UniChris

The electrolytes are important but also note that Gatorade has a ton of sodium and not so much potassium. Something like a Nuun tablet has a bit more potassium and less sodium - and very little sugar, which also has it's place.

I'll typically do just water for an easy ride, then water with Nuun. By the time it's really hot I'm putting a Nuun tablet in Gatorade. Then towards evening this runs in reverse - though 5 or 6 pm can still be brutal. I also try to keep a bottle of unmixed water so I can chase with a mouthful of that.

Mixing Gatorade powder on a ride is far more time consuming and messy than one would think. I thought the answer would be narrow portion baggies but not convinced that's working any better than my previous method of wide snack baggies and cutting off the end to dump into a bottle.

If I'm having to pay anyway (water fountains seem sadly rare in my routes) sometimes I'll be good and get a gallon or 3L water some of which to mix, some to keep plain, and the rest to wash and wet sunsleeves with. But if I have a riding goal, the time savings of buying a premixed bottle has proven worth it. The only problem is quadruple checking to be sure I'm not accidentally buying zero-cal! It still sneaks in sometimes, and it's not what I want mid-day. That said I'll sometimes grab one sugar and one fake later in the day to use the common 2/$3 deal at convenience stores.

I've also discovered lately I tend to underestimate what I'm going to drink within say 15 minutes of a refill stop, and find my resupply half gone right after I got it, so I'm thinking more about a third bottle that's only used for the first few miles after mid-day refills.

Sun protection is important too, systemically as well as for the skin specific concerns. I opt for the cover-up route - long sleeves, full gloves, in hot weather this is just as cool given evaporation, it's shoulder season where it might later get cold that it can be a problem. I also do a helmet brim, but that goes more with touring vs roadie speeds.

I had an earlier question about hot weather food for which someone mentioned Ensure-type shakes. There is some potential there and I'll typically bring a few for an all day distance ride. I've found though that I have to stop at half of one and ride a while longer before finishing the rest, downing one at a go leads to an unstable-feeling stomach.