ricebowl

I frequently see complaints about stomach problems during a ride. But during the ride Im fine it's after the ride that's the problem. After I've been lounging around I feel gassy/bloated and have these frequent rabbit poops. This is after rides of 30 miles or more. Went for a 60 mile ride yesterday I was fine the whole ride get home same problem. So i was fine on the bike during a period when I would've been lounging getting gassy after 30 miles.

Essex

Do you consume any type of specific food, or liquid during the ride? I know that when I am working out nothing tends to bother me much - but I tend to eat before. I can imagine that if you ate something during a ride that the effects of specific foods might be causing the nasty after-effect???

Creatre

I find I have a similar issue, but slightly different. I usually have to use the bathroom within 5 to 10 minutes of getting home, but after that I am usually good to go for the rest of the day.

What do you eat/drink on the rides? I found in the past, if something was not a good mix of fat/sugar(carb), I would have similar problems to you. Sometimes things are a bit too rich for your stomach, and it's not much of an issue on the bike because your body is devouring it the second it is changed into some sort of useable energy.

Nachoman

I gave up on Gatorade and Powerade because of these same issues. Problem solved.

ricebowl

ahh maybe it's the accelerade? But only the first bottle of the day has accelerade. So way before I start having the problems. I usually eat a mix of granola/energy bars and some fruit snacks. Could it just be my body getting used to the stress?

SER71

Same here.

RT

As long as it is consistent, the timing is what matters, not when you drink it. At the risk of digressing, I, uh, do my thing so consistently I could set my watch to it. Monitor what and when you eat/drink stuff and if anything changes.

LansingWes

Are you riding with a stomach full of anger?

FactVord

Lay off the beans? Not sure about you but I would take beans and gas over yummy/fatty red meat any day.

jeebusaurousrex

Intense exercising can mess up your body's ability to absorb nutrients and water and generally messes with your GI. Common for long distance athletes like marathon runners.

https://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/abd.pain.html

Machka 

You're not drinking anywhere near enough water. Next ride of 30 miles or more, drink one 750 ml bottle of water every 1 to 1.5 hours while you ride. And you might also drink a glass of water before you go out.

If your ride is particularly hot, take an electrolyte tablet before and halfway through ... but keep the liquid to just water.

todayilearned

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this...

I'm curious, has anyone tried drinking coconut water during a long bout of exercise? Coconut water is high in electrolytes but low in sugars. The website recommends to avoid hypertonic drinks. I'm wondering if it's the sugars or electrolytes that would cause the GI discomfort (or both).

Steve530

It sounds like you're dehydrated.

I use Heed, which is maltodextrin, and I've never had a problem with it. Drinks with sucrose give me cramps. Never tried Accelerade.

G4teamG

I used to have this problem, some "energy drinks" gave me the bubble guts. Now I will have a nice big honkin' cup of coffee to, uh, empty out my contents (don't ask, just figure it out), a couple of bottles of Heed for the ride, and half a bagle with peanut butter. I get plenty of energy and stay fully hydrated. Usually drinks with sucrose, fructose give my bowels the shivers...Peace.

Mantis Style

It's most likely what you are eating, drinking or not eating or drinking. Yea obvious I know. BUT. If you have rabbit poops, you're probably not drinking enough water. Your body is reabsorbing the water from your, well, crap which is drying it out. The other thing is that what you are drinking on the bike might not have the right balance of electrolytes/sodium/sugar/whatever which may be causing the bloat. I almost always get that bloat issue when I have to pickup a gatorade from a gas station or something on a long ride, but don't dilute it with 1/2 water (happens when I forget to bring enough money on the ride).

I read an article on this recently, but I can't remember who was the nutrition guy for Radioshack or Garmin (I think) to find it. HIs theory (and I'm sure I'm brutalizing it) is that if you take in too much sugar (from sports drinks, gels, etc.), your body has to force water into your gut to balance the levels out. Once the levels are balanced, water can then be absorbed into the body. So, you have water going to your stomach, rather than being used elsewhere where it's needed. Kind of dehydrating yourself to rehydrate yourself. That's why you feel both bloated and thirsty, especially at the end of the ride.

A guy I ride with swears by that Coconut water, but I found it just kinda gross on the ride....

todayilearned

This is exactly what I was thinking and it makes a lot of sense. The problem with drinks like Gatorade is that the ratio of electrolytes to sugars is heavily skewed. It can screw with the sodium-glucose cotransporters (SGLT).

If you look at the ratio that WHO/UNICEF use for their oral rehydration therapy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_rehydration_therapy) you can see compared to Gatorade the sodium is much higher.

Fructose can also be an issue as GLUT5 transporters can get saturated on the baso-lateral side of the intestinal wall.

I personally think a good solution for the OP would be a lot of water w/ electrolyte tabs or something like pedialyte that is diluted.

I bet if anyone gets a bloated feeling from Gatorade it would go away if they switched to coconut water.

globie

After getting leg cramps two weeks ago on a 50-miler, I tried drinking a cup of coconut water before a ride each of the last two weekends. No cramps, but I was having to stop to urinate every half hour. It may be the superfood people say it is, but I can do without the frequent stops.
Back to the original topic: I have always attributed that post-ride gassiness to the Clif bar.

ricebowl

Guess it's the accelerade. Bought a few packets of perpetuem. No gassiness or stomach discomfort. Coconut water is expensive!

Lowcal

I know what you are talking about, It has somthing to do with always being bent over while riding the bike, thats why it happens after you get off the bike. Its like you are compressing your stomach when you ride the bike.

todayilearned

What's Perpetuem?

Beau210

Glad I'm not the only one who has to run to the bathroom five minutes after a long ride lol

mvnsnd

https://www.hammernutrition.com/produ...-energy-drinks

todayilearned

While I can understand why there ingredients are in this drink they seem severely underdosed and Soy protein is hardly the best protein to use for an endurance drink.

Knowing about the toxic effects of Chromium Polynicotinate I thought many supplement companies removed it a long time ago.

Is there a Hammer Nutrition Rep on these board I can talk to?

surgeonstone

If you are eating anything after you get back, then GI problems can result. When you eat, up to 30 % of blood flow is redirected to the gut to accomplish the digestive process. When this occurs after long and strenous exercise, you have 2 areas in need of blood in increased amounts competing. Muscles trying to recover and the GI tract. This can cause loose stools, and cramps and indeed, can even cause a relative and mild ischemic process to the gut leading to blood loss. Try waiting awhile before eating anything. Hydrate up post ride and if you take in any calories, make them easily absorbed carbs.

ColinL

I've seen reviews of Accelerade on Bonktown where people complain of this very issue. They sell the crap rather often.