Alphabet

I am planning my first century in the next couple of months and was wondering what some of you guys and gals drink on long rides. I used to get headaches and feel exhausted no matter how much water I would drink. For the past year I have been adding Liquid IV to my water on rides more than 30 miles and solved that problem. Do any of you take a supplement like In-Kaged?

CAT7RDR

Cytomax, Propel, H2O, diluted maple syrup. Occasional Rockstar Hydrate or Dr Pepper if dragging and need a boost.

TakingMyTime

If it's going to be less than 3 hours on the road I'll just take plain water with a snack or two in my bag. I've tried a couple of different potions, Gatorade and Water mix, some kind of carbo laden stuff that I don't remember the name of. But I usually always just fall back on just water.

To answer your question. No, I don't take any supplements. It's usually a bowl of oatmeal with almonds and flax seed meal along with a banana and then I'm good to go. That will sustain me for quite a while. Everyone's body is different and reacts to the stresses of a long ride differently. Experiment what works for you and then stick to it.

diphthong

if it's a mountain century, it's definitely a bottle of water and a bottle of gatorade with a stop along the way between miles 40-65 (depending on how hot it is)
to score/refill both bottles with the same. if i'm doing a century without bottles (typically a flattish affair such as from la back to san diego), i'll stop for lunch
and maybe one other time (or twice if it's 90+ degrees) at a water fountain or at a 7-11 to crush a pepsi. if it's going to be a ride of 6+ hours and hot the entire
time, i try to start hydrating two days before. liquid demands for me are more defined by difficulty of terrain encountered, temperature and availability of water
or support more than distance.

no supplements but i'm more driven by whim than planning a specific ride. i'll plan for a big ride/long day but usually leave the actual destination up to
the weather gods or a last minute coin flip unless i'm meeting someone else.

big john

Do you eat on your longer rides? If you are getting headaches and feel exhausted maybe you just need calories. Of course, you will need to stay hydrated.
I never use supplements or "space food". I rely on regular food like fruit, granola bars, Kind bars, cookies and sometimes a small sandwich. I like a Dr Pepper on a hot ride, as well.
Too much Gatorade upsets my stomach. I've tried Cytomax, Perpetuem, and other mixes. Also gels. Meh.

I've drank over 200 ounces on a hot mountain ride. This last summer when things were closed I started taking a 70 oz Camelbak along with 2 large bottles on road rides.

Alphabet

I think you are right. I’m going to keep using the Liquid IV and bring my usual snacks(dried apricots,stroopwafel). My rides are in the morning and I eat peanut butter on toast and that seems to work well.
Thanks for your reply!

Alphabet

I was thinking about the L.A. to San Diego route for the century but maybe for my first I’ll stick to San Diego. I am always a bit worried about my hydration even when it’s not too hot. I know it’s more anxiety from getting heat exhaustion in my 20’s on a hot Texas hike I had no business going on.

Alphabet

My longest rides are about 50miles and I eat dried fruit and stroopwafels and plenty of water with hydration mix. I thought it might have been my nutrition that was making me get headaches but eventually figured out it was hydration and now I’m good. I might try a coke on my next longer ride(any chance I get for a soda).

big john

I'm sure it gets plenty hot in Chula Vista! When I do hot rides I like to weigh myself before and after the ride. Gives me an idea of how dehydrated I am.

Do you ever ride up toward Julian? How about Mount Palomar?

Eric F 

Usually it's just water, with a gel or two in my pocket. However, a lot of my rides these days include a social stop with refreshments. In my racer-boy days, I preferred 1/2 gatorade 1/2 water in my bottles. Straight gatorade was too sweet and left my mouth feeling sticky and dry.

TakingMyTime

As long as you're carrying a couple of full water bottles you'll most likely come across somewhere to refill or re-hydrate along the way. I don't think I've ever ridden to a point where I'm too far away from a convenience store or a water fountain in a park.

nemo57

Seems to me it's about what - apart from water - suits us individually, and we learn by trial & error
For a 60+ mile ride, me:
Plenty fluid day before
Porridge in the morning
750+ ml bottle of water/Wiggle hydration tab - or similar: must have both sugar and salt.
Small bottle of same frozen in the jersey pocket.
Extra tabs depending on temp & distance (let's hope there's a tap somewhere).
Gels rather than cereals en route.
Stop for a milkshake along the way if possible: water, protein, sugar, fat, calcium ... excellent, though I'm aware that others would not contemplate such a thing.
Also cigarettes - that long drag well earned as I relax and contemplate my extraordinary athleticism oh dear oh dear oh dear

TakingMyTime

I totally understand what you're saying. I have a couple of rides that I would like to do this summer i.e. GMR etc and I'm sure my preparations will change. But for me, 98% of what I do will always have me near a convenience store or some kind of water source.

