Nasr313

So I went out for a bike ride the other day in 80 degree weather and it was my longest bike ride yet 21 miles and I had to stop in the middle of the road last 2 miles of my ride I got nauseous and light headed. I was also sweating quite a bit and to be honest I didn’t drink much water. The thing is I tried to but 10 miles in my body started feeling weird already and I just thought it was one of those off days.So I rested and had some water because at the time I was sure I was just not having enough water so my body was trying to tell me so. I also didn’t eat that day but I never do when I go out for bike riding. And I have done 14 miles multiple times without this issue. Now I am scared to attempt this again. Did I do too much to early? I have been riding for maybe a month and a half. I ordered some electrolyte powder because I was reading that sweating can cause you to lose electrolytes and drinking regular water isn’t enough. I don’t want to snack for bike rides cause that defeats the purpose for me as I am trying to lose weight. I don’t know that I would really need to snack for a 20 mile ride please advise.

shelbyfv

You don't need to eat on a 20 mile ride. You do need to drink. Drink more when it's hot. You apparently did not drink enough on this ride. Electrolytes may help.

exile

Without knowing much about your diet or program you are following definitely drink water but also bring a cliff bar or two as well.

Bigbus

You dehydrated-pure and simple. Drink more even if it's just plain water. Trust me, your body will thank you. I never snack on a ride. but I will suck on a mint to keep my mouth moist.

downtube42

Increase your distances slowly, never go 50% longer than your longest. Don't go on to the next distance until the current distance is finished easily, with you hydrated and fueled at the end.

So for a 21 mile ride, you'd first be able to easily finish 15 miles, feeling fueled and hydrated at the finish.

If you follow that strategy, the sky is the limit.

alo

Always drink plenty. I drink some water, and some healthier type drinks which contain calories.

I sometimes rest in the shade to cool off before continuing. Cold drinks also help to keep you cool. When I am very hot, I sometimes buy drinks with ice. I drink the drink and eat the ice.

Good luck with the weight loss. I am down 26 kg or 57 pounds in a bit over a year. It can be done, but it requires discipline and perseverance.

I can now ride faster and further, and recover quicker after a long ride.

Nasr313

yeah I get what your saying I should have probably ate something before hand but the reason I hadn’t ate wasn’t to do with me losing weight. I almost never eat breakfast and have been like that since I was a kid and would usually eat lunch around 1-2. But I do agree that nutrition is where you have to focus and work hard on if you wanna lose weight.

skidder

Hopefully no medical conditions, and that you have been doing some regular exercising on a regular basis. That said, probably just a lack of water. Over 20 miles I usually drink a big glass of water just before leaving, then drink a water bottle at my turn-around point (I do a lot of 'out-and-back' rides), and I'm fine. I wouldn't be too concerned about food/calories if you're eating regular meals, even skipping a meal shouldn't cause an issue (FWIW: I ride a lot in the early AM and do not eat breakfast before I go out for a 20-30 mile ride). 80F air temp and/or high humidity I might bring another water bottle to sip from.

1979schwinn 

I mostly try to drink water and eat gummi bears every 20 minutes to keep from bonking.

good4u

I agree with comments re hydration. I take a liter of water per hour with me when the temperature gets much above 80 and I'm going for more than an hour. Don't always drink the full amount but I always try. I usually add Nuun which is electrolytes not carbs. I used to eat more but lately it has to be a two hour plus ride before I plan on nibbles as I go but I have a bar in my bag just in case.

One thought about the weather. You said it was 80 degrees when you went out. In northern Illinois it recently went from 50 degrees to up near 80. My first time out in the 80's was a shock to my system and I turned around short of my ride goal. Don't know if that was relevant to you.

aplcr0331

Goal when riding should be to replace every calorie you burn. Whether through drink (gatorade, scratch, gu, SiS, etc.) or from foods (bars, gels, etc.) but that's only for longer ride...over 2 hours (possibly less depending on intensity).

For a 20 mile ride all you need is drink. I ride to work in the morning (for instance yesterday I rode 31.9 miles into work) and only have a couple of bottles and that's without eating breakfast. Your body stores a lot of carbs (fuel) and even not eating breakfast you have enough fuel on board your body to make a 20 mile ride.

Barring medical conditions you probably are just getting acclimated to riding and the heat probably had some effects as well. Keep lots of water/fuel in your bottles.

NEVER LOSE WEIGHT ON THE BIKE. And always, always fuel your rides. Especially when you're riding longer than 2 hours (a general rule of thumb).

Do you have a HR monitor? Something to give you a (flawed)metric to measure your efforts?

Keep riding, you're doing great!

Milton Keynes

Yes, I agree with everyone else in saying that it sounds like you got dehydrated. Never skimp on hydration while on the bike. In longer rides in hot weather, I carry two 24 oz. bottles in the cages and a 2 liter hydration pack on my back. I'm often riding out in the middle of nowhere with no place to get water or other drinks, so I have to carry it all with me.

This weekend I'm planning on doing a ~40 mile ride with a few other riders, and it's on this route where there's nowhere to get water. So even though the temperature is going to be in the 80's I'll take my full hydration setup with me. I'll often fill one or both bottles with Gatorade or Power Aid sports drink, and water on my back. Then I switch off what I'm drinking so I won't be getting too much of one or the other. Too much sweet drink and I don't feel hydrated, too much water and I wash all the electrolytes out of my system which gives me leg cramps.

indyfabz

Was that the ride where you didn't eat for 20+ hours prior? If so, I think we have our culprit.

