Did not drink during 71 mile ride

[cobbwheels]

I did not eat nor drink during a 71 mile ride. If that's not enough, I did not eat nor drink before the ride either and did this ride without stopping. I was even pushing harder on this ride than I ever did.

The route has about 6000' of climbing and temperature index was 100F on the road due to 78% humidity! I was wet all over from sweat because the high humidity prevented evaporation of sweat. Though I didn't mind the heat and high humidity at all.

I had 2 weeks of adaptation period for this attempt so I didn't just dive straight into it. Though it wasn't my original intention to attempt a totally unhydrated ride.

I did not do this to bust a myth. But this ride turned out to be my favorite not because of the life and death struggle but it actually felt the easiest one I ever made on that route! The climbs never felt so easy it seemed a lot shorter. Other factors may have been involved like changes to weekday training, changes to riding posture, wearing loose board shorts on that ride, and changes to riding strategy on this route.

No cramping, no bonking. Legs are only a little sore but climbing performance was preserved all throughout the ride. No headaches either.

I ate a huge meal at home after the before I re-hydrated. It helps avoid excessive amount of water absorbed by dehydrated cells and cause swelling and headaches (if the swelling is on the brain). You can also add salt to water to avoid swelling when quickly re hydrating

I will not recommend anyone from doing it. My body is simply well adapted to riding depleted. A month ago I never would have thought this possible nor even accomplish the task with relative ease and comfort.

 

[cobbwheels]

The only sign of dehydration I had was yellow urine and not peeing the entire ride may have contributed to this. No other symptoms.

Riding fasted would have also dramatically reduced my hydration needs with no food to digest, and no carbs to turn into glycogen.

It's also possible I burned more lean mass on this ride. Lean mass frees up more water than fat, which helps to avoid dehydration.

 

[Fourlegsgood2wheelsbad]

The things one will do when they are young ?! Apparently the web is all linked - I get feedspot racing news ect. LOL

 

[cobbwheels]

The things one will do when they are young ?! Apparently the web is all linked - I get feedspot racing news ect. LOLView attachment 5897

I'm surprised our forums is there with the nearly dead and spamming activity! I don't think I'm that young anymore in my early forties.

I realized now the big changes in my training, riding strategy, and diet this year have contributed greatly to make myself quite resilient from dehydration. It wasn't my intention but glad it worked and it worked so well I think I'll keep doing it on long rides from now on.

Technically I'm still bringing my supply of water in the ride, only not on a water bottle, it's in my body. It has distinct advantages over traditional ways of hydrating on a long ride against both frame bottles and hydration packs. It may have contributed to the many minutes saved, less overall body fatigue, and improved comfort.

I'm still not recommending this riding strategy and training. There's no serious research study out there promoting this kind of very long endurance workout with moderate to high intensity intervals. It could be very dangerous for some and long term consequences are unknown. Though some animals are able to do this frequently and sustainably in metabolic terms like migratory birds and bats with many also not eating nor drinking flying nonstop for hundreds of miles. We're not birds and bats obviously, but we can see it does happen in nature in animals not dramatically different from us, metabolically, speaking. Re-hydrating after a long bout of exercise without drinking requires extra precaution to avoid swelling, headaches, and possibly having a stroke! You'll need to add a little bit of salt into the water to avoid swelling and it would be safer to re-hydrate after eating, after the exercise session.

It's even more dangerous to skip hydrating if you're eating before and/or during rides because water is needed to digest and breakdown foods, even gels and sports drinks all these will increase water needed by your body. The risk is lowered in my case because I'm already quite well adapted riding fasted without eating anything which significantly lowers water needed by the body.

What motivated me to do this? Curiosity, improved performance (as crazy as it may sound, it did actually improved my times), perceivable health benefits (after many weeks, I'll see but so far, I'm seeing less fatigue and faster recovery).

 

[Fourlegsgood2wheelsbad]

Cobbwheels , excuse that I mistook you for a young man!
I'd once known a guy do something like what you are doing. He'd train for hours on a bike without bringing water in a bottle .

I wilt like a lettuce leaf soon as the Sun hits me.

 

[cobbwheels]

I did look young, something I took from my father's side.

I also heard that European pros in the classical era routinely trained up to 200 km without drinking water. Although they do train in vastly more hospitable climate than mine, glass-smooth roads, light traffic, and their equipment despite extremely dated is still vastly superior than mine in terms of weight and drag! Certainly possible if they actually did it. Should only add a little more time if I took a ride in exactly the same circumstances.

I used to be quite badly affected by heat but losing a lot of weight until I'm very slightly underweight helped a great deal. Many of our junior racers are also underweight and I think it's meant for coping with the high temperatures here. Western racers are much more heavier built. I guess those extra lean mass helps to keep warm on the much colder climate up there. I'd be real cold on a ride at 90 F and if humidity gets below 60%.

 

[cyclintom]

I did not eat nor drink during a 71 mile ride. If that's not enough, I did not eat nor drink before the ride either and did this ride without stopping. I was even pushing harder on this ride than I ever did.

The route has about 6000' of climbing and temperature index was 100F on the road due to 78% humidity! I was wet all over from sweat because the high humidity prevented evaporation of sweat. Though I didn't mind the heat and high humidity at all.

I had 2 weeks of adaptation period for this attempt so I didn't just dive straight into it. Though it wasn't my original intention to attempt a totally unhydrated ride.

I did not do this to bust a myth. But this ride turned out to be my favorite not because of the life and death struggle but it actually felt the easiest one I ever made on that route! The climbs never felt so easy it seemed a lot shorter. Other factors may have been involved like changes to weekday training, changes to riding posture, wearing loose board shorts on that ride, and changes to riding strategy on this route.

