First Homemade Goo: Tasty Motor Oil

Mike has been trying to get me to buy a gel flask for the better part of a year, so I can buy bulk energy gel (goo) and stop buying little packets.  I already had a bulk box of Clif packets, so I wasn't much interested.  And since Clif doesn't appear to make a jug, I still didn't really care.  Until I ran out of packets and realized that I can make my own!

I bought a 5-oz Hydrapak flask on eBay for $12.99.  Let the experimentation begin!

This blog is going to be my record of my successes and failures in the goo kitchen.

Round #1 - Motor Oil Goo

My first attempt was based on this blog post on Running Jackelope, because it uses blackstrap molasses, and we've had some of that sitting in a kitchen cabinet for years!  I modified it a bit to what I had on hand:

• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses

I don't recall if I put any salt in it.  Surely I did, since that's supposedly needed for the shit-ton of potassium in the molasses to be utilized, but I just don't remember.

Taste:
This stuff doesn't taste phenomenal, but if you need a boost on the bike, you don't usually care about taste.  Unfortunately, I discovered last night that somehow my brain has associated the flavor of the goo (from the molasses, I'm sure) to the taste of my favorite beer, Chattanooga Brewing Company's Chick Bock.  Let's be clear...they don't taste the same, as Chick Bock is phenomenal, and blackstrap molasses most assuredly is not.  But apparently molasses is one of the flavors in Chick Bock, and I've never even realized that before.  Because of that connection, I probably won't be making this recipe that often, although I would love to get rid of that unused molasses!

Ease of use:
The consistency is a wee bit thin, as it wants to ooze everywhere.  But it definitely doesn't block your airways like the commercial goos can.

It looks pretty bad, like you're sucking down used motor oil.  And if you get some around your mouth, it's not mostly invisible like the commercial goos.  You look like a 3-year-old that got into a jar of molasses while mom wasn't looking.  I had to use my helmet mirror to check my face, and then lick off what I could.

Performance:
I used it on a 30-mile, 3500 ft elevation gain ride...lots of hills.  I didn't bonk, but the ride wasn't all that long either.

Grade: B-