How much do you drink when riding?

craigus89

I'm sure this has been covered at some point before, but how much do you drink on average when you're riding?

I only ask because I really don't drink much at all. Last night I went out and did 37 miles, took my 750ml bottle full of water, when I got back I still had 80% of it left! I never tend to get through much even on longer rides up to 100 miles, don't tend to use electrolites as I've had bad stomach cramps in the past.

Anyone else similar? Should I force myself to drink more?

ai_1

I suspect a search will throw up lots of past discussions on the topic.
If you're doing rides up to 100 miles and drinking almost nothing then you must be getting very dehydrated. In cold/cool weather I tend not to want to drink much at least not for the first hour or two but if I don't make the effort to take on some liquid I think I suffer more as a result. I'd guess I drink about one 710ml bottle per 90mins of medium effort riding in cool weather and the same amount in 1 hour when it's warmer. I don't end up taking a leak very often, in fact almost never during a ride, so I'm clearly not overloading on fluids.
In fact i'd say that's perhaps the best way to know if you're drinking enough. If you don't need to take a proper leak for hours after a ride or if it's really dark in colour then you're dehydrated.

alex222

The feeling of thirst is your body's own excellent method of letting you know when you need to drink more. Article below goes through it all in some detail. Supposedly theories around set amounts you shuold drink have been discredited.
I also like Ai_1 keep an eye on urine colour.
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/04/hydra ... it-really/

diy

On a big ride on a hot day I will make an effort to keep the fluid intake up. Once you start dehydrating then its an effort to undo it. I tend to go on the basis that as long as I don't need to keep stopping to pee, then I'm not over doing it. It really depends how hard you work and how hot it is.

500ml per hour is reasonable IMO - but only if you are working.

Stomach cramping is more likely to be caffeine IMO

ai_1

Alex222 wrote:

The feeling of thirst is your body's own excellent method of letting you know when you need to drink more. Article below goes through it all in some detail. Supposedly theories around set amounts you shuold drink have been discredited.
I also like Ai_1 keep an eye on urine colour.
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/04/hydra ... it-really/

I don't find thirst is always a sufficient trigger. When I'm concentrating on riding I don't always realise I'm thirsty until I'm VERY thirsty. I've actually set up a time reminder on my computer to beep every 10mins which acts as my reminder that I might want to take a mouthful.
This isn't cycling specific or wacky. Am I the only one who when really busy with some crisis in work might forget to eat for hours and hours then suddenly realise I'm starving?

Quick Anecdote time: I recently started doing some of my riding in TT position (training and competing in triathlons and duathlons). I found I was drinking very little because it was very tricky to grab a bottle from the cage when I was on the extensions and as a result I wouldn't drink nearly as often as usual. I then fitted a between the arms bottle with a straw and suddenly it's right in front of my eyes so I'm more concious of it and it's also trivial to take a sip so I'm doing it more. My thirst hasn't changed but my drinking habits and volumes have. So I think the idea that thirst alone is the solution is over simplistic. Having said that, i haven't read your link yet

chippyk

Really depends on the individual, the weather, the pace etc. I guess. On a normal easy ride at 16-17mph I usually get to the cafe at anything up to 75 miles on two 750ml bottles. In hot weather last year I'd drained them both by 50 miles and had to stop at 60 for more. I usually take some High 5 Zero tabs in a small tube to flavour the water I fill up with at the cafe.

kajjal

It depends on the weather and terrain as well as distance. 4 hours mountain biking in the summer on steep rugged trails means i go through three full water bottles. In winter a four hour road ride would barely use a single bottle. I tend to drink plenty of water before i go on longer rides which helps. I just use plain water and carry museli bars.

homers_double

Saturday morning, 1000-1500mls.

Sunday afternoon, 6-7 pints.

tlw1

Tonight 750 mls over 36 miles then two pints of peroni and 1.6 miles

alex222

Ai_1 wrote:

I don't find thirst is always a sufficient trigger. When I'm concentrating on riding I don't always realise I'm thirsty until I'm VERY thirsty. I've actually set up a time reminder on my computer to beep every 10mins which acts as my reminder that I might want to take a mouthful.
This isn't cycling specific or wacky. Am I the only one who when really busy with some crisis in work might forget to eat for hours and hours then suddenly realise I'm starving?

