When I started cycling, I had very little knowledge of electrolytes and rarely took any. I rarely cramp, but feel moderate electrolyte use is a much better way of keeping well hydrated. I was partly inspired to write this after recent episode of diarrhoea where electrolyte tablets came in handy. Though it has made me look for some without sweeteners.

Science behind staying hydrated

[Disclaimer: my A grade in GCSE biology and chemistry is well out of date, and of limited weight in such an article. There are potentially more reliable sources on the internet…]

You lose more water when exercising from three sources

• Water + electrolyte loss from sweating. (You can lose 0.8 to 1.4 litres per hour during exercise)
• Water used in the creation of energy
• Water lost from breathing.

With body around 60% water, maintaining hydration is important. Loss of water and electrolytes can hold back performance and even lead to cramping and other problems. Water and drinks manufactures often emphasise studies which show small water loss can lead to big decline in performance.

Whilst there are different opinions about actual extent of performance loss, avoiding excess dehydration is a must for any athlete. It takes quite a bit of preparation and trial and error through practise.

Pure water without any electrolytes

If you are low on water and take on pure water without electrolytes, you can still end up dehydrated.  Cells absorb all the pure water (hypotonic) disturbing the balance of electrolytes in the body and causing a break down of red blood cells. (link)

Also, if you drink just water (hypotonic) it can reduce your thirst because, it will lead to lower salt levels and leave a feeling of bloatedness.

Isotonic Drinks

An isotonic drink will contain a similar ratio of electrolytes and carbohydrate to your blood stream. It will be easily absorbed by osmosis and

Electrolytes

The body needs more than water. It also needs key electrolytes to maintain the right balance of cells and.

The main electrolytes are

• Sodium,
• Potassium,
• Calcium,
• Chloride,
• Magnesium

Sodium (found in common salt)

• maintains water balance
• Levels of sodium influence feelings of thirst
• Prevents water intoxication
• Can prevents cramps. Though cramps can be caused by other factors too.

When we sweat, we  lose electrolytes. The main salts lost are sodium and chloride, [electrolytes lost in low concentrations include potassium, magnesium and calcium]. In very heavy sweating, we can even see it crystallise – which is all the salt we are losing. This needs to be replacing or our muscles will start to cramp – giving an indication the body can’t cope with sweat loss.

Colour of urine as test of hydration

The colour of urine is a rough guide to hydration levels. White is a sign of excess water drinking. Dark is a sign of dehydration. The aim is a ‘straw colour’

Although, this is often a rough guide to hydration levels, it is worth bearing in mind it is not without exceptions.

– Some supplements like creatine, beetroot can make urine darker.
– Even light coloured urine can be a sign of dehydration. For example, if the kidney is under-pressure, e.g. cold, the kidney can excrete more water in the urine. Giving a light coloured urine, but you can be under-hydrated.

Lacking in electrolyte. If your body is short of key electrolytes, and you drink pure water, the body can’t absorb the water because it would dilute the electrolyte balance in cells, therefore, the extra water just gets excreted. But, you are still de-hydrated. What you need is water with some electrolyte solution to make it easier to re-hydrate.

Hyponatremia is defined as a decrease in sodium concentration in the blood. This can occur due to sweating and drinking just water without salt replacement.

Examples of dehydration

During hot conditions, it is easy to get dehydrated performing in long events like a 50 mile, but especially 100 mile race. If the temperature increases from 15 degrees to 25 degrees, the change in water consumption can be quite marked. I’ve finished a few 100 miles with mild signs of dehydration, dark coloured urine and a bit of a headache, which requires careful rehydration.

Because of these chastening experiences, I’ve gone to the other extreme and over-hydrated before 100 miles – if it was colder, I’ve ended up having to stop in race to empty excess water.

How to hydrate before a race

It is important not to really over do it. Keeping fairly normal drinking and eating habits is a good rule of thumb.

When hydrating before a race, it is good to have a some amount of electrolytes. This can help the water be absorbed rather than excreted.

