Staying Hydrated

Take a look at the down tube of your bike. Chances are, you’ll see one or two bottle cages – maybe they’re made from steel, alloy, carbon or some combination thereof. These bottle cages are your friend and are as important to your bike as the brakes, gears and tires. These trusty, yet often overlooked accessories are your answer to long rides, successful workouts and overall healthy and happy riding.

Of course, these cages are useless unless you put something in them. It sounds simple and straightforward, but for many cyclists, when and what to drink is confusing and complicated.

You’ve most likely heard the statements about needing eight glasses of water a day and that you need to drink more than coffee. But what about when you’re out riding in the hot summer months? Do you need to drink more? Should you drink something other than water? Is it possible to drink too much? They’re all very common and practical questions, says Kelly Anne Erdman, a registered dietitian and former member of the Canadian National and Olympic cycling teams.

Erdman says that at the basic level, for rides of two hours or less, plain water in your bottles is fine. But she says this varies by individual. Every cyclist has different hydration needs based on physical make-up, sweat rate, salt retention levels and level of exertion during the ride. “Cyclists need to drink enough to prevent more than two per cent loss of body weight from dehydration,” Erdman says. “This usually works out to 10 to 15 ml per kilogram per hour of riding.” For example, a 70 kg cyclist needs 700 to 1,050 ml of fluid per hour, which is about one bottle. That’s right, a bottle per hour. How often have you finished a two-hour ride with one full bottle and a quarter-full bottle on your bike?

So, we know that we need to drink during a ride and have a rough guideline for how much. But equally important is ensuring you’re hydrated before you ride and that you top up your hydration levels afterward. Guzzling a couple of litres before you hit the road won’t do much more than give you a bloated belly because, says Erdman, our stomachs only drain about one litre of water per hour. In the couple of hours leading up to your Saturday morning group ride, Erdman recommends drinking 500 to 1,000 ml of fluid. When you get back home, you need to drink two cups of fluid for every pound lost. A good habit is to weigh yourself wearing minimal clothing before and after you bike to measure if you’re losing fluid.

As for what to drink, for rides of two hours or less, Erdman says water is generally fine, unless you’re racing or are riding on a particularly hot day where you’ll be sweating a lot. This is when a sports or electrolyte drink can help fight off the negative effects of dehydration and low sodium levels such as muscle cramps.

These drinks shouldn’t be confused with energy drinks, which are often carbonated, caffeinated, vitamin-enhanced beverages that can contain additional ingredients such as taurine. They typically have twice as much sugar as a standard sports drink, which can lead to stomach pain and even hypoglycemia. And to top it off, energy drinks usually do not contain the sodium that you need in the hot summer months.  Erdman says choose a sports drink that can meet your need of about 500 mg per hour of riding. Some people like to mix energy gels with their water. Although this gives you carbohydrates, you once again fall short on sodium. Erdman also says to stay away from sports drinks with added protein because “this delays gastric emptying and can cause a gut ache for most cyclists”.

The number one rule is not to try something new on race day. You never know how your body will react or even if you’ll like the taste. And taste, says Erdman is key in making sure you stay hydrated, “if you don’t like what is in your bottles, you’re much less likely to reach for it.”

What this all really comes down to is that you need to drink – water for shorter rides, sports drinks on hotter days or longer rides. Remember, those shiny bottle cages are for more than looking sharp: they hold one of the keys to a long and healthy season of riding, racing, and touring.

Erdman’s Recipe for a Homemade Sports Drink:

Mix together:

1 litre of orange juice

1 litre of water

1/2 tsp of salt or sea salt

Adjust these levels to meet your own hydration needs