How Much Do You Drink?
While I was out on Sunday, another rider tagged along for a while, and was a bit surprised at the volume of fluids I had with me:
Four, 750ml (30oz) bottles, filled with High5 Zero (electrolytes with a lemon flavour; no sugar & no carbohydrates)
He was so astonished at this, that he even asked me if I was diabetic!
This got me thinking though - for a long ride, how much do you take with you to drink? A couple of years ago, I measured my sweat rate in hot weather, and it came out at about 750ml per hour. Hence, for a four-hour ride, up in the hills where the opportunities for refills are few & far between, I take 3 litres of fluids. Repeat after me:
Take a gulp every ten minutes!
If I do this, I never suffer from cramps, and I can run right off the bike without suffering any of that jelly legs caper. The only down side is that I have to stop to pee every 90 minutes or so.
How does this stack up with your experience?
Perfect your ‘peeing on the run’ technique and they’ll be no problems at all! Just be wary of whoever might be upwind from you thinking of doing the same. And avoid white lycra shorts, obviously.
Bill Anders posted a couple of years ago about peeing on the bike. His top tip is to take a rinse bottle with you . . . and to keep this one in the seat tube’s bottle cage. If you keep what you’re going to drink in that one, you can end up accidentally recycling your electrolytes. Ew.
Wow…I will have to remember that since I am a bad drinker and hope to do a successful duathlon in May.
A bottle of SIS every hour (750ml) seems to do me right……2 bottles in cages, 2 in a holder on the seat post, so I’m OK for 4 hours….
I do seem to spend a lot of time watering the countryside though.
Crikey you folks are drinking a lot. I would usually reckon on doing four hours on two 750ml bottles. Depends how hot it is and how hard I am pushing it.
Temperature plays a big part in it for me…I average a 30oz bottle an hour…take 2 on the frame and one on a behind_the_back belt.
When I know I’m going to go longer than 3 hours I plan my route to pass some water fountains and refill as needed.
I’ve also got a 70oz camelback if I’m planning a long one without fountains on the way…I also take money with me in case I need to stop and buy something (food/gatorade).
As for peeing in the countryside or on the bike…I’ve only had to pee once while riding…I guess I take in exactly what I sweat!
[...] earlier in the week, I was asking how much water you take with you on longer rides ? Well there are obviously other problems on longer rides - all that water’s got to go [...]