Dangers of not drinking enough water on a long ride?

[adrian_d]

Hey all,
Just wondering about the dangers to the body apart from dyhdration when not drinking enough water on a ride? I went for a 40km ride the other day and forgot to bring my water bottle so I didn't drink anything the whole trip. It was a bit cold in the day and I didn't sweat much, but I did push as much.

I need to get in the habit of drinking more water, the last thing I want to do is collapse.

[boss]

A couple of weeks back I did a 35k ride with that had a 14km uphill, average grade 4.3%.

I didn't have any frame mounted drink bottles and am relatively green at the whole distance riding thing - plenty of spirited commuting but only been doing longer rides over the last month or so.

Earlier in the day I had also done two 27k rides.

It was pretty warm (at least for this time of year) at around 25 degrees.

About 1km off the top of the hill (I didn't know I was only 1 k off!) I had to pull over to get a drink out of my backpack, I was shaking and almost fell over. Didn't realise quite how dehydrated I was, and as soon as I had the water I was fine again. Continued on and did the descent and a short but steep hill.

Moral of the story - water is important! Drink heaps of it.

I also had another day where I hadn't eaten enough and hit a complete wall, think riding into a headwind and wanting to feint. That was the worst!

[nescius]

For short rides like those (35 and 40km) it's unlikely that you are getting massively dehydrated unless it is particularly hot and/or you are really slow. The most likely scenario if you aren't feeling great is that you were dehydrated to begin with, you should make sure that you are properly hydrated when you start, then you need to drink enough to replace the fluid that you lose through sweat. You can figure out how much you sweat by weighing yourself before and after exercise, every 1kg you have lost is 1L of fluid that needs to be replaced. Once you figure out how much you sweat you can figure out how much you need to take with you and how often you need to drink, it can be a bit of trial and error but makes a big difference to performance so it's worth spending the time to find out what works.

Hydration
Hydration strategies
How much to drink

[adrian_d]

A couple of weeks back I did a 35k ride with that had a 14km uphill, average grade 4.3%.

I didn't have any frame mounted drink bottles and am relatively green at the whole distance riding thing - plenty of spirited commuting but only been doing longer rides over the last month or so.

Earlier in the day I had also done two 27k rides.

It was pretty warm (at least for this time of year) at around 25 degrees.

About 1km off the top of the hill (I didn't know I was only 1 k off!) I had to pull over to get a drink out of my backpack, I was shaking and almost fell over. Didn't realise quite how dehydrated I was, and as soon as I had the water I was fine again. Continued on and did the descent and a short but steep hill.

Moral of the story - water is important! Drink heaps of it.

I also had another day where I hadn't eaten enough and hit a complete wall, think riding into a headwind and wanting to feint. That was the worst!

Oh wow that would never be good. I don't think I eat nearly enough when, before and after i'm cycling. That would have to be the worst part for me too. I find some points I end up hitting a wall and anymore energy expelled really starts to hurt the body and I end up feeling exhausted. Thanks for the comments.

For short rides like those (35 and 40km) it's unlikely that you are getting massively dehydrated unless it is particularly hot and/or you are really slow. The most likely scenario if you aren't feeling great is that you were dehydrated to begin with, you should make sure that you are properly hydrated when you start, then you need to drink enough to replace the fluid that you lose through sweat. You can figure out how much you sweat by weighing yourself before and after exercise, every 1kg you have lost is 1L of fluid that needs to be replaced. Once you figure out how much you sweat you can figure out how much you need to take with you and how often you need to drink, it can be a bit of trial and error but makes a big difference to performance so it's worth spending the time to find out what works.

Hydration
Hydration strategies
How much to drink

Thanks for the info too. I will be sure to make sure I am hydrated in the first place, I weigh around 57.5kg so i'll weigh myself before and after a good run.

On Sunday will be another 100km run. I'm hoping to prepare myself well with a good meal the day before and a good breakfast.

[skull]

I am mote concerned with the dangers of poor quality coffee after a long ride.

That is the serious stuff.

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[boss]

Oh wow that would never be good. I don't think I eat nearly enough when, before and after i'm cycling. That would have to be the worst part for me too. I find some points I end up hitting a wall and anymore energy expelled really starts to hurt the body and I end up feeling exhausted. Thanks for the comments.

I'm in the same boat. Still getting my head around eating enough, I'm not a massive eater... but have started forcing myself to eat, and eating more often on the days where I'm doing big or spirited rides.

[Parker]

Death.

[Philipthelam]

Death.

A lot of the time (I don't ride long distances though) I just don't remember to drink water. Then when i hit a traffic light or have to stop I realise that I am very, very thirsty and end up drinking like 3/4 of the bottle at once

[Ozkaban]

I am mote concerned with the dangers of poor quality coffee after a long ride.

That is the serious stuff.

Sent from my not iDevice using Tapatalk 2

+100

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[uglybob]

having just done a 100kms MTB race (a touch under 6 hours of riding) - you'll appreciate less cramps if you drink enough water! that was my mistake, got caught up in the race and didn't drink enough on the first part of the ride.

paid for it later.

[Parker]

Death.

A lot of the time (I don't ride long distances though) I just don't remember to drink water. Then when i hit a traffic light or have to stop I realise that I am very, very thirsty and end up drinking like 3/4 of the bottle at once

Dehyrdation in severe circumstance can lead to the collapse of the circulatory system and then death, it's not that hard, if your riding (training) for an hour you should be done with that water bottle by the end of the trip

[AndyTheMan]

Dehyrdation in severe circumstance can lead to the collapse of the circulatory system and then death, it's not that hard, if your riding (training) for an hour you should be done with that water bottle by the end of the trip

Agree - 1 bidon per hour

I sweat like a dog, and drink LOTS of water. On a regular ride (not too hot, say low to mid 20's temp wise) I will drink 1 bidon for every 45 mins or so - more if there are climbs. I always take 2 full bidons on my bike. If I were to do 100km (at 25 km hour average) I could easily get through 3 or 4 bidons.

(yes, I have been and had tests done for type 2 diabetes etc - for which being easily dehydrated is a major sign).

I also like to get off the bike feeling good - not all strung out and dehydrated.

[Kemp]

I seem to need very little water to stay hydrated. I can do about 75km on one 800ml bottle of water plus some sports drink. If I drink too much more I only end up feeling bloated.

[sogood]

You can die by not drinking enough and you can die by drinking too much. At the amateur/pleasure level and 40km, the leeway is pretty wide and don't over concern yourself about it.

[maybolem]

The latest research shows that drinking before your thirsty can be detrimental to performance as you can over-diluted you sugar, sodium and other nutrient levels. The best 'rule of thumb' (which isn't for extreme medical conditions) is to drink when you body thinks it needs a drink.

[Mrfenejeans]

I take 2 bottles with me

-On a 40km ride i will most likely drink one bottle or less, but make sure that i drink its remainder and the other when i get off.

-On a 60km ride i will most likely drink 1&1/2 Bottles, making sure to drink the remainder plus another bottle

-80km+ I tend to drink both, making sure i drink another 2bottles when i get off.


It certainly seems to help me, as i very often get "Runners high" and along with making sure i eat afterwards have found that making sure i drink enough seems to calm me down(I turn into a little kid on red cordial just abouts). I didn't used to be so concerned with replenishing my fluids, until i had around 4-5days off the bike and realized how dehydrated i was feeling because when i don't ride I typically do not consume that much water.


I wouldn't be overly concerned Adrian over a 40km ride on a cold day, you can drink something when you get home. Once it gets hotter different story.