I try hard to avoid getting cold or overly hot. For me, the bigger issue is the cold. In middle of summer, I can take a big winter coat so I don’t get cold at 6am waiting for start. This is because, the cold makes my kidneys excrete extra water, which is counter-productive for a four hour race and also prevents proper hydration.

Sources of Electrolytes

• Table salt is sodium and chloride. (Many exceed RDA)
• Bananas are a good source of Potassium. Though you can overdose on Potassium; one or two bananas is good limit, if combined with other electrolytes.
• Greens – magnesium / calcium

However, if riding in the heat, you will need to supplement from usual diet.

Drinks

• Coconut water – contains 0.25 litres of coconut water has 46 calories, 9 grams of carbohydrates, 250 mg of sodium, 600 mg of potassium, 60 mg of magnesium, 45 mg of phosphorus
• Milk – sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
• San Pellegrino, low sodium, but source of potassium, calcium and magnesium, choloride and bicarbonate. I like taste of this, when cold, though it can have a mild laxative effect.

How much to take

• It depends on heat, in cold, you can get away without any extra. Though, these days, I will take some, even if it is one bottle with a half a sample.
• It depends on body type. Some are heavier sweaters. I’m relatively thin and don’t sweat so much.
• It is important to choose electrolyte with all main electrolytes.
• I prefer electrolytes without sugar or sweeter so I can add to energy powder or tap water. I got some Science in Sport electrolytes and added them to my Science in Sport energy powder without (electrolytes). It was sucrolose sweetener on top of another sweeter (yuck!)
• Check energy powder. Some varieties include electrolytes, some don’t. I bought some SIS energy powder, but it has no electrolyte within mix.

Good Electrolyte tablets

It annoys me a little that

• Electrolyte tablets are so expensive, when there is no good reason.
• It’s hard to find any without artificial sweetener in. I bought some Torq Electrolyte powder from a local shop, but can’t find it online.

Related

• Electrolytes at Wiggle

Cycling articles

• Cycling nutrition

The post Hydration with Electrolytes appeared first on Cycling uphill.

I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Possibly I caught a chill when cycling back to HQ in skin suit on a deceptively cold day. But, I’m not sure; I didn’t really feel cold. I didn’t eat anything dodgy – just a few recovery bars. The most likely contender is either I picked up viral infection or it was bacterial infection from a water bottle I used during warm up and recovery.

I remember getting a water bottle out of cupboard and scraping some grime away with finger. In winter, it’s hard not to pick this kind of stuff up. It’s impossible to keep water bottles immaculate. In fact the dispiriting thing about cleaning water bottles is that they can still look quite manky – even after a good clean. Periodically I throw them away, and buy new water bottles.

I do endeavour to always clean water bottles straight after use in hot soapy water, but occasionally after long hard ride, I forget (or just want to collapse and eat). The bottle gets left in warm conservatory, which is very bad for breeding bacteria. (warmth + moisture)

I’ve never experienced this before, and it may not be due to water bottle contamination, but it has certainly motivated me to give a deep clean to all the bottles.

Tips for water bottle hygiene

• Empty and rinse straight after use, especially if you added any sugary solution to water bottle.
• Hot tap water (which contains small amount of chlorine, should kill most bacteria).
• Occasionally, I leave water bottles to soak in very dilute bleach solution to give me more confidence they are gone. If you don’t like bleech, white vinegar is said to be good alternative.
• Make sure dry. Drying is an important as cleaning. If the water bottles and caps are completely dry, that will kill a lot of harmful bacteria. It is moisture which allows them to thrive
• A problem can be if you place a cap back on water bottle before all water is evaporated and dry. This keeps bottle moist and allows bacteria to grow. Water bottles with narrow necks can be harder to dry than say a plate. You really have to shake to get all drops out.
• The hardest thing is not so much the bottle as the cap, it has nooks and crannies where water and dirt can get lodged.
• There are some water bottles designed for better hygiene. Like this Lifeline Hygiene bottle.
• If you’re worried, you could use sterilising tablets like these, though if you wash bottles properly, it shouldn’t be necessary.
• A cheaper way to buy new water bottles is to look for special package deals with gels + water bottle. Like this package for £3.49. Wiggle – High 5 Bottle bundle.  The only downside is I have a lot of caffeinated gels I never get round to using.

