Combatting feelings of dehydration on rides

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Combatting feelings of dehydration on rides
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flag zachinblack
Posted: Aug 29, 2018 at 12:39 Quote
I am one of those guys who can never have too much water on a ride. I drink water constantly, and always feel like i need more. I know i am drinking enough as I dont cramp up on rides, nor is my urine bright yellow, but the feeling, sensation remains.

My question is this: Is there a product that will help me retain more water and hopefully dimish this feeling of constantly needing more fluids? At this point, i'd love to just be less reliant on water and make less go further, so I can forego a hydration pack and just use my on bike bottle, and at most, my hip packs small resovoir.

Am I SOL, or is there something that could help?
flag lblizzard
Posted: Aug 30, 2018 at 5:17 Quote
Do you pre-hydrate? When you are working out your body uses water that you have taken in hours before, it takes at least an hour for water to absorb into your body so it's just as important to drink consistently throughout the day, likewise about an hour before you ride down a bottle of Gatorade to add some sodium to your body
flag vonroder77
O+
Posted: Aug 31, 2018 at 13:11 Quote
lblizzard wrote:
Do you pre-hydrate? When you are working out your body uses water that you have taken in hours before, it takes at least an hour for water to absorb into your body so it's just as important to drink consistently throughout the day, likewise about an hour before you ride down a bottle of Gatorade to add some sodium to your body

^^this, plus some other contributing factors, type of riding, fitness level, diet, etc. excess sugar and high sodium levels will cause excess thirst. You will have to do some experimenting as well, Gatorade doesn't help me it actually makes me thirstier, I mostly use water to pre hydrate, every now and then Ill drink Heed or a some watered down Pedialyte if its gonna be a long ride or if its hot out.

I don't know your setup but I actually found out I was drinking too much water while I was riding and pretty much flushing myself out of needed nutrients while exercising. I use to always carry a 3 liter pack full of water and would suck the entire thing down. I finally tried a lighter pack with a lot less water, lighter pack meant less weight I had to lug around making climbs easier, got in better shape which meant less energy being spent on climbs. Pre Hydrating and eating healthy according to what I'm going to be doing i.e eat the carne asada burrito after your ride, not at lunch time before your after work ride. Healthy carbs before exercise, proteins post workout.

I now ride with a light weigh minimal pack that will hold up to 1.5 liters of water that I only fill about 3/4 with ice water and hardly ever use it all on two plus hour rides.
flag zachinblack
Posted: Sep 4, 2018 at 8:16 Quote
vonroder77 wrote:
lblizzard wrote:
Do you pre-hydrate? When you are working out your body uses water that you have taken in hours before, it takes at least an hour for water to absorb into your body so it's just as important to drink consistently throughout the day, likewise about an hour before you ride down a bottle of Gatorade to add some sodium to your body

^^this, plus some other contributing factors, type of riding, fitness level, diet, etc. excess sugar and high sodium levels will cause excess thirst. You will have to do some experimenting as well, Gatorade doesn't help me it actually makes me thirstier, I mostly use water to pre hydrate, every now and then Ill drink Heed or a some watered down Pedialyte if its gonna be a long ride or if its hot out.

I don't know your setup but I actually found out I was drinking too much water while I was riding and pretty much flushing myself out of needed nutrients while exercising. I use to always carry a 3 liter pack full of water and would suck the entire thing down. I finally tried a lighter pack with a lot less water, lighter pack meant less weight I had to lug around making climbs easier, got in better shape which meant less energy being spent on climbs. Pre Hydrating and eating healthy according to what I'm going to be doing i.e eat the carne asada burrito after your ride, not at lunch time before your after work ride. Healthy carbs before exercise, proteins post workout.

I now ride with a light weigh minimal pack that will hold up to 1.5 liters of water that I only fill about 3/4 with ice water and hardly ever use it all on two plus hour rides.

Thanks for that insight.

