Originally Posted by dgregory57
I do however think your liquid recommendation is low. I would expect to refill the water bottles at least twice in 100 miles... For a total of 6 bottles of fluid for a 100 mile ride. There should be plenty of places to refill.
If a rider gets to the 50 mile point without emptying two large bottles at least once, I think that most riders would be dehydrating.
Again, thanks for the advice!
The general recommendation is one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink and/or other beverage every 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on the weather conditions and the amount of effort you are putting in.
So if your century takes you 8 hours, you should aim to have downed approx. five 750 ml bottles (unless it is really hot or windy, in which case you might want more) ... for a grand total of about 4000 ml (4 litres).
Now I also count the tall glass of apple juice or whatever I drink before the ride in that total. So how it tends to end up working for me on a century is that I drink about 500 ml just before the ride, plus about three 5-600 ml bottles of something which I might pick up at a convenience store, and which I'll drink while I'm standing or sitting at rest stops along the way. All that adds up to about 2000 ml (2 litres). Then I get the rest from my bottles. Each of my bottles is about 750 ml, one contains water, and the other HEED. I usually empty the water one once throughout the entire ride (not fond of plain water), and the HEED one approx. twice.