BLACKSIxJAE

Hi, I already posted this in the road cycling section, but I thought it might be appropriate here too.

How long do you ride (distance and time)? and how much liquid does it require you to drink? and what do you gnerally drink? Also, how do you guys carry your water?

Thank you very much.

- Jae

branman1986

I always drink too little, but I think my book says two large gulps of water every 15 minutes. I suppose it varies if it's super hot or super cold out...

normZurawski

24 ounces an hour or so, not less. The most you can probably absorb is 32 ounces an hour.

Every source on earth wil say 32 ounces is about as much as your stomach can possibly absorb in an hour. Then they'll go on to say that if it's hotter you should drink more.

Standard disclaimer: YMMV. Standard disclaimer #2: trail and error.

grebletie

I have two water bottle cages, so that makes 2 water bottles for just about every type of ride I do. If it's 2 hours or longer, it will be cytomax or something to that effect.

Anything 4-5 hours long (i.e., endurance), I'll put two more bottles in my jersey. Where I live there aren't readily available sources of water while riding, so I'm stuck with whatever I can bring.

ericgu

The right amount is based upon how much you're sweating, which depends on a lot of factors.

I'll generally go through a bottle of accelerade in anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. I sometimes bring water in my camelback on a longer ride.

Weigh yourself before and after

normZurawski

According to the bike-talking heads, if you sweat more than a quart an hour, you can't replace that much.

sfrider 

I rode from SF to the Mt Tam eastern peak viewpoint and back yesterday, 56mi 5000 ft in 4.5 hours including stops. Temps were in the low-mid 70s and I drank three 28oz bottles with highly dilute cytomax. If temps were in the mid-high 80s I would have gone through a fourth bottle in the same ride, ridden slower, and used less dilute cytomax. I use a Profile Designs Aqua Rack. While I typically carry a backpack with clothes, food, a spare tire, lights, etc on a ride like this, I like to put heavy items like water bottles on the frame rather than on my back.

DannoXYZ 

Here's some links of interest:

Complete Guide to Triathlon Competition
Endurance News
Daily Peloton - Heat Stress Resolution

From what I gather, under most athletic conditions, you'd need about 500-750ml (16-25oz) of water for complete replenishment from sweating. Is it even possible to sweat more? I guess it depends upon ambient air temperatures and how much moisture you're recovering through your nose.

Maximum absorption-rate looks to be about 900-1000ml/hr (30-34oz) and can put you in danger of hyponatremia if you drink that much. Note that very little absorption of water occurs in the stomach, it's all in the intestines. As long as osmolality of carbohydrates is less than 6-8%, the solution will empty from the stomach at this maximum rate; much faster than necessary. Since your body can absorb water much faster than you'll sweat away (1.5-2x), you'll want to pace yourself in drinking the 500-750ml (16-25oz) of water per hour.

I carry two 24oz bottles of water on my bike and typically go through both in about 2.5 hours (about 20oz/hr). Then I stop off and fill up at gas-stations, beach, etc. Like ericgu said, everyone's body is different, so maintain a log of your rides with weather conditions, exercise-intensity, miles, time and amount of water drunk and weigh yourself before & after to see if that amount was sufficient for replenishing water. Also read that last link about electrolyte replacements as well. Hyponatremia can be fatal and it's caused by a combination of not enough electrolytes and drinking too much water.

KingTermite 

On a 3 - 4 hour ride I'll drink all 100oz. in my 100oz camel pack.

slowandsteady

This is highly dependent upon temperature, sun exposure, and intensity. I can drink anywhere from 48 oz an hour in sunny 100F rides to less than 8 oz an hour in low intensity cool weather riding.