Quoted message said:er, about 3 litres - I have no idea whether that was
enough - there were a couple of occasions when I thought
"Hmmm... I'm thirsty" which probably means "not enough".
Three litres ought to be more than enough over that
distance, unless it was *very* warm out, but the fact that
you waited until you were thirsty might have contributed to
the problem - you should try to take regular sips *before*
you get thirsty. Feeling thirsty is a sign that you are
already dehydrated.
Also a good idea, as others have said, to not push as hard -
it's the difference between doing aerobic and anaerobic
exercise. I can never remember which is which, but pushing
hard* is the type that creates a build-up of lactic acid in
the muscles and continuing at that level for very long
invariably leads to cramp.
And it's a good idea to add some energy formula to your
water - I use Maxim, which seems to do the trick and is
reasonably priced compared to some products. Even low
intensity exercise over a long period can cause problems if
you don't keep your glycogen levels topped up.
d.
*this is relative to the level of fitness of the rider, so
for an unfit rider 'pushing hard' might mean anything beyond
very gentle trundling, but if you keep up the cycling you'll
soon find that you can cruise at 15mph with the same level
of effort.
