111,063 Crank Revolutions Tell You Something
When we, at MODe, say we ramp up our efforts to bring you the best in fresh, natural sports nutrition, we mean that we not only put lots of research and development into our products but also go out and do some serious field testing. And to do that, we recently spent some time on the open road, pretty wide open road actually.
About a month ago, a bunch of us from MODe loaded up an RV and set out to join a couple of fellow SoCal cyclists for some awesome riding in Utah (shout out to Dawn Niday for coming up with a spectacular route and guiding the whole group through the most jaw dropping places). Pretty much crossing it with six days of riding, from Cedar City to Moab.
The goal was simple: test our products on some passionate guinea pigs out in their natural habitat–or you could call it the perfect laboratory. Developing formulas and turning the latest theories, scientific research and insights into a product is one thing. Another is to put it to use and see what it does, under real conditions. So we did what we love doing anyway while racking up stats by crossing deserts in 108 degrees Fahrenheit, conquering mountains that still had a few-feet-high snow pockets, laughing and yelling at head winds that slowed us down to 8 mi/h and sleeping under the stars. All great to self-test MODe in order to experience, fine tune and ultimately bring you the best damn product possible.
MODe was started under the auspices of providing the freshest possible, all natural fuel to support training, competition, recovery and off-time. With two simple objectives in mind: reliably improve performance AND health. To make that happen we combine the best two worlds, the full nutritional spectrum of cold-pressed whole foods with highly concentrated, natural extracts that have been scientifically studied to deliver results. Especially when athletes are pushing their limits in the literal middle of nowhere, or on multi-day efforts nutrition becomes absolute key to how you do and feel. It's not hard to imagine that your body needs the right fuel when your muscles have to push through 414 miles with an average of 206 W of power or your joints have to be fine with doing 111,063 (more or less) consecutive crank revolutions. You wouldn't want to be your knees if all you got was fast food. And because of that, the crew actually downed, amongst some other things about 108 lbs of cold-pressed greens (about 1.5 lbs per bottle in our recovery drink).
And with all of the above, here are some key insights from our experiences crossing that great state.
Enabling amazing experiences
Whether we had moderate, hard or tough days, fueling your body with good nutrition can make all the difference and provide for a (sometimes lasting) miserable or absolute amazing experience. Keep that in mind when going out for the tougher rides or workouts. We want MODe products to make you feel and perform better with every step/pedal/rep/stroke of the way. Sports nutrition shouldn’t just sustain a workout, it should enable an amazing experience.
It has to taste good
We have a sneaking suspicion that you don’t exactly look forward to consuming your workout drinks. We understand. Somehow it feels like a must do rather than something you can enjoy. Just the thought of eating a dry bar while crossing a desert in 108 degrees brought us close to choking. Well we were there and that’s when we knew no matter what products are added to the MODe line, they have to be three things: revitalizing, refreshing and simply taste good.
You are what you absorb
Everyone’s heard the age old adage “You are what you eat,” and while somewhat true, it’s really much more complicated than that. Nutrient absorption is the real key to performance. It doesn't matter what you put in the tank if it goes straight of the exhaust pipe and never gets to the engine. Our products were developed to be easily and quickly absorbed by the body.
All testing and nutritional talk aside, we had a blast. We do all of this, the business, working out, developing products and testing them because that’s what we truly enjoy doing and it leads us to places like this one, where minds get blown on a turn by turn basis. MODe isn’t just a business to us, it’s a philosophy that combines a passion for being active, testing limits and general well-being.