I never seem to be able to drink enough. I could go out for a couple hour ride on a warm day and drink half a bottle unless I force myself to drink. I basically drink every 15 minutes to make sure I’m drinking something. Sure. On super hot days, I’ll drink more but not nearly as much as people I ride with. It’s certainly bitten me a couple times in races performance wise.
Is this something I can train my system to take in more liquids? I typically like to consume my fuel with Maurten drink mix but it just feels like a job for me to drink that full bottle in an hour. I’m 6’2”, 175lbs so big enough where it seems like a bottle per hour would be normal. And my bottles are just 17oz bottles so not even big ones.
I almost feel like I’d be better served just having some nuun electrolyte tabs in my bottles. Drink every 15 minutes. And have my calories come from gels and other things I normally eat on the bike.
It’s hard for me to relate because I’m the opposite and have to force myself NOT to drink, but wouldn’t the easiest solution be to set a timer to pop up on screen and remind you?
It’s not really that I don’t drink as I drink every 15 minutes but it just seems like I should be drinking more as it’s pretty easy for me to go an hour even on a hot day and not drink an entire bottle.
I might just have try every 10 minutes and see how that goes. I look down at the computer enough that I don’t need the reminder set. But might just see how every 10 minutes goes.
I carry two bottles almost always. One with sports drink of some variety and another with water. At different points one is usually preferable over the other. Not sure if I drink more because of this necessarily but it makes it feel less of a chore.
Also on really hot days having a bottle of straight water gives me something to spray on my gloves for a bit of free cooling.
I don’t drink much. I also don’t sweat much and my pee is rarely a dark colour even after long hot rides. If I was to drink a bottle an hour I would be stopping to pee constantly!
That said, I find Skratch helps me drink more if I’m worried I might not drink enough intuitively during a long hot race where my performance might be affected by dehydration. Something about the saltiness actually makes me crave it more
Practice on the trainer. I can drink about half a bottle with one squeeze in 4 seconds. Think back to your college beer chugging days. Watch how the pros do it in races. They will empty most of the bottle with one squeeze and chuck it because at the end of races, they don’t have time for sips and they need the fuel.
I use 24oz bottles per hour and drink every 10 mins. Also ensure bottle is half empty at 30mins. Pretty easy to look at the workout/ride time and always be drinking on the 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, empty…. Repeat.
I don’t drink very much on low intensity days and when it’s not hot or humid. It just depends on all of those factors.
On 3 hour hard group rides, I can’t bring enough water or mix. I use two large bottles - one with mix and one with water. I’ll finish the mix in the first two hours and sip the water the rest of the way. It would be nice to have another bottle but this group doesn’t stop.
Well today was better for me. Just a short 1.5 hour ride. I took a 33oz bottle with Maurten mixed into. I drank probably 28-30oz of it. I just drank every 10 minutes. It only got up to 80 degrees at the end of the ride so not a hot ride. I could be imagine it but the elite 33oz bottle seem to get the liquid out on a larger volume with a squeeze than my other bottles.
@TooManyDogs are you still in Tampa and not drinking enough? I lived there for two years and would be concerned about dehydration, especially April - November. I second everything already mentioned, including:
Take a drink whenever you slow for a corner, stop for a light, etc
Take bigger sips / gulps
Set a timer on your head unit, set it for more often than you think you need to drink (eg 10 minutes instead of 15)
Drink whenever someone else does
Use another trigger to remind you to drink (eg whenever a car passes (ha), you see wildlife, you catch a glimpse of the ocean or bay, etc)
If doing intervals, drink one minute before and after every interval
Practice on the trainer
Also consider if the drink mix you use isn’t flavorful / appealing. I make my own to save a little bit of money but use Nuun tabs for electrolytes and flavors. I randomize the tabs within a tube so each bottle is a different flavor, so finishing one off adds a bit of motivation.
My “recipe” is very simple - 1/2 cup maltodextein, 1/4 cup fructose, plus a Nuun for electrolytes and flavor. I also add 1/2 tsp BCAAs because the Infinit custom mix I used to use had them, but totally optional.
I do the same. 2:1 malto to fructose. I prefer the SIS flavors, so I use those tabs instead of nuun. The reason I said I have to force myself not to drink is because when you give me a glass of awesome flavored sugar water, I want to guzzle it!
