Riding, racing and weight loss.

[sogood]

but I note that this rider did not ride a 12 hour enduro either.
so, is it easy/typical to attain that state after 3 hrs or so of riding?

I understand that the risks for both over and under hydration increase markedly for activities going over the 4-5 hours period and shorter in more extreme conditions. Body weight may accurately look after the water side but the salt side is the harder part of the equation. Experience backed by scientific knowledge is the only option as it's not practical to weigh/blood test the rider during the event.

[Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones]

Maybe I can use this as a bit of an experiment.

The Vets are racing again at EC this weekend, and I can see how things go by covering roughly the same distance, hydrating properly, and compare it to last week.

[colafreak]

Wow, 750mL for 100k's of riding!

Sorry, I only just read this thread and I know it's been covered, but DAMN!!!

I drink at least a bottle every hour. I'd hate to think what damage I'd be doing if I let myself get so dehydrated. In fact, I'm quite paranoid about taking in enough water, it'd be a shame to be out being active and putting such a huge stress on your body that the net effect was negative.

As far as salt intake goes I usually add salt and cordial to every 2nd or 3rd bottle if I'm on the bike longer than an hour and a half. Also, if I'm eating I feel a lot more comfortable that my salt levels will be OK.

[zozza]

Maybe I can use this as a bit of an experiment.

The Vets are racing again at EC this weekend, and I can see how things go by covering roughly the same distance, hydrating properly, and compare it to last week.

See you there Burt!

[toolonglegs]

Burt,you would fit in well with half the cyclists here...I am constantly amazed when out on a 3-4 ride with the club how many riders turn up with just a 600ml bottle or no bottle at all...and we don't stop on a ride to top up at all!.Actually finding a drink while riding in France can be very hard...very very few taps around,90% of building don't even have an out door tap..and garages if they are lucky enough to have a shop has a coke machine!...many a time have I knocked on peoples doors or given them a bidon when I see them in the garden and pleaded for a top up!.

[dantendo]

There is a kind of formula - weighing yourself before/after a ride just like Burt did. And then making sure you're drinking enough to be within about 1 kg of your starting weight.

If you want really well qualified advice - hop over to the Australian Sports Dietician website and download their Fluids in Sport fact sheet and Sports Drink fact sheet.

Or better still, since you're racing at a highly competitive level, you might find it money well spent to go talk to an accredited sports dietitian and have them tailor a plan to suit your training and racing program. Not just for hydration side of it - there might be other areas of nutrition for exercise that would be worth seeking professional advice on.

+1 to that! Agree on every level, as far as I can tell

Burt, it would be interesting if you posted your results from your next experiment - starting and finishing weights, fluid intake, etc. Will you be using electrolytes this ride?

[Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones]

Yes, I'll be subbing the water for a sports drink, even if only for the race.

I carry a backpack to the meets so I can carry extra bottles of fluid without having to attach them to the bike.

I'll post details about weights etc on Sun arvo.

[Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones]

Update.

Rode pretty well much the same distance today as last week (101km ).

Starting weight this morning was a shade under 65kg, and across the morning, including the trip too and from the track, I consumed approx 2 litres of fluid (including 750ml of sports drink during the race).

Weight when I got back home was spot on the same as my starting weight, so that should indicate a much better result with fluid intake compared to last week (a 2.5kg loss).

Physically I finished in much better shape than last week, which alone proves to me that my fluid intake was way underdone last week, but much better this week.

Ironically my finishing result didn't reflect this, however that came down more to the fact that I didn't jump away with a break of 4 riders at the start (like last week), and also with the fact that I did more than my fair share of work on the front to help chase down the break away (I didn't want to end up at the front of a group that were merely racing for 5th place).

This resulted in me using up a little too much energy, and so I didn't have much of a kick left for the end, but that was my fault (simply put, my race plan this week sucked, and I paid for it with a poor finishing result!).

Atleast after this I've learnt a valuable lesson about hydration, and it's affect on my performance and my recovery.

[dantendo]

Nicely done - I very rarely manage a ride that long and keep my finishing weight spot on my starting weight. To do that under race conditions as well is a great result!

I agree with you that race result is a poor measure of success in terms of hydration, for the reasons you gave. You need to use a much more objective measure (such as ergometers/HRMs), and use a reasonable number of subjects to prove that there is a significant difference. Those studies have been done - check google scholar for details

[wombatK]

Update.

Physically I finished in much better shape than last week, which alone proves to me that my fluid intake was way underdone last week, but much better this week.

Ironically my finishing result didn't reflect this

If you finished in better shape, then you're improving things and its only a matter of time before the race results reflect it. So well done for now.

[zozza]

Update.

Rode pretty well much the same distance today as last week (101km ).

Starting weight this morning was a shade under 65kg, and across the morning, including the trip too and from the track, I consumed approx 2 litres of fluid (including 750ml of sports drink during the race).

Weight when I got back home was spot on the same as my starting weight, so that should indicate a much better result with fluid intake compared to last week (a 2.5kg loss).

Physically I finished in much better shape than last week, which alone proves to me that my fluid intake was way underdone last week, but much better this week.

Ironically my finishing result didn't reflect this, however that came down more to the fact that I didn't jump away with a break of 4 riders at the start (like last week), and also with the fact that I did more than my fair share of work on the front to help chase down the break away (I didn't want to end up at the front of a group that were merely racing for 5th place).

This resulted in me using up a little too much energy, and so I didn't have much of a kick left for the end, but that was my fault (simply put, my race plan this week sucked, and I paid for it with a poor finishing result!).

Atleast after this I've learnt a valuable lesson about hydration, and it's affect on my performance and my recovery.

Nice one Burt, The serious chase was left too late , and done by too few

[toolonglegs]

2.5kgs at 65kgs is 4%... from recent cycle sport "2% drop in body weight thru fluid results in impaired temp regulation,a 2% drop can be had with just 1l of sweat loss.In hot conditions a top rider can lose 1l per hour per 100w used.3% loss means loss of muscular endurance,4% muscular strength begins to drop...and the body starts heating up...from there it is only a few percent to catastrophe!.
Good to hear you have it right this time!.