A few years ago Clif and some others released upon the world what I like to call the Solid State Energy Product, energy "blocks," which are an easy-to-fondle version of the same sugary goodness that's found in energy gel.
Personally I like blocks better than shots because my brain seems to consider anything that it chews to be more substantial than anything that is slimy and so when I eat a block it registers that I've actually eaten something. Gels seem to be perceived by my brain as being a thick beverage.
The bummer, up until this month, was that the packaging for the various semi-solid fuels was very large and wasteful, and provided no assistance when it came to extracting the food mid-ride. I've lost a lot of blocks on the ground trying to squeeze them from the candy-like packaging.
Clif's changed that with their new packaging, which is brilliant. Six blocks in a row for convenient on-bike eating, and that translates for retailers into 18 units in a box instead of 12.
They've also introduced a new flavor, Mountain Berry, which is by far my favorite and tastes like the wonderful bastard offspring of a marriage of grapes and Gatorade. I've probably eaten a box worth of the blocks so far this season and I haven't gotten tired of them yet.
All the Blocks flavors are going out in the new packaging, but it might take a while for your LBS to get rid of the older style before getting these in stock. If you're in a rush, they're available directly on the Clif site.
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