Are you Cranky?

After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a half-hour later, I'm
cranky and irritable.

I've searched the groups on this subject, but have come up empty. My guess is that it is some form
of low blood sugar. If that is the case, will a recovery drink like Endurox help? Right now I use
Gatorade or PowerAid (sp?) during and after exercise, but it doesn't do the trick.

Any ideas of the cause and/or solution?

Thanks! (I feel better already!)

 

>From: [email protected] (BianchiDude)

>After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a
half-hour later, I'm cranky and irritable.

A Google search for "symptoms low blood sugar" will give you several good sites.

Sig Chicago

 

"BianchiDude" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a half-hour later,
> I'm cranky and irritable.

Au contraire, after a good hard ride I'm usually stuffed but euphoric. I put it down to endorphins
or something, and have to admit that it's one of the reasons I ride.

If riding left me feeling cranky then I probably wouldn't do it...

Regards,

Suzy

--
---
Suzy Jackson [email protected] http://www.suzyj.net

 

"BianchiDude" wrote:

> After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a half-hour later,
> I'm cranky and irritable.
>
> I've searched the groups on this subject, but have come up empty. My guess is that it is some form
> of low blood sugar. If that is the case, will a recovery drink like Endurox help? Right now I use
> Gatorade or PowerAid (sp?) during and after exercise, but it doesn't do the trick.
>
> Any ideas of the cause and/or solution?

Forget the Endurox; have a couple of Sam Adams.

Art Harris

 

In article <[email protected]>, BianchiDude
<[email protected]> wrote:
>After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a half-hour later, I'm
>cranky and irritable.
>
>I've searched the groups on this subject, but have come up empty. My guess is that it is some form
>of low blood sugar. If that is the case, will a recovery drink like Endurox help? Right now I use
>Gatorade or PowerAid (sp?) during and after exercise, but it doesn't do the trick.

Eat real food, like a meal. If you find yourself sugar-crashing then maybe quit consuming so much
(simple) sugary stuff...?

Also, I don't know about your level of fitness or how hard your rides are, but for most people an
hour-long ride shouldn't be enough to cause a serious low-energy problem unless you didn't eat
enough before the ride or the ride is super brutal, very high temperature, etc. An hour or two-hour
ride is not long enough for me to drink anything but water.

A lot of people start out with the idea they don't like eating before a ride, but I think it's
exactly the right thing to do and this practice has many converts among people who do much riding.

This is basically what works for me:

1. Eat some real food within an hour of leaving for the ride. If this is no fun for you, start
small, toast & water. I usually do ceral, toast, and coffee and then straight onto the bike.

2. On a ride of 1-2 hours drink water. On a ride of 2+ hours or if it's super hard, or hot out, I
might do a waterbottle of gatorade and another waterbottle of plain water. Keep in mind that
blasting your road rash with gatorade is "less fun". On 2-4 hour rides I usually eat an energy
bar or two and on anything longer or in cold weather I usually forego the energy bars and eat a
sandwich and other real food. I find more than 2 energy bars consumed on a ride generally makes
me gassy and grumpy. Any ride where I'm planning to do a real lunch stop I bring a real lunch.

3. Get back home, snack and drink (even if it's just crackers and water). Within about 30 minutes
I'm making real food. If the ride was easy I basically make a meal as soon as I get back. If the
ride was long/hard I sit around and quiver for a few minutes and cool off before eating.

Low blood sugar is also something you can talk to your physician about. They have some really fun
tests you can do... mmm Glucola...

--Paul

 

"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:nhX_9.31655$A%[email protected]...

>
> 2. On a ride of 1-2 hours drink water.

One "problem" with just drinking water on short or easy rides is that many riders find themselves
less able to easily get down calories (drinks, food) during longer and harder rides. From a
long-term performance standpoint (looking at improving how you perform in rides _in_the_future_)
it's important to get into a regimen of taking in calories regularly when you ride, so you'll be
able to do it easily and automatically during long, hard rides.

That suggests actually working really hard to take in significant calories in short rides and easy
rides -- so you can also do it under more difficult circumstances. As a bonus, recovery from every
ride will be even quicker.

> Keep in mind that blasting your road rash with gatorade is "less fun".

!!! Is this a serious issue with you?

JT

 

Since this seems to be a good place to have a similar question answered. When I was riding with some
friends in the DC area a bunch of years ago, we used to stop at a 7-11 and grab a can of slim fast
mid ride. These rides were from Fairfax to DC (60min), around Haynes Point for an hour with the
lunchtime hammer session, then back (1.15).

What's your opinion on drinking a can of slimfast in the middle of the ride?

Mike "BianchiDude" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a half-hour later,
> I'm cranky and irritable.
>
> I've searched the groups on this subject, but have come up empty. My guess is that it is some form
> of low blood sugar. If that is the case, will a recovery drink like Endurox help? Right now I use
> Gatorade or PowerAid (sp?) during and after exercise, but it doesn't do the trick.
>
> Any ideas of the cause and/or solution?
>
> Thanks! (I feel better already!)

 

In article <[email protected]>, John Forrest Tomlinson
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:nhX_9.31655$A%[email protected]...
>
>>
>> 2. On a ride of 1-2 hours drink water.
>
>One "problem" with just drinking water on short or easy rides is that many riders find themselves
>less able to easily get down calories (drinks, food) during longer and harder rides. From a
>long-term performance standpoint (looking at improving how you perform in rides _in_the_future_)
>it's important to get into a regimen of taking in calories regularly when you ride, so you'll be
>able to do it easily and automatically during long, hard rides.
>
>That suggests actually working really hard to take in significant calories in short rides and easy
>rides -- so you can also do it under more difficult circumstances. As a bonus, recovery from every
>ride will be even quicker.