Quick Anecdote time: I recently started doing some of my riding in TT position (training and competing in triathlons and duathlons). I found I was drinking very little because it was very tricky to grab a bottle from the cage when I was on the extensions and as a result I wouldn't drink nearly as often as usual. I then fitted a between the arms bottle with a straw and suddenly it's right in front of my eyes so I'm more concious of it and it's also trivial to take a sip so I'm doing it more. My thirst hasn't changed but my drinking habits and volumes have. So I think the idea that thirst alone is the solution is over simplistic. Having said that, i haven't read your link yet

I can see the point about thirst not always being a sufficient trigger. If I head out without already being well hydrated I struggle to drink enough on a ride, as like you I often have to remind myself to drink
As always with these things there are large variations between people.

DavidJB

Normally limit it to 10 jagers / 50 miles.

chris_bass

DavidJB wrote:

Normally limit it to 10 jagers / 50 miles.

I'm the same but make sure I get a couple of stellas in about half an hour before I leave

meanredspider

Alex222 wrote:

The feeling of thirst is your body's own excellent method of letting you know when you need to drink more. Article below goes through it all in some detail. Supposedly theories around set amounts you shuold drink have been discredited.
I also like Ai_1 keep an eye on urine colour.
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/04/hydra ... it-really/

Interesting article but not at all conclusive other than saying drinking something is better than nothing. I particularly like the regression plot with the line through a "square" of data points! It didn't really address the point of the additional strain on the heart becoming dehydrated adds due to thickening of the blood.

Like one or two others, I'm poor at drinking on the bike - I also perspire a lot. Drinking to thirst, I didn't manage much more than 1 litre over 160k the other day. I regularly see over 2% weight loss at the end of a ride. I suffer from cramp and dry eyes. I must drink more. I would think that a small bidon (500ml) an hour on a nice riding day is a reasonable rule of thumb. Drinking smallish swigs is the best way as your body will just pass higher volumes. Hydrating well before a ride is important too. I heard that F1 drivers drink a litre an hour before hot races. They pass a lot of it but start fully hydrated. That's extreme but demonstrates a point.

IanRCarter

I did a 200k ride yesterday, which is a lot for me, took it at my 'steady' speed, not too fast or too slow. Obviously a long day in the saddle on a warm day so I knew I'd have to keep up with the drinking. I follow the 500ml per hour rule, but quite often don't drink that much (usually at least 2 hours before I finish my 750ml bottle). Yesterday I was ahead of that 'drinking pace', after 8 hours I'd reckon I'd got 6 750ml bottles as well as a carton of OJ, can of coke and a coffee and a bit more water (around 250ml) during my stops.

I think this shows you can't plan how much to drink, it has too much to do with the temperature and how hard you are working, amongst other things. In the winter I struggle to drink much at all even though I'm still working hard and sweating.

Drink little and often, try to make sure you consume at least 500ml per hour especially on hot days and if you start to feel thirsty, you haven't been drinking enough. Might sound stupid, but also make sure you've been drinking before your ride - I don't always feel like drinking when I have breakfast but if I'm riding in the morning, a glass of water is as important as my weetabix.

debeli

Dehydration is pretty unpleasant - but you will generally know when it's affected you.

We are all different - I am a glugger of water when I cycle any distance.

Thirty-or-so years ago when I was a keen athlete outside cycling, the notion of staying hydrated was rarer. Water was more commonly the preserve of the cyclist and (absurdly) the jogger. One rarely saw water being carried elsewhere. Even the crate of water bottles that now sits by the coach at junior footie matches was a rarity 30 years ago.

It's a jolly good thing that things have moved forwards as they have, but some people seem to get more 'into' the idea of hydration than in strictly necessary.

Not every ride is a TdF stage. If you do constant-ish ride lengths in similar-ish weather, you will get to know how much water to take.

If water suits you, water is fine. If small volumes suit you, then small volumes are fine. If you become dehydrated you will feel distinctly unwell and you will learn to drink more. If you don't become dehydrated, you may be doing it about right.

A former colleague in a physical job I was once doing in a hot place advised me to 'piss clear once a day'. I still find that a helpful maxim.

drlodge

It depends...I generally reckon on drinking what I sweat or proportional to it. In winter I can go miles without drinking much at all, where as on hot days I'll drink a lot lot more.

Cold day - 500ml for 50 miles? Hot day, perhaps 3 times that.

ai_1

Debeli wrote:

Dehydration is pretty unpleasant - but you will generally know when it's affected you.

We are all different - I am a glugger of water when I cycle any distance.

