Review: Clif Shot Bloks
The number of energy foods on the market seems to have been exploding the last few years -- ingredients are cheap, marketing's easy, and the science doesn't need to be rigorous, so it's easy to bring your own brand to market. All you need is a gimmick! And that's either change the ingredients, or change the format.
In the case of Clif Shot Bloks, we're looking at a change in format. Where you previously had gels, bars, and beans (yes, jellybeans), you now have "bloks" -- what amounts to a square gummi bear, laden with flavor. The ingredients haven't changed significantly from other energy foods and don't seem to have some goofy "magic ratio" of carbs-to-protein, meaning that Shot Bloks work the same as any other energy food that relies upon the basic understanding that complex carbs are good.
So the Shot Bloks work. But what do they taste like? I snagged the six flavors we had in-stock at the bike shop. One packet of each, with the intent of testing them more for flavor than anything else. On my way home, I decided to double my data points and incorporate my girlfriend in the process.
The Testers
Dan (me!) -- has been riding bikes seriously for over two decades. Well-versed in energy foods and their usage, flavor, and reputation.
Kate -- not an athlete. May never have eaten a Powerbar. I don't know. I can't imagine a non-athlete submitting themselves to such an indignity.
The Process
On Monday night, while watching TV, we nibbled at each of the cubes, analyzing strictly for flavor. We didn't cleanse our palettes between cubes unless a flavor was particularly nasty.
The Flavors
"Cran-Razz"
Kate: Tastes good -- like, uh, something. Not 'cran-razz', though.
Dan: Hello, cough syrup!
Strawberry
Kate: Good. Weird aftertaste. It's got some chemical taste to it.
Dan: Tastes like strawberry with an aftertaste of ass.
Cola
Kate: Bites you. Yuck.
Dan: Tastes like it was stored in the same room as the world's last can of RC Cola. I had high hopes for this -- like the Gummi Coke Bottles. I was saddened.
Orange
Kate: Tastes like orange slices. No chemical aftertaste on this one.
Dan: Reminds me of Pedro's Orange Peelz degreaser. Complete with the vaguely oily residue.
Margarita
Kate: Ahh. *gagging noises* Too much fake salt!
Kate + 20 Seconds: Ugh. Nasty.
Dan: I would only eat these if I had a bottle of tequila to wash them down with. That's not conducive to energy or sports!
Mountain Berry
Kate: Alright, but could be more "mountain berry"...
Dan: Do I have to keep eating these things?
The Favorites
Kate: Cran-Razz
Dan: ANYTHING THAT'S NOT THE MARGARITA FLAVOR.
The Verdict
They work like most energy foods. The gimmick is in the format. Kate will never eat these things again and may never even ride a bike again, based on her experiences in this tangent of the sport. Dan will stick with Clif Bar Harvests and Gu.
Hello Again
So I seem to have gotten away from my usual schedule here. Again. It's not really surprising, I suppose. Work1, Work2, plus home time have all conspired against my making regular posts here. Things that have happened recently:
1. I've started my fourth (fifth?) year at the bike shop, and I'd forgotten how much I love it there. We've got a good and stable mix of people, and adult leadership, so it's an environment that I am starting to enjoy a lot more.
2. Last weekend, Kate and I spent the weekend at a B&B in Stillwater called the Elephant Walk. I highly recommend the place as it was the centerpiece of a perfect weekend.
3. Battlestar Galactica is done. And with that, my Friday nights now belong to me again! I started an insightful post, inspired by the finale, that talked about the importance of having some idea of a plot in-mind when you undertake the telling of a story. However, I've opted to consign that to the electronic dustbin of history -- it's not nearly as relevant and is obvious to anyone who watched the series.
Those are about it. More later.
Hello
So I've been eyeball-deep in a project using elgg, which is at least a contributing factor to my lack of posts here. Once I get the re-skinning done, I should have more time for posts about the exotic, glamorous nature of my life. Until such time, however, I will either be at my day job, my part-time job, in the home office, or on my bike.
The bike is really looming in my mind right now. I need to renew my racing license and send the check to Birchwood that I forgot to send in December, so I can get back to my "attached rider" status and be eligible to race. Yesterday while driving to pick Kate up1 from her part-time gig, I spotted a guy on a Salsa Las Cruces — same frame I ride for cyclocross — and felt a stab of envy. He was out there riding, and I was being a cager.2 Ugh. I must get out there ASAP.
Two issues with bike paint in the last week. First, the color of the Gunnar Ruffian frameset. I was all gung-ho to get the "Sunshine Yellow over Shamrock Green", which is only available through the end of April. Making it a bit tight. Fortunately, the new limited-time color, "Sunset Red over Fine Gold" is available through the end of May, making this a much more reasonable prospect. And it looks ha-awwwwt. The other issue is the repainting of my Trek 720 frame. I've been emailing around to various frame restoring companies, and it looks like Airglow Painting out of Georgia is going to give me the best bang for my bike. Like half the price that CyclArt would charge me.
The Trek 720 is going to be a masterpiece when I'm finished with it. I've decided to thoroughly photo-document the process and will do some light video work to create a short piece on the restoration of the bike.
1. She is without car until the arrival of her new 2009 Honda Fit Sport.
2. cager (n): a driver of motorized vehicles.
Review: The Watchmen
The short version is: meh. It was alright. I won't see it again, and won't buy it until I can get it on Blu-Ray for like $3.50. But, y'know, it wasn't horrible, either.
Ultimately, I wish this movie had come out during the last NFL season, so I could make jokes about "Dr. Manhattan, as played by Visanthe Shiancoe of the Minnesota Vikings."
That said, however, jokes about "lower Manhattan" are always funny.
Jesus. Really?
When I took the picture it was for the mockery factor. Yeah, I think Nintendo is awesome. And I think that the Legend of Zelda series is the fucking bomb (esp. Wind-Waker). But to slap the stickers on a Geo Tracker? You are either the most ironic hipster on the planet, or someone needs to pay you a visit with the ClueBat™.
However, that there's a Flickr group dedicated to the Geo Tracker? Okay, time to shut down this whole ironic-hipster-80's-style thing. Put away the skinny-leg jeans and the Members Only jackets. Shut off the Franz Ferdinand bootleg. Shave the beard and sell the fixie. You're done.
(And if you're getting indignant or nit-picking at this point, I'd advise you to just stop. I'm being entirely facetious -- I'd rather live in a world where people like whatever they want and do what they feel. I just wish the fixie hipsters would shower regularly.)
Ugh!
So life has gotten in the way again, and I've fallen off the update bandwagon. Don't take it personally, baby. It's not you, it's me.
Actually, it's work. I come home at night and the last thing I want to do is write a blog post.
More later tonight.
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Checked in at Knight Cap Bar & Lounge
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Trio of girls covering "ABC" by the Jackson Five. They are fucking NAILING it. Michael Jackson lives! [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at Northeast Palace
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I'm at McDonald's - NE (1100 University Ave NE, Minneapolis). http://4sq.com/7fT8JH [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at McDonald's - NE
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Checked in at Lens Crafters
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I'm at Mall of America (Mall of America, 60 East Broadway, Bloomington) w/ 4 others. http://4sq.com/4z906f [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at Mall of America
