Thirst Whilst Cycling

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Mick F wrote:Normally I can go for fifty miles without stopping for a drink or anything to eat.
However, my 62mile yesterday was in 23degC heat, and I got through both bottles and no food other than the huge Full English before I left.

I only seem to need to drink if I sweat. My ride up to Manchester - 300miles in four days - I hardly drank anything. It was chilly and wet, and I didn't sweat at all.

Even in the cold you sweat.

Saying you hardly drank anything makes you super human :)
I never had a water bottle until the early eightes, but used to stop at shops for some drink.

Is this your best advice for the rest of us mortals :?:
Saying you dont drink much is no virtue.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
reohn2 wrote:A good sign of dehydration is urine colour,if it's very darkly coloured,'thick' and burns slightly you've not been drinking enough.
I find little and often is best whether I'm thirsty or not I drink when cycling (or indeed when doing any physical activity)by habit and I'd rather drink a little too much than not enough.Last Friday 65miles,18 to 20deg 1.5l of water and one large coffee :)

I'd suggest that MickF's hydration regime is not the norm IMHO.


Steady Eddy :)
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Mick F wrote:I would agree with that.
I'm not normal, but no-one is normal anyway. :D

I'm off to Swindon tomorrow. 80odd miles and the weather is supposed to be changing and cooler. I'll get back to this thread after I get there and report back about the water I've drunk.

I only have two 500ml bottles with me and I'll leave at 8ish expecting to get to Swindon at around 4pm.

You could try weighing yourself before and after to see if you loose weight :?:
Then tell us how much fluid you drink after ride for the rest of the day including Beer :)
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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Mick F
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by Mick F »

That's exactly my point.
I'm not thirsty whilst cycling ........... unless the weather is boiling hot ............... because I'm well hydrated before I start and after I finish.

I was out for a 90mile ride on Thursday last week, and took a single 500ml bottle of water with me. I drank half of it, and emptied the other half down the kitchen sink when I got home.

Meanwhile, I'd had three cups of tea before I left, a mug of tea at a burger van on the A39 around noon, and three pints of beer when I got home.

In the whole of the seven hours of riding - (the first 50 of them non-stop) - I drank only 250ml of plain water.
Mick F. Cornwall
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Audax67
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by Audax67 »

Different strokes. Two people I know drink very little during long effort - one's a walker, the other a cyclist. I've been with the walker on a 25-km hike over the chalk moors in the Aveyron in 33°C: not only did she not bother carrying a bottle but she was still skipping like a fawn at the end of it. I've seen the cyclist doing much the same - imbibing a couple of mouthfuls on rides where I've sunk a litre or two.

The one thing they have in common is very high blood pressure when untreated. They're both on hefty medication.

When you sweat, the water comes in great measure from your bloodstream. My idea is that, in their case, reducing blood volume is beneficial. In mine, certainly, not.

Also, if you're corpulent you're well-insulated so you sweat a lot more: if you're thin as a rake you disperse the heat more efficiently and sweat less. Neither of my high-BP chums is built like a stick insect, but neither are they blimps.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Flinders
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by Flinders »

As humans get older, the thirst response does indeed get weaker. That's why elderly people, men in particular, tend to get bad urinary infections - these can be very dramatic, I've seen the effects, and it can land people in hospital.
I find that if I don't drink enough for a few days (cycling or not) my thirst response gets weaker. If I make a point of drinking more, I get thirsty more regularly. So perhaps it's good to get into, and keep, good habits of dehydration; it may stave off problems later on.
I knew of a cyclist who believed that cutting down his water intake would make him ride faster, he ended up with kidney trouble. :(
Psamathe
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by Psamathe »

As something of a novice, something I noticed in the recent warmer weather is that when I go out for a ride and get home, I know I've been on a ride but am not soaking wet and hot. It must be rare to have a 13 knot tailwind following you round a circular route so I think that the effect of sweating whilst cycling must be particularly efficient - you do have a decent breeze allowing the sweat to evaporate (and do its job). Some other activities are not so fortunate; take hiking with a backpack in hot weather and your back soon knows you are hot as your clothes become rather "damp".

The other day, after a nice ride I got home, changed and noticed significant white salt streaks on my orange cotton t-shirt. I was dry but these salt patches clearly show I must have been sweating a fair amount yet I'd never noticed.

I wonder if the psychological effects of feeling wet clothing (from sweat) can impact your feeling thirsty (sort of feedback mechanism).

