Cycling UK Forum

When I cycled in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka the temperature was frequently around 30°.
Looking back I don't think I handled my fluid intake very well..
Apart from avoiding the midday heat what advice would you give for fluid intake?

I would hesitate to give any definitive advice on this.
I tend not to drink very much during a ride - less than a bottle on a 100k audax yesterday - in fact I've done a 200k on one bottle.

That's possibly because I started cycling in the fifties and most cyclists didn't carry a bottle for a 50 mile time trial.
Even professionals in stage races had far less to drink than is the norm today.
Jacques Anquetil believed that was a good thing, "drier is faster" - and the East Germans experimented with not drinking during long races.

Things are of course different today and we are advised that dehydration is to be avoided at all costs. That advice may well be correct and there are those who advocate something like half a litre an hour.
I think you have to know how you cope personally - if you are drinking copiously avoid too much plain water - you need salts as well.

Saw a very good film about a long cycle trip in Africa, the rider eschewed buying bottled water, only drank local water, +1!
The film is being shown again soon, I plan to see it again

I try to over-drink, not only when cycling, dehydration can be very dangerous
How did the cyclists in the 1950s manage? Maybe the weather was better than, not so hot

Taeve Schur, the best DDR cyclist, explained that in the 1950s cyclists had not yet realised how important drinking was
Not many brailsfrauds with their Marginal Gains back then

In Europe this summer the temperature was often around 30°C.

Drink, drink, drink is the only way to cope, but be sure to eat stuff that keeps up your mineral salts. I like bananas myself.

FWIW in 2003 I did a 200k on which I drank 2 litres and finished 2 kilos lighter than I started - all water. Not a good game plan.

One person's hot weather is a another's lovely day. I would take 30 degrees all day long and have never avoided 'the heat of the day'. Similarly, everyone's fluid intake needs are different, I know people who start sweating like a Sumo wrestler in sauna just looking at a bike.
Dehydration is dangerous as is over-hydration, people have died from both. My advice would be have access to fluids and keep an eye on the colour of your wee. If it looks dark or you are not going for long periods you probably need to drink more, if it's pretty clear then there's no need to be glugging water. Drinking whilst riding is the same as eating or how far and fast you ride, it's something you learn from your own experiences. As the OP says they had previously ridden and felt they didn't handle their hydration well, the next time you will have this knowledge.

Hi,
What ee said ^

I could say what I do, I could also say what I've done, and we are all different but eventually we will all fall over from lack of fluid and food.

In winter time we tend to tog up, And I would say that in these conditions to stay comfortable you would still lose half as much fluid at the same work rate compared to warmer weather.

As said Over or Under hydrating is bad advice.

Re too much water: Some years back there were a few stories about newbie marathon runners filling up on free Coke etc. at feeding stations and conking out from mineral depletion. Longer rides need a wider palette of eats along the way.

It is not possible for the body to absorb the amount of water we take in during hot rides no matter our cravings. The result is a bloated stomach and still a fluid deficiency. We all have differing metabolic absorption rates - some sweat more than others - and only trial and error can help us decide how to manage the issue.

A 40 mile ride a day ago in 100 degree heat resulted in me weighing 2 pounds less than at the start even after taking in about 3 - 24 ounce bottles during the ride. Bonking is part and parcel of riding in extreme conditions and we learn how to cope - or stay home.

I managed to get heat exhaustion riding in 30C temperatures in the middle of the day.

Fully agree about not absorbing fluid. After limping home and having a bad attack of the squits (one symptom of heat exhaustion) I threw up what seemed like gallons of water as well.

Lesson learned (I hope). Don't push yourself to keep up with the group when it is very hot. That extra 0.5 mph on your average speed is a killer.

Also, if you can't tell how hot it is this can be a sign that you are in trouble.

I lost about 6 lbs between the beginning and end of the ride and I was slim to start with.
Not recommended.

Hi,
I can lose over 2kgs on the turbo in an hour at 20C.
I could not keep that up...well I couldn't keep the pace up either.

800cc is about the max the body can absorb per hour orally.

Top athlete's can carry on performing at dehydrated levels without drop in performance.
The fitter you are the more you tolerate lack of fluid and food.
So important to drink depending on the heat but also to eat food as well otherwise ......................you might well throw up.

On training rides of 3hrs say I can drop 1kg.
If I go on a tour for a week or even two days then I also drop 1 kg.

At the end of the day and overnight when you are not losing so much fluid you will absorb what you lost.

I daresay that in extreme conditions daily continuous effort might not be possible because you cannot make up the deficit.
If you get too thirsty its easy to over drink, just remember to add food at the same time.
In the past I have done 12 hrs hard work and drank 700cc an hour but I also eat every one to two hours or so, simple stuff like sandwiches will do.

Years ago when men were men I used to dehydrate regularly in summer months cycling in jeans and up to 300 miles a week commuting, I just drank water and felt rubbish all week, now I know you need food when thirsty as well.

Its OK to slaughter yourself, but eating as well even small amounts of junk food, will keep you fresh all day.
I would not cycle more than three hours without some food, and if I did then I start eating one hour in.
Endurance athletes tend to consume soup / carbo rich fluids, that's ok if you have a support crew.

All this is of course proportional to the time and effort.

Easy to say what you have done but not so easy to give common-sense advice.

ANTONISH wrote:I tend not to drink very much during a ride - less than a bottle on a 100k audax yesterday - in fact I've done a 200k on one bottle.

I'm really comforted by this thread, which fits with my experience, and I've often done like Antonish says here. I just drink as I feel I need it. Do make sure you've got drink with you of course. I tend to have a bottle of water and a bottle of an energy drink, but whether I use one, part of one or both varies.

I struggle with this whole thing about "hydrating yourself". I think they mean, "take a drink" don't they?

Audax67 wrote:R conking out from mineral depletion.....

Any issues with using rehdration solutions I.e. Those based on salts et al?

Hi,

gbnz wrote:

Audax67 wrote:R conking out from mineral depletion.....

Any issues with using rehdration solutions I.e. Those based on salts et al?

Most of that rehydration supplements states along the lines of " do not consume more than one tablet per day etc".
So I looked at mine (powder) and is says "use one every 30 mins during training" What type of training that is is another question?

Probably not to confused with "ORS" Oral rehydration salts.
Anyroadup read the directions first.
I think that magnesium is the one to watch if you are on meds, one of my meds cautions against extra magnesium.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153188.php