I spend a fair amount of time staring blankly at the wall of energy bars at the grocery store. I’ve tried almost all of them, and I have my favorites, but I also feel kinda trapped by them. The thing is, I need quick, easy to eat, high calorie food to cram in my face while riding, but I’m too lazy and too short on time to make my own, like from the excellent Skratch Labs book Feedzone Portables. So I love/hate the energy bar aisle.
Having said that…
My current go-to ride food is Bobo’s Oat Bar Stuff’d Bites. This is a very specific pick, because I would NEVER take a Bobo’s Oat Bar on a ride. They’re too dry, and too big. I’m not knocking them as a nutritious snack, but they are not for riding with. I’d also skip the un-Stuff’d Bites, because dry.
But Bobo’s Stuff’d Bites are the right size, about two or three actual bites, and the stuffed version is moist, sweet, and just right. They pack the long burn of oats with the short burn of sweet sugary filling (130-140 calories worth), and I think of them like a more nuanced version of the good ole Clif Blok, which I also have along for most rides.
They are easy to open, unlike some others, and also easy to get down quickly during a brief pause in your ride, or even to eat while rolling. These come in Apple Pie, Strawberry, and Peanut Butter n’ Jelly flavors, and you can get a box of 30 for $29.99 from Bobo’s.
I’m sure the Bobos are tasty, but like most energy goodies they just have way too many carbs for me. I’ve mentioned before that Jelly Belly’s Sport Beans are my go to. They are quick energy, easily portable, don’t melt and with ten per pack at about 2.5 carbs each are easy to target how many to eat without overdoing it. I have more recently added Lara Bar minis into my repertoire as they have generally less than half of the carbs of most energy bars, still have the quick and long burn energy and are a bit more substantial than the beans when I want to change it up.