Four days in bed

It was quite a bad illness, and I spent past four days in bed mostly, with some exception to watch a bit of cycling on TV. It was so bad, I even went to the doctor. The doctor said he thought it was a viral infection and unlikely to be bacterially, so it appears it wasn’t my water bottles after all. Still, it’s good to keep on top of them.

During illness it was handy having electrolyte tablets and some maltodextrin in the cupboards to help deal with the worst of the gastro-intestine-turmoils.

Cycling on TV

So Mikel Landa did a good time trial in the Giro and then next day gets a viral infection. Bad luck, I say. But, it still looks to be an exciting race in the mountains with quite a few good quality contenders.

The post Water bottle hygiene appeared first on Cycling uphill.

• Weight gain / obesity (not an issue for myself)
• Blood sugar spikes affecting mood and energy levels
• Diabetes and a whole host of health problem.

For me the main issue with processed sugar is the spikes in blood sugar which can disrupt metabolism and give you both surges of energy and then crashes afterwards. Even though I don’t put on weight from eating sugar, I don’t think too much is healthy.

I quite like eating a bit of cake, and the odd biscuit, but the thing that seems strange to me is the huge quantities of sugar put in savoury items. For breakfast, I always dig out the no-added sugar muesli and no-added sugar soya milk. Some dried fruit is enough to make the muesli sweat and tasty, adding even more processed sugar seems unnecessary.

Yesterday, I bought a black bean source from Tesco – ‘All the finest ingredients’. This is a bit of a joke because the biggest ingredient (after water) was sugar. In one serving (half a jar) there is 30 grams of carbohydrate which sugars. This is 33% of your recommended daily intake in just a sauce!

To put that into context, it is like making your evening meal and then adding 8 teaspoons of sugar on to the sauce. Or, it’s the equivalent of three kit-kats (6 fingers).You can get a better taste from Vegetarian gravy and onion frying a few vegetables.

If I’m going to take 8 teaspoons of sugar, I’d rather stick to the three kit-kats than get a sugar hit from a Chinese sauce.

This black bean sauce is not a one off, I looked at other sauces like Tomato and Basil, and there is a very high level of sugar (20-25 grams) per serving.

Sugar is even added to granary bread. But at relatively low levels of 1-2grams it doesn’t seem such an issue. But, when you are putting 30grams in a pot of ‘low-fat yoghurt’ or cooking sauces, it seems something has gone wrong.

Getting used to the taste of sugar

Another element is that you can get used to certain tastes. If all your food is heavily sugar laden, this is what you begin to crave, and if the sugar is missing, you don’t think it tastes so good. But, if you avoid sugar in savoury items, you can learn to enjoy the taste of food as it is supposed to be. There was a time when I didn’t like vegetables, and would want Heinz Baked beans (with lots of added sugar). But, now the baked beans taste too sweet and sickly; there is great flavour in savoury foods and well-cooked vegetables. It’s sad if the only taste we can enjoy is sugar.

The problem is that as a food manufacturer if you want to appeal to the easiest palate to appease – just shove a load of sugar in your food and you can’t go wrong (from a commercial perspective). If you leave sugar out, people don’t think it tastes so good and sales go down. So it’s a crazy system where you there is an incentive to add ever-increasing amounts of sugar to food like cereal, sauces, ‘low fat yogurts’ e.t.c. So much sugar has been added that it has changed the nations palette, so that we crave sugar. But, it is very bad for health, and also it is completely unnecessary for creating attractive and tasty food.

Protein bars and sugar

I always assumed that a protein bar / protein sugar was a good source of protein and a low GI food, but actually you can also be taking a lot of processed sugar in these.

I noticed that the Power Bar Protein (Amazon link) was particularly tasty. I really enjoy eating. I looked at label and realised there is 19 gram of sugars. With a host of added sugars in the ingredient list  – including sugar, fructose, cane invert syrup, oligofructose, maltitol syrup. It includes fractionated palm kernel oil for good measure.

