Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
Don't take extra salt leading up to the ride. Just makes it worse. 70 miles isn't that far, and 80° isn't that hot.
+1 Save the salt tablets for when you actually need them, which is when you're sweating a lot. Most likely there is plenty of sodium in your normal diet for your daily needs.
Lately I've been moving away from expensive fancy "sport" foods and electrolyte drinks because as CF Boy points out, many of them are nothing but hype. There are some good old standbys that are available in any convenience store and are generally a heck of a lot cheaper. For example, ounce for ounce, a can of V8 juice has about 5 times as much sodium and 15 times as much potassium as Gatorade. It also has some other goodies like vitamin A, C, Calcium, and Iron. So, have a can of V8 on your next sweaty ride and see if that helps.