Question about locking up/hydration.

[PotomacCyclist]

@KLizotte 59119 wrote:

What do you do if you have to stop at a 7-11 for, say, Gatorade or use the errr, facilities? Do you just leave your bike outside unlocked?

I always carry a lock because I’m paranoid and have often wondered how people do without, esp on multi-hour rides. I would love to ditch the lock because of the weight.

I don’t usually have to go to the bathroom mid-ride. The last time was probably 3 years ago. In that case, I did leave my bike, but I was using the portajohn next to the W&OD. I parked the bike next to the portajohn, although I was worried about leaving it there, even for just a minute. Also, I haven’t done any rides longer than 4-5 hrs. over the past two years, I think.

As for Gatorade, I stopped using sports drinks. If I’m riding long, I bring water. For calories, I use carb chews or Clif bars. This works better on cool or hot days. (If I were to use sports drink, on cool days, I won’t drink much and so I’ll run low on calories. On hot days, I might drink more, and take in too many calories. If I drink water, I drink to thirst, while I take care of nutrition needs based on how long/tough the ride is.)

In general, I’m finding that I drink less than I used to a few years ago. I don’t try to do this intentionally. I drink whenever I’m thirsty. But over the past year or two, I find that at the end of the ride, I’ve gone through a lot less water than I used to. Or maybe it’s because I rely on carb chews and I don’t need to drink as much as if I were using sports drink. Sports drink is inefficient for calories in terms of volume. Twenty ounces of Gatorade only has 130 calories. But a tiny serving of carb chews has 100 calories. I can bring plenty of carb chew servings. In the bento box, in a running belt and maybe even a jersey pocket, although I don’t wear bike jerseys on most training rides, just a regular tech running shirt. An equivalent number of calories of Gatorade would be several bottles worth.

Maybe it’s partly because I avoid mid-day rides. But I’m usually fine with just a single 24-oz. bottle of water on rides up to 4 hrs. or so. I haven’t brought two bottles with me on any ride in the last two years. I don’t think I’ve ever run out of water mid-ride during that period. On shorter rides, maybe under 90 min., I sometimes forget to bring any water at all, but it’s usually not a problem. I’ve also noticed the same thing while running, that I don’t need nearly as much water as I used to. Part of it could be heat adaptation and better fitness. Part of it is, as mentioned, the fact that I use plain water and get calories from carb chews instead of sports drink.

I find that in the winter, I barely drink any water at all. I think I’ve ridden as long as 3 hrs. on cold days and only drank about 4 oz. total. Again, I wasn’t trying to do this. I drink whenever I’m thirsty and I always bring water on long rides. But I only sip water, instead of guzzling it like I used to when I was first starting out. I’ve read about a famous ultramarathoner who says that he barely drinks any water on moderate-effort long runs (and his long runs are very long, as in 4 to 6 hrs. or longer, I think). I’m nowhere near his talent level, but I’ve also found that the better shape I’m in, the less water I need. I’m not sure why. I posted about this on a running forum and received a heated response. I wasn’t making any sort of point. I was merely reporting my personal experience and that of the ultrarunner that I had read about. I read one article that says that we get more efficient at heat dissipation with training. Something to do with better capillarization networks near the skin, so that blood flow can help release excess body heat. Or something like that. Is that what’s really going on? I don’t really know. But I do know that I don’t drink as much water on long workouts (rides and runs) as I used to. Maybe as much as one-third less per workout, and in some cases maybe 50 to 80% less, if it’s not too hot out.

***

I just realized that the lower liquid intake also helps to explain why I don’t need to go to the bathroom during long rides these days. So that’s another benefit. Obviously, people will have different hydration requirements. But I think the separation of hydration and nutrition (plain water, calories from sources other than sports drink) is something that more people could try, for various reasons: less total liquid intake, fewer bathroom trips, better management of calorie intake on long rides and races, no pitstops to get more liquids.

[creadinger]

@KLizotte 59119 wrote:

What do you do if you have to stop at a 7-11 for, say, Gatorade or use the errr, facilities? Do you just leave your bike outside unlocked?

I always carry a lock because I’m paranoid and have often wondered how people do without, esp on multi-hour rides. I would love to ditch the lock because of the weight.

Locks aren’t always necessary. I rarely carry one, and I plan ahead if I think I’ll need it – like stopping at the liquor store on Capitol Hill on my way home occasionally. I’ve never felt like I needed a lock while out on a long day ride making a pit stop. On my tour from Boston to DC I even felt guilty for having it in the more rural areas. I never actually needed it the whole trip.

I think you need to do a series of shortish rides with the sole purpose of stopping at convenience store to pop in and buy something with your bike outside, unlocked. Initially you stop somewhere where you can always keep an eye on it to ease your worries. It would be good for your psyche. People are generally trustworthy. I do sometimes have visions of someone snatching my bike and throwing it in a pick-up truck then speeding away, but while that is technically possible who would do that?

Maybe try ditching the lock on the next ride that you pop into a 7-11 for water and a candy bar.

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 59146 wrote:

But I’m usually fine with just a single 24-oz. bottle of water on rides up to 4 hrs. or so. .

You must be a small person, right?

[PotomacCyclist]

@Tim Kelley 59158 wrote:

You must be a small person, right?

I’m pretty light, but I used to drink a lot more in previous years. On my longest ride ever (2010, I think), I went through about 4 or 5 bottles of (mostly) Gatorade during a 6 or 7-hr. ride on a hot day. Part of that is explained because I was trying to get calories from the Gatorade, which is not an efficient way to get calories (as noted in my previous post). So that’s somewhere around 16-20 oz. of fluid an hour back then (Gatorade, not water).