In a bar there is 19g of carb which sugars and 17 gram of protein.

When you eat a protein bar, you think it is a healthy snack, and don’t realise it is also like eating two kit kats. You do need  carbohydrate in recovery, as well as protein. But, slow release carbs would probably be better than these direct sugars.

I looked at another protein bar – Cliff Protein Bar which doesn’t taste as good. But, interestingly it had a similar level of added sugars (21 grams per bar). So the one that tasted really good, didn’t have much more sugar than the other one.

Also, perhaps in response to concerns like this, you can get reduced sugar Protein bars – with just 9gram of carb per protein bar (3 grams which sugars).

Sugar can come in many forms, such as (but not limited to)

• corn sugar / syrup
• dextrose
• fructose
• glucose
• high-fructose glucose syrup
• honey
• maple syrup
• agave syrup
• invert sugar
• isoglucose
• levulose
• maltose
• molasses
• sucrose

Other surprising sources of sugar

• Barbecue sauce – some small packs can contain  8 grams of added sugar
• Flavoured yogurt – 20grams per 200g pot.
• Some brands of Granola: 5 teaspoons (19 grams) of added sugar in 1 cup
• Some large ‘chai’ drinks can contain up to 25 teaspoons of sugar (Guardian)

Added sugar and cycling

As a general rule, when training and resting, it is advisable to get energy needs from healthy foods – complex carbs, protein, and minimise processed foods, and in particular minimise added sugar. When doing endurance training it is good to improve your capacity to gain fuel from fat burning and complex carbs. If you go out on long training, you could eat cake all day, in the sense you burn off the calories, but it is better to train without these instant processed sugars.

However, when racing or intense interval sessions, this is the time to make use of high GI sugars, because it will be used straight away and will not be stored creating the problems of taking sugar when sedentary.

The good news is that if you are cycling several hours a day, you will get through a lot more calories, and there is greater scope for ‘burning off’ added sugars. But, even so, it is a food source of low nutritional value, and it is better to get a diet which doesn’t have added sugar as such a staple item.

Related articles

• A good cycling breakfast
• Cycling food

Economics of sugar tax

On my economics blog, I wrote in favour of a tax on sugar

The post Hidden sugars in food appeared first on Cycling uphill.

But, in the past few years, pasta has been getting a bad press. The new cycling teams eat rice, lentils, quinoa, buckwheat, yam flour of the Japanese konnyaku imotuber – anything apart from the gluten heavy pasta.

When I read Geraint Thomas’ book, one thing that struck me was the disdain felt towards the Italian teams who are stuck in the past chugging their way through big plates of pasta. It seems eating a plate of pasta, is a cardinal sin within Team Sky, who are more at home with vegetable juices, celery and any of these non-gluten superfoods.

To some extent I have also found myself doing the same. I rarely eat pasta these days, preferring rice and lentils. A packet of pasta can sit in the cupboard for several months – only on rare occasions do I take it.

It is worth noting that once professional cyclists swore by eating raw steak for breakfast. So it does show that the prevailing opinion doesn’t necessarily have a scientific backing.

What’s wrong with pasta?

The argument is that pasta is harder to digest because of the high wheat and gluten content. There is a whole industry devoted to speaking of the ills of gluten and modern forms of wheat. (The old forms of wheat were OK apparently, but the new forms are so heavily modified that they have changed the complexion of the food). Many people find it harder to digest this modern form of wheat and in recent years there has been an upsurge in gluten intolerance (either real or imagined)

According to this site, the problem with pasta includes

• Is made from processed flour
• Contains gluten
• Is difficult for many people to digest
• Creates a sticky “sludge” in your digestive tract
• Encourages the growth of pathogenic bacteria and yeast (microflora) in your gut
• The heavy processing of white flour has removed most nutrients and minerals.
• It is quite high calorie

Does pasta get a bad press?