Alphabet

Interesting. I might try that. I have not done those rides but would like to one day. Unfortunately my friends prefer to watch tv over exercise. I am pretty much a solo rider and get a bit nervous about being out too far on my own. Do those roads have bike lanes?

big john

When I go up there in the heat I wear a Camelbak.

big john

No bike lanes when I went to Julian, but that was years ago. I loved the area/ride.
I've never gone to the top of Palomar but a lot of people on the forum seem to really like it.

If you want you could probably find clubs or shop rides in your area, maybe more easily after covid slows down.

downtube42

On brevets I'll have one bottle of plain water and one with maltodextrin powder mixed in, with extra water depending on distance between water sources. I carry malto powder in baggies. I try to average one bottle/hour; more if it's hot or climby, less if it's cooler. That's not enough calories to fuel the ride, just enough to prevent troughs in energy level.

Sometimes if I'm lazy with my prep I'll skip the malto and buy gatorade en route, but I always regret that. Pure maltodextrin is tasteless an not sweet. Sometimes I'll stray from this plan, trying to run on food stops alone, and usually that ends up being a crappy ride.

diphthong

if you do the la to sd century ride, i highly recommend getting the free camp pendleton pass if you don't have it already.
worth doing a little ride in carlsbad/oceanside and stopping by the southern entrance to camp pendleton to pick it up. will
probably take 15-30 mins. will need id but i brought my unexpired passport last time and it was perfect. the alternative is
riding on the 5 freeway which is a bit of a departure from all those cushy bike lanes in eastern chula vista.

diphthong

no. there are some in the borrego springs/anza-borrego desert state park area (once you've dropped into the actual desert part of the state park vs the
mountains-laguna/cuyamaca-part of the state park

Hit Factor

My wife and I both drink water. If it's hot, we will have camelbacks and bottles. One bottle may have Gatorade in it. For 3 hour or more rides we will have some food, Kind Bars, Cliff Bars, granola, or trail mix. Sometimes, we adjust the route to pass by a sandwich shop or ice cream stand.

Alphabet

I'm planning to stop by for a pass in the near future. Do you take El Camino Real through San Clemente on the way back down? Ha! I think I'm too comfy with all these bike lanes in Chula Vista, although, I once went east on otay lakes rd to a camp ground and it was quite an adventure with tons of motorcycles and cars whipping by.

diphthong

i generally stay off el camino real in san clemente once it turns inland from the coast at the avenida pico i-section. the street gets narrow, there are tons of driveways and parallel parked cars along both sides of the road and it’s gots lots of traffic. i do occasionally hit the pizza port on el camino real tho if i’m in the area around lunchtime

there is a well-signed bike route just south of the avenida pico/el camino real i-section just south of the 7-11. it zigs and zags generally slightly uphill for about 3 miles until it emerges just on the west side of the 5 fwy (there are a few nice little side roads that drop down to the pier/coast off the path). you’re riding south next to the freeway for about a mile then the road bends and heads over to the east side of the freeway. right at the bend is the beginning of a mile-long bike path that rolls past the trestles surfing area and deposits you on the surface road running past/thru san onofre state beach and the nuclear power plant. it eventually takes you into camp pendleton.

eastbound otay lakes rd usually just has the ups/fed ex/border patrol traffic in the morning and on the weekdays, ime, is pretty quiet on the weekdays before 11am. weekends...not so
much.

diphthong

i would go on the camp pendleton website to see what forms of id are acceptable for the pass. i know the valid passport and old expired base pass worked for me but if you don’t have/can’t find the valid passport, i don’t remember what works otherwise. pass is good for exactly a year.

TGT1

Don't know about the bike pass, but to work on the base a DL and SS card work or a "Real ID" DL.

The rules seem to change with each incoming CO though.

diphthong

that probably works just fine to get the id. looks to be the same format whether it is an outside contractor/vendor or a cyclist.
mine has a "bike route only" disclaimer on the back side of the id. it's laminated with your picture on the front side and the same size as a drivers license.