Headaches after long (for me!) rides

JST

Having got more in cycling over this summer I have started doing some longer rides. I have done a couple of 30 mile rides recently which takes about 2 hours. Afterwards I have been fairly knackered especially my lower back muscles but I hope this will change as I get fitter.

However I am a little worried that about an hour after I finish I seem to get a headache, not a really nasty one but bad enough. I can't pin it to any particular position in my head.

Any Ideas? I do sweat quite a bit especially when it's hot but I also try and drink quite a bit before during and after the ride... :?:

Crapaud

If you're sweating profusely you may be suffering from lack of salts (NB plural). Do you just drink water or use an energy drink with electrolytes?

On one 100mile ride I did, in 40 degree heat, the sweat was literally pouring off of me, onto the bike, then onto the road. When I stopped I was covered in crystalized salt, like your shoes go in the winter when the streets have been gritted. For the next 3 days I had a blinding headache. When I bent down I thought that my eyeballs were going to explode. I'm told I looked drunk. 2 sachets of rehydration crystals sorted it within half an hour.

I'm not suggesting that you should take rehydration crystals - see a chemist or your doc first if you think this might be the problem. Or see the doc anyway.

ut_och_cykla

As well as fluid/salt imbalance it could be tension in your neck. Wearing restrictive clothing round back of neck, having to look 'around' helmet fronts /glasses etc can all cause your neck to have to work extra /in a strange way. Hunching shoulders against cold winds doesn't help either! You're already expereincing back discomfort from your positionso this might need to be adjusted.
Riding for two houors you probably need more than water - try taking dilute fruit jice/a banana or even an isotonic sports drink on your longer rides to counteract loss of fluids/salts. If teh headache is only bike related its probably nothing serious - but do see medical help if it persists or gets worse/ develops vision/coordination problems.

DaveyL

I find I get headaches when I'm dehydrated. Try weighing yourself before and after a ride to work out how much fluid you've lost (taking into account the water you've taken in on your ride, 1 L = 1 kg). I always take two bottles and have one filled with just water and the other with electrolyte-containing sports drink (at the moment, either high5 4:1 or high5 isotonic). If you don't want to go for a commercial sports drink you can dilute down some orange juice and add a *liittle* salt.

On 100 mile rides I can easily get through 5-6 litres, but then again I'm a big guy and do sweat a lot. Refilling is easy if you make up a few sachets (zip-lock bags) with the energy powder and stick them in your back pocket.

chrisw12

Now I only get headaches when either cycling or when I go cold turkey from Coke (cola). For me there seems to be one of three reasons.

1) Dehydration as mentioned above.
2) In winter if I make a fast descent then I get what I think is refered to as 'ice cream head' although thinking about what Ut' said above, this might be related to 3.
3) The neck. As I ride almsot exclusively on tri bars in an aero position, my weakness, my neck takes a lot of strain and funnily enough, within an hour of my neck hurting I'll start to develop a headache as well. Luckily 2 tablets cure it, but it's not the answer, so I only use in extreme situations.


The more I think about it, for me 1 is a bit of a red herring and 2 is down to the neck again really as when descending I probably hunch as Ut' describes.

Kléber

Similar to Chrisw12, what you think as a headache might not be a neural pain (ie brain ache) but it could be your muscles or nerves in your neck, or muscles and nerves in the scalp. Try to work on keeping your neck and shoulders loose during the ride, for example change position a bit and roll your head around from time to time.

stewr

Hi
Ive had the same on long hot rides, ruled out dehydration, body position, tension, all the usual ideas etc. The only thing that works for me is 2 ibuprofen before the ride, works a treat. I only need them if the rides expected to be a hard one.

I believe its called an effort headache,it usually manfests as a dull ache several hours after the ride. try googling for more info

JST

Thanks for your comments guys, some interesting points. Currently I am riding a flat bar Dawes Discovery 701 which I bought a few years back without getting a proper fitting, I'm pretty sure I got the saddle height right but the rest I guess could be out causing back, neck and possibly what feels like a headache. Although if I go for a long ride in the am the headache can last all pm. I am hoping to buy a propper road bike in the near future from my LBS so I hope they will be able to set me up correctly on it and eliminiate ill fitting related muscle aches as much as poss.

I'm interested in the weighing idea to see how much fluid i loose over a ride, i'll have to buy some scales first as supprisinigly enough me and the GF have none in the house!

So I guess the simplest thing to try first is to take a sports drink out as well as normal water, do people normally take both? Having never bought one before are they available in supermarkets etc or do you need to go to a sports shop - any reccomendations as to type?

Thanks again, James.

JackPozzi

I occasionally suffer from really bad headaches on club runs as soon as I get off the bike at the cafe stop and at the end but feel fine while on the bike. I'm currently working on the theory its some kind of sinus thing, so make sure I dose up with sudafed before going out, which seems to be working at the moment.

Blonde

If you've ruled out dehydration, too tight a hat/headband/helmet it could simply be caused by tiredness. I get headaches when I am tired (or stressed). If you are consuming larger amounts of caffiene, sugar or choclate than usual whilst riding that could also be a trigger.

dave noble

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/hyponatremia.html
this is from a triathlon site about salt depletion
I think that's what's happened to me a few times - stomach full of water but dehydrated at the same time. I take peanuts with me now.