hydration- lend me some feedback

so here is the deal; i hate drinking unless its actually really hot out. i ll have both my water bottles with me on a long ride and they just stare at me with evil eyes and i feel guilty when i get home and they are still full. not to mention if i m on a group ride i ll hide them so the others dont give me hell over it.

realistically how much should I be drinking? a nutritionist once told me a bottle for every hour of the ride but come on if i m riding for five hours thats just not doable...

any advice on how i can 'persuade myself' to hydrate more?

thanks (:

Bottle every hour sounds about right, more when it's really hot. I know what you mean on longer rides, we try to refill when ever possible.

I've heard really good things about the new gatorade. I believe it's called G2 and contains more hydro lights with less sugar/sodium/calories.

but how do you actually get yourself to down that much fluid? my problem is that after a five hour ride i ll have drank one of my two water bottles...we stop half way but theres no need for me to refill because i ll never drink it anyway...

Like anything else it takes practice if eating and drinking regularly on the bike doesn't come naturally to you.

I used to wait till I was thirsty to drink or hungry to eat. Longer races cured me of that in a hurry. When I tuned into the way my performance dropped midway through a longer race when I failed to eat and hydrate continuously I had to change my habits.

It's so easy to get caught up in the action and forget to eat or drink until you've dug a deep hole and then it's often too late to catch up. I had to start reminding to eat and drink something every fifteen to twenty minutes whether I was hungry, thirsty or not. It might be just a couple of gel blocks followed by water or a couple of gulps of energy drink but these days I rarely go more than half an hour without feeding and hydrating if I can help it.

But like any other habit, it took conscious effort to break old patterns and establish new patterns. First you've got to decide whether you care enough to break habits, does your performance suffer late in the day or on subsequent days? Then you've got to make a decision to do something about it and that typically means incorporating the new habit into daily training even if it feels ridiculous. I almost never feel hungry half an hour into a road race when I first reach for a few shot blocks or a bit of gel but establishing that habit in every race has helped tremendously when I've done all day races or multi-day stage races, but it didn't come without conscious effort.

As others have suggested having something you actually look forward to drinking in your bottles can help. I like Hammer's Heed as an energy and electrolyte drink that's not too sweet but tastes differ. I usually start a ride with one bottle of Heed and one bottle of water to chase down food and to douse myself on really hot days.

Good luck,
-Dave

Shoot i look forward to drinking or eating on the ride, if i could i would have dinner on it lol

but yes its all about getting used to it i know mentally i always have a reference point in my mind to take a drink or eat something if its a really long ride.

especially if i pass by a certain mark that i know is 2 miles or so

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're clearly not a normal human being.

That being said, I'd suggest one of those tailgating hats with the dual cupholders/straw mechanism - only fill it with delicious, frosty, alpine fresh water. This way, the straw will always be dangling just in front of your face, almost taunting you, and you'll be left with no choice but to hydrate.

Hello

I think has fingergunslngr a point by filling the water bottles, camel back or beer hat with good water. When I have no other choice but to drink tap water I get very dehydrated because I can only drink a small amount at a time before it makes me sick from all the additives. Fresh spring water helps keep me hydrated because it tastes good, helps me feel good and I know that its pure so I like to drink it. There are some things to keep in mind if you don't have access to spring water and the only healthy water you have access to is distilled. Distilled water is more acidic then spring water so if you suffer from over acidity or acidosis like most americans this could increase the acid. Also the pure distilled water will help detox your body when it leaches the heavy metals that are attached to the minerals out so you want to make sure to get plenty of vegetables in your diet for the minerals lost drinking distilled water. Also you want to avoid anything but #7 plastic for your 1-5 gallon water jugs because softer plastics leach chemicals into the water, I can even taste the plastic sometimes when I drink from soft plastic 1 gallon milk jug type water jugs. Also you don't want to use the metal water bottles either because they discharge all the natural electrolytes in your spring water and they leach metals into the water if you want to go eco friendly glass or ceramic is better for the water, you and the Earth. Glass or ceramic are better for cooking as well for the same reasons.

cheers
Johnny
Local Bicycle Trader - Used Bicycles for Sale

always make sure you hydrate your system, otherwise your performance will be reduced dramatically. Also look at hydrating your system with some sort of isotonic or carb drink some great choice i buy from is body max supplements. look at also recovery drinks as its most important to keep your fluid intake up after your ride too. if you dont like taking lots of liquid on board then look at other ways such as gels or the new shot bloks for energy and then rehydrate.

water nah boring...you need something with flavour but not too sweet it makes you queesy. stick packs are the best for this,

Try a diluted recovery drink in your water bottle. AfterShock from Myogenix is good as well as the P90X recovery formula from BeachBody. Glycogen and Amino Acid intake while your riding. And good carbs.

Hydration is partially a function of proper electrolyte balance. I am a cyclist who has recently started using some performance-enhancing nutrient strips and they have vastly improved my workout/ride. They dissolve in your mouth, so I load up with the “electrolyte” strip beforehand and I have greatly improved oxygen capacity; tons more endurance and feel very energetic at the end of a ride. These strips are sugar free and rapid acting. They will reduce lactic acid build up and prevent cramping. Professional teams (NFL, etc.) are actually using these strips and supplanting the need for IV fluids in some cases.
Check it out and let me know if you have any questions:
www.enlyten.com/kathyyuill
Thanks
Kathy

i much prefer to drink carbonated water as i can drink much more of it than still water ,only thing it blows up when you open it when riding all the agittating etc ...i usually stop at ashop on the route and buy some there if you dont mind breaking your ride for afew minutes....

The amount you need to drink depends on the temperature/humidity/sweat rate. When I ride 3 hours of single-track on the hottest summer days, I'll consume my 100 oz Camelback and part of my reserve 24 oz bottle. When riding my road bike with temperatures in the 50s or less, I drink only about 12 oz per hour. Most people do not drink enough during exercise, regardless of the weather. You might want to check out your sweat rate. There are many sites online to help you do that. Here's a couple:
Sweat Calculator - Use this test to discover your ideal hydration zone - PowerBar
THM Sweating Rate Calculator

I think you should try and hydrate very well before your ride, then pick a midpoint and force yourself....lol to drink all you can stand and when you are through with your ride hydrate well again.

I have resently found a new product that has only been on the market a few weeks, it's a health and fitness water called Evolv. I liked it so much I became a distributor of the product. Evolv contains Archaea Active, a formula that raises oxygen at the cellular level thereby increasing stamina and endurance. People report an increase in energy levels and mental alertness and fatigue recovery as well. If you would like to see more about Evolv go to www.evolv2gether.myevolv.com

Hi, I have the same aversion to drinking water if I run out of spring water, tap water almost seems to dehydrate me and the additives make me feel sick I get enough from my daily shower. I have tried alkaline ionized water which is very hydrating and energizing from my own experience but I cannot afford a machine and there is nobody who sells it where I currently live so I drink spring water because it has the most neutral PH. If I have spring water or alkaline ionized water I can drink allot but if there is only tap water I get very dehydrated. If you have any questions let me know.


cheers
Johnny
Local Bicycle Trader