Hydration – done with gatorade

[MCL1981]

Why not just straight up water?

[vvill]

I’m planning on something similar this year too. I usually do a mix of gatorade/similar with mostly water plus some food of course but generally the pre-packaged foods and/or sports drink make my stomach hurt when I’m riding. I sweat easily too and it’s fairly salty as well. I’ve heard good things about Nuun tablets. I’m going to experiment this year. I might try a recipe for homemade nutrition bars and just drink water.

130 miles? I think I usually hit the wall around 60-80mi and limp home the rest of the way.

[ontarioroader]

One thing to note is that pre-bottled liquid Gatorade has high-fructose corn syrup [HFCS] in it, while the powdered type you can buy in grocery stores & mix yourself does not have HFCS. Some people have bad reactions to large quantities of HFCS, and this may be what you’re experiencing. Another benefit of the powdered type is that you can make it in a lower ratio than recommended, which I like because I find bottled Gatorade cloyingly sweet/sugary.

[CCrew]

@creadinger 16129 wrote:

Are there any other products you like or recommend?

I use Fuze Green Tea or Orange Mango frozen in Camelback water bottles. I’m diabetic, and while I can get away with sugar during exercise neither of those two are crazy high in sugar. Orange Mango is te higher with 190 to a 18oz bottle, but it’s also sugar instead of HFCS so I deal with it better.

[PotomacCyclist]

Were you mixing Perpetuem with Gatorade? You’re not supposed to do that. Perpetuem already has carbs. You got sick because you forced too many carbs into your stomach. The stomach can only process so many carbs per hour.

Gatorade Endurance has higher concentrations of electrolytes than regular Gatorade. But it tastes like flavored salt water (because that’s what it is). On longer rides and races, I separate hydration from nutrition, meaning that I drink plain water according to thirst and I follow a regular nutrition schedule, based on the duration of the ride and the intensity of the ride. In a long race, I will eat a lot more than I will during a moderate-paced training ride of equal length. I guess if you really need extra electrolytes, you can try the gels and carb chews like GU Roctane and some of the GU Chomps and Clif Shot chews. There are also electrolyte tablets but I’ve never had to use them.

This year, I plan to stick with plain water for hydration and carb chews for calories. Chews are basically the same as gels only not as messy. You can put a half-empty packet of chews into a bento box or rear jersey pocket without making a mess. You can’t do that with a half-used or even empty gel packet. I try to avoid anything with added caffeine because it tends to upset my stomach. I think the high-sodium carb chews might cause some issues for me too so I’ll avoid the margarita flavor.

[creadinger]

@PotomacCyclist 16140 wrote:

Were you mixing Perpetuem with Gatorade? You’re not supposed to do that.

I didn’t mix them together, but they definitely got mixed up in my stomach.

Perpetuem already has carbs. You got sick because you forced too many carbs into your stomach. The stomach can only process so many carbs per hour.

Perpetuem is carbs. That’s the reason I used it. To keep my energy levels up and reduce the amount of real food I have to eat. It doesn’t have many if any electrolytes though which was what the gatorade was for and thus my question. Food/carbs isn’t my issue. It’s about getting enough electrolytes and salts to replenish what I sweat away without getting sick drinking gatorade.

This year, I plan to stick with plain water for hydration and carb chews for calories. Chews are basically the same as gels only not as messy. You can put a half-empty packet of chews into a bento box or rear jersey pocket without making a mess. You can’t do that with a half-used or even empty gel packet. I try to avoid anything with added caffeine because it tends to upset my stomach. I think the high-sodium carb chews might cause some issues for me too so I’ll avoid the margarita flavor.

What do you plan to use to replenish electrolytes and salt? Or will you somehow make sure to get that from chews and gels? I don’t think I could rely on chews and gels for my sole source of energy for a long ride so I will usually eat real foods in addition to some bars/gels when I’m out for longer than 60 miles.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’ve done most long rides on just water or Gatorade and gels or chews. I’ve only brought Clif bars on just a couple rides ever. For my triathlon training, I’ve been doing long rides in the 3 to 5 hr. range using just carb chews and water. (Since it was cold, I didn’t have to drink much water at all.)

The chews have electrolytes. Some have more than others. I don’t worry too much about electrolytes until it gets above 80 or so. I’ve also read some research questioning the need to supplement so much with electrolytes, although many remain skeptical about the new claims.

I haven’t really thought about bringing anything other than carb chews and water. I probably won’t even bring any Clif bars. There’s no easy place to store them. I guess a small amount of protein helps on longer rides but it can be tough to digest a lot of protein in mid-ride. Other than Clif bars, the only protein I’ve ever tried was Accel gel. That has a fair amount of protein, but that makes it thick and tough to take in. When I tried that during a race, I started gagging on it. I never tried Accel gels again.

