Feeling sick after long rides

jamlala

Hi all, not sure if this in the right place but it seems as good a place as any!
Have done a few 60+ miles sportives now, in not particularly ground breaking times but I've enjoyed them nevertheless! Problem is though that for the following 4 or 5 hours after I finish I feel incredibly bloated and sick, constant burping etc which is not very pleasant. Could be 'trapped wind' (to coin a phrase) but it really is starting to bug me. I eat llittle and often, and have steered clears from the sickly gels to concentrate more on flapjacks and cereal bars etc.

I know feeling sick is fairly common after long periods of physical excersion, but not for this length of time surely?!

Anyone experienced the same/have any suggestions?!

Berk Bonebonce

Suggest you try your rides on liquids alone.

CrackFox

No more than guesses but:

- are you chewing properly or just gulping down those cereal bars?
- do you have anything strapped tightly around your midsection e.g the waist strap of a hydration pack?
- are you swallowing a lot of air?
- are you taking in enough water?
- are you eating more than you really need to during a ride?

crumbschief

For me and maybe you it's usually Gluten,Dairy,Nuts or Fruit causing that.I have got the same reaction during and after exercising,what bars and flapjacks do you use?

pianoman

are you eating more than you really need to during a ride?

That was my thought - especially if you take in too much sugar from items such as power bars and energy gel shots. I don't doubt that they're useful for going balls-out in a club 10 but at sportive speed you really want to go with something as slow-burning as you can get away with (that can also be digested). That's why I swear by the sportives which are free to enter but give you a list of beans on toast stops - then you can play different strategies, one two or three pitstops :P

Also, consider reducing the amount of powder in your energy drink bottle, many manufacturers tell you that 50g in 500ml of water is ideal. Personally I'd take one such 50g scoop and split it between my two bottles, that way you're not taking in too much at once. If all else fails, maybe Nuun electrolyte tablets plus bite-size natural food bars like "Nakd" would work? Give it a try.

giant_man

As already stated, do a couple of rides with just liquids.

Rarely do I eat on a ride have to say, only the longer ones will I eat an energy bar or similar. What liquids do you take on your sportives now? Just water or energy electrolyte drinks?

turkeytickler

PianoMan wrote:

are you eating more than you really need to during a ride?

That was my thought - especially if you take in too much sugar from items such as power bars and energy gel shots. I don't doubt that they're useful for going balls-out in a club 10 but at sportive speed you really want to go with something as slow-burning as you can get away with (that can also be digested). That's why I swear by the sportives which are free to enter but give you a list of beans on toast stops - then you can play different strategies, one two or three pitstops :P

Also, consider reducing the amount of powder in your energy drink bottle, many manufacturers tell you that 50g in 500ml of water is ideal. Personally I'd take one such 50g scoop and split it between my two bottles, that way you're not taking in too much at once. If all else fails, maybe Nuun electrolyte tablets plus bite-size natural food bars like "Nakd" would work? Give it a try.

Another angle on this theory; I have never been much of a drinker on the bike - I just don't get thirsty - I'm not much of a sweater either. I rode the etape in 2004, and decided that for once I should heed the advice to stay well hydrated, so I loaded up with water bottles - nothing excessive, just the standard 2 frame mounted - and off I went, refilling along the way as per the advice of so many.

To cut a long story short, I reckon I lost over 30 minutes over the course to pee stops - my body just didn't want the liquid.

Not saying you shouldn't pay attention to hydration, and where this might be relevant to your experience (be it food, hydration or the makeup of either),..for a 60 mile sportive, unless it was particularly hilly, I wouldnt need much more than a small bowl of porridge for brekky, a couple of bananas, 500ml of plain water and maybe an energy bar as a psychological comfort blanket (unlikely that I would eat it) ..... if I start to fade towards the end of a long especially hot ride, the only thing that revives me is a nice cold can of coke!

The moral of the story is that we are all different and what works for one person, may be OTT for another or vice versa. In my experience it is better to listen to your body than the camelback and lucozade marketing departments. Obviously you don't want to get the bonk but maybe you could experiment with smaller quantities (you can always stash emergency supplies in your jersey)

jamlala

To answer some of the questions:-

Porridge for brek well in advance
1 banana at the start
2 x 1inch square pieces of flapjack
1 x 1 inch square mule bar
2 x bottle Nuun infested water

I ate plenty, but then also I don't think I overdid it. I do gulp in air when required, can't help that really!! Could be swallowing a lot of air I guess, I'll watch it next time. The only time I don't get problems is on an 'easier' course where I don't struggle so much, ie less hills!

I like the liquid only option, I'll give that a go plus also I'll try to monitor my breathing techniques when struggling just to try to avoid swallowing too much air. Completely agree with turkeytickler re the fact that we're all different, and we need to find what suits. Thanks for your input everyone!