Shortly after a hot, sweaty early summer ride that left me with exceptionally sore legs, I got an email from Skratch Labs offering me some products to test. I gladly accepted the offer, and with the help of their Hydration Sport Drink Mixes, Energy Bars, and Energy Chews, I got through the rest of my summer without any unexpected post-ride soreness.Skratch Labs nutritional products are designed to benefit anyone, but as a type 1 diabetic rider (something I found out late in life), I was curious to see how the drink mix would affect my blood sugar levels throughout rides. Please note I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice! Ive included some notes for my fellow diabetics but intentionally left out specific info because anyones nutritional requirements may be different from mine.I have to ride with snacks on hand to keep my sugars from getting dangerously low, but with the drink mix slowly feeding me carbohydrates, I wanted to see if I could get away with fewer, or no snack stops during rides. I still did carry snacks on every ride, so it was nice to try out Skratch Labs Energy Chews and bars too. Skratch Labs Energy Bars:Skratch Labs Energy Bars are made from real food ingredients like nut butter, ancient grains, oats, and fruit. These energy bars are all GMO-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, and vegan.Nutrients and contents vary, but to sum up some key points, the three flavors of energy bars I tried offer between 260-270 calories and 30-33g of carbohydrates. Sodium levels vary quite a bit from 110-250mg, but sugars are similar at 9-11g. The bars offer 4-5g of protein and 13-14g of total fat. The above photo shows the exact amounts of everything, plus the content of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, etc.Size-wise, the Skratch energy bars are a bit smaller than a Clif bar. Theyre about the same length, but they are narrower and thinner, weighing in at 50g (vs. 68g for the Clif bar). The packaging never tore itself to shreds upon opening, so you can easily stash half a bar for later in your ride.Of the three different bars, my favorite was the Raspberry Lemon. Both flavors come through nicely and taste like real fruit. I really liked the fact that this bar is not dry like a typical granola bar; with quite a bit of fruit content in there, its juicy enough to get your mouth watering, and thats great mid-ride. There are still plenty of grains, nuts, rice, and solid bits in them, so theyre more like a juicy granola bar than a fruit snack.The Cherry Pistachio bars were not quite as juicy as the Raspberry Lemon. I like cherries, so I think they taste great, but comparatively, these are made more like a typical granola bar with bits of cherries here and there.The Peanut Butter and Chocolate bars were very tasty! These dont contain any fruit, but theyre still not as dry as a normal granola bar. If you like peanuts, there are lots of crushed-up bits in this bar, which of course pair very well with chocolate. Despite the chocolate, these bars arent too messy You wont open one and wind up with it melting all over your hands.In terms of fueling me through rides, the bars did exactly what Id expect from monitoring my blood sugar levels over the last two and a half years. As a type 1 diabetic, sugars/carbs are of key importance to me, and the Skratch Labs bars boosted my levels just as I suspected they would based on their contents. I wouldnt say the carbs in the Skratch bars lasted notably longer than carbs from other sources, but the energy bars tasted great and kept me moving! I would gladly purchase Skratch Labs Energy Bars for future rides. Energy Chews:Flavoured with real fruit, Skratch Labs Energy Chews are gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. They are crafted to be easy on your stomach, relying on simple carbs (glucose and fructose) to offer quick absorption and provide energy fast.Each 50g package contains 10 gummies, which is considered two servings. One serving of gummies provides 70 calories, 18g of carbs, 13g of sugar, 45mg of sodium, plus a little calcium and iron. The gummies contain no fat, cholesterol, fiber, or protein.I was given a box of the Sour Apple Energy Chews, which are basically sugar-coated jujubes. I enjoyed their flavor; they are juicy, soft, and easy to chew, and a bit sour but not puckering. Even if youre not hungry, it wouldnt be hard to eat a few of these mid-ride. My stomach never felt irritated or upset even after eating a whole pack of chews. There is a slit to tear the corner open, so the package opens nicely. I never had one rip itself wide open, so it was easy to wrap up the remaining chews for later. The gummies get a bit sticky inside, but I always managed to squeeze a few out without much trouble.The Energy Chews carbohydrates definitely helped me maintain my blood sugar levels, just as any sugar or carbs would. I could see with my glucose monitor that they were fueling me as expected. Between the Skratch Labs drink mix and several chews, I tackled my longest climb and ride of the year and got home with no sore muscles. While my particular need is sugars/carbs, the chews various nutritional elements will benefit any rider. Id happily recommend the energy chews as a convenient, tasty snack. Hydration Sport Drink Mixes Watermelon and Cucumber Lime:The Cucumber Lime flavor is on the left, and Watermelon is on the right. Both flavors of the Hydration Sport Drink Mixes I tried offer almost the same nutritional content, with only tiny variations in calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Per scoop, the mixes