I use orange squash, dilute it with water and a pinch or two of table salt to help prevent cramping. Obviously when sweating, the body loses all kinds of minerals and the table salt helps replace this. The other day I even had a rush drinking this

Here is the text from Chris Carmichael about hydration.


Stage 11: Looking Inside the Bottles
With the temperatures rising in southern France , hydration is going to become a serious issue in the next few days of racing. The best preparation in the world is no match for the damage that can be caused by dehydration. If there’s one thing that can stop a potential Tour de France champion in his tracks, it’s running low on fluids. What you drink, however, is just as important as how much you consume.

The science of sports drinks has come a long way in the past twenty years. Instead of simply mixing sugar and salt into water and hoping for a good result, modern sports drinks are carefully formulated to deliver carbohydrate and electrolytes in the most efficient manner possible.

When you mix a sports drink too strong, or the carbohydrate content of the drink is too high, it takes longer for your body to move the drink out of your stomach and into the small intestine, where the majority of digestion and absorption occur. The same is true if the concentration of sodium and other electrolytes is either too high or too low. Most sports scientists and drink manufacturers agree that a 6-8% carbohydrate solution leads to fast absorption of carbohydrate and fluid. If you follow the directions when mixing a sports drink, the carbohydrate concentration will fall within that range. Incorrect mixing, or adding more powder to get a little more carbohydrate, may actually slow the absorption of both fluids and energy.

Taste is another reason to mix sports drinks correctly. During the process of developing the formula for PowerBar Endurance, CTS coaches and I found that when drinks are too sweet or the taste is too strong, athletes stop drinking earlier than when the taste is lighter. This has important implications for riders at the Tour de France because they need to consume at least two bottles per hour while on the bike. If the taste of the drink is just right, they will consume more fluid each time they grab the bottle, which leads to a greater total fluid consumption over the course of the stage. When they’re losing as much as 1.5 liters of fluid per hour due to sweat, getting someone to drink more during a stage can drastically improve their performance.

What about plain water? About half the fluids a Tour rider consumes on the bike is plain water, and the other half is sports drink. The sports drink, besides delivering energy, replenishes electrolytes lost in sweat. Were riders to drink only water for the duration of a stage, they would risk running low on electrolytes. Since the nervous system relies on electrolytes like sodium and potassium to conduct nerve impulses, running low on electrolytes can have significant effects on performance. However, even if you consume only water, the risks of hyponatremia (water intoxication) are relatively small, especially considering the amount of food the riders eat during the stage. Besides the physiological impact of consuming a mixture of sports drinks and water while racing, riders just don’t want to drink sports drink in every bottle they take.

The riders in the Tour de France, even riders on the same team, drink a variety of different sports drinks because they have each found the one that works best for them. That said, there’s often no time to be picky when you’re getting bottles from the car or from a teammate. The right drink for you is the one that tastes good to you when it is mixed correctly. If you have to dilute your sports drink in order to tolerate it when you work out, you’re not getting the best performance from the drink, and it’s not helping you achieve your best performance.

40 to 50% fresh (supermarket own brand) orange juice and the rest water, sometimes a pinch of salt as well.

I second that! Orange tastes good, never tried lime.

The science of sports drinks HAVE NOT COME A LONG WAY IN THE LAST 20 YEARS!!! Gatorade still is the best or equal to any sport drink on the market today! The RAAM team riders this last month drank Ensure and Gatorade while riding and Cytomax when they weren't riding for recovery. I also happen to know Kerry Ryan of Team Action Sports, and I asked him about 5 years ago what was the best sport drink to use while riding, and he personally said Gatorade diluted 50%. I been drinking Gatorade diluted 50% for the last 25+ years; I asked him that question because I thought by now surely something better would be out...NOPE. So save your money and get Gatorade in the powder big can and each bottle will cost less than 10cents instead of $1.00 per bottle for the bike boutique stuff.

gu20 whips the sh!* out of gatorade, i buy it at a lbs and its 25 dollars, it gives you 35 - 16 oz servings along with 24 packets of gu energy gel.

One bottle diluted lemonade, one bottle water. Was using Cytomax last couple of years, stopped when I ran out. Also stopped cramping..

If you use Gatorade in the powder form you can mix it to your desired strength.
We drank it by the gallon on our self supported tour, we had the kind that was
blue in color, it made for an interesting stool....neon green!

