I was wondering if anybody can recommend caffeine pills. I generally do my rides in the morning and fuel the harder ones with gels that contain caffeine and this works great. However, I don’t drink coffee or soda, and rarely tea and can get tired throughout the day. I used to take an Excedrin in the afternoon if I had a slight headache and/or for a pick-me-up. I’m trying really hard to cut that out. I see some on Amazon, etc., but would prefer a recommendation from you fine people.
@Nate_Pearson, I think you mentioned that you store some in your cycling bag during the last podcast. Can you offer any help to a sleepy guy?
I wouldn’t take caffeine pills as a daily thing. They are so strong and I’d be worried about ardrinal fatigue.
But for those races…they are magical.
I’ve taken no-dose and something with a V at the start. I don’t think the brand matters. I do like them in foil packs though, it’s easier to get each one out.
Oh jeez… My day consists of getting up, preworkout (200mg caffeine), large latte (3 shots of espresso) when I get to work, followed by some cold brew coffee before lunch, then some cold brew mid afternoon.
I’ve been liking caffeine gum on race days (don’t use it, or much other caffeine any other time). Can get 50mg per piece and it’s a simple way to moderate your dose ahead of time
I sometimes put coffee beans into my morning smoothie. It’s delicious with chocolate peanut butter, and adds a nice texture/crunch. Like those chocolate covered espresso beans. From what I’ve found online, an average bean contains 6-10mg of caffein. It feels like a more buffered dose of caffeine when I do this, vs drinking a coffee, I guess it may extract more slowly in the gut than it does in boiling water.
I’m like you, I drink coffee throughout the entire day. Sometimes up to 5-6 cups. By cups, I mean a 16oz thermos. I’ve noticed that I don’t really do it for the caffeine buzz, which I don’t really feel anymore, I just really like coffee…
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I’ll check out the gum and maybe experiment with some other products. Although I love the smell of coffee, I have never been able to get on board with the taste. I even worked as a barista for a summer and couldn’t find a drink I liked.
@Captain_Doughnutman, I lived on Mountain Dew in my twenties so for the sake of my teeth, I try to avoid soda.
My first cup of the day is the cold leftover cup from yesterday’s pot. That’s enough fortification to brew the pot, from which I drink another cup or two before heading to work, where I make my through a 25 oz. thermos. I love hearing about y’all’s caffeine habits (@cmorgan92, @aarontator, @thatmdee).
You can always take half a no-doze which would get you close to your target range. I actually prefer the generic versions which tend to come in a foil pack like @Nate_Pearson mentioned and they tend to be a little more crumbly (the no-doze are kinda hard to break apart). This would usually be a problem for many consumers but I find it really nice to be able to break them up and add them to my bottle with my homemade drink mix so I can customize the amount of caffeine I want in each bottle.
You need a good dual boiler E61 grouphead, set to a wifi outlet so it pre-heats 45min before you wake up and need to ride.
Wake up, grind, tamp, extract. Enjoy.
There’s nothing inherently inferior about the caffeine in the pills compared to that in coffee (the pills are actually a byproduct of making decaf coffee). They do make it easier to consume very large amounts of caffeine, so obviously use some common sense. On the other hand, they also allow you to be more accurate with your dosing, compared to coffee and other caffeinated beverages which can vary wildly in the amount of caffeine they contain.
As someone who doesn’t drink coffee, I like Jet Alert pills. They’re only 100mg each so you can fine-tune your consumption easily, without being stuck in 200mg increments or having to bother with cutting/breaking pills in half.
Glad to see I’m not the only one with a high caffeine intake, although I should still probably drop it… I’d imagine it is possibly having a negative effect.
Regarding caffeine, cold brew coffee is still my favourite method of intake. I usually buy dark roast beans from Aldi, for $12 AUD per kg… I then make a batch in an Oxo Cold Brew Maker (immersion, not cold drip).
I brew anywhere from 12 - 36 hours… The longer, the stronger it ends up being. A 1 kg bag give me about 3 batches (~600mL per batch). A batch lasts myself and 3-4 other people at work around 1 week…
It keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks. I usually just pour ~60mL or so before a workout. Tastes great, and works a treat. Because of the strength, it’s quite versatile. It drinks great stand alone (but quite strong), or you can mix it with milk (I go with soy, but not before a workout).
I’ll have to try some caffeine pills though and see what difference there is.
