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Hot day nutrition?

Old 07-19-19, 07:51 PM
  #51  
UniChris
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Originally Posted by jbell_64
I work 10 hour shifts in a forest all summer long. When it gets hot i have no desire to eat solid foods. My lunchbox in the summer contains an ice pack and two shakes. I generally only drink one, but take another just in case.
Okay, I'm convinced. Ordered a can of the powder (but may also get some bottles, I think I could hide one under the saddle and it seems the best to mix more in something dedicated and the right size), along with an assortment of cliff shots.

And a new pump - fortunately discovered before the ride that the reason mine was letting air out of my friend's tire last time I tried to use it is that the nut that retain the chuck insert cracked. My brother-in-law's rode along instead successfully fulfilling the talisman role, though it had proved painful to hold on my tire in getting the pressure back up the night before. If I get another three years out of a $12 pump that has actually proved to well match the volume and moderate pressure of my tires I can live with that (though I haven't given up on finding a new chuck for the old...)
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Old 07-20-19, 03:11 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
Maybe it is a cultural thing.

Americans tend to grow up on diets with lots of dairy.

So do Canadians and Australians.

I grew up on a tall glass of milk a day until I was about 17. Then I quit doing that when I determined it was causing my digestive upset.

I can handle yogurt, hard cheeses, and some ice cream.

Evidently it is genetic. People with a northern European background rarely develop lactose intolerance. But those of us with a southern European background, and other parts of the world, do.
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Old 07-20-19, 05:56 AM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by UniChris
This is definitely a valid concern. However, I know I wasn't eating enough to do the ride on an other than fat-burning basis, which given what I have available to burn might work for a survival trek but not for the ready energy demands of cycling even at my slow pace. And the reason I wasn't eating was that under the conditions the food I'd packed made me feel sick.

In terms of heat exhaustion, for the troublesome hours I was mostly threading through tree-screened corridors within a hundred yards of quite built-up areas so wasn't really concerned; would have been a while before I could get collected by family, but plenty of opportunities to seek or get help. And at refills I probably dumped out almost as much water to replace it with fresh as I had consumed, so was never really low on that despite drinking about as much as I felt I could. Nor was there any shortage of other people riding, and it being a weekday many were a decade or two older than I, though in most cases not going as far. I think I might have at times been in danger of abandoning the ride, but never really in danger danger - avoiding the parts when I might have been getting close to that was why there were a few cases where I walked into the shade rather than riding there.
I have read in a few different places that being unable to eat, and throwing up is past heat exhaustion, and is then heat stroke. Heat stroke can mean you are then killing brain cells. You might want to do some research on this subject. I'm not an expert, I'm just repeating something I read. Glad to see you were being careful. I would be worried anyway.
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Old 07-20-19, 09:28 AM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by 2manybikes
I have read in a few different places that being unable to eat, and throwing up is past heat exhaustion, and is then heat stroke. Heat stroke can mean you are then killing brain cells. You might want to do some research on this subject. I'm not an expert, I'm just repeating something I read. Glad to see you were being careful. I would be worried anyway.
I do appreciate the concern. I never had a full-on incident of vomiting, just worried that could happen. In terms of eating, after my stomach started to feel off I decided it would be smarter not to try to eat either of the other turkey and cheese sandwiches, so did not actually try. When I purchased things at the afternoon stops that seemed more simply sugar I was able to eat them and they made a difference.

So if instead of starting to worry only as I rode out of a stop that I'd already been at too long and was anxious to leave, I'd instead have realized right away that I didn't have suitable food and gone back in and bought the pop tarts that I bought there on the return, or fig newtons, or ensure, or whatever (or better yet packed it from the start) then while I still would have had a hot ride to deal with, I wouldn't have been trying to do the second half of it with the deficit of energy that I had until I started to get something out of the candy I bought midafternoon or the pop tarts early in the evening. I've also discovered two more potential stops along the critical 20 mile afternoon stretch - a park water fountain, and a gas station mart that should have some food options.
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Old 07-20-19, 05:21 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
I just don't think northerners are as acclimated to the heat.
Well, on that note did 8.5 very hot miles homewards on an all but empty Hudson River Greenway this afternoon.

Didn't feel too bad with the breeze of movement, but catches up when you stop. But this was just a short ride to see what it was like - plenty of water, appetite maintained, and hopped on the subway at the logical place rather than pushing the last few possible miles towards home.
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Old 07-20-19, 10:26 PM
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Old 07-21-19, 01:58 PM
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You stopped there to jump in, right?
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Old 07-21-19, 03:00 PM
  #58  
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PB&J. When I get home, I mix dry milk (don't drink enough to use fresh), cocoa (the 100%, baking, kind), sugar, instant coffee, and vanilla, then blend the bejesus out of it with a salvaged immersion blender blade mounted on a drill. The powerful blending mixes the cocoa in and creates a lot of foam, well over double the volume. Use ice water and ice.

Vegetable juice (e.g. V-8 - I buy the generic), mixed with nutritional yeast (protein), olive oil (fat), balsamic vinegar (piquancy) - other ingredients possible. It's more like soup than a drink and a good alternative to those insipid sweet drinks. Eat it with crackers if you want to carry those.

