Bicycling 101 #10:
Hydration and Nutrition
By Liz Sands, TCBC Ride Leader
There are three basic things you need to replace on a bike ride: fluids,
electrolytes, and calories. Fluids are lost when you sweat. Electrolytes,
like sodium and potassium, are also lost when you sweat. They help your
muscles to function properly and if they are depleted, you’re more likely
to experience some unpleasant side effects like muscle cramps or even
an irregular heartbeat. Calories are lost as your muscles burn their
stored fuel (glycogen) to power you down the road.
On a short ride you probably can get away with just replacing fluid,
and plain water is fine. Now that the weather is getting warmer, your
goal should be to drink a large water bottle (20-24 ounces) each hour
on the bike. If you have a bike computer, use the elapsed time function
to remind you to to drink a few swallows of water every 10-15 minutes.
If you don’t manage to drink the proper amount during the ride, finish
off your water bottle as you’re driving home from the ride, so that
you can re-hydrate as soon as possible. Riders who are really conscientious
will weigh themselves before and after a ride. If they come back from
the ride and they’re down three pounds, they know they’re quite dehydrated
and need to drink a lot of fluids (sorry, the chances that you lost
three pounds of fat during one ride is quite slim!)
For longer rides, you’ll need to add electrolytes and calories into
the equation. The most convenient way to do this is by drinking some
kind of sport beverage instead of water. Most grocery stores carry a
couple brands of sport drink in powdered form so that you can mix it
up before each ride and mix it to the strength that you like (there
will be fewer plastic bottles going to the landfill, too). If you don’t
like super sweet beverages, there are some new sport drinks out on the
market that only have the electrolytes and not the sugar. But remember,
if you go that route, then you will need to also consume something else
to replace calories burned.
If one of your reasons for riding is to lose weight, you might be wondering
whether you really need to do the calorie replacement during a ride.
Part of this depends on the pace that you will be riding. If you ride
hard, your body is going to use up the stores of energy (glycogen) in
your muscles and if you don’t replace those stores of energy as you
ride, you will learn what it is to ‘bonk’. Bonking is when you’ve used
up all of your stored glycogen, and not only will you feel like you
cannot ride another mile, but you will be extremely cranky (your brain
needs energy to function too). If you ride at an easy pace, your body
is more likely to go into fat-burning mode and you will be able to last
longer before running out of glycogen. Nevertheless, if the ride is
long enough, even at an easy pace you will eventually deplete glycogen,
so it is prudent to take in some calories during the ride. Also, this
might prevent you from being so ravenous after the ride that you go
to the nearest SA and consume an entire bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter
Cups.
Calorie sources can range from the very low-tech and inexpensive (bananas,
fig newtons, and peanut butter sandwiches) to various gels and energy
bars. You’ll want to avoid anything that is too high in fat or protein,
because these are much slower than carbohydrates to convert to energy
in your muscles. Whatever works for you is fine - experiment to figure
out what you like to eat during a ride, that doesn’t give you indigestion,
and gives you energy. Different riders have specialized needs. Someone
who loses a lot of salt when they sweat (look for those white areas
on their bike shorts) might want to eat something like pretzels at a
rest stop.
Finally, don’t forget that riding is supposed to be fun, and it’s fun
to stop for an ice cream cone on a hot day even if there aren’t any
electrolytes in the ice cream.
Copyright © 2004 Liz Sands. All rights reserved.
