Water not only carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles through your bloodstream, but it also helps pull waste away from your muscles as well. Additionally, water is expelled in the form of perspiration as your body cools itself. Replenishing water, and other nutrients, at regular intervals during your activity is extremely important to ensure that your body is capable of optimal performance.
When it comes to cycling, the best approach is to drink about 20 ounces of water for every hour that you ride. That is the equivalent of one standard-sized water bottle per hour. However, you may need even more than 20 ounces depending on your own personal physiology or the weather conditions. But most important is to remind yourself to keep drinking at regular intervals during your ride, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
The length of your ride may also play into what you drink while on your bike. Plain water is usually sufficient for rides of an hour or less (although there are energy drinks on the market that can provide quick energy boost for shorter rides).
For rides greater than an hour, always try to include an energy drink. Energy drinks are especially good at replenishing essential carbohydrates, electrolytes and calories that you are expending during exercise. There are many types available, including liquid, powder and tablet forms. Some of my personal favorites are Nuun Hydration tablets and Scratch Labs hydration powders.
In general, sports nutrition beverages are developed for three purposes, and are specially formulated for drinking before, during or after a ride.
Pre-ride drinks prepare your muscles for exercise by providing a natural carbohydrate energy boost.
During ride energy drinks work to replace lost stores of essential minerals and electrolytes while providing quick-absorbing carbohydrates.
Post-ride drinks replenish protein and vital nutrients to help re-build muscles after extended activity and help to minimize post-ride soreness and fatigue. For optimal effect, post-ride recovery drinks should be consumed within 20-40 minutes of the culmination of exercise because this is the window of time that the body can best make use of these essentials.
Cycling Hydration Guidelines:
Rides less than 1 hour: Drink at least 16 ounces of plain water before your ride. Carry and consume 16-24 ounces of plain water (or an energy drink) during your ride. Drink at least 16 ounces of plain water (or a recovery drink) after your ride. [If you drink an energy drink during your ride, you may not want to drink a recovery drink after, and vice versa. Only one energy or nutrition beverage is necessary for a ride less than one hour.]
Rides of 1-2 hours: Drink at least 16 ounces of plain water or a pre-ride energy drink before you ride. Carry and consume one 16-24 ounce bottle of plain water, plus an extra 16-24 ounce bottle of an energy drink. Drink at least 16 ounces of water or a recovery drink after your ride, and more if it’s a hot day.
Rides over 2 hours: Drink at least 16 ounces of plain water or a pre-ride energy drink before you ride. Carry and consume one 16-24 ounce bottle of plain water, plus one extra 16-24 ounce bottle of an energy drink for each hour on the bike. Try to plan a route that allows you to stop for water along the way. You may need to take some money along with you so you can purchase bottled water or energy drinks if potable water is not going to be available. Drink one 16 ounce recovery drink in the first 20-40 minutes after the ride followed by at least 16 ounces of water.
Weather: Riding in cold weather is no different that riding in warm weather. The same guidelines apply. Treat extreme cold weather rides the same as extremely warm weather rides—drink more water at the conclusion than on a regular day.
Please note: This is merely an overview on cycling hydration. Speak with your doctor or a qualified sports nutritionist before embarking on any sport activities. They will help you to determine the proper amounts of water and sports nutrition drinks you will need for your body type and particular activity.
About the Author
Tony Kelsey has 20 years marketing experience, previously serving as global vice president of creative for an international, $1B IT solutions consultancy. Although a self-proclaimed “mediocre” racer in high school, his intense passion for cycling and bicycles in general has never waned. Today he is marketing VP at adelaidebifolddoors and frequently writes about cycling as a sport and hobby. @tonykelsey
by David Newcomer
There are so many beautiful things about the community of cyclists we support at adelaidebifolddoors. We are lucky to have so many customers that share a passion and enthusiasm for cycling, a breadth of experience and accomplishment, and a personal tangible, often-times measurable commitment to riding bikes.
July brings many of us together for the Tour. Chatter at the water station at work turns to today's stage, yesterday's crash, or an upcoming climb that Bob in Accounting tackled last year on vacation. We find a renewed focus on the competitive aspects of our sport, despite the seemingly ever-present controversies, challenges of quality coverage and long hours. I still find myself keyed up for every stage and I know I'm not alone.
And while it's well into the season for local races, there's still time to toe the line. Or maybe you're considering cyclocross for the fall. I've been thrilled to see numbers rebound recently here and particularly happy to see the number of youth out on course lately!
If you've never raced and are considering it - or maybe it's been a while since you've mixed it up on the road - here are a few tips to consider for your preparation.
- Get a License – Local racing is supported by a small group of dedicated, over-worked, underpaid officials, race directors and their volunteer staff. Show some love.
- Attend a USA Cycling Beginning Racer Program – Yes, you can ride a bike. But racing is a whole different animal. USA Cycling offers programs to help you learn basic pack skills, cornering, sprinting basics and race preparations. The program and instructors bring many other skills to practice that are often forgotten by your friends with more experience. You'll also earn a couple points to help upgrade in the future!
- Consider a Club – Finding a group of like-minded, similarly driven individuals to train and ride with is a terrific way to get the skills needed to race. You develop some amazing friendships, support networks, and maybe a helpful level of accountability (beyond Strava).