Your suggestion is OK with me. But if this is an issue, then I still think the rider should be
eating a little real food and not sucking down drinks comprised of high fructose corn syrup and
marketing. I think that contributes to the sugar crash problem and therefore is not a "good habit".

>> Keep in mind that blasting your road rash with gatorade is "less fun".
>
>!!! Is this a serious issue with you?

Not lately but what's the alternative, rub it clean on the road? I like having gatorade along on
really long hot rides but would not want to go without water. I might take gatorade dry in a baggy
and use it to improve water found along the way, or do water in the Camelbak and gatorade in the
bottles. Flushing an eye is also a bit of road-side first aid that anyone should be able to do.

--Paul

 

"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:qVZ_9.31666$A%[email protected]...

[about water as a more appropriate drink on rides than sports drink, due to not being able to use
sports drinks to clean off road rash]

> Not lately but what's the alternative, rub it clean on the road? I like having gatorade along on
> really long hot rides but would not want to go without water.

The alternative is not to crash. And in the (hopefully rare) case that you do, just do nothing if
you can't find water.

> Flushing an eye is also a bit of road-side first aid that anyone should be able to do.

What kind of rides are you doing that road rash and eye-washes are likely enough that you have to be
prepared for them? I've done all sorts of commuting, working on a bike (messengering), racing,
supported-touring and even a little loaded touring and can't recall a single instance, other than in
racing, where among me or my companions carrying water to deal with these sorts of rare, rare
problems had any value. _Perhaps_ the lack of need for an eyewash is that most people I know wear
glasses on the bike.

It seems way, way overprepared to me to let such rare issues influence what you drink on the bike.

JFT

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In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>
>After a training ride, usually an hour or greater, I get home, cool down and a half-hour later, I'm
>cranky and irritable.
>
>I've searched the groups on this subject, but have come up empty. My guess is that it is some form
>of low blood sugar. If that is the case, will a recovery drink like Endurox help? Right now I use
>Gatorade or PowerAid (sp?) during and after exercise, but it doesn't do the trick.
>
>Any ideas of the cause and/or solution?

Try some solid food.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

 

In article <[email protected]>, John Forrest Tomlinson
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:qVZ_9.31666$A%[email protected]...
>
>[about water as a more appropriate drink on rides than sports drink, due to not being able to use
>sports drinks to clean off road rash]
>
>> Not lately but what's the alternative, rub it clean on the road? I like having gatorade along on
>> really long hot rides but would not want to go without water.
>
>The alternative is not to crash. And in the (hopefully rare) case that you do, just do nothing if
>you can't find water.
>
>> Flushing an eye is also a bit of road-side first aid that anyone should be able to do.
>
>What kind of rides are you doing that road rash and eye-washes are likely enough that you have to
>be prepared for them? I've done all sorts of commuting, working on a bike (messengering), racing,
>supported-touring and even a little loaded touring and can't recall a single instance, other than
>in racing, where among me or my companions carrying water to deal with these sorts of rare, rare
>problems had any value.

Well I guess that explains your perspective. If you are always near someone else's water then you
never really need your own. Commuters, bike messengers, and racers just aren't ever far from water,
and if you're touring and rely on your buddies to be the water carriers I guess that works too. Then
again if you ride alone in places where you can't find or beg for water, then having it takes on
increased importance. I would never ride without it, it's just too useful. There are plenty of other
reasons but I'm sure none of them apply to you.

> _Perhaps_ the lack of need for an eyewash is that most people I know wear glasses on the bike.

I wear glasses and have still washed sand, dirt, ammonia cleaner, and sawdust out of my eyes on bike
rides. Do not draft logging trucks.

>It seems way, way overprepared to me to let such rare issues influence what you drink on the bike.

OK well you prepare yourself and enjoy.

--Paul

 

"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:Y3y%9.31721$A%[email protected]...
>
> Well I guess that explains your perspective. If you are always near someone else's water then you
> never really need your own.
Commuters,
> bike messengers, and racers just aren't ever far from water, and if you're touring and rely
> on your buddies to be the water carriers I guess that works too. Then again if you ride alone
> in places
where
> you can't find or beg for water, then having it takes on increased importance. I would never ride
> without it, it's just too useful. There are plenty of other reasons but I'm sure none of them
> apply to you.

I've asked what type of riding you do that you find water necessary to clean out road rash. Rather
than suggesting I am somehow exception in being to assistance than whatever the average rider is, it
would be helpful for you to tell us what type of riding/circumstances you are in where you feel that
having water available to clean out a wound is important. That way the original poster can see, and
say "oh, yeah, I might be in that situation and could use the water" or "That's rather far-fetched
and unlikely."

> I wear glasses and have still washed sand, dirt, ammonia cleaner, and sawdust out of my eyes on
> bike rides.

For the same reasons, it would be useful to hear how ammonia cleaner, sand and dirt in your eyes
riding a bike, so readers could make some assessment of risk.

JT

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"Mike S." <[email protected]> wrote in message

> What's your opinion on drinking a can of slimfast in the middle of the ride?
>

ha! two or three years ago was the first time i used a bike for real transporation. it was from new
haven to middletown, some 35 miles by my route. i did it with a backpack on, mostly at night, on a
department store mountain bike which wouldnt change gears, with fat knobbies, wearing floppy tevas
that had worn through both soles.

half an hour from middletown i stopped at a gas station and got what i figured was the best
combination of liquid, calories, and price: a slim fast can. it was the only one ive ever had, but
it made a world of difference.

which is to say that i have no idea how good they are for riding, but my anecdote might entertain..
needless to say, ive come a long long way since then.

anthony