Training & Nutrition - Question about hidration

Just wondering what different people drink while they ride. So far I've been buying powdered gatorade and mixing it pretty weak. Seems to work OK, gives the water a better flavor (is still drinkable warm...my tap water tasts nasty when warm).

But, I'm suspicouse it might be causing the mild heart burn I'm having recently. Main reason I think this is my diet hasn't really changed, but I do drink about twice as much weak gatorade as I used to. It's starting to get warmer and I usually drink almost 2 large bottles of the stuff on my 20 mile ride home.

Wondering what other powdered mixes people use and their experiences with them. Also on quantity of water/distance biked. By mid-summer here (New Mexico, afternoon temps in the 90's) I'll be drinking one bottle of water just before I head home, and downing two bottles of diluted gatorade on the way, and be thirsty when I get home. That's on a 20 mile ride pushing it pretty hard.

I've tried gatorade and diluted gatorade, and neither of them sit well on my stomach - though I don't get heartburn from them. I think the hydration drinks are a better choice - I use Accelerade, but different ones work for different people.

I generally drink about 24oz of accelerade an hour (220 calories), plus a little something solid.

The right amount of fluid to drink is determined by how much fluid you need to replace. The best way to check that is to make sure you're well hydrated, weigh yourself, and then weigh yourself after your ride.

For each pound, you need to be taking in about an extra 16 oz of water during the exercise.

Water. I prefer to carry along snacks to provide nutrients and minerals.

On really long rides of 100+ miles I might drink a little of whatever they have at the rest stops, but that's the only time I ever drink that crap.

Az

I used weaken gatorade for a long time, sometimes still do. But the sweetener gets to me after a while. I was handed some samples of a product called Nuun. It's a tablet that you add to your water. It dissolves and there you go. I like it because there are no sweeteners and contains no carbs at all (ill get those with my food). It has a lemonaid(ish) flavor. I don't know if anyone else likes this product- but I sure do. I have no experience with cytomax, edurox, etc.

I drink water.

If you don't like the taste of your tap water warm and you are wary of gatoraid, maybe you could try something else. I have heard of people putting some lemonjuice in their water for flavor. Another possibility would be tea. I guess an even third possibility would be tea and lemon and then you could add mint too....

I drink water.

If you don't like the taste of your tap water warm and you are wary of gatoraid, maybe you could try something else. I have heard of people putting some lemonjuice in their water for flavor. Another possibility would be tea. I guess an even third possibility would be tea and lemon and then you could add mint too....

I drink water.

If you don't like the taste of your tap water warm and you are wary of gatoraid, maybe you could try something else. I have heard of people putting some lemonjuice in their water for flavor. Another possibility would be tea. I guess an even third possibility would be tea and lemon and then you could add mint too....

Plain ol' water for me. if nothing else, it makes cleaning out my water bottles much less of an adventure.

For calories, I carry snacks.

Water for me also. I fill my bottle and take it to work, refill it as needed throughout the day. If I am going on a substantial ride I fill up the camelpack and the water bottle. I will occasionally drink iced tea or diet soda but rarely soda.

For 20 miles, tap water is enough. For 100-200 miles, I like Gu2O because it uses maltodextrine as the primary carbohydrate and is much less sweet than most sports drinks, especially gatorade.

Just an FYI about the tea idea. Tea is a natural diuretic and you will dehydrate a lot faster drinking it while riding. I drink Gatorade at about ¾ strength during the really hot months. I put the bottle(s) in the freezer in the morning and they melt as fast as I drink. I usually carry two 20 oz bottles for my usual 20-30 mile rides.

I've heard about the Nuun, but haven't tried it. I may.

I like to mix my own Gatorade if I am going on long rides. I bring one bottle of Gatorade and 2 or 3 of water. I like to take along a lot of dates and bananas. If I am on a longer ride I will eat a small amount of food every 15 to 20 minutes. If I suddenly get lazy and do not feel like eating I will sip on the Gatorade because it requires less effort to consume than bananas or dates.