Training & Nutrition - how many large bottles of water your drink on long ride

How many large bottles of fluid do you drink on a long ride?

Long ride in Temperatures like 30C or high 90s or 100s
for like 3 hours +

and how do you bring all your water with you?

do you take many bottles ? do you stop to refill? do you use Camelbak and water bottles?

like to hear all creative ways you all do things.
thanks

I went through 7ish 22 ounce bottles last week when it was in the high 90s here for a 48 mile ride that took a little over three hours.

I carry two bottles and stop and refill every 10-15 miles or so.

And if I can't refill as often as SR suggests, I carry a Camelbak with plain water and at least one bottle with food mixed into the water. I've drunk as much as 2 full Camelbaks in one 20 mile pass cliimb. I had to refill at a creek. If you might be passing water sources of unknown quality, carrying a SteriPen is a good idea. If you're drinking water in these quantities, you must also use some sort of electrolyte supplement. It's easy to get it serious trouble (dilutional hyponatremia) drinking large quantities of water without also taking in electrolytes. In hot weather, I plan routes that will take me past water sources within my known capabilities of water carrying/use ratios.

Temperature matters a lot.

I had two 5-hour rides last week. During one (average over the first half, 85 F, 35% humidity), I drank four bottles and I was starting to feel thirsty by the 4-hour mark. During the other (70 F when I took off and 60 F when I got back), I drank 2.5 bottles. In the high 90's, haven't tried that recently but 2 bottles/hour sound reasonable.

I have two bottle cages on the frame, two more behind the seat, and, if I go on long rides, I bring my light backpack (tools, spares, etc) and I can put a couple more bottles in there.

My stomach and gut can't process much more than a quart of fluid per hour, which is 1 1/3 24 oz bottles. So that leads to a max -- 3 hours, 4 bottles, etc. I normally only carry two, and plan on finding extra fluid on the road somewhere. Convenience stores are usually good (buy a V8 or a Snickers and they normally don't say anything about taking ice and water from the coke machine). Parks, ball fields, fire stations, a church, one time a post office, even stop and ask somebody working in their yard if you need to. You'll meet some interesting people on the way, which adds to the fun.

I drink about 40 ounces an hour in that kind of heat. I have a quick release seat post rack that I take all of the extra bottles in. I ride in a rural area so I can't just stop somewhere to fill up. Soybean and corn fields don't have faucets.

Generally, I'll drink about a quart an hour for the first 3 hours and start tapering off after that if I'm not processing it fast enough. If I drink more than that, I start getting bloated and can't consume any fluid after a while. When it's 60F, it sill be slightly less, at 90F, slightly more.

I put 2 extra bottle holders on my front forks so I could carry 4 bottles at a time. If I needed more than that, I'd put a frozen 1/2 gallon in a pannier. After that I add quart bottles filled with water or gatorade. I've carried 2-3 gallons at times when I wasn't sure about facilities to fill my water.

I'm a slow rider and a 100 mile ride takes me 9 - 10 hours, so I go through a lot of water over a century.

One bottle an hour. I leave with three bottles on scorching days - 2 frozen solid, 1 refrigerated with a bunch of ice cubes. I carry one frozen bottle in the handlebar bag. The bottles are insulated Polar bottles.

I start drinking the ice cube bottle after about 30 minutes.
When I start drinking the second bottle, it's about 25% melted, so it is a real delight. It stays cold all the way to the end.
The third bottle stays frozen in my bag - I think it acts like an insulated cooler - and I swap it with the empty in the cage around 1.5 to 2 hours (I'm still working out the details)

So I get to drink water with ice for about 3 1/2 hours! I was quite proud after I worked this out. [Unfortunately I will be riding a century this weekend, so my cold water (with electrolytes) will only last about the first 50 miles.]

I have 2 water bottles of my endurance drink.

1st bottle: standard conc
2nd bottle: 2x conc for 3bottle ride, 3x conc for 4 bottle ride...etc

And split 2nd bottle when refilling

My last 3+ hour ride (hot/humid) I pre-hydrated with 28 oz fluid, took a 64-oz camelbak filled with ice cubes then topped with cold water, one 24-oz Polar water bottle, and I left another 24-oz water bottle and a 12-oz diet coke in my car in a cooler with blue ice.
At 34 miles I looped back to the car and drank the diet coke and poured the last of the water bottle contents into the camelbak. Most of the ice had melted in the camelbak.
At 44 miles less than 8oz water was left. I was drinking it faster than it could be absorbed, so I decided to bag the ride rather than drive to a convenience store to buy more water. It was about 11am but temps were rising fast and it was still pretty humid with not enough breezes to help cool me off.
So I guess that is about 144 ounces total, 6x24-oz bottles.
Next long ride I will wear a larger camelbak.
Pre-camelbak I've put a quick-release beam rack on the bike and have carried a couple of extra bottles (16-oz) in the insulated trunk bag.
I've also put in a 16-oz bottle (disposable) of frozen sports drink or cold water in my back jersey pocket.

