Is water alone sufficient for hydration on rides?

[jefmcg]

I have found the same . on longer harder rides i tend to cramp unless i use electrolyte tabs.

I am so weird. I get (stomach) cramps if I take tabs. I'm not very tolerant of artificial sweeteners, plus I think they taste horrible.


(I also get less hungry and thirsty the more I ride to the point I stop peeing because I haven't drunk enough fluids, and I can't sleep if I am exhausted from a days riding)

 

[nickyboy]

In hot weather under heavy exertion an adult can need up to a litre of water an hour to maintain performance and avoid heat or dehydration injury. These dudes that can cross the Sahara on a teaspoon of water while winning a KoM and eating raw chillis are harder men than me.

Different folk have different physiologies regarding how much they sweat. I'm in the 1 litre/hour brigade if it's a warm day in the Peak District and I'm working hard. My personal view is that quite a lot of folk who say *oh, I only needed one bottle for a 50 mile warm ride" or whatever are kidding themselves and they're actually somewhat dehydrated. You only need to look at the volumes of fluid the pros drink (who are keeping properly hydrated), even hiding in the middle of the peloton, on a warm day.

 

[Drago]

I'm like you - I sweat worse than Gary Glitter at school closing time.

 

[nickyboy]

I'm like you - I sweat worse than Gary Glitter at school closing time.

There's a reason for that. Having seen photos of you on here you are of .....how to put this....muscular build. I'm not quite as "muscular" but I'm getting there. Skinny folk have more surface area to cool with for a given weight. Plus the heat that makes us sweat is coming from muscles generating heat. Muscly dudes = more heat

 

[Drago]

I'm warming to Nickyboy

 

[cyberknight]

I am so weird. I get (stomach) cramps if I take tabs. I'm not very tolerant of artificial sweeteners, plus I think they taste horrible.


(I also get less hungry and thirsty the more I ride to the point I stop peeing because I haven't drunk enough fluids, and I can't sleep if I am exhausted from a days riding)

I use high 5 zero unflavored , half a tab works for me unless its really hot, cant say it really has a taste .

 

[jefmcg]

I use high 5 zero unflavored , half a tab works for me unless its really hot, cant say it really has a taste .

Yeah, it still - oddly - has sorbitol, which my tummy definitely doesn't like.

And my diet is not low sodium or calcium or anything else. I doubt my electrolytes ever drop much, unless I am fasting.

I do remember popping into a Londis for a packet of crisps towards the end of a solo 300km ride, because my body said "crisps". Note, it's hard to eat crisps while on the road

 

[mjr]

But the digestion of the sausage sandwich diverts bodily resources from riding, so they say.

And which old wives are "they"?

You only need to look at the volumes of fluid the pros drink (who are keeping properly hydrated), even hiding in the middle of the peloton, on a warm day.

But the pros, even hiding in the middle of the peloton, are working rather harder than a pootler.

Note, it's hard to eat crisps while on the road

Try eating them while on the bike!

 

[nickyboy]

But the pros, even hiding in the middle of the peloton, are working rather harder than a pootler.

That's right. When I ride, I ride as fast as I can manage. I don't pootle. Hence the need for 1 litre/hour on a warm day. I don't believe it's possible to maintain hydration on a warm day with say, one bottle for 50 miles, unless you're taking it really easy

 

[smutchin]

I used to have all sorts of digestion problems on long* rides until I started adding electrolytes to my water bottle. They seem to make it much easier to eat and drink properly.

I only usually add electrolytes to the bottle though, very rarely energy products. I do carry a few gels but don't use them routinely - much prefer 'real' food.

*as in audax

 

[mjr]

That's right. When I ride, I ride as fast as I can manage. I don't pootle. Hence the need for 1 litre/hour on a warm day. I don't believe it's possible to maintain hydration on a warm day with say, one bottle for 50 miles, unless you're taking it really easy

Depends a bit on the size of bottle (I've a 900 but I think most are 700?) but it need not be "really easy". As I'm sure you know, once you're going fast enough for aerodynamics to dominate, the additional energy required increases on some quadratic curve (I think) because it's proportional to one's frontal area, so going at 20mph rather than 16 is a bigger increase in energy use than 14mph instead of 10. There are calculators like http://chuck-wright.com/calculators/bicycle.html

I'm assuming water consumption is linked to energy use but I've not verified that.

 

[smutchin]

I'm assuming water consumption is linked to energy use but I've not verified that.

Yes, in that it's hard to absorb energy from food and get it to your muscles if you're dehydrated. Water is also required to transport the waste products (CO2, ATP, lactic acid) away from muscles.

That's probably putting it all a bit simplistically but tbh, that's about my level of understanding!

 

[Smokin Joe]

That's right. When I ride, I ride as fast as I can manage. I don't pootle. Hence the need for 1 litre/hour on a warm day. I don't believe it's possible to maintain hydration on a warm day with say, one bottle for 50 miles, unless you're taking it really easy

In my early racing days you'd have been laughed out of the Peloton if you had a bottle on your bike and the race was only 50 miles. We all survived.

 

[Katherine]

I discovered that when you can't get any water out of your bottle because it has turned to icy slush, if you put a Zero tab in, it melts and you can drink it!

 

[jefmcg]

I discovered that when you can't get any water out of your bottle because it has turned to icy slush, if you put a Zero tab in, it melts and you can drink it!

Well, electrolytes are mostly salts (and calcium) (and sweeteners) (and acidity regulators: whatever that means, it's the main ingredient) ... but mostly salts, so yes, it would lower the freezing point of the bottle slightly. I guess you could even crush them and sprinkle it on your front path in an emergency .... ice or acidity emergencies, that is.