Lately I've been using GU 2O their gatorade competitor drink...seems to work just as good, and performancebike has a 2 for 1 deal, 24packs of gel and a free tub of GU 2O.

I take my camelbak w/ me and fill that w/ water and ice. I then take two bottles, 1 with just GU 2O mixed in it, the other w/ GU 2O and Sustained Energy by HammerGel. The Sustained Energy mix is what I switch two after I've finished the first bottle...it helps after 90minutes or more of riding...long chain carbs are your friend for long term rides.

I also supplement w/ GU or Hammer gel packs and bring along grapes for quick snacking. I've found I need to sip water every 5min and the electrolyte drink every 15min...I usually use my watch to remind me. Basically every 3rd sip isn't water.

I also eat a banana before a ride...potassium is your friend too!

Afterwords I mix some glutamine in w/ some sustained energy and whey protein for a recovery shake.

Water is the best in my opinion. If it spills all over you, then you won't be sticky, and you can cool yourself down by pouring it on yourself if you choose. Also, on hard rides, a taste to what you are drinking can cause nausia, at least for me. Plain old water is the best thing to have. If you choose water, make sure it is cold, because it will go down easier and will be easier to drink.

I ride centuries (solo) frequently, just cause I like it ...

For years I drank water-gatorade-water, and ate Powerbars along the way. I always thought there was alot of pain associated with anymilage over 50-60 ...

This year, I stopped using gatorade all together. I drink plain water all day, while eating powerbars and gel ... I take 16 oz. Endurox before and after each ride.

It has made my AVS go up, and after a century, I still have something leftover to go out with the wife if she wants to. I won't say it doesn't hurt, but not nearly as much.

My rule of thumb is water for the first 2 hours, supplementing with water and gatorade after the first 2. Drinking all Gatorade has given me stomach cramps.

On organized rides the sports drinks at rest stops can be made in various concentrations. If it's too sweet, water it down or cover it with ice.

I love the Vanilla Clif Shot gel packs too.

My 2cents,

Trekaholik

What do you mean "older guy?"
Yes, water works fine; cheap, plentiful.

Also I read somewhere that ice cold water actually takes more energy (ie expending calories) for your body to bring it up to your body temperature than room temperature water...so always drink it cold.

That's true because your body uses energy to warm the water up. But, would you rather be happy and comfortable with what you are drinking, or waste about 100 calories at the most to heat up the cold water?

Absolute vodka and lemonade.

One time, I made a STUPID mistake of going for a ride shortly after having a pint of beer at lunch. I thought I'd died after the first hill.

From this discussion, I thought I would compare the various sports drinks that have been mentioned along with Cliff Shots and Cliff Bars. The comparisons are for 12 fluid ounces or one Cliff Bar and one Cliff Shot.

A couple things jump out:

-Accelerade is the only sports drink besides Ensure that has protein. I’m thinking protein should be a good thing.

-Gatorade and Accelerade get almost all of their carbs from sugars. I would prefer a mix of complex and simple carbs.

-Ensure seems to be much more concentrated. It’s probably not appropriate to drink at full concentration while riding.

-Ensure has a lot of fat compared to the others.

Overall, there doesn’t seem to be that much difference. If protein is a good thing, you can buy some powdered soy protein and add it to whatever tastes best to you.

Here is the comparison:


-murray

Hear! Hear! I gave up gatorade about two years ago.

GEL packs are a waste of money, wow a dollar for a pack of sugar syrup.

WATERMELLON JUICE.

Accelerade works for me. However, I'm thinking it's the protein in it that causes me to gas everything in a 10 meter radius after I finish riding

I always seem to have that problem. I guess the vacumn that my seat creates forces my intestines to vow revenge for the hell they endure.

No that's what I meant, I'd rather drink it cold AND burn the calories for my body to warm it up. Personally I don't like hot drinks...especially on rides, never got a liking to morning coffee before a ride.

On a separate note, FWIW there is plenty more to GEL packets (at least GU and Hammergel) than just plain sugar syrup. The carb count in GU is mainly maltodextrin which is a long chain carb, vus just plain fructose.

Large bottle (24 oz) is Cytomax enhanced.
Medium bottle (20 oz) is water.

On rides in the 80+ range, I also bring 2 Clif bars, 1 Fig Newton package, and
drink powder so I can just buy some cold water and mix the Cyto stuff as
needed (otherwise, I get stuck with whatever un-yummy flavor of Gatorade
is available).