Jelly Belly’s are Good for the Cycling Belly!
Here at BASC we are all about that pre, mid, and post ride cycling fuel during our 3 day gravel ride. We’ve enjoyed every cycling snack fad from traditional gels and bars to the more fun and nostalgic PB&J’s and bananas, and now we’ve found our next craze: Jelly Beans!
Fueling Your Body with Beans?
No, we’re not talking about your night before a ride black bean burrito, we’re talking about a sweeter kind of bean: Jelly Beans! When picking a mid-ride snack, cyclists demand a portable snack that delivers electrolytes to maintain fluids, and carbs to refuel. This is imperative to maximize performance and maintain pace. With BASC routes ranging anywhere from 15 to 60 miles a day, for three consecutive days, fueling your body is essential to not only 
maintain your daily pace, but to ensure you are feeling your best Sunday afternoon at mile 45. High endurance sports like cycling demand large caloric stores from our bodies, up to 900 calories per hour! In order to maintain these stores, it is important to replenish your body often and efficiently. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends replenishing 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. However, these carbs cannot come in the form of bulk food to ensure you do not upset your stomach! Enter Jelly Beans.
Jelly Belly’s Rise to Fame
The Jelly Beans of your childhood came in fun flavors like Buttered Popcorn, Green Apple, and even Cola flavored! Personally, the BASC team loves the Watermelon, Peach, and Buttered Popcorn flavors! Today’s Jelly Beans are no different, but rather than serving as a fun lunchroom trade snack, now they fuel your body during a long ride with carbs! Cyclists have been eating this fun snack for years, so much so 
that Jelly Belly sponsored a professional cycling team for nineteen years! While this sponsorship is no longer active, the Jelly Belly Cycling Team was the longest running sponsored professional cycling team in the world. Even though the partnership came to an end in 2019, Jelly Belly’s contribution to cycling was immense. From creating a a consistent, world renowned team that allowed the Sport to grow and generate young talent, to being cycling’s most unique snack, Jelly Belly is a staple of the cycling community.
Jelly Belly With a Buzz
With the popularity of Jelly Belly as a cycling fuel, many groups capitalized on this popularity and created sport-specific beans! Most popularly, Jelly Belly created its own “Sport Beans” collection. Flavors range from fruit punch to strawberry banana! The sport-specific beans offer even more carbohydrates and electrolytes in addition to various vitamins to better refuel your body.
With a long, three day gravel ride, we’re all searching for the best snacks to pack. Consider packing this fun–sized fuel for your next ride and your BASC weekend!
Join the Adventure
As the event continues to evolve over the next few months, we want to hear what you’d like to see at BASC. Post-ride yoga? Football on a big screen? Email me here and we’ll see what we can do!
Interested in being a sponsor? Email Alison at awarburton@postandcourier.com.
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