mr.korea85

I decided to head off for a nice easy 15 mile ride this morning. I figured; hey, it's 9 in the morning nice and cool with little traffic this is going to be great.

I foolishly thought it was going to be a cinch so I had nothing to eat and nothing to drink since dinner at 7 last night. The weather was fine for the first five minutes; a little sticky, but for the most part very nice. So I, the genius I am, decided I should try and break a land speed record. So I'm mashing on my single speed following a creek that that has 50 foot dip every block with a surprisingly high grade.

At the 6 mile mark I was terribly flustered and sweating like a mad man. 10 miles in, I wasn't sweating at all that's when I started to get really worried and I took the rest of the ride nice and easy,

Got home and checked the weather, it was an great 92 degrees and now I feel tired, dizzy, and threw up about an hour ago I also have a massive headache whenever I move. So I'm trying to relax by sitting and going on BF

The ride fought me through and through everything went wrong for me and I've learned a valuable lesson today. No matter WHAT THE **** YOU THINK eat and drink before a ride. Or you'll end up feeling terrible and regretting everything.

Just a little story I wanted to tell and I think it's a good lesson/warning to hear regularly.

Cheers,

hairnet

Unfortunately it's also very easy to forget to drink during a ride.

trekker pete

Thanks for the story.

I often make my 12 mile commute in the morning with not too much in the tank. I leave at 5AM, so I won't ever see the temps you did, but, it is a good reminder nonetheless, that, at a minimum, you should have a glass or two of water or juice before heading out.

rumrunn6

thanks for sharing - good advice

AndrewP

A couple of weeks ago, I forgot to put the bottles on my bike before leaving for work and only noticed 15 mins into the 17 mile ride. I thought, with a bowl of cereal & OJ for breakfast, I would be OK as the temp was in the low 70s. I drank a load of water when I got to work, but was totally messed up for the whole day.

Doohickie

I got heat exhaustion once about 25 years ago. It sucks. I mean really, really sucks. You feel like you'll never have energy again. You'll probably feel fatigued for a few days. Consider it a valuable lesson.

rumrunn6

I recently read that it takes 60 minutes for water to enter the bloodstream? or other deeper body tissue?

Luddite

Definitely sounds like heat exhaustion. I did a 60 km walk in two days in August a few years back. It was beastly hot and sunny. I wore a hat but it didn't make much difference. I had a headache off and on the first day, my appetite wasn't great either. Went to sleep and woke up in the wee hours barfing, man was that embarrassing. Because I'm stubborn I got up the next day and walked 27 km.

scattered73

I had it once when I was 21 or so. Had a hangover from the night before and decided to toss frisbee with some friends while drinking beer after waxing the car on a summer sunday afternoon right after the first beer while tossing the frisbee I was suddenly awakened with my friends and a hpd officer and towel on my head, really scary stuff. A couple weeks ago a kid passed out right in front of our store ambulance suspected heat. I stop every 45 mins or so in the extreme heat whether I feel like it or not and drink as much as I can stand. When it hit me there was no warning that I could recall my friends said I just fell over.

lil brown bat

This actually sounds more like heat stroke to me, which is more serious.

https://www.nols.edu/wmi/articles/archive/hotheads.shtml

Good article on heat-related illness, including some good information on how your body's cooling system works.

cyclezealot

My experience with heat exhaustion happened with only a 30 mile ride in 90 degree heat.. I drank one bottle of water en route.. I did not get nausea , but within one hour of getting home, I became increasingly dizzy. It's a terrible sensation.. I should have consumed my second bottle of water, but speeding to keep up with the group, I was too pre occupied to drink my second bottle. What surprised me. Only 90 degrees. I thought it took closer to the 100 degree mark.. Don't be too self assured all will be well.
Later that night , my breathing became irregular. Nothing like a valium shot in the rear to make all things right.

cod.peace

Not sure about that, but I have read on the internets that gulping a good amount of water gets it into your bloodstream faster than many little sips do. A big gulp will encourage the pyloric sphincter to open to the small intestine, speeding up the water digestion.

mihlbach

wunderkind

Fluid intake is IMPORTANT!

wolfchild

Whenever I cycle I always bring extra fluid ( even in below freezing temps), and if I run out I just stop by a store and buy something to drink. I've goone through dehydretion before and it's not a good thing.

kabersch

Here in the Phoenix area it can be 90 degrees when I start my ride at 4:30 a.m. We always think about fluid. You never just stop and rest, you stop and rest and drink. I ride 20-25 miles before work (I don't commute by bike, yet) and always drink a LARGE glass of water before I leave the house. I usually fill my bottle with Accelrade and drink it during the ride. You never can be to careful.

corkscrew

Yowch.

I've had heat exhaustion before and its NO fun. I'm not so good about eating/drinking before the ride. Normally I'll have a glass of water and then fuel up once I'm @ the office. After coffee its just water all day though, since this last week the temps have broken 100.

mr.korea85

Haha thanks for the comments, I'm felt much better after I ate a pastrami sandwich. Feeling great, but with California's heat wave in effect I think I'll stay off the trail till the weather has cooled down. I was pretty shaken by the whole ordeal.

LJ325

You'll know better next time. Glad to hear you're ok.