70 miles in Miami Heat

I routinely do 65--85 miles each day on both Saturdays and Sundays here near Tampa almost every weekend. Here's what I eat and drink:

6:00--6:30 a.m. > bagel with creme cheese. Two 10 oz. glasses of water. Two 6 oz. cups of coffee

7:00--leave home. Ride to where team meets. 15 mile "warm-up".

8:00--arrive at team rendezvous. drink 8 oz. grape juice.

8:00--9:30 drink 1 bottle of gatorade (28 oz.) and 1/2 bottle of water. 30 miles paceline training at approx. 26 mph.

9:30--arrive at rest stop. drink 8 oz. V-8 juice and 8 oz. water. refill water bottles. eat 1 power bar or power gel.

9:40--11:00 drink 2 bottles of water. 25 miles paceline training at approx. 26 mph.

11:00--last rest stop. drink 28 oz. Coke. Head home. 5 miles "cool down".

11:30--arrive home. drink 18 oz. orange juice with powdered milk. drink 16 oz. water. drink approx. 6 oz. water every hour for the rest of the day.

With all that liquid consumed, I find that I'm still down a couple of pounds when I get home. It's so hot in Florida this time of year that it's virtually impossible to drink enough to keep up with sweat loss.

Bob

pieralberto said:

I need some advice:

Last Saturday I did 70 miles and I though I was going to pass out after the 50th mile I stopped sweating and started to have chills, took me 4 hours and change to finish. Now the question is, what should i eat before the ride Im doing it again tomorow 4th of July starting at 7:00am, and I need a lot of energy.

Thanks

Piero

Sounds like the beginning stages of heat stroke. When you stop sweating, feel chilly, lightheaded, headachy, it's nothing to fool around with. I've experienced it once (while playing a marathon tennis match), and it was quite scary.

pieralberto said:

I need some advice:

Last Saturday I did 70 miles and I though I was going to pass out after the 50th mile I stopped sweating and started to have chills, took me 4 hours and change to finish. Now the question is, what should i eat before the ride Im doing it again tomorow 4th of July starting at
7:00am, and I need
a lot of energy.

Thanks

Piero

I did 50 miles in 105 degree
heat and 80% humidity on
Saturday and did ok but had
to drink plenty of cool water.

But, at 55 years old, I felt
lucky to just make the distance.

I drank 3 - 12 oz diet cokes
but with the coffee I had that
morning my chest started to
feel the effects, so I backed
off the sodas and cruised the
rest of the way on water.

Water will save you. Oh, and
I always eat a couple of
bananas for a potassium fix
and a bit of carbs. Had an
Atkins peanut-chocolate bar
thingy too, but it upset my
stomach. Bananas always
work best for me.

And caffeine, and water.

I would hate to live and bike in FL because of the heat, humidity, mosquitos, and alligators !

pieralberto said:

I need some advice:

Last Saturday I did 70 miles and I though I was going to pass out after the 50th mile I stopped sweating and started to have chills, took me 4 hours and change to finish. Now the question is, what should i eat before the ride Im doing it again tomorow 4th of July starting at 7:00am, and I need a lot of energy.

Thanks

Piero

I did this ride this year and the temp was 40-45c plus, it was like bacon frying in a pan. 60% of the field did not finish, I wonder why.

audax.org.aualpine about.htmOpen ↗

WARNING!

This ride is held in the height of summer when maximum temperatures of 30-40 degrees celcius are common. The heat combined with the long and at times steep ascents makes this a physically demanding and strenuous ride.

Conversely, in the higher alpine regions (Tawonga Gap, Falls Creek and Mount Buffalo) cooler maximum temperatures of 10-20 degrees celsius are common. The weather can deteriorate suddenly, bringing rapid decreases of temperature accompanied by heavy rain, hail and snow