As the winter approaches here in Missoula and many other places around the world, cyclists like myself begin our winter training. This usually means endless hours on the trainer, churning away at the cranks only to find ourselves not moving an inch and sweating out a lake below us. Though we can help the time spin by with music and cycling apps on our tablets, nothing quite feels the same like the wind through your smelly helmet and navigating the land around us on two wheels. Still, being on the trainer does provide an opportunity typically not allowed while riding outside: Drinking BttM Kombucha while biking.
Even if you poured the kombucha into a cycling bottling, there is still the issue of too much shaking causing the delicious beverage to froth up too much. In the case of winter training, the bike stays still, ensuring your kombucha stays in pristine drinking condition. Compared with water, there are added benefits found in kombucha that water does not have. One such benefit is taste.
Sure, water tastes like....water, and that is not necessarily bad, but I prefer a flavor change up. Kombucha hydrates just like water, but it does so with an extra bonus of flavor! Also, I personally find carbonation in a drink more refreshing and thirst quenching. Even better than the taste is the vitamin B-12 found in it.
According the Mayo Clinic, vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin that plays essential roles in red blood cell formation, cell metabolism, nerve function and the production of DNA. Of particular importance for cyclists and other athletes is the red blood cell formation. One way our aerobic endurance improves is through our bodies' production of more red blood cells. So to all those cyclists out there, get on your trainers and drink up your kombucha!