Thirty-or-so years ago when I was a keen athlete outside cycling, the notion of staying hydrated was rarer. Water was more commonly the preserve of the cyclist and (absurdly) the jogger. One rarely saw water being carried elsewhere. Even the crate of water bottles that now sits by the coach at junior footie matches was a rarity 30 years ago.

It's a jolly good thing that things have moved forwards as they have, but some people seem to get more 'into' the idea of hydration than in strictly necessary.

Not every ride is a TdF stage. If you do constant-ish ride lengths in similar-ish weather, you will get to know how much water to take.

If water suits you, water is fine. If small volumes suit you, then small volumes are fine. If you become dehydrated you will feel distinctly unwell and you will learn to drink more. If you don't become dehydrated, you may be doing it about right.

Certainly it's taken far too seriously by some but on the other hand, it's ignored by others. I like to think I'm somewhere in the middle!
Outside of cycling there's the whole drinking 2 litres of water a day nonsense. Total BS but treated seriously by millions. AFAIK that figure originated from a US military study on the optimum amount of water needed daily but it included water contained in foods. So a person could easily reach that level without ever drinking a glass of plain water. Most foods are composed of water with a few other chemicals mixed in. Meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, they're all mostly water (like 80%+). Also a cup of coffee, a glass of orange juice, they're almost entirely water, and this counts towards that approximated 2l figure. Yet we have millions of people wandering around counting glasses of water and thinking this is somehow separate to everything else they consume and responsible for magical health giving.

Anyway, I think you're right. The important thing is not as simple as a fixed volume per hour but rather to monitor yourself and get a feel for what you may need under different circumstances. In my case I think the simple act of setting a timed beep on my cycle computer has made a noticeable difference. It's not that I only drink when it beeps or that I drink every time it beeps, I don't. But I do think "Am I thirsty? Have I been drinking roughly what I expect to need?" The answers are often Yes and No respectively in which case I make an effort to take a few swigs over the next few kilometers. Otherwise I ignore it and carry on as I was. If your cycle computer or your phone has an option to do this I'd recommend giving it a try. Even just for one or two rides to see if there's any point. Of course it may just irritate you! My Garmin Forerunner 910XT allows you set up time alerts and I think mine is set to 10 mins. I'm sure most of the other Garmin's have the same facility.

Since you mention joggers: I find it amazing how many people go for a jog/run carrying a bottle of water in one hand. It's nuts. You can't run properly with an unstable weight in one hand and there's no way you need it for a slow 20, 30, 45min run anyway! It would drive me nuts!!! I routinely run 10-15km without anything to drink and I don't think there's any need. I'm reasonably comfortable up to 20km although I'd have a small drink if I had an easy way to carry it. I've done a few 30km runs without a drink and didn't suffer hugely but would be better off with water stops! However the casual joggers out for relatively short distances of 5km or whatever with water bottles in their hands really are just falling foul of misguided hype....IMO

awavey

the question is also variable based on how hydrated you are before you start riding. I know on early morning starts where Ive not had chance to fully hydrate properly,because Id rather have another 5mins snooze than get up, Ill end up drinking alot on a ride to compensate. If I start later Ill drink less during the ride because Ive drunk more coffee to start with:)

the only time Ive been really dehydrated and ended up with cramp as a result on the bike which was incredibly painful, I actually didnt feel thirsty at all at any point, it was just a hot warm day with a cooling breeze, Id still got a full bottle of water and just simply lost track of how long Id been out riding & how much fluid Id lost sweating it out because I just hadnt felt it, and just hadnt been topping the fluids back up as a result.

FatTed

Drink what you like not what you have been told. Drink when your thirsty is usually sufficient. It is normal and OK to lose weight when you exercise, drink when you get home.
https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion ... rts-drinks

meanredspider

FatTed wrote:

It is normal and OK to lose weight when you exercise, drink when you get home.

A bit. But we had a professional sports nutritionalist come to talk to us at the club and she was horrified by me losing 2kg (more than 2%). As the data in the other article clearly shows, we're all different. Any hard-and-fast advice is utter nonsense. Drinking to thirst will work for some people whilst, for others, a different strategy is needed (drinking to a plan). I fall into the latter category.

solosuperia

A good few years ago I remember the CCCP(USSR) team used to drink a lot before an event.... Hydrate early! was their mantra. Don't know that it made any difference.
Silly fact I also remember they rode battered Colnagos painted red on chrome, amazing the trivial things that stick.
Also put myself off use of electrolyte replacement drinks as having a pee after a race was like pissing brown syrup............. Just stopped using them, reverted to flat Coke(cola!). Would that pass a drug test today????