CliffordK

Ahhh... that must be what I was getting. I think of them as my own personal earthquake. And, I've learned not to go running out of the house naked and screaming in the middle of the winter!!!

But, I did discover the association with caffeine, and they've been under control with essentially cutting out 99.9% of the caffeine a few years ago.

I only noticed them while well caffeinated, and in deep relaxation. Perhaps I just wouldn't notice it while riding a bike.

Talk to your physician, but I'd imagine you're better off NOT first building up a tolerance. First of all, you'll get more of a kick from the caffeine if you have been off of it for some time.

I haven't done the 600K rides yet, but occasionally get in a personal ride between 180 and 200 miles, sometimes with cargo.

My last trip to Portland, towing a relatively light trailer, I stupidly started around 2 in the afternoon. Then got 15 miles down the road and realized I had left my wallet home. 100% non-starter, so I turned around, back home, 30 wasted miles, and a later start.

I ended up with a couple of cat naps along the way, then got to St. Paul, about 30 miles from my destination at dawn.

I passed a small coffee kiosk, so I decided why not.

Since I normally don't drink coffee, I got 1/2 regular, 1/2 decaf.

I can't say I got a buzz, but I survived the rest of the ride.

Anyway, rather than trying to build up a tolerance, try cutting the dose. Most coffee shops will give you a mix of regular/decaf if you ask.

I am a bit bummed when I see rows of regular pots, but no decaf pots.

CliffordK

I bumped into this article a few days ago. Most interesting concept.

https://www.vox.com/2014/8/28/607417...ffeine-science

Drink your coffee, then take a nap.



I suppose, when I was heavily addicted to coffee, sometimes I would get an overwhelming sleepiness just after I finished the cup of coffee.

rhm

Okay, that's so crazy I'm gonna try it.

KraneXL

It so crazy you should pass go. Coffee doesn't do that. I suspect its an abundance of sugar, which does. Just take the nap and leave the caffeine for afterwards.

Spoonrobot 

It's not about coffee it's about caffeine - I recommend reading the article and checking out some of the other studies.

I've done it with caffeine pills as well, I just like the coffee drinks better.

antimonysarah

Yep, as someone with AD(H)D -- I decaffeinate during brevet season as much as I can, because it will make me super sleepy when I'm tired and I drink it at night. (I also actively avoided it when pulling all-nighters in college or as an adult doing late-night board gaming or puzzle hunts or running support for brevets. My freshman year roommate was amused by my habit of making a pot of tea or four espresso shots right before bed, downing half and putting the second half in my minifridge for the morning.)

I don't completely give it up -- I drink a small amount in the morning to make it feel like morning, whether that's the workday or at 2 am when I've gotten up to ride to the 400k start, and on my one 600k I again had a small amount at the first control of day 2 to say it was morning to my body. It's not guaranteed to help me actually fall asleep, just get super drowsy, so I don't try to use it as a sleep aid any more.

Also, it can wake up/stimulate your digestion, which can be either useful or detrimental.

wafflerskillme

I think anyone who gets a boost from caffeine gives it up for a while before their event to get maximum benefit but not sure it's much use anyway... For me coffee is a nice treat a.k.a a phychological boost (excuse my spelling)

unterhausen

Yes.

I didn't want to give up coffee totally, so on the recommendation of a friend, I started taking magnesium supplements. This one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1 That helped quite a bit. Then, since I was taking something twice a day, I started taking a multivitamin. That really stopped them. I had noticed that avocados also helped, so I suppose that's potassium. But I don't really bother taking a supplement for that.

GadgetGirlIL

That is the brand of magnesium that I've been using for several years. Electrolyte imbalances can also lead to arrhythmias, abnormal heart rhythms. It isn't our plumbing that is the problem, but rather the electrical system that gets out of whack at times. I've finally hit on the right combination of magnesium, calcium, and potassium (for me) that has finally eliminated the night time leg cramps that plagued me since I was a teenager.

The heart is a muscle, just like the muscles in our limbs. So electrolyte issues can affect those muscle cells as well.

gif4445

I have to have caffeine every day, or I don't just get a headache. Odds are it will be a migraine. So I start my ride day with a couple cups of coffee and will usually have a coke in the early afternoon. Maybe another coke late afternoon/early evening, depending upon the length of the ride. I also carry generic nodoz for times when a caffeine source is not available or I have a concern about stomach upset from coke or coffee.

