DaveLeeNC

I had a 60'ish mile ride 'well planned' for yesterday. I picked some roads that I had not ridden is a long time, loaded the route onto my Garmin 800, weather was GREAT by NC August standards, and off I went.

Below is a pic of the actual ride from a Strava cut and paste - note the area in the black circle. On Gibson Mill I ran into a sign that said 'road closed in 2.5 miles'. They have been doing major repairs to all the small bridges in the area (the kind that cross little creeks that you can wade in dry weather). And depending on where they are in the rebuilding process, you can often just walk your bike across (Sunday - so no workers).

So do I take a chance and ride to the bridge? I took the chance and no luck. OH well. I created a new route on the fly which came out about right mileage wise. One of the great things about long bike rides - flexibility to deal with whatever.

dave

sirjag

that looks so bad ass my man! How many miles is that total?

JAG

horatio 

Looks like a fun ride. How'd the hydration work out?

DaveLeeNC

It was 61 miles. There are folks on BF that do that on rest days!

dae

DaveLeeNC

My hydration experiments are going pretty well. I am finding that, after the first hour (or first bottle), that I can absorb fluids at a far higher rate than I had anticipated. This is (probably) due to either my body 'getting into dehydration mode' after an hour+ of bigtime sweat (vs water intake) or the fact that my initial fluid consumption is typically just water (where something with electroytes and/or calories gets absorbed more readily).

Regardless, I think that I know how to handle 'my problem' now. Regarding yesterday, it was usual NC summer weather and I don't think the temps even hit 80 by the end of the ride. 2 bottles was plenty for this one (first was 24 oz water/Nunns and the second was 24 oz of a sports drink). My original route was going to swing me by a convenience store at around 2 hours just in case. That didn't happen and it didn't matter.

dave

horatio 

These days one bottle usually suffices for up to 1.5 hours, but I need to start thinking about what to do for longer rides. I used to take two Camelback Chill bottles (one water only, one half-water, half sports drink) on my long rides BITD. Guess I'll try that again when I resume long rides. The sports drinks I find too sweet unless cut with water. For the half-n-half bottle I'll probably fill it with cubed ice and add the sports drink. By the time the ice melts it should be palatable! It's the ratio of cubes to liquid that needs to be worked out.

DaveLeeNC

As a rough estimate ice takes up around 10% more volume than the same quantity of water.

dave

berner

I've found, as others have, that as my cycling fitness has improved over the years I don't drink as much as in earlier times but I continue to drink enough, I know it is enough because I frequently weigh myself before and after the ride. One pound or a bit more weight loose is fine. I attribute this to the body's gain in efficiency just as we get stronger over time.

I've had the "bridge out" disappointment also but just like yourself I was able to reroute and save the ride.

sirjag

guys, i'm riding about 40miles at a time @ 17-18mph pace.

I am 202 before the ride and 196 after the ride. I also drink 6lbs of wafer during the 40miles....

Should i be worried? I feel ok and hydrate the day before and after the ride quite a bit.

JAG

Dean V

Seems like you drink a lot and still lose a lot of weight.
Similar ride for me I would have about 2 lb of water and lose no more than 2 lb body weight.
I guess everyone is different though.

mynewnchome

Hmmmm....you're not far from me...I'm in Fayetteville. Howdy neighbor.

DaveLeeNC

That is similar to what I would expect if I went out for around 2.5 hours on a hot and humid day. While I weigh 40 some pounds less than you, around 6 pounds off body weight lost is pretty much my max. Performance suffers greatly past (or even at) that point.

dave

terrymorse 

FWIW, about a half pound of that weight loss is glycogen (~2 grams per minute).

sirjag

is that significant? can you share some more detail Sir?

JAG

downhillmaster

You are good
The only thing you should maybe worry about is a ridiculous need to get on a scale before and after something as simple as a bike ride.

sirjag

haha indeed Sir....Ive struggled with my weight since highschool my friend. This is the first time in a long while that I have seen major gains in weight loss.

JAG

downhillmaster

Good for you
I happen to be a Clyde myself these days.
After four years of running cross country and track in HS I was 6’ 2” and 158lbs when I graduated.
I am currently 225lbs and still in pretty good shape. Think I may only be 6’ 1” now though at 54 years old lol

terrymorse 

A typical bike ride burns about 120 grams of glycogen in an hour, according to this article:

The Importance of Carbohydrates and Glycogen for Athletes