provide 80 calories, 400mg of sodium, and 19g of carbohydrates. Skratchs recommended dose is one to 1 scoops per 12-16oz of water, depending on how much you sweat.The Skratch Labs drink mix mixes fairly well, but the powder doesnt fully dissolve. Even after whisking the mix for three minutes, there was still residual powder in my measuring cup. I checked out Skratch Labs website and found an explanation for this: Since the powder does contain bits of real fruit, its expected that it wont fully dissolve. Not a cause for concern!Mold and Bacterial Growth (new to drink mixes? Take note):Soon into my testing, I learned something inconvenient about nutritional drink mixes. I tested the Skratch Labs mix with a hydration pack, and wondered right away if the mix would encourage mold or bacteria forming in the water. I didnt see any warnings about this on the products packaging, so I assumed this wouldnt be a problem but kept an eye on it.After sitting for two weeks, I checked my reservoir, and there were black spots on the inside and sediment floating in the drink. I had cleaned this reservoir recently, so I dont think there was any residual bacteria in it. At this point, I read through Skratch Labs website, but found no disclaimers about leaving mixed drink sitting for any length of time. I then emailed Skratch Labs rep and was told its not recommended to leave the mix in a bottle or pack for more than 24 hours.Im surprised Skratch Labs provides no info about this, but it seems no one else does either. I checked a few websites for similar products, and found no warnings. Only Nuuns website said their mix can be left in a fridge for up to a week, and beyond that they only say the flavor and electrolyte profile might degrade. I now know all drink mixes will promote mold growth, and Im just surprised that not one company warns users about this this seems to be one of those things that everyone knows, but no one really spells out for first-time users. Given that its necessary to clean a bottle or reservoir after every use, I wont be a regular user of any drink mix. I still mostly ride with packs, and cleaning a reservoir is a hassle, so the next time Ill do what most riders do: keep plain water in the reservoir and mix up drink mix in a separate bottle. Taste:I did enjoy sampling both flavors of the Skratch Labs drink mixes It is nice to have something with a little taste versus plain water. For most of my rides, I stuck with 1 scoop/16 oz water, but eventually tried 1 scoop/12oz with the Cucumber Lime flavor.I thought the Watermelon drink mix tasted pretty good. The flavor is obvious but not overpowering (at 1 scoop/16oz), and it doesnt taste too sweet. Between the two, I preferred the taste of the Watermelon mix.The Cucumber Lime mix also tasted good to me. The flavor isnt too strong at 1 scoop/16oz, but there is a bit of sweetness to it. I took a whiff of the powder before mixing it and thought the flavor might be pretty strong, but it smells much more potent than it tastes. At the higher 1 scoop/12oz ratio, the mix does taste sweet, and the flavor is noticeably stronger than the weaker blend. Its still a long way from tasting like normal juice, Gatorade, etc., but I prefer the more diluted mix. The 16oz blend is like water with a hint of flavor whereas the 12oz mix is more like flavored water.Carbohydrates and Nutritional Content:Like the snacks above, the drink mixes were definitely contributing to keeping my blood sugar levels up during rides. With diabetes, there are tons of factors that determine glucose levels, so its tough to make precise determinations, but after several rides it was obvious the drink was providing a little boost of sugars/carbs.I did pull off a few rides with just the drink mix and no snacks, but its definitely not enough for me to rely on by itself; other days I still ate one or more snacks along the way. During one 1:45 ride with the watermelon drink mix, I also ate one granola bar to maintain my blood sugar.On another ride with the Cucumber Lime mixed at 1 scoop/12oz, I got through a hot and sweaty 1:40 lap with no snack breaks. Between a pre-ride breakfast and half a liter of the higher dose mix, my blood sugars stayed in an ideal range throughout this ride.Throughout a bigger 3:15 ride (including two hours of climbing), I drank one liter of drink mix, plus ate seven energy chews and one energy bar. On this ride, I suspect I would have eaten more snacks if I wasnt sipping the drink mix throughout. Ive had to eat a lot of snacks while lapping the same trail on previous rides.I made sure to have some Skratch Labs drink mix prepared for the Bosch eMTB Challenge this year. It fueled me through the race too bad it doesnt help with navigation!On a long pedal home after one ride, I realized something beneficial about the drink mix: Often I get near the end of my rides and feel like I probably should have drunk more water. This prompts me to drink more, even as Im ending my ride and pedalling home. With the drink mix, its less likely my sugars will drop sharply after a ride, since Im still taking in carbs right until I get home.On every ride with the drink mix (with or without the other Skratch Labs snacks), I always felt good on the bike, the mix never bothered my stomach, and I came home without any sore muscles. For other diabetic riders reference, Ive included info about how my blood sugar levels were affected, but of course every athletes body needs fuel! There are many important nutrients beyond carbohydrates in Skratch Labs products, so every rider should benefit from their nutritional content.skratchlabs.com