I haven’t done any rides in the last two years in the same exact conditions for the same exact period of time. But in slightly less hot weather, I might average 20 oz. total for 3 hours. Or something like that. Or less. I don’t monitor this too precisely, primarily because I’m finding that at least on moderate-effort rides, it is not that vital for me. If I should happen to run out of water and I find that I really, really need more, I can always stop at a convenience store. I usually stay within a few miles of civilization (Hains Point, local Arlington roads and trails, Alexandria, occasionally the Wilson Bridge and National Harbor, sometimes along the National Mall). I haven’t done any long out-and-backs lately, such as a straight ride on the W&OD.

I notice all of this a lot more on long runs. I used to drink a lot of Gatorade on long runs, especially in my first year of running as an adult. On a 2.5-hr. run back then (maybe 2009, 2010), I guess that I would go through about 48 oz. of Gatorade. I remember this because I had to stop at a store in Old Town on some of those runs. But this year, I’ve run up to the 3 hr. mark or so and I’ve never run out of water, with just a single 24 oz. bottle. (I might have had a few sips at a drinking fountain too. But I don’t guzzle water at those fountains because I’ve found that drinking fountain water sometimes upsets my stomach.)

On some runs, I’ve started to get close to empty, but only at the very end of the run. Even then, it’s not a big deal if I run out of water 10 or 15 min. before I finish. I take shorter routes for runs, the same as with many bike rides. Shorter loops and shorter out-and-backs so that I stay closer to home or nearby stores/drinking fountains. I can just keep switching up the loops, repeat them, mix them up or whatever, until I finish the planned workout (based on time and intensity levels). The Garmin keeps track of the distance. I only look at the distance numbers occasionally, just to make sure that I’m not skimping too much on mileage. (When planning the workout, I figure in my usual paces and the approx. range that I should be doing for that week or month of the year. Then I work out how long I should run, to the nearest 15 min. mark and just go with that, more or less. I also include various effort levels, based on what my plan calls for that day.)

I do avoid mid-day runs. But that only explains part of it. I remember being very thirsty and hungry during early evening runs back in 2010. Whereas now, I usually don’t eat anything if I’m running less than 90 minutes. And even on longer runs, I don’t eat nearly as much as I used to during Year One of my adult running.

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 59171 wrote:

On my longest ride ever (2010, I think), I went through about 4 or 5 bottles of (mostly) Gatorade during a 6 or 7-hr.

Wow–on my longest ride ever (a couple weeks ago) I drank between 20 and 25 bottles during about 12 hours or so, and I was still dehydrated!

[Tim Kelley]

Still learning how to moderate. Thread now open.

[83b]

I’ve often used my helmet’s straps to make an impromptu sort of lock. If you use the straps to clip the frame and rear wheel to something it can deter a casual opportunist or at least slow down a determined thief. Also provides a little psychological reassurance that you at least did something.

[CaseyKane50]

For very short breaks, I weave the straps of my bike helmet through my rear wheel and then connect the clasp.

The other day at Jones Point, I saw someone take their bike right into the bathroom.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Tim Kelley 59178 wrote:

Wow–on my longest ride ever (a couple weeks ago) I drank between 20 and 25 bottles during about 12 hours or so, and I was still dehydrated!

24-oz. bottles? Whoa! I think it might take me half a week to drink that much water.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Tim Kelley 59178 wrote:

Wow–on my longest ride ever (a couple weeks ago) I drank between 20 and 25 bottles during about 12 hours or so, and I was still dehydrated!

That’s a lot of bottle cages.

[hozn]

@Tim Kelley 59178 wrote:

Wow–on my longest ride ever (a couple weeks ago) I drank between 20 and 25 bottles during about 12 hours or so, and I was still dehydrated!

Yeah, I think I drank about the same quantity on that ride — 2 bottles between all 8 stops and an additional bottle or so at each stop. That sounds about right. And I was pretty dehydrated too at the end of that. (I wished I had taken your advice and brought the 3rd bottle in the jersey for spraying myself down. Oh, and that my team kit was not black. And that I was made of sterner stuff. )

[NicDiesel]

@creadinger 59154 wrote:

Maybe try ditching the lock on the next ride that you pop into a 7-11 for water and a candy bar.

If you’re with other people that’ll keep an eye on it, sure. Otherwise I wouldn’t say that’s the best idea.

[dbb]

Here is the “coffee shop” cable I use. With a small padlock, it doesn’t weigh much. I wouldn’t use it if I were going to be away from the bike but it does work to keep the bike from getting snatched in a flash.

http://www.rei.com/product/543085/kabletek-flexweave-cable-316-x-6

I’ve never seen this in the store but they ship to the store for free

[creadinger]

@NicDiesel 59192 wrote:

If you’re with other people that’ll keep an eye on it, sure. Otherwise I wouldn’t say that’s the best idea.

I guess I’ve been doing it all wrong the past few years on all of my solo rides with no lock and no one to keep an eye on my bikes. @KLizzotte – Do what you want and what you’re comfortable with obviously, but know that there are some people out there who do not carry locks on long day rides and feel pretty comfortable popping into a convenience store (or the Subway shop in Poolesville for example) for couple of minutes to buy food and drink.

[Tim Kelley]

@hozn 59191 wrote:

Yeah, I think I drank about the same quantity on that ride — 2 bottles between all 8 stops and an additional bottle or so at each stop. That sounds about right. And I was pretty dehydrated too at the end of that. (I wished I had taken your advice and brought the 3rd bottle in the jersey for spraying myself down. Oh, and that my team kit was not black. And that I was made of sterner stuff. )

When the sun finally came up I could feel exactly where the black trim on my white kit was. I felt bad for the guys I was riding with that were in all black.

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