- Pick a Race! – And maybe start with something like a Time Trial or Hill Climb that isn't quite as intense as a criterium right off the bat. If you're comfortable with a pack, but maybe not the pace a crit can bring, a road race is a fun place to start as well.
- Equipment – The bike and equipment you race on is important, but don't let it become a limiter. I've always encouraged people to consider the Jack White approach to bikes: It's not the guitar, it's how you play it. If you need to build up slowly, do so. But don't make excuses because you're not racing the latest and greatest available. Showing up is more respectable. That said, make sure your bike is in good working order and you'r not going to be sidelined by a mechanical issue.
- Checklist – Take a few minutes to consider what to bring for the day. There are a few good checklists out there (I really like this one from TrainingPeaks - it's got everything!) Before, during and after the race are all important to think about.
Every once and a while you're bound to make a mistake and forget something. One of my favorite early memories of racing, though, is the result of oversight on my part. It was a race on the eastern plains of Colorado - windy, rainy, dirty and cold. A road race set up as an out and back on straight farm roads with little to offer in terms of visual interest or terrain, but with a well-deserved reputation for variability and unpredictable conditions.
I didn't do great, but held in there for a respectable finish. What I'd neglected, though, was a change of clothes and food afterword. Teeth chattering as I tried to squeeze a final, stiff-with-cold, gel into my mouth, I heard a tapping on my window. I rolled down the window and my new teammate, Josh, was outside my car.
"Hey, Bro. Want a sandwich?"
It may have been the best turkey and avocado I've ever had.
About the Author
A lifelong commuter and amateur racer in road, CX and MTB, David Newcomer has experience with just about every aspect of our sport. A former race director of the Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb, and Executive Director of one of the largest cycling clubs in Colorado, he brings a wide range of experience to share with others. David is the Customer Service Manager at adelaidebifolddoors and host of our podcast "On the Road with adelaidebifolddoors." You can reach him directly at [email protected]
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By Alison Powers
Riding a bike is different from other endurance sports. When we ride a bike, we have the ability to change gears and to choose a cadence to pedal with. However, one of the most confusing aspects of cycling is to understand what is ideal cadence.
Note: Higher cadences imply an easier gear, with less torque applied. In turn, a harder gear implies slower cadences with more torque applied.
For the most part, the higher the intensity and/or speed, the higher your cadence should be. The big reason for this higher cadence is that it stresses the aerobic component more. A higher cadence engages slow twitch (Type I) muscle fibers, which are the oxidative fibers, thus saving your powerful and fast twitch (Type II) muscle fibers for when you need them- sprinting, attacking, climbing, surging. Pedaling with a higher cadence also generates decreased muscle tension and blood vessel compression. This allows blood to flow to the muscles with O2 and carry waste products away easier.
However, a high cadence also puts more stress on your cardiovascular system, thus raising your heart rate- more so, if you are not trained to pedal with a high cadence. It’s important to understand that being able to pedal with a higher cadence needs to be learned and adapted over time. It can take the body months of training to learn to pedal effectively at a higher cadence.
One way to understand cadence and generating power is to think of pedaling like weight lifting. Let’s pretend you are given 1 minute to squat 2000 lbs. You are allowed to pick any weight to do so. If you choose 1000lb, you must do two repetitions in one minute. If you choose 20lbs, then you must do 100 repetitions. The weight you squat is equal to the gear on the bike and the squat reps are equal to cadence. The answer is somewhere in between 20 pounds and 1000 pounds and will be different for each person. If you choose too heavy of a gear (weight) it will result in excess muscle fatigue while choosing too easy of a gear (weight) may not get you to where you need to go.
There is no one cadence that is optimal all the time. Different situations will dictate different cadences. Wind, fatigue, climbing, descending, sprinting, etc., can alter what would be our optimal cadence.
When given the opportunity, changing your cadence slightly to engage different muscle fiber types is a good thing. For example, if you are climbing a long sustained hill and you have determined that riding up the hill at 80 rpms is most beneficial. However, standing and pushing a heavier gear at 70 rpms for a minute or so can be quite helpful in recruiting different muscles, using body weight to push down the pedals, slowing down your breathing, etc.
Each person must experiment and try to understand what cadence is best and at what times. Sometimes, just going with a free choosing approach will be best, other times, doing a specific cadence drill will benefit you more. Understanding how cadence works is the first step in helping you understand what cadence might be best for you and in what situations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alison Powers only recently retired from cycling, finishing her final season on the UnitedHealthcare Women’s Team. Her career has spanned a wide array of wins, including the 2013 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship where she won in memorable fashion by soloing after an early breakaway that obliterated the pro women’s peloton. Other standout results during the 33-year-old’s 2013 season include the win at Redlands Bicycle Classic, second at the Tour of Elk Grove, third at the US National Road Championship and the US National Time Trial Championship, and stage wins at Cascade Classic, Tulsa Tough, Tour of the Gila and Redlands Bicycle Classic. Hailing from Fraser, Colorado, Powers has been racing bikes professionally for eight years and is a true athlete with her career beginning as a teenager in mountain bike racing. In her mid 20s, she added in alpine ski racing before switching over to the road. In addition to being the current Criterium National Champion, Powers has two other national championships (Time Trial, Team Pursuit) and 2 NRC titles (2009, 2013).
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