Ian
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Its all bolderdash off course as said earlier by a poster, you breath out water in your breath, you also sweat even if you cannot see or feel it.
Why give youself a hard time.........................
We've all done it but is it best advise :?: I can be like that to push a point (arrogance to the point of self harm or destruction) but will I be at my best ? and why am I doing that :?:
On one of my 200 K adaxes I got home and took off my T shirt it was stained white and stiff, so much so that it could hold its own weight as I stood it up like a cardboard box.
That day I drank over 14 litres of fluid.

If you want to know how much you sweat just weigh yourself before a ride then weigh yourself after :?:
On my typical training rides of about 2H 20 to 2 40 I loose a Kilo even though I drink a litre or more, even at 15 C.
Some of us could probably tolerate loss of fluid without visable signs to others but what do you think is actually going on in their minds...............I AM Superman..........yeh right...................

Each to their own but maybe even when you are not thirsty you probably need it, I was always taught that if someone stops sweating its an early sign of dehydration, thats the advise when in a team, Is some of the posters habits the advise you would give 1st time marathon runners :?:

Like I said we've all done it in the past, and I remember doing it when I was in my youth, but with age comes experience and part common sense.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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Mick F
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by Mick F »

I don't give myself a hard time.

I take water and I drink it.
It's just that I don't drink that much normally.

If the weather is boiling hot - or the threat of it - I would take two bottles. The thing is, the weather hasn't risen above 19degC yet round here, and mainly not even over 17degC and little if any bright sunshine.

However, I did a 100mile audax last month from Meriden, the heat rose to 25degC for much of the ride, and I drank my way through two 500ml bottles of water - twice!
Mick F. Cornwall
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Now for a little science!

Post by Gearoidmuar »

Prof.Tim Noakes of Capetown, the world's most published and famous sports scientist has written a book called waterlogged and has investigated all aspects of this. He has noted that the winners of long running races etc are usually the most "dehydrated". Overdrinking can actually kill the odd endurance athlete.

He says...

You should drink when you're thirsty, not before. What people call dehydration, i.e. coloured urine is pretty mild stuff unless you're thirsty and is not a matter of concern..

I never drink water when cycling in the winter.

I recently completed the CTC Lejog and only drank more than one bottle and a half on one day.

Listen to the body, not the theoretical but unsubstantiated-by-scientific-experiment opinions you will hear around.
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Mick F
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Re: Now for a little science!

Post by Mick F »

Gearoidmuar wrote:I never drink water when cycling in the winter.

I recently completed the CTC Lejog and only drank more than one bottle and a half on one day.

Listen to the body, not the theoretical but unsubstantiated-by-scientific-experiment opinions you will hear around.
Absolutely +1
Mick F. Cornwall
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Psamathe wrote:Or rather maybe lack of it.
I know full well of the need to keep hydrated, etc., but now the weather has warmed-up a bit, the last few days I've noticed whilst out riding that I don't seem to get thirsty. I've reduced my mileage (thanks to my knees) and am doing around 25 mile rides. I'm deliberately stopping after 10 miles or so because I know I should drink, not because I'm thirsty. And that seems to start "saliva issues" (see, we really do need a "men's section" on the forum to discuss spitting, and other similar subjects). And the surprise when I got home was I has several large glasses of squash straight after each other, yet never really felt thirsty.
So, as things warm-up, should I just stop and drink every so many miles'ish or just wait until I'm thirsty ? Do others get to feel thirsty or just get in the habit of drinking?
Ian

So posters are in two camps..................
1) Take sips often and carry at least 1/2 litre of fluid for every hour cycling, drink as much as you like in hot weather you will need it.

2) drink four mugs of tea washed down with full english brekky, then take water with you but bin it when you get home :? Down 1/2 a gallon of ale and stumble about.................. :lol:

The choice is yours....................
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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Mick F
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by Mick F »

I've made my choice! :lol:
Not half a gallon though, I said three pints.
Mick F. Cornwall
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maff1977
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by maff1977 »

Down 1/2 a gallon of ale and stumble about.
that'll do :lol:
DaveGos
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Re: Thirst Whilst Cycling

Post by DaveGos »

I think hydration is getting a bit obsessive . Its more important if you are racing , but for the average rider you can normally rehydrate after the ride. I did a 100 mile Audax yesterday and drank 1 litre of fluid plus a mug of coffee, and I am a very sweaty person with exercise. Over the last 15 hours I have probably drunk an extra 3 pints over normal intake to get back to normal . I do make sure I am well hydrated before I start rides and races , usually putting a bottle in the car to sip on the way to the start. Its a pet hate of mine when I see as a tennis player , people sipping from a bottle between every end when they have barely run. Also slow joggers with water bottles.
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