If you’re trying to get carbs and electrolytes, add up the totals from everything, whether it’s Gatorade, gels, chews, Perpetuem or tablets. Only use one source of carbs, not two. Don’t think of Gatorade as an electrolyte drink. Always think of it as a carb AND electrolyte drink. You can’t ignore the carbs in your calculations. Your stomach won’t be happy if you do. Perpetuem has a lot of electrolytes already. Why do you need to supplement the Perpetuem with additional sodium? When you combine Perpetuem and Gatorade (on the same ride), you are overloading on both carbs and electrolytes. Either one alone can cause stomach problems. Overloading on both will probably guarantee that you’ll get stomach distress.

[KLizotte]

I find that mixing water and coconut water (half and half) works great. I really don’t like the sports drinks. But then again, the longest I’ve ridden at one time is 67 miles.

[JimF22003]

I just have never used any non-water drinks. I feel like if I’m going to be taking in calories, I’d rather it to be somewhat food-like. I only even use gels when I’m nearing the end of a longish ride (say 85 miles or so) and I am just too queasy to take in anything solid. I usually take along 3 “big” energy bars such as a Clif bar, and a couple of mini-bars like the ones you get at Trader Joes, or some fig newtons, for in-between. If I stop at a country store I’ll usually add a small pack of chips or peanuts in addition to a Diet Coke (that’s my idea of an energy drink.) In the summer I also take along the endurolytes pills, although I have a hard time noticing any effect from them. I still get pretty bad leg cramps after a long ride…

[americancyclo]

I’ve been reading The Feed Zone Cookbook, (thanks for the recommendation, Greenbelt!) Lim and Thomas recommend a 4% carb sports drink and 300-400mg of sodium per 500 ml. They recommend limiting your water loss to no more than 3% of your total body weight. They also plug their own sports drink, Skratch Labs.

As a comparison:

Gatorade G2 (500 ml)
5.8% Carb
220 mg sodium

Perpetuum (mixed for rider weight 155-190 lbs)
Carb 16%
330 mg sodium

I think the carbs are much higher here since it’s supposed to be a ‘fuel’ and they distinctly state on the website that it will NOT fulfill your hydration requirements. It’s more of a liquid food replacement. The potential for this to sour in high heat is a real turn-off for me.

[Tim Kelley]

A coworker of mine turned me onto Infinit. http://www.infinitnutrition.us/ The website has “sliders” that you adjust to custom create your own properties in a sports drink mix (taste, carbs, calories, electrolytes, protein, amino acids and caffeine).

Or you can chose one that is already premade: http://www.infinitnutrition.us/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=39

It mixes really well, so for long rides I can put together a double batch and have 600+ calories in one bottle. On long rides I burn a lot of calories, so bananas, potato chips, pizza, and 7-Eleven donuts are all fair game to supplement.

[DaveK]

I always bring one bottle of HEED – http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/heed.he.html – and one of just water. Anything longer than an hour and a half or so I’ll bring Hammer gels and Honey Stinger waffles or Clif bars. Honey Stinger waffles are half the reason I go riding. I like a coffee mid-ride if it’s cold out but it doesn’t mess with my stomach, I know some people have issues with coffee and internal plumbing.

/edit – Hydration and nutrition in one easy package. vvv

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[Mark Blacknell]

There’s always Brawndo. It’s got electrolytes.

[PotomacCyclist]

@DaveK 16193 wrote:

I always bring one bottle of HEED – http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/heed.he.html – and one of just water. Anything longer than an hour and a half or so I’ll bring Hammer gels and Honey Stinger waffles or Clif bars. Honey Stinger waffles are half the reason I go riding. I like a coffee mid-ride if it’s cold out but it doesn’t mess with my stomach, I know some people have issues with coffee and internal plumbing.

/edit – Hydration and nutrition in one easy package. vvv

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I’m one of those people. No coffee for me.

I normally don’t drink much coffee at all. But before one long race, I decided to have some of the hotel coffee because I didn’t sleep much the night before. Huge mistake. The stomach issues started up during the swim. Just slight discomfort. But then it got really bad on the long bike segment. (No further details necessary, but I did make it to the portapotties.)

I could never handle more than half a cup at a sitting. Now it’s zero coffee. I think the last cup I had was about 9 months ago. I don’t like caffeine in gels or chews either. While it’s not as bad as when I drink coffee, my head gets hot and I get a slight floating sensation when I eat a gel that contains caffeine.

[creadinger]

Can you handle tea? It’s a bit more gentle on the stomach than coffee with less caffeine overall. I don’t handle caffeine well either, but in the way that I’m really sensitive to it rather than digestively. It will keep me up if I drink coffee after 6am basically. I have to reserve the strong stuff for long drives or things I know I’ll need to be awake for.

Once or twice I have brewed some tea in the evening, chilled it in the fridge overnight then put it in a water bottle as a little pick me up. I swear though that caffeine makes me sweat more, even though studies seem to show that that is a myth.

[Author]

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