I rode yesterday. 15 miles, cool (60 deg F) and really did not seem to have too great a need for water. Maybe the reason i was feeling it on my previous rides was the heat factor. I also only run a 1.5 liter bladder (fanny pack) and i find having that weight off my back is sooo helpful on climbs and overall.
flag joys
Posted: Oct 15, 2018 at 9:31 Quote
zachinblack wrote:
vonroder77 wrote:
lblizzard wrote:
Do you pre-hydrate? When you are working out your body uses water that you have taken in hours before, it takes at least an hour for water to absorb into your body so it's just as important to drink consistently throughout the day, likewise about an hour before you ride down a bottle of Gatorade to add some sodium to your body

^^this, plus some other contributing factors, type of riding, fitness level, diet, etc. excess sugar and high sodium levels will cause excess thirst. You will have to do some experimenting as well, Gatorade doesn't help me it actually makes me thirstier, I mostly use water to pre hydrate, every now and then Ill drink Heed or a some watered down Pedialyte if its gonna be a long ride or if its hot out.

I don't know your setup but I actually found out I was drinking too much water while I was riding and pretty much flushing myself out of needed nutrients while exercising. I use to always carry a 3 liter pack full of water and would suck the entire thing down. I finally tried a lighter pack with a lot less water, lighter pack meant less weight I had to lug around making climbs easier, got in better shape which meant less energy being spent on climbs. Pre Hydrating and eating healthy according to what I'm going to be doing i.e eat the carne asada burrito after your ride, not at lunch time before your after work ride. Healthy carbs before exercise, proteins post workout.

I now ride with a light weigh minimal pack that will hold up to 1.5 liters of water that I only fill about 3/4 with ice water and hardly ever use it all on two plus hour rides.

Thanks for that insight.

I rode yesterday. 15 miles, cool (60 deg F) and really did not seem to have too great a need for water. Maybe the reason i was feeling it on my previous rides was the heat factor. I also only run a 1.5 liter bladder (fanny pack) and i find having that weight off my back is sooo helpful on climbs and overall.

Having the proper sodium to glucous ratio (plus other electrolytes lost in sweat) will help retain more water/ will enhance performance, I would try some different hydration products and see what you like best. Skratch, Nuun, etc.
flag SunsPSD
O+
Posted: Oct 23, 2018 at 15:45 Quote
Add Gatorade powder to your hydration pack.

I used to always feel thirsty when I was MXing (before I even had a mountain bike). I've always had a clean low sodium diet and at night I would always get terrible cramps in my body and particularly in my toes and calves. Then I read this bit by Lance Armstrong where he explains you have to replace the electrolytes or you'll always be thirsty and the water will just go right through you. He was completely right. The next time I had a Gatorade and it was a different world. No more unquenchable thirst, better performance, no more night cramps.
flag slimboyjim
O+
Posted: Feb 4, 2019 at 5:37 Quote
I found I was always getting quite dehydrated in warm weather, however much I drank on my ride. I found electrolyte tablets helped me.

I'd also consider stuff like caffeine as that will dehydrate you too...
flag buckwheat23
Posted: Feb 8, 2019 at 19:01 Quote
zachinblack wrote:
I am one of those guys who can never have too much water on a ride. I drink water constantly, and always feel like i need more. I know i am drinking enough as I dont cramp up on rides, nor is my urine bright yellow, but the feeling, sensation remains.

My question is this: Is there a product that will help me retain more water and hopefully dimish this feeling of constantly needing more fluids? At this point, i'd love to just be less reliant on water and make less go further, so I can forego a hydration pack and just use my on bike bottle, and at most, my hip packs small resovoir.

Am I SOL, or is there something that could help?

I had an issue of intense cramps on long rides. Drank tons of water until I found out that hydration wasn't the largest issue. Yes I required fluids, but the bigger thing was electrolytes (mostly sodium). I now mix ~1000mg of seat salt to every liter of water I drink during my ride. I can include the source I got this from if you're interested. I have not cramped since and I feel great during the entire ride. I also pre-hydrate with another 500mg of sodium. If you aren't worried about costs, I would recommend looking at a hydration mix, such as Scratch.
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