KraneXL

You do realize that is the definition of an addiction?

gif4445

You would think so, but there is a life's story behind it. We rarely had caffeinated drinks like soda pop and such in our home as I was growing up. I started having migraines in later grade school. The kind that would hit you for 12 hours or so. This happened about 1 or 2 times/month. Used aspirin back then, with little relief. Continued through my teen age years, but not so much in my college years for one reason or another. Post college they intensified into my 30's, happening more frequently. The new OTC pain relievers where a little more effective, but not much. I don't know what other people's migraines are like, but mine would start after lunch and last for 10-12 hours. The kind that you consider grabbing the shotgun out of the garage. Sometime in my latter 30's or so I started to realize that I didn't get them on the days that I consumed caffeine. I didn't drink coffee at that time, so a coke or mountain dew was the source. I found that if I consumed such by noon, I never got a migraine. So that is what I did for 10-15 years, until I began drinking coffee in the morning. I was concerned that pop, especially the MD, was not something I should be consuming on a regular basis. I found that a couple cups of coffee in the morning also did the trick. So that is where I am at today. Not a big consumer of caffeine, but I need it each day. A few years ago a unknowingly did a test. Was visiting some relatives in Arizona. They brewed some coffee for breakfast, I had more normal 2 cups, and then went for a 50 mile bike ride. After the ride, we went hiking. Around the middle of the afternoon at the conclusion of the hike, I began to feel it coming on. Full blown migraine. I told my sis that it felt just like the ones I used to get before the caffeine regime. It was then she told me that I drank decaf for breakfast. Long story but hopefully sheds some light on the matter.

KraneXL

Have you seen a doctor about these headaches? I get headaches too but never more than a couple hours, and certainly nothing that lasts all day. When its a mind fog headache caffeine will clear it up.

gif4445

It's important to know the difference between a headache and a migraine. If your head hurts, it's a headache. If you feel like a knife has been plunged into your eye and throw up a few times, it's probably a migraine. I sometimes get headaches and vitamin I will usually take them away. I did consult with a Dr. a long while back, but he had no good answers. About the time I was going to got to a specialist, I stumbled onto the caffeine fix.

OldTryGuy

How much of a help is caffeine?

Clif Shot 100mg Chocolate Cherry gels (https://www.clifbar.com/products/cli...ocolate-cherry) do not light me up but the combo of ingredients and caffeine helps during marathons and longer rides. Haven't tried the MEG 100mg caffeine gum (https://militaryenergygum.com/) but have heard it is supposed to have a kick. Every body is different so you must work out the kinks to find the right amount that does you some good.

KraneXL

Oh I get that too, (Freddy Krueger claws digging into my brain) but I certainly don't categorize mine as migraines since I know they are nerve/muscle tension driven and associated with my back and shoulder injury. They're severe, but transitory. Although I do see headache as a generic term for all head pain with migraines being among the top on the list. Did you get an MRI? I've had a couple just for good measure. I was concerned that it might be something festering and getting worse because it wasn't addressed soon enough. I've seen that happen with people I know because symptoms were ignored. Anyway, I'm sure you can decide what's best for you.

antimonysarah

Well, yes, but using migraine to just mean "severe/strong headache" is really unhelpful for actual treatment. I get both non-migraine and migraine headaches, and have had milder migraines that were less bad than a bad sinus or tension headache, but the migraine still had its classic symptoms (for me, nausea and light sensitivity, mostly). And the treatment is different.

Obligatory rando content: the longest I've managed to ride at just-barely-rando-speed with a (on the mild end) migraine is about 80 miles. Since it was a 200k preride, that was a DNF, but I was fairly proud of the outcome anyway. Means I could probably slog in the end of a long one if I screwed up my caffeine/hydration balance enough to trigger one.

srode1

On longer rides, I take a couple caffeine pills every 3-4 hours or so. Keeps me alert as well as helps me focus on keeping the pace and not soft pedalling. Coca-Cola is a great substitute for the pills when I get withing a couple hours of the end of the ride - it's magical!

atwl77

I haven't heard of caffeine pills, I should probably check them out. They would allow me to drink other drinks during lunch stops... drinking coffee at the stops just gets old after a while.

Not a fan of coke or other sugary drinks on long brevets (except near the end of the ride) though, because of the sugar crash afterwards.

KraneXL

The half life of caffeine is roughly 5-6 hours so just make sure you don't take in more than you system can safely handle. A little caffeine is good for the body. Take in too much, and you get the opposite effect.

GadgetGirlIL

Not sure of what brands you have in your part of the world, but here in the states we have:
Vivarin Caffeine Alertness Aid Tablets (200 mg caffeine)
No-Doz Max Strength Fast Acting Alertness Aid (200 mg caffeine)

You can also order them from Amazon!

srode1

I use Elite brand ordered from Amazon which have 100mg, equals about 1 cup of coffee.

KraneXL

The 200mg tablet is the standard and you can just break it in half if you prefer less. I generally order the generic from Amazon since they're cheaper.