Legal drug(jet fuel) and CHEAP too

Originally Posted by Hypnospin

mr. T (i man),
went on a longish ride with a bud, climbing right along with him on our usual route (were i have been known to slip behind on the extended climbs)
this includes a canyon descent and climb one side of 9 miles and the other of 14+ miles steady 'bout 8%ish.
kinda hot out, prob around 90s in the canyon, some areas with NO shade.
brought 1 lg. bottle water and 1 rock fuel.
on the start of final climb out, my right quad cramped up about 1/2 way. i could ride but it needed to be babied 'till it "cooled out".
from there on i was flirting with the bonk.
previous rides had me climbing this same route with two bottles straight water. no cramps. even at times i have done this with 1 bottle.

this day might have been hotter and slightly higher paced.
we did jam at times.
any input from you is welcome.

my question is, is it more beneficial to carry two bottles straight water than one of water and one of rock fuel in this situation in terms of hydration?

my feeling is i needed more of both, but there is no drinking faucet up here bro. the easy answer i am sure is to carry more water, perhaps a third bottle in the jersey pocket or even resort to the camelback (which i have if it gets hotter)
the other alternative is to stash water the day before, which we have done before...

but mostly i am interested in the water vs. rocket fuel when it comes to hydration vs. on the bike carbo intake in regard to preventing cramping.




[QUOTE=TiMan]Good point about the sodium.....it is really important.
Potassium is next important but nowhere near as important as sodium.
If I am doing a long ride or race I sometimes take a calcium citrate pill that has some mag and zinc too....but that's probably over kill.

Originally Posted by TiMan

This is the Sports drink I used as a Cat 1 racer. Got the formula from Lemond.

JET FUEL !!!! please read on.....

Most sports drinks have fructose as the first ingredient. This Carb is a poor choice for on the bike fuel because it does not have a carrier molecule to carry it across the intestinal wall and into the blood stream. It enter the blood via passive diffusion which is slowish. Then it has to go to the liver to be converted to the only carb the body can use(GLUCOSE).
Fructose is used because it is cheap, has a long shelf life and it tastes good.

Sucrose(table sugar) is actually a better choice than fructose as this sugar converts to 50% glucose and 50% fructose in the gut.

Maltodextrane is good as it is a chain of glucose molecule but it is slower to assimilate than dextrose(simple glucose)....and it's more expensive as well.

GLUCOSE is by far the better choice. It delivers immediate energy as it enters the blood stream very rapidly with the help of a carrier molecule.....it also carries water and sodium across with it so it really helps with hydration.



Try this very cheap and very effective sports drink. Buy a set of measuring spoons first.
CHEAP....like 20 cents per bottle!!!

Buy DEXTROSE(glucose) in bulk at a wine brewing store or health food store. Mix one level measuring teaspoon of dextrose per every 2 onces of water. That's about 12 level measuing teaspoons per regular large water bottle. This gives you a 6% carb solution made of pure glucose. By the way all sugars be they fructose, sucrose, glucose etc give 4 grams of carbs per level measuring teaspoon.

* You don't want more than 6-8% carb solution as a higher carb percentage will hinder water absorption and it can also make you feel sick....so no soda's(12% carb).....leave the soda's for after the ride.

To this mix in about 1/4 teaspoon of sodium(table salt) and about 1/16 teaspoon of postassium choride. The potassium can be bought at a health food store or simply buy Nu-salt at the grocery store.

This sports drink doesn't taste very sweet as glucose isn't that sweet but it tastes just fine. Not only is this drink cheap but it works much better...way faster...and this is what you want during training and racing. Leave the fructose for post workout carb intake.