• Pasta is made from a different wheat to bread. It is made from Durum which is closer to the old wild grasses than wheat used for bread.
• It depends how you take your pasta. If you have a sugar rich tomato sauce, it’s not so good. But, pasta with salad and healthy sauce is different.
• Pasta has a low glycemic index of 25-45, making it a good slow release carbohydrate. This compares to a GI for potatoes of up to 80.
• Pasta has been a staple in the diet of Mediterranean countries for many years. Obesity rates are quite low. It is only the younger generation who have shifted to more American style fast food, who have started to put on weight.
• Pasta gives feeling of being full after a relatively low number of calories, compared to other foods.

Personal experience

I was motivated to write this short post after 10 days in Sicily. I usually avoid pasta, but in Sicily I ended up eating for both lunch and dinner. I didn’t feel any sluggishness of heaviness in the stomach. It was helped by the fact that there was really good selection of other foods to go with the pasta, salad, tofu, e.t.c. It was half pasta, half other raw vegetables e.t.c

10 days in Sicily is a very unscientific study, and back in the UK the attraction of pasta is somewhat diminished. But, maybe pasta isn’t so bad after all.

Related

• Cycling food
• Cycling nutrition

The post Is pasta a good cycling food? appeared first on Cycling uphill.

France is a marvellous country, and I had a really fantastic time in the Pyrenees – but for a country which prides itself on its cuisine, breakfast is really hopeless – and not at all good for cycling.

We stayed in a typical French Gite, very nice owners, but what do you get served up for breakfast?

• A small croissant, white bread, butter and jam. Coffee. (breakfast was not even on a plate, just on the table. very French)

This is the worst possible breakfast for a cyclist. It is just high GI glucose which will raise your blood sugar levels, and then when you start cycling, the blood sugar will drop off. Eating French bread is nutritionally similar to eating a plate of jelly beans.

Let us look at the GI Index of some different breakfast possibilities.

• Low GI less than 55
• Medium 55-70
• High 70+

Generally, unprocessed foods – food with fibre will have a low GI index.

List of foods

1. French baguette, white  – 95
2. Whole wheat bread, average – 71
3. 100% Whole Grain  bread (Natural Ovens) – 51
4. Oatmeal, average – 55
5. Instant oatmeal, average – 83
6. Mashed potato – 81
7. Old fashioned porridge – 51
8. Fat free milk – 32
9. Muesli average – 66
10. Honey – 61
11. Banana, ripe – 62
12. Apple – 39
13. Raisins – 64
14. Raspberry – 26
15. Blueberry
16. Brown rice, average – 50
17. lentils – 29
18. Dates – 100

GI index of foods can vary. You will see slightly different measures depending on where you look, but it is interesting. (GI Index)

• Firstly GI index is a measurement of how foods effect our blood sugar levels. Some foods like white bread will have an immediate effect on the blood sugar levels in our body. These have a high GI index.
• Other foods, with the same amount of total carbohydrates, will have a lower and more sustained impact on blood sugar levels. These have a low GI index.

Advantage of low GI breakfast

• Sustained energy release throughout the day.
• Avoid spikes and troughs in blood sugar levels.
• Avoid the feeling of hunger when blood sugar drops.
• You will feel fuller for longer – helping to avoid overconsumption of carbohydrates. Fibrous foods help you to feel full for longer. Highly processed carbohydrates make it easier to pile on the calories.
• High GI foods can be addictive – to meet sugar crashes, you later want a donut, a few hours after breakfast.
• Low GI foods, high in fibre are good for other aspects of health, such as colon cancer.

Good cycling breakfasts

Porridge – with milk / soya milk. Porridge made with rolled oats, will give sustained energy over time. You can sprinkle some fruits like grated apple, blueberries e.t.c on top for some natural low GI sugars.

Muesli (no added sugar varieties) – similar to porridge, oats, wheat flakes, barley e.t.c. With nuts and fruits. This is slightly higher GI than porridge, but is a tasty way to start the day. I mix my own muesli with a higher proportion of big oat flakes to get lower GI.

Some multi-grain bread – If you fancy some slices of bread, choose multi-grain, wholemeal.

Protein bars / protein drinks. Sometimes on