I have a special setup for long rides; I have a "Tangle" bag under the top tube which holds a 4L MSR "Dromlite" hydration bladder.

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That's about 5.5 24oz bottles of water, which is enough to last me through a metric century on a 90+ degree day, but I'll be dry for the last 5 or so miles.

I haven't tried anything longer with this setup yet, I imagine I'll need to stop at a gas station at least once for water.

The setup was odd to start with, but once I got used to it, it's far easier to deal with than bottles and I can't see myself going back. Being able to do metrics without stopping to futz around with bottles or refills is awesome.

Man I must be a camel because everyone that posted drinks far more than I do.

I did a fifty on the fourth of July with a bit of climbing 2900 feet in just under 3 hours mostly on my own. I have two cages but only took one bottle. There were rest stops. I finished it at about mile 40 and took a bathroom break and refilled but did not drink much.

I always drink a glass or two before I head out.

I drink when I am thirsty. I carry two bottles when it is 90 and above just in case. I use allot more water in the heat. I do not cramp.

I'm sold on using a Camelbak. Especially on the tandem there is a tendency on climbs to under-hydrate (as captain). The Camelbak makes it easy to take sips whenever you feel a bit of thirst. If it's hot I'm sure I can go through 1L/hour.

Man I must be a camel because everyone that posted drinks far more than I do.


I'm fat and I sweat a lot. I may not be typical.

on a typical 20-25 mile ride in +80 degree heat i don't carry water, but have a cup of coffee at the halfway point and stop at a convenient water fountain, take a drink, soak my head, cotton t-shirt and baseball hat, mostly to keep cool. when i get home i'll be drinking off and on for the rest of the day.

in the winter i don't have to stop at the water fountains.

as an example: it was about 100 here today with 17 percent humidity. i did 25 miles this morning with water intake as described above.

i've been drinking liquids all evening and just finished off half a fairly large watermelon.

How many large bottles of fluid do you drink on a long ride?

Long ride in Temperatures like 30C or high 90s or 100s
for like 3 hours +

and how do you bring all your water with you?

do you take many bottles ? do you stop to refill? do you use Camelbak and water bottles?

like to hear all creative ways you all do things.
thanks

On long rides, its all about planning the route. Rest stops with water is a must. I like to stop near a supermarket where they sell fresh cut fruit.

My stomach and gut can't process much more than a quart of fluid per hour, which is 1 1/3 24 oz bottles. So that leads to a max -- 3 hours, 4 bottles, etc. I normally only carry two, and plan on finding extra fluid on the road somewhere. Convenience stores are usually good (buy a V8 or a Snickers and they normally don't say anything about taking ice and water from the coke machine). Parks, ball fields, fire stations, a church, one time a post office, even stop and ask somebody working in their yard if you need to. You'll meet some interesting people on the way, which adds to the fun.


No ones can. You can drink all you want. It you can't realistically process anyp more than 32 oz max in an hour. Many smaller rides that's even less. Drinking more than you can process will lead to worse
problems than drinking too little.

Man I must be a camel because everyone that posted drinks far more than I do.

I did a fifty on the fourth of July with a bit of climbing 2900 feet in just under 3 hours mostly on my own. I have two cages but only took one bottle. There were rest stops. I finished it at about mile 40 and took a bathroom break and refilled but did not drink much.

I always drink a glass or two before I head out.

I drink when I am thirsty. I carry two bottles when it is 90 and above just in case. I use allot more water in the heat. I do not cramp.


In the heat here in AZ... if you drink when you're thirsty / have dry mouth, you're already dehydrated.


My last ride in the mid morning... I drank 6x24 ounce bottles of water, and lost 7lbs in my ride... I was hurting on the three mile ride home... cause I ended up so dehydrated.

Around that temp, 1 bottle an hour at tempo. 1.5 Bottles every hour at sub threshold, threshold. Could be less if I don't have to sustain it for more than few hours. But if I plan to last more than 2-3 hours, I better drink what I said or I will start suffering.