stan_road

Two questions on water drinking: (1) Is there anything you do to remember to drink during the day? (2) How long before a ride do you drink?

I forget to hydrate during the day and find myself "cramming" before rides, etc. I've wondered if others have faced and overcome the same challenge.

Machka 

When I get to work, I pour myself a glass of water and a cup of coffee.

Then another cup of coffee mid-morning.

At lunch, I drink a glass of water.

In the middle of the afternoon when I'm getting drowsy ... another glass of water and a cup of coffee.

If I'm going to cycle after work or if I'm extra drowsy and/or headache-y, I"ll have another glass of water before going home.

It's just habit now.

locolobo13 

At work the last hour before leaving I have a cold water bottle on my desk. Then I just sip it over the hour. On a hot day it's easy to finish the bottle. Since I commute this helps hydrate me before the afternoon ride home.

12strings

I keep a water bottle at my desk at work...I probably refill it at least 3-4 times during the work day.

BadBurrito

I have 4 metal 28oz water bottles. I fill them every night and put them in the fridge. I drink 1 at breakfast - often chugging it. I drink 1 at my desk at work, I make sure I drink it by noon, I drink the 3rd in the afternoon, usually finishing it by 4-ish. the last one is for dinner/evening but if I have a glass of wine with dinner, I generally don't get the 4th one completely drank.

I have a history of kidney stones, but since I've started drinking this volume of water - no stones - which is worth it to me.

When I go for a bike ride - that is an extra water bottle(s). I try to drink a fourth of a bottle every 15 minutes, but that depends on the temp. really hot = every 15 minutes, cool-ish = every 30 minutes or so

Seattle Forrest

Eat salty foods, and you'll be thirsty more. You could try setting reminders on your phone. Maybe have them nag you every hour.

Carbonfiberboy 

It's my practice, the day before a particularly hard or long ride, to drink at least one bottle of HEED or Cytomax or similar electrolyte and calorie containing drink. The morning of, I have a cup of coffee and a pint of water. That's plenty. You want to be hydrated, yet avoid pee stops oftener than every 2-3 hours. You do not want to consume large quantities of water in the absence of electrolytes. Hyponatremia is much more damaging and dangerous than is dehydration.

stan_road

Thanks for the helpful feedback here. Great tips!

Shimagnolo

A crazy idea, but why not just drink when you are thirsty?

Yendor72

This! I drink when I am thirsty, I have never had hydration issues while riding, no matter how hot the day is, as long as I am keeping up on my hydration while I ride. And I have never had a hydration issue on a ride. Drink when you are thirsty, for some crazy reason your body knows when it needs more water.

Talkinghalls

I worked in a jail for about 6 years; working in those conditions with a bullet proof vest, duty belt + gear, topped with 24/7 broken AC units, water breaks were a life saver.




I got into the habit of carrying around a gallon jug of water, I'd drink as much as I could as often as I could.
The down side is I no longer work there but if I don't drink at least a gallon of water a day I get foggy, and extremely tired.

kellyon

I always have in my bag a bottle of water and homemade protein cocktail ( I keep them in special bottles that I ordered here https://allinpackaging.co.uk/containers/bottle). It's very convenient. I used to drink lemon water 30 minutes before riding and 30 minutes after riding. I read that it's important to drink water in regular intervals. I'm trying to drink at least 3 bottles of water per day.

Dreww10

Fill a 2-liter or a gallon milk jug with water and keep it nearby. I find it much easier to continue drinking all day if I have that in front of me and know I have to finish it than having to get up and refill a cup. In fact, I find I end up drinking too much, too fast this way but it's better than the alternative.

Carbonfiberboy 

Too bad hydration myths became so prevalent. Seeing people walk around with an ever-present bottle, sucking on it, reminds of a baby. Oral fixation. 55 years ago, it was the opposite problem: athletes were forbidden to drink water during a meet or game. Slowed you down. Which is true but can also be carried to an extreme which is not healthy.

Drink when you're thirsty. In fact, one can get really thirsty before drinking. If you pinch the skin on the back of your hand and it doesn't stay up in a pinch fold, you are not dehydrated. When Richard Leakey's team was looking for fossils around Lake Turkana, it was hot and sunny all day long. The team eventually stopped carrying any water with them because it was such a hassle. They'd be out all day in the hot sun, no problem, get back to camp and drink maybe a gallon. They did that all summer.

Drink when you're thirsty.

Yendor72

Google- hypothalamus

I'm actually not crazy, that thing lets you know when you need water by making you feel thirsty. It also has other functions. Craving something salty? Perhaps you need the salt as our bodies use it. Or you can listen to the cola companies that branched out to water sales and drink a gallon a day as they suggest. If your pee is clear you may be in trouble.