I’ve been a big fan of electrolyte tablets since they first started appearing on the market. They aren’t messy, like mixes can be, they slip into your bag or pocket and stay dry and intact in their tube, and it’s easy to share with a friend when you’re on the road.

There aren’t too many companies out there making effervescent electrolyte replacement tablets and I was excited to try a new product called ZYM Catapult from a Chicago-based company, BE Innovations. They’ve had a tablet on the market called Endurance for a while now. Catapult is a little different - it delivers a nice dose of caffeine from guarana and a jolt of vitamins B12 and C. The B12 is supposed to prevent the caffeine jitters but it also keeps energy levels high (remember your grandma getting B12 shots?)

I took a tube of Catapult to the Northern Illinois MS150 this weekend to give it a try. We rode 100 miles the first day and I was a little concerned about bottle after bottle of caffeinated go-juice. It really can make you wired if you’re not a big caffeine drinker, along with making you look desperately for the next porta-potty, so I mixed it up, drinking a non-caffeinated drink every other bottle. But I shouldn’t have worried - I never felt too caffeinated during the day.

The results were great! I felt strong and fresh-legged most of the 100 miles we rode that first day, until we hit headwinds that made even our team leader struggle. I’ve found that electrolyte replacement can make a huge difference in how quickly you recover after exercise, so finishing off the ride with a final bottle of Catapult helped get me ready for the next day of riding (well, that, and a huge plate of pasta). I really appreciated the B12 boost - it’s good stuff.

ZYM Catapult comes in a nice berry flavor and it’s a bit sweeter than the other effervescent tablets I’ve tried. None of them have actual sugar - they are all basically calorie free, using sorbitol to sweeten. The sweetness helps mask the salty taste of the electrolytes, but it’s not cloyingly sweet like some premixed drinks are. Each tablet makes 16 to 20 ounces of drink, just perfect for most cycling water bottles.

One tip I’d pass on to you: sports nutrition has gotten more complicated as drinks, gels, bars, and chews get more refined to target specific needs. You need to pay attention to what and how much you are getting as you mix them all, so if your gel has lots of vitamins or sodium, make sure your drink has less. While I was trying out Catapult, I made sure I didn’t overdo my gel, which also has caffeine in it. Not all rides are as supported as the MS150, with porta-potties every 10 miles!

ZYM Catapult: $8 to $10 for a 10 tablet tube, depending on where you buy it. Check out gozym.com for a list of distributors and retailers.

If you like getting your carbs and calories from food rather than ultra-sweet sports drinks when you’re working out or playing hard, here’s a totally new product idea for you….Enlyten’s SportStrips. With no calories, no carbs, and no sugars, they are strictly for electrolyte replacement.

SportStrips work by absorption through your buccal mucosa (your mouth and inner cheek lining). You just slip one of the strips, which look a lot like those breath freshener strips, between your cheek and gum and let it dissolve. The advantage is that the electrolytes get absorbed into your bloodstream much quicker this way and bypass the digestive system completely. If you’ve ever gotten the belly ache on a long run or ride from drinking lots of hydration beverage, you’ll appreciate the advantage.

Aside from the science, I enoyed being able to drink plain, cold water when I was thirsty rather than forcing down a sports mix. The SportStrips take practically no room in a jersey pocket, so you can reduce the bulk of carrying dry powder along with you.

Enlyten SportStrips come in three flavors, orange, grape, and vanilla-berry. Enlyten recommends a pre-load of three to six strips, the same number while your active, and recovering with another three to six strips. That was too many for me and I like to recover with a yogurt-fruit smoothie (or a bucket of movie popcorn), but it was extremely convenient during my ride. It took a little getting used to the way the little plastic case opens and slipping out one or two of the strips, but I sure did like carrying that little tiny case! My only criticism was with the packaging - there were no instructions printed on there. Since someone shared a case with me, I had no idea how many strips to use until I visited the Enlyten website.

Enlyten SportStrips are available from the Enlyten website as well as major sporting goods and nutrition stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods and GNC. Three packets of 18 strips each are $9.99.

Believe it or not, I’ve never tried a Luna product. At Interbike, I got a chance to gobble and slurp everything at the nutrition booths (it was a hungry day). One of the yummy items was Luna’s Recovery Smoothie, dark chocolate flavor. The packets are the perfect size for a seat bag or jersey pocket and, if you have some water left in a bottle at the end of the ride, you can mix and enjoy right then. The calories and vitamin/mineral/supplement amounts are tuned to female needs instead of being the “one mix fits all” variety.

I waited until I got back to home base and mixed mine with soy milk, which made it really taste like a shake. I know it’s sometimes hard to make ourselves drink or eat for recovery after working hard but it really does make a difference in your performance, whether you’re playing or working. Luna makes it easy with nutrition geared to meet a woman’s requirements.

Luna Sport Recovery Smoothie (120 calories per serving) available in individual packets and 1.4 lb. canisters.

Brrr!!! It’s getting cold around here, but my schedule is just as packed as ever, so I’ve got to squeeze my outdoor endeavors in when I can. That means some chilly, early morning rides. And when I get back home, the last thing I want to do is drink a big glass of recovery drink - heck, it’s hard enough to make myself drink on the bike when it’s really cold!

The clever folks at Clif have come up with an electrolyte drink and a recovery drink that are served warm or hot. The electrolyte drink is an apple cider flavor and the recovery mix is hot chocolate. You can add water to either, but milk or soy milk are especially good in the chocolate recovery mix. Think hot chocolate with all the goodies in it you need to replenish electrolytes, carbs, and the specific vitamins and minerals you deplete when you’re working hard. Now, why didn’t I think of that?

Clif Shot Hot Drinks

Snapple Premium Black Teas

I’m a tea fanatic. When I had to stop drinking coffee about five years ago, I switched to tea with gusto. I mostly drink it hot but, in the summer time, my southern roots show and I drink tall iced teas.

Snapple has come out with a line of black teas that are lightly sweetened with sugar or sugar/honey — welcome news, because most of the tea available at the grocery or quickie mart are a bit on the sweet side for apres-sport thirst quenching.

My test panel and I tried out three flavors: Earl Grey, Orange Pekoe, and English Breakfast. The Earl Grey was very mild and the familiar bergamot orange flavor wasn’t too overpowering. I’ve never been an Earl Grey fan but this iced version was very tasty and refreshing. The Orange Pekoe was the most like our standard homebrewed iced tea but with an interesting bright citrus-y finish. The English Breakfast was a bit stronger and blacker tasting without being bitter and you could definitely taste the honey that sweetened it. One tester described the taste as “bready” and the other immediately recognized the honey flavor and loved it. Each one of us had our favorite but we liked them all. Three thumbs up for three new choices from Snapple!