Really Salty Energy Drinks?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I can't help but wonder if you aren't overhydrating. That will also dilute your blood to the point where your electrolyte levels can drop too low. 2 x 20 oz is a LOT to drink on a 20 mile ride when its only in the 70s. I would barely drink that much on a 40 mile ride if it were that cool out.
My husband gets cramps from low electrolytes. He drinks a V8 at the rest stop. We both also tried pickle juice once that was served on a group ride rest stop. Tasted better than it sounds and also high in electrolytes.

I was just thinking this as well, and speaking for myself, I can't imagine drinking 40 oz of fluid for a mere 20 mile ride at 70F degrees either. I rode 20 miles this morning at 50F and didn't feel like drinking at all, but I made myself drink about 8 oz midway through anyway (eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty and all). I started my ride after drinking a glass of water anyway. At 70F I probably usually drink about 16oz over a 20 mile ride and feel comfortable. I drink a lot more when it's hotter of course.

Unless you are sweating huge amounts during that 20 miles, you might think about cutting down on the sheer volume of your fluids, while adding some electrolytes to your water and continuing to have nutritious snacks in your stomach.
Drinking way too much water within a certain period of time can actually cause severe headaches.

One other thing worth mentioning, simply because it seems odd to me that a young person would consistently get headaches after riding 20 miles. (and by the way...do you get headaches frequently when not riding?)
This happened to me- I was wearing some Polarized sunglasses that i 'thought' were high quality, but as it turns out they were giving me terrible headaches. I only wore them while riding my bike, and I would get a nasty headache every time after about 30 minutes of riding. When it dawned on me, I experimented with removing the glasses and sure enough my headache would totally disappear after 10 minutes of riding. I put them back on and the headache would quickly return. I dumped them and got better sunglasses and the headaches disappeared. Maybe not what's going on for you, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

[smurfalicious]

Ha ha NY, I'm the same way. I get back from a ride and start going in and out the bathroom like Barkley on Sesame Street wanted outside/inside. On the Tour De Cure though, OMG I would pee twice at rest areas and sometimes water trees and I really don't think I was drinking much.

I don't normally get headaches, but my "30 mile headache" usually feels exactly like a wicked hangover. My brain does not fit in my skull, light hurts, bumps in the road hurt, etc.

The sunglasses are a good call, I've heard that before. I wear these sunglasses all the time though, so I think they'd do it other times, right?

I think I'll look into the Elete since I can get a little starter bottle cheap and take it from there. That way I can use up the Power Bar Endurance. And it could turn Odwalla Superfood into an energy drink, or any other delicious beverage.

This is going to sound weird, but if I liked cherry or apple flavors, I'd get some horse electrolytes for me. I used to give them to my horse in the summers when we were doing hard workouts 5-6 nights a week. I've tasted it, it's not that bad. And $10 for a 5lb tub, just cannot be beat. For once, my most expensive hobby has a cheaper resource than my other drain.

http://www.farnamhorse.com/product.p...t=Electrolytes

Yeah the simple answer is tossing salt into my beverages but I am much too spastic to remember to do that. I'd have to figure out what's left in the container, how many servings it is, and mix salt into it.

[OakLeaf]

Ooooh, looky what I found.

Homemade Energy Gels

I started wondering about using plain barley malt, like brewers use (which is pretty much a gel as is, contains simple and complex carbs, electrolytes and protein e-venn).

I may still do that, but this page is very interesting!

[smurfalicious]

Ooooh, looky what I found.

Homemade Energy Gels

I started wondering about using plain barley malt, like brewers use (which is pretty much a gel as is, contains simple and complex carbs, electrolytes and protein e-venn).

I may still do that, but this page is very interesting!

Yeah I've been scoping out some recipes too. The little tubes from Hammer and other brands are pretty cheap. I still suck at gels, they make me gag like all get out. Probably just gagging by association because I'd always take them before races when I wanted to puke anyway. I figure if I get an empty squeeze bottle from the cake decor section at the craft store it will make it easier to fill the little bottles.