I think sometimes we can forget that Chapstick is a brand of lip balm, a Jacuzzi is a type of hot tub, a Sharpie is one type of permanent marker and now Clif Bar is the new face for energy bars. In my experience, being a bike racer who has tried nearly every energy bar product, I can genuinely say that Clif Bar and all of Clif’s products are always my top choice. You can choose from a Clif Builder’s protein bar or Clif Shot Protein Recovery drink mix for recovery, to a Luna Bar for women’s specific nutrition. Here, I will talk about my most favorite and widely used Clif Bar products, which are their Clif Bars, Clif Shot Bloks (energy chews) and Clif Shot Energy Gels.
First, the beauty of Clif Bars isn’t so much how great they taste, but how many great tasting flavors they actually make! Coming from the perspective of an endurance athlete and a very hungry teenager, eating countless amounts of bars on and off the bike is never a chore and can be sort of fun. On a day out training, I’ll bring with me flavors like White Chocolate Macadamia, Coconut Chocolate Chip, Carrot Cake or my all time favorites; Chocolate Almond Fudge, Berry Pomegranate Chia and Cool Mint Chocolate.
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Alongside Clif Bars are their famous energy chews known as Clif Shot Bloks. The Clif Shot Bloks come in eight tasty flavors including Black Cherry, Citrus, Cran-Razz, Margarita, Mountain Berry, Orange, Strawberry and Tropical Punch. These energy chews provide quick energy and electrolytes in between a solid bar and a gel, which makes them perfect for getting in the calories needed for faster rides. This is because Clif Shot Blocks come in six small pieces that are neatly packaged close together that’s makes them super easy to eat with only one hand on the bike. That means that you’ll spend more time going fast and less on annoying hard to access pouches that other energy chews are found in.
With Clif Shot Bloks being one of my favorites because of their convenience and candy like flavors, it is Clif Shot Energy Gels that really help me push through the hard times during training and racing. Clif also carries on the convenience of their Clif Shot Blocks to their Clif Shot Energy Gels by adding a litter leash to prevent the bitten off top piece from falling on the ground, which no other gel has. Although, my favorite feature of Clif Shot Energy Gels is how they have different levels of caffeine choices to choose from. It ranges from a half shot (25 mg caffeine), to a single shot (50 mg caffeine), all the way to the famous Double Expresso flavor (100 mg caffeine). The Clif Shot Energy Gels also come in eight great flavors including; Chocolate, Chocolate Cherry, Citrus, Double Expresso, Mocha, Razz, Strawberry and Vanilla.
Lastly, I’d like to quickly thank Clif Bar & Company for their support of the SoCalCycling.com Team. Clif provides excellent products that taste great, which has helped me ride longer and adventure harder even before their sponsorship. It wasn’t so long ago when I bought endless amounts of Clif Bars during high school, so I could skip the terrible lunch menu to eat a couple tasty bars instead. Eating endless amounts of bars hasn’t changed much, but now being on the SoCalCycling.com Team I can now represent the benefits and joys that Clif Bar products can bring. Nothing beats bumping into a fellow cyclist on the road who looks like they can use a boost and being able to offer them a gel. So let Clif Bar help you enjoy the most out of any type of adventure and I’ll see you out on the road!
For more information on Clif Bar products and stores where they can be purchased please visit ClifBar.com.
By Josh Ruiz, SoCalCycling.com Team
