Sunday 8/30/09 rides

[Bike Goddess]

Roxy and anyone else who just drinks "water",

It is vitally important that those of us who ride take sports drinks with us. Not only do they provide electrolytes but also energy that you need.

Not to promote this or that brand, I use Cytomax on all of my rides as it works for me. I have one bottle filled with water and Cytomax and another bottle with extra in it in a plastic bag. This way, when I get more water I add more stuff. I can also fill my 2nd bottle with water and sports drink if I don't have a place along the way where I can get water easily thereby having two bottles available. Since the Cytomax is in a plastic bag it is easy to transport via pocket or fanny pack (I use that a lot too).

If you drink your sports drink about every 15-20 minutes you should stay well hydrated. I don't drink alot, but I do follow this regimen pretty strictly especially when it is warm or when I'm doing a lot of hills. FOOD is essential as well. I take Lunabars and other stuff as needed depending on the length of my ride and available stores along the way.

There are also electrolyte tablets that you can buy-Endurolytes. They work well and are easy to carry with you.

[owlice]

Roxy, I'm in Maryland, near DC. We have swamps here, too, and I don't mean just Congress!

bmccasland, so sorry to hear the cyclist who crashed has extensive injuries; I hope she's getting great care and heals quickly.

bmccasland and Bike Goddess, I've never drunk anything other than water on my rides! (Longest ride to date was ~ 57 miles in 90-degree heat.) I always have something to eat with me (usually PowerBars and/or trail mix); even so, sometimes I'll stop for something along the way if I want something else to eat. Since many foods have salt in them (as anyone who looks at sodium content knows), I have never feared depleting my salt stores, and I sweat like the proverbial pig!

Calories of any kind will provide energy, with simple sugars being more readily available than proteins or fats.

A lot of people like sports drinks and swear by them; some people don't drink enough water to rehydrate themselves because they find water bland, and find sports drinks more palatable, so they will drink more of them, which definitely helps them!

Personally, I hate the taste of every sports drink/"enhanced" water I've tried, and I do like the taste of just plain water, so drink that.

Or bourbon, but that'd be after an aggravating day at work, not after a ride!

[channlluv]

Roxy,
Good for you for doing 30 miles. Last time I got that squirrely on my electrolytes, I wound up in the ER - So Don't do it again!.

Yeah, it was a lesson learned the hard way, that's for sure. I honestly never would have thought I'd need that sort of thing going as slow as I go. Seriously, 10mph average here. I'm feeling a lot better today, but now I'm squeamish about going back out for a ride until the heat lets up.

Thank you, Bike Goddess, for the tip on Cytomax and Endurolytes. I'm trying to watch my calories here as a matter of course (100 lbs overweight), so I'm conscious of what these things are made of. I don't suppose there's an organic electrolyte replacement option out there, is there?

Somebody mentioned berries and melon - lots of times when I've gone on longer rides (20miles), I'll take a fruit smoothie with me made of grape juice, blueberries, raspberries, and spinach. Very yummy and slushy and all that good stuff when it's warm out.

I just hope our weather turns soon. Fire season is such a drag.

Roxy

[tctrek]

We did a ride south of Atlanta called the Wilson 100. We did the 54 mile route. The first 20 miles are pretty hilly, then it flattens out some with lots of rollers and just a few booger hills (1 with a 16% grade ). I was doing great averaging about 15 mph. 5 miles from the car and feeling sore from 3.5 hours in the saddle, the sky open wide and torrential downpour on us.

Have you ever been riding in your car and get into a really bad rain where your wipers can't work fast enough to allow you to see? That's how it rained We opt'd to continue through it rather than try to take shelter. Got to the car and we were totally drenched. I never de-biked so fast in my life!!

This was my longest road ride ever (I've gone a little further on flat trails). I kept my heart rate at an average of 145 bpm, which is really good for me. Drank 3 bottles with electrolytes and carbs, ate 2 packs of Clif Shot Blocks, 1 package of peanut butter crackers and 1/2 a PBJ sandwich at the SAG. All the fluids and nutrition + managing my heart rate allowed me to finish in great shape.

[anabanana]

Also did the Wilson 100. My husband and I did 100 miles. It was my first century. The longest I had gone so far was 75 miles. I averaged about 15.5 mph and rode for 6.5 hours. Wow... I can't believe I did it! The rain came down as we reached 80 miles. I was scared at first because it was pouring, thundering and lightening. But it actually cooled me down. I was starting to get real tired at that point and was slowing down quite a bit. It was a great ride. The SAG stops were good as well. I need to figure out how to do better at climbing hills. Besides getting leaner, do y'all have any thoughts on what I can do?

[tctrek]

Great job on your first century!! I'm not going to attempt one this year, but am training for more endurance.

The only way I know to get stronger is to do intervals. I do intervals where I put on as much gear as I can and still maintain a cadence of 75-85 and keep my heart rate below lactate threshold. I work in this tempo state for 10 minutes, recover for 10 minutes... I do 3 or 4 of these a few times a week. I also do an interval at a little bit higher heart rate, but for shorter duration -- 6-8 minutes each. Always recover in between.

I would love to do squats with weights to build strength, but my lower back is pretty fragile and although I might wreck it on the bike, I'm doing something I love. I would be really p-o'd if I wrecked my back doing squats and couldn't ride.

[anabanana]

Thanks for your response! I'll try that. I'm also going to start weight training at the gym. I figure if I get stronger I should be able to climb better. I'm really frustrated though. Do you know if there's a group of women that get together in the Atlanta area to ride? I live in Roswell and usually ride with my husband. But it would be nice to ride every once in a while with other folks.

[bmccasland]

She's still in the hospital, the rib fractures are causing some breathing problems / oxygen exchange issues. They were threatening a chest tube, which I'm really hoping won't be required.