hydration

jakjtb

alright guys,

just wondering what do you use for your hydration supplies. ive recently been finding that on my weekend rides, 70+ miles im running out on my bottles around the 50-60 mile mark and then having to ride the extra 15 miles minus any hydration. obviously not the best scenario.

so my question is, is a camelbak worth buying or is there some other thing I can get that will help to boost the mileage im able to achieve. I don't carry a backpack on my rides and don't have anywhere to store extra fluid on the bike.

cheers guys

jakjtb

I should have said, when I mean boosting the mileage im able to achieve I meant boosting it as I wont have to finish my ride due to no water.

marcusjb

Along the side of many roads in the UK are these things called shops or pubs. If you go in and give them money, they will sell you allsorts of things - including more liquids to go in your bidons!

A pub is good for a quick stop, a packet of crisps and a pint of orange juice and lemonade - and they'll always fill your bidons for you.

A shop will sell a big bottle of water that will fill you and a mate's bottles for little money.

These solutions work well for very long rides and mean you're not loaded down with a Camelbak full of water.

jakjtb

I forgot that this site had sarcy arseholes on it.

but thanks for the response but I would want something that would mean I don't have to get off the bike all together as I ride mainly around country lanes which don't really have corner shops or similar around. on my routes I regularily ride for 15 - 20 miles without seeing so much as a house.

imposter2.0

jakjtb wrote:

I forgot that this site had sarcy arseholes on it.

Questions usually get the responses they deserve. Marcus is quite right. If you run low, stop and fill up somewhere. You're not racing, so why would stopping be a problem?

marcusjb

(I was being a bit sarcastic yes!)

I'd be fairly certain I ride quite a bit further than most without seeing civilisation. I, too, tend to go through both bidons in around 40-50 miles, but wouldn't dream of carrying more water in a Camelbak, extra bottles etc.

Water is heavy - you really don't want to be lugging it about. I can be in and out of a village shop with filled bottles in less than 5 minutes (provided the local old dears aren't doing their shopping for an entire month in there).

5 minutes off the bike - not going to affect you much really. Bit of a leg stretch etc.

Pubs are good for a few minutes longer stop - as I said, get something like an orange juice and lemonade, a packet of crisps and take 10 minutes off. They'll fill your bottles and you're good to go for the next 50 miles.

marcusjb

Some churches/graveyards will have a tap outside. It's just a question of knowing where it is.

Also - ask someone who's out in their garden. Most people will oblige if you are polite to them.

buckles

How many people become ill or die of drinking too much during physical activity compared to drinking too little?

jakjtb

marcusjb wrote:

(I was being a bit sarcastic yes!)

I'd be fairly certain I ride quite a bit further than most without seeing civilisation. I, too, tend to go through both bidons in around 40-50 miles, but wouldn't dream of carrying more water in a Camelbak, extra bottles etc.

Water is heavy - you really don't want to be lugging it about. I can be in and out of a village shop with filled bottles in less than 5 minutes (provided the local old dears aren't doing their shopping for an entire month in there).

5 minutes off the bike - not going to affect you much really. Bit of a leg stretch etc.

Pubs are good for a few minutes longer stop - as I said, get something like an orange juice and lemonade, a packet of crisps and take 10 minutes off. They'll fill your bottles and you're good to go for the next 50 miles.

cheers man! I think when I say I don't want to get off the bike its a case of not wanting to leave it outside a shop as I don't really want to be lugging a chain around with me. the least amount of weight the better. I don't think im gonna waste my money on a camlebak or similar and just do as said here. I can put the money towards some new components for the beast.

junglist_matty

On an 82 mile ride yesterday morning, average temp around 26-27degrees, I went through 4x 750ml bottles of water, 3x 750ml bottles of "high5 energy drink", a few flapjacks, bananas and a few handfuls of jellybeans.... I still got cramps in my legs on the final 15miles!

"Causes of cramping include[1] hyperflexion, hypoxia, exposure to large changes in temperature, dehydration, or low blood salt"

When the weather is hot, you'll want to be taking on board plenty of water to re-hydrate you; I've never found energy drink to be any better than water, just more expensive and usually tastes pretty rancid; I only took the "energy drink" on yesterdays ride because the queues to refill with energy drink were non-existent whilst the water queues were pretty long!

Usually I'll plan a route to stop at petrol stations every 20-25 miles (which means around an hour between each brief stop) to buy water to refill my bottles they're usually safe to leave your bike outside as you can easily keep an eye on it.

On colder rides, every 30 miles (at the most).... Even in the cold hydration is very important!

litwardle

Imposter wrote:

jakjtb wrote:

I forgot that this site had sarcy arseholes on it.

Questions usually get the responses they deserve. Marcus is quite right. If you run low, stop and fill up somewhere. You're not racing, so why would stopping be a problem?

I have had similar problems in that living in rural areas (I'm in North Devon) and often when doing a loop it is more than normal not to go near shops etc. Most small villages in these areas do not have amenities anymore (the tesco influence) I suppose. If you live in a town or city you would be surprised how few and far between these places are!

danowat

junglist_matty wrote:

On an 82 mile ride yesterday morning, average temp around 26-27degrees, I went through 4x 750ml bottles of water, 3x 750ml bottles of "high5 energy drink", a few flapjacks, bananas and a few handfuls of jellybeans.... I still got cramps in my legs on the final 15miles!

:shock: I go through less (much) than that during a 100 mile TT in warm weather..............

marcusjb

jakjtb wrote:

marcusjb wrote:

(I was being a bit sarcastic yes!)

I'd be fairly certain I ride quite a bit further than most without seeing civilisation. I, too, tend to go through both bidons in around 40-50 miles, but wouldn't dream of carrying more water in a Camelbak, extra bottles etc.

Water is heavy - you really don't want to be lugging it about. I can be in and out of a village shop with filled bottles in less than 5 minutes (provided the local old dears aren't doing their shopping for an entire month in there).

5 minutes off the bike - not going to affect you much really. Bit of a leg stretch etc.

Pubs are good for a few minutes longer stop - as I said, get something like an orange juice and lemonade, a packet of crisps and take 10 minutes off. They'll fill your bottles and you're good to go for the next 50 miles.

cheers man! I think when I say I don't want to get off the bike its a case of not wanting to leave it outside a shop as I don't really want to be lugging a chain around with me. the least amount of weight the better. I don't think im gonna waste my money on a camlebak or similar and just do as said here. I can put the money towards some new components for the beast.

I wouldn't bother with a chain most of the time. I do always have one in the saddlebag (a crappy little cable lock). But going into a shop in the middle of nowhere, not likely to use it. I'll be able to see the bike most of the time etc.

I ride some pretty big distances over some remote countryside, and I can not ever remember not being able to find water in the UK

litwardle

Come and ride in North Devon ha ha

sloppyschleckonds

I've never seen a shop/ garage etc that hasn't allowed me to take my bike inside if you are worried about it getting thefted

buckles

If only Britain was like France, taps up mountains and that

drlodge

Get bigger bottles. No seriously, you can get 1 litre bottles from Halfords. Then you have 2 litres of fluid

apreading

If you really want, you can get extra bottle cages that attach to the saddle: http://velospace.org/forums/discussion/ ... tle-cages/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/profile-aqua-re ... -route.com

But I would just refill somewhere, rather than carry the extra weight.

buckles

Why not just pay a friend to follow you with numerous bottles in a cool box? Then you get the benefit of 'sticky bottle'