No cramping, no bonking. Legs are only a little sore but climbing performance was preserved all throughout the ride. No headaches either.

I ate a huge meal at home after the before I re-hydrated. It helps avoid excessive amount of water absorbed by dehydrated cells and cause swelling and headaches (if the swelling is on the brain). You can also add salt to water to avoid swelling when quickly re hydrating

I will not recommend anyone from doing it. My body is simply well adapted to riding depleted. A month ago I never would have thought this possible nor even accomplish the task with relative ease and comfort.

All of this makes us think you did a good job. But the practice of not continuously rehydrating is not good for your body nor not eating at least lightly. Constipation almost always results and hemorrhoids a likely outcome. I shouldn't criticize the hydration since I make the same mistake constantly. But I do much shorter rides and stop for coffee at the halfway points.

 

[cyclintom]

I did look young, something I took from my father's side.

I also heard that European pros in the classical era routinely trained up to 200 km without drinking water. Although they do train in vastly more hospitable climate than mine, glass-smooth roads, light traffic, and their equipment despite extremely dated is still vastly superior than mine in terms of weight and drag! Certainly possible if they actually did it. Should only add a little more time if I took a ride in exactly the same circumstances.

I used to be quite badly affected by heat but losing a lot of weight until I'm very slightly underweight helped a great deal. Many of our junior racers are also underweight and I think it's meant for coping with the high temperatures here. Western racers are much more heavier built. I guess those extra lean mass helps to keep warm on the much colder climate up there. I'd be real cold on a ride at 90 F and if humidity gets below 60%.

I am 1.9 meters and 88 kg. When I get down to 81 kg is as if a switch were thrown and I am able to ride much more comfortably. But we had very heavy rain this year and this wiped out most of the hill roads I trained on to take the extra weight off. So I'm trying to do it the hard way.

 

[cobbwheels]

All of this makes us think you did a good job. But the practice of not continuously rehydrating is not good for your body nor not eating at least lightly. Constipation almost always results and hemorrhoids a likely outcome. I shouldn't criticize the hydration since I make the same mistake constantly. But I do much shorter rides and stop for coffee at the halfway points.

Fortunately, no constipation nor hemorrhoids. I have high amount of fiber in my die through raw coconut meat which has become part of all my meals, snacks, and drinks and I still drink an average of 12 glasses of water each day. I've been maintaining weight in the last several weeks as well. I'm still able to meet my daily calorie and hydration requirements.

No problems at all. In fact, my performance improved and never felt this good and comfortable on long rides compared to when I was still fueling and hydrating on rides. Ofc, the changes, improvements, and adaptations did not happen overnight but over a period of couple months.

I don't expect everyone who dares to try to do this will get the same results or benefit as much. I think it will only benefit riders who make long, non-stop, unsupported rides like riders who are bikepacking in the remote corners of the planet by helping to lighten the load in terms of water and food carried. Because the adaptations will greatly improve fat metabolism and fat contains twice more energy than carb-derived glycogen per pound. And because the body is able to more efficiently utilize water that is already in your body for a long time than water you just drank. Additionally, fueling during rides will further increase hydration requirement, it's a vicious cycle!

Maybe it matters to me more because I prefer not to stop on long rides, not even to pee and my bike remains heavy even if completely unloaded and about 35 lbs in weight even if not carrying any food nor water. It gets to 40 lbs with 4 bottles of water and surprisingly, even losing just 5 lbs makes a very noticeable difference. I feel less fatigued after a long ride with 35 lbs bike up a mountain than 40 lbs bike even if I didn't drink a drop of water on the 35 lbs bike.

 

[cobbwheels]

I think the process of eating/digestion and drinking takes energy and having something on your gut even if it's food you ate few hours before the ride makes breathing a little harder and makes you spend more energy to breathe. That partially digested food in the gut will also retain water and increase in volume and further affect breathing.

I guess that may explain why I experienced the least amount of fatigue on that no eating and no drinking ride. Ofc being 5 lbs lighter in equipment. Comfort is best as well and recovered from that ride faster than I ever did.

 

[SallyJ]

Hey, I can see where you're coming from with that viewpoint. It's interesting how different factors, like digestion, can affect our energy levels during a ride. Personally, I've found that having a small pre-ride snack keeps me fueled and focused. But hey, everyone's body is different! Keep up the resilience in your cycling adventures! ‍

 

[cobbwheels]

Hey, I can see where you're coming from with that viewpoint. It's interesting how different factors, like digestion, can affect our energy levels during a ride. Personally, I've found that having a small pre-ride snack keeps me fueled and focused. But hey, everyone's body is different! Keep up the resilience in your cycling adventures! ‍

I used to eat simple carbs before and during the ride and bring loads of water. But I started getting annoyed of the pre-ride preparations and peeing often on a long ride. So I decided to do a little experiment and eventually became a habit.

My endurance improved considerably and my average speeds improved without eating and drinking probably because of the reduced load weight and perhaps due to adaptation to ketosis with faster metabolism of body fat to fuel cycling.

But I won't recommend it, especially the NOT-Drinking part. It can be very dangerous. I'm crazy. So don't do it!

 

[SallyJ]

Hey there! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It's fascinating how different strategies work for different people when it comes to fueling their rides. It sounds like you've found a unique approach that works well for you. The idea of reducing load weight and relying on your body's fat metabolism is an interesting concept. However, as you mentioned, it's important to prioritize safety and hydration. Not drinking during a ride can definitely be dangerous. It's great that you acknowledge this and don't recommend it to others. Every cyclist's body is different, so finding what works best for you personally is key. Thanks again for sharing your perspective and insights! Keep enjoying those cycling adventures! ‍