Fresh Produce: Tailwind Nutrition

Summer is officially here, and that (hopefully) means long rides and many hours spent in the saddle. It also probably means many drops of sweat and calories spent lugging that isolation-softened body up the summer climbs. Hydration during and recovery after are big factors when it comes to enjoyable and extended riding—Tailwind has your back on both counts (pun intended). While they make a variety of nutrition products, their caffeinated mixes showed up at the Bike office recently and caught our eye. Caffeine has been studied and shown to increase athletic performance (here's a link to a study referenced by Tailwind), and we've been seeing it crop up in many nutrition mixes these last few years. Tailwind blends 35 milligrams of the go-juice into their Endurance mix, which is a supplement of sugars (sucrose and dextrose) and electrolytes for a hydration and energy mix that has a bit of a kick. They claim the mix is "lighter" than other nutrition supplements, it also doesn't have any dyes or preservatives, so riders with sensitive stomachs might find Tailwind more agreeable than other mixes.

The Coffee Rebuild recovery mix is a an interesting one—we don't often see caffeine in recovery mixes. Nevertheless, a bit a boost after a hard workout isn't a bad thing, and to boot, Coffee Rebuild has everything else your body needs to start the rebuilding process. In addition to 80 milligrams of caffeine from Arabica coffee, the mix has Tailwind's "perfect protein" made from rice and added amino acids, as well as plenty of carbs and fats from coconut milk to rebuild glycogen stores. Plus, there's a hefty portion of electrolytes to help with re-hydration.

Available is a variety of service sizes ranging from single to fifty servings, Tailwind has nutrition information and ingredients lists (much of which are organic) up on their website. Check out the Endurance Fuel here and Coffee Rebuild here.