Hydration During and Post Ride

[PaulSB]

I’m very aware of the need to drink properly. In a day I drink 2-3 litres of water and restrict myself, generally, to two coffees or teas. I’m 63 and a sensible weight with no real excess fat. I do sweat a lot when exercising.

A typical ride would be 60+ miles with 3-4000 feet of climbs averaging 14-14.5. I’ll drink 3 bottles on a ride and take on fluid when I get home.

Despite this I find myself desperately thirsty for up to 12-18 hours after a ride. My urine will be yellow rather than it’s usual clear. I just don’t seem able to take on enough fluid during or after a ride.

Any suggestions?

 

[ColinJ]

Drink more ...?

And if that doesn't help, go to your doctor.

 

[NorthernDave]

That's a decent ride - I'd get through 3x 800ml bottles on that I reckon under most circumstances, probably more if it was hot.

Do you just have plain water or do you add anything to it? I always add SIS Hydro tabs and find that they do help.

That said, it does sound like it might be worth a chat with your doctor if you're not right half a day later.

 

[Welsh wheels]

Trying drinking more before you leave maybe? Starting off as hydrated as possible should help. As an aside, I am surprised at the amount of people I ride with who get away with drinking not that much on rides.

 

[MichaelW2]

Trying drinking more before you leave maybe? Starting off as hydrated as possible should help. As an aside, I am surprised at the amount of people I ride with who get away with drinking not that much on rides.

On big rides and hot days I like to start fully hydrated, peeing clear. I down a pint of fluid about an hour before the ride and that works its way through.

 

[stalagmike]

That sounds like a lot of water to me.

Do you eat much after a ride? We get a lot of fluid from our food.

Little and often is important. I'm sure I read somewhere that the body can only make use of about 250ml of fluid at a time through drink. Not a verifiable fact, sorry.

Try half water, half apple juice in your bottles (if you like it). It's isotonic and a bit cheaper than the expensive drinks or powders that you can add.

 

[simongt]

I tend to have the opposite problem. If I drink as much as I should, even during my normal working day, I tend to spend a disproportionate time in the karzi getting rid of 'excess fluids' - ! On the last long ride I did - 100 miles - I was drinking 'as I should' and was subsequently diving into roadside bushes every half hour or so much to the puzzlement of my riding partner - !
I had spoken to my GP about this some time ago and he says it's simply down to the way your body is wired; some folk like me ( and him apparently ), fliuds just go straight through. Others can take an alarming amount on board and hardly wee at all.
As has been mentioned, worth having a chat with your GP about it.

 

[ColinJ]

A typical ride would be 60+ miles with 3-4000 feet of climbs averaging 14-14.5. I’ll drink 3 bottles on a ride and take on fluid when I get home.

One hot day I did a 100 km (60+ mile) ride with a bit more climbing (about 2,000 metres or 6,500 ft). While I was out I drank 4 x 750 mL bottles PLUS a 500 mL Coke PLUS a couple of coffees, and I also ate quite a lot. I weighed myself when I got home and I had lost 2 kgs in weight. A relatively small proportion of that would have been burned fat (0.5 kg?) so the rest would have been fluid losses. That tells me that I was about 1.5 litres short of what I needed on the ride. I really should have drunk about 5.5 litres. If you are anything like me, then that makes your "3 bottles on a ride and ...fluid when I get home" sound a bit lacking, given that you ended up very thirsty.

Have you tried weighing yourself before and after the rides on some reliable scales?

 

[Alan O]

I'm another who needs to drink a lot when out cycling. On a 100 mile ride last year, I drank a pint of water before I left, 3x750ml from water bottles, and about another 2 litres bought from shops - and I think I only had one pee all day, after about 25 miles.

It really is surprising the amount you can lose by sweating, and you don't notice it when it's all evaporating away.

If you're worried, I'd second the suggestion of weighing yourself before and after a long ride.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Have a pint of ribena or some other soft drink after a ride. Have a drink every 30 mins to an hour till you need to have a pee. Once normal flow and colour resumed then stop drinking.

 

[smutchin]

Add some electrolytes (salt) to your bidons - this could be a commercial product like Nuun or High5 Zero tabs, or it could just be a generous pinch of table salt. These minerals help your body regulate its fluid and they are depleted by sweating during exercise, so it's vital to replace them, as well as replacing the fluid itself.

Further reading here:
https://nuunlife.com/blog/electrolytes-hydration/

 

[PaulSB]

Apologies I’ve been pretty busy since last Friday and only just caught up with this. I’m not especially worried about this but as I have my annual GP MOT in a few weeks will raise it with her.

@ColinJ i usually get home 2-3lbs lighter after a long ride.

Thanks for the variety of suggestions, plenty there to play around with.