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Old 07-25-19, 09:42 PM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by UniChris
I was drinking mostly mixed up gatorade powder with added sodium and potassium salts, or water with just a Nuun tablet, or purchased powerade with nuun a tablet dropped in. Had a couple incidents of actual or near vomiting from straight water a few years back when I first stated doing distance rides and so have been very wary since then - I'll drink water early in the morning, but later on the volume of what I drink is augmented, followed with a little yet-unmixed water mostly to rinse the other stuff out of my mouth or get solid food down.

Someone I was planning to do a moderate ride with at the end of August was recommending coconut water, might have to try that sometime.



I'm going to have to try the actual gels or shots I guess. The rice cakes are an interesting idea, I so rarely even eat white (vs brown) rice that the stuff is like candy.



Lots of coffee in the 4am range didn't quite have the intended result before setting out, which lead to being a little wary of strong flavors though yes, some kick can be nice. Had a bag of wasabi and soy almonds waiting at home it took real willpower not to dig into in advance, but did bring some more mild ones along and realized that by late afternoon any effect of the flavor and fiber would be safely later so nibbled on some at cool-down stops.



I ended up buying gallon jugs of water at my rest stops, so would often take the stale water left in bottles and pour it on my long sleeves. Rinsed out my headsweats in a water fountain when I found one (learned yesterday I've now ridden by another water fountain at an absolutely heat critical stretch no less than 3 times without seeing it, though at least this time my planned stops provided more than enough water to actually drink). At one point in the afternoon an office park had sprinklers carelessly covering the trail, decided not to ride through the way a guy who passed me did (remembering the time when pouring water over my head just caused it to end up in my shorts) but after walking around went back and carefully drenched my sleeves and headsweats in one.

Maybe I should have taken advantage of the river people were swimming in, actually had an extra pair of bike shorts along, and guess I could have changed to them in the wheelchair-sized outhouse, but didn't think of it at the time. Was definitely eyeing the town pool I rode by on last month's century.

I wrote some code a while back to extract my rest breaks from a gpx file and going through them, was surprised to find that a lot of my late afternoon critical energy/heat shade breaks in the afternoon were a lot shorter than I expected - 5 to 7 minute range. The overall total of non-riding time was insane as it always has been, but those specifically were less a factor than I'd expected. The stops to purchase water, refill bottles, mix drink power, etc always seem to eat up lots of time, everything from waiting to get across intersections to wander store aisles trying to find something suitable to trying to find a trash can for the empty gallon jug.
It is crazy when you mention to some people that you literally cannot stomach water at some point. They are so stunned but it is true. That is why Nuun and the Camelbak Elixr tablets are key for me. One water and one with a tablet or two and if I am touring then two water and one tablet. If I can get coconut water that is the jam, anytime I lose blood in quantity I usually reach for it because many many years ago I read they used coconut plasma back in WW2 and was like that's cool. I don't know if it really works the same but I always feel hydrated and refreshed.

The Isotonic gels are also super helpful and something I have learned to really love. I like something I don't need to use water for especially on rides it is scarce or maybe I don't want to drink too much.

The rice cakes are something I have really wanted to try making. I did some potatoes on a ride once and it was great. Real food is great for nutrition and it is a nice boost sometimes, that is why the differently flavored stuff is nice. It gives you a break from the gels and such that are delicious but usually flatlined in flavor. Though for some it may not work. If you are racing and really putting the hammer down then maybe blander is better but for touring and my long rides which are generally a bit more casual I like some pow and zazz. Then again I don't really go for bland foods and am frequently spicing it up some way or another (and not always with heat).

My last really big ride I made sure at every stop I could I would drench my sun sleeves and sometimes the hat or dump water on top. I always want to jump in with my shorts but I worry heavily about chafing and sores because it happens so easily for me. Like you I will dump out old water on myself and replace it if I can.
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Old 07-26-19, 08:27 AM
  #60  
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I've done this twice in the middle of some very hot long rides--stopped for pho. Just drink a bunch of water as well. Stuff is full of electrolytes, carbs and water, and it takes long enough to eat that you have to sit in the ac enough to cool down.

Also helps that it's friggin' delicious.
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Old 08-02-19, 10:12 AM
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In hot weather I like to stick with mostly liquid nutrition. EFS Pro has been a lifesaver for me. It has tons of electrolytes (1200mg per serving) and the taste is mellow. I highly recommend it!
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Old 08-11-19, 11:54 PM
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Turned out it wasn't a particularly hot day until the end, but finally had a chance to try some of what I'd bought based on this.

Cliff shot was wonderful, will definitely be doing that gain. Only I discovered in the bathroom mirror at the post ride pizza place that I rode the last 15 miles with evidence of it on my face.

Less sure on the ensure. I'd bought some chocolate powder, but then seeking something to mix it in bought a six pack of the bottles in vanilla figuring I'd just mix refills from powder in one of those. Drank two of those at different points in the morning, I think it worked, but it gave me a kind of icky feeling in the immediate moments after, as if some part was not entirely agreeable. Maybe the key would be to try to only drink a small amount at a time and consume it over several breaks. I'd mixed up small samples of the chocolate at home and not had the same impression, as I cut this ride short I never got around to mixing that for real in the emptied bottle but should trying doing so at some point.
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