Energy Smart® (Fruit Juice, Natural Grain Dextrins), Raspberry Flavor, Black Raspberry Flavor, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (as a preservative), Amino Acids (L-Leucine, L-Alanine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine), Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride
Performance (How I feel afterwards): UPDATE. After about three hours I crashed. Hard. Didn't even make it to the end of the Home Run Derby without shutting my eyes for a bit. Maybe it was because I didn't do much in the way of strenuous physical activity, but I was knocked out. I sure could feel my heart thumping in my chest though... Bad news I think, and somewhat disappointingly ineffective.

Conclusion: I've gotta say, it tasted... ok, but damn was that a disgusting thing to have in my mouth. The consistency was very thick, and the fact that it was warm I'm sure didn't help. I'm hoping that things get better from here. I'm looking to put in about 30 miles tomorrow, so I'll be sampling Hammer Gel Orange, and/or Enervitene Orange at some point on the ride.

Also, if any of you have a particular favorite amongst these products, I'm totally open to suggestions.