"So I did I to 21 mile ride the other day collapsed twice from exhaustion because I didn’t fuel up properly. I hadn’t eaten for like 20+ hours that day and for some reason I decided to go biking."

bikebikebike

There is quick fuel and slow fuel. You ran out of quick fuel. Fat is slow fuel.
Without knowing you age, size, health, meds etc, it's hard to say anything certain, or even not dangerous.
long gaps between meals with exertion, not a good plan.
Hydrate WISELY. you can ovedo anything. Lytes are mostly malarky, as are ultra quick fuels.
Drink slowly and when thirsty.
Carry a candy bar
Listen to your body.
Face it , the advice you are going to get from GCN, only works if you are 20 and spend more time in shoes with cleats, than street shoes.
We mostly get overweight by not listening to our body.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

VTBike

I am participating in a specialized weight loss program through a hospital. My treating physician, whose only practice is weight loss, is an avid bicyclist. They STRONGLY disagree with the above advice. Consuming sugar and "fueling your ride" is a great way to make sure that you never lose weight no matter how much you ride your bicycle. You are also training your body to NOT burn fat - which is a very bad thing if you are trying to lose weight or keep weight off.

Don't believe me? This article explains it well. If the subject of this article can run 1,000 miles in 12 days without relying on carbs, then you can ride 25 miles without gummi bears and gels.
https://www.nomeatathlete.com/burning-fat-for-fuel/

The OP had classic signs of dehydration. They should try drinking a lot more water on their next ride. If that doesn't make things better, they should consult with their physician.

bikebikebike

If you are eating gummi bears to ride you need better advice, and prolly a dentist.
Waiting to bonk, is like using the guard rails to find the lane.
Your body has a meter for hydration, most people are sitting on it.

c_m_shooter

You don't need to eat or drink on a 20 mile ride. If you are dehydrated, it is because you didn't drink enough yesterday. This time of year I need to drink at least a gallon of water a day, more if I am thirsty.

drlogik 

That's your body talking to you. I would not ignore it. You may want to go see your doctor and have them check you out, just to be safe. Be sure to explain this to them too.

squirtdad

for me when it is hot (like 90 ish and above) I hydrate before I go, carry water (both drink and put on jersey for cooling) and have an NUUN electrolyte drink when I get back

I also monitor my heart rate......when it is hot I hit my top end rate with much less cycling effort/speed than when it is colder, so I don't go above my max even if that means going slower

heat exhaustion and stroke are very real and dangerous, good idea to know the signs https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/warning.html

Riveting

Good on you for getting into cycling to lose weight. Stick with it, ride 20 miles per day, 5 days per week, with 2 rest days in there somewhere, though not back-to-back, every single week for a year, and the weight will melt away, assuming you simply watch the amount of what you eat/drink when NOT on the bike.

I lost 57 lbs in the first 18 months of picking up cycling (225 lbs down to 168). I never skimped on eating or drinking while riding, and I always made sure to eat ~500-700 cals. as well as drink 16 oz of water, ~1 hr before the ride, and consumed ~100 cals. from simple carbs (Gu packs and/or the sugar in my water) every ~45 minutes, and drink ~16 oz. of water every hour or so, which will vary by temperature. And I didn't completely cut anything out of my off-bike diet, I just pulled back a little and had a bit less. Although I did learn that I rode better if I had no alcohol the day before a "big" ride.

Like was said earlier, cut back on calories when NOT riding, but I'd recommend to not cut back in the 2 hrs before, nor while on, the bike. Don't use the rides for weight loss, use them for muscle/fitness gains. And then when you have more muscle, you'll be able to ride faster/harder and burn more calories per hour, as well as have that new muscle burn calories for you even while you're not riding.

And don't worry about eating complex carbs WHILE riding less than ~2 hrs. It takes your body about 90 minutes to even digest an oat-y, nutty type protein bar, you might even be home before you get the energy benefits of that bar. You don't eat complex carbs for the riding you're doing now, you're eating complex carbs for the riding you'll be doing in 1.5 - 2 hrs. Simple carbs, like sugar in your water, or GU type gel packs, and even some bars with a good helping of sugary coatings or corn, rice, or sugar syrups in them are a different story and will typically break down much quicker.

squirtdad

sounds like the program is designed to go to ketosis.......which works for some and not for others like pretty much all weight loss stuff. A diet that results in ketosis is not sustainable long term for many people.

VTBike

Absolutely not. The program encourages balanced eating - which includes carbs. The only rule is that you do not eat processed food. So rice, for example, must be brown rice rather than white rice.

The very essence of the program is that they stress a diet that IS sustainable for the long term.

squirtdad

cool.... I got confused by the burning fat stuff so I got it wrong.

and brown rice is tastier than white any day

bikebikebike

I love this "Burning Fat" narative.
What do you think you are? an oil lamp?
You want to lose weight , eat less, control your cravings
Hard to do? Yeah
Riding probably redirects your energy, changes your focus, shows you you can change, gets you out of the vicinity of the feed bag.
Magic diets? Sure every where, they are all magic. Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
All food is magic. Welcome to Hogwart's.
Geeze

dfritch

Sounds like you’re dehydrated, but probably not just from the ride. I try to drink one bottle per hour on hot days and I’m sweating hard. For 20 miles, you shouldn’t have to eat anything during the ride. Good luck and get back on your bike. Remember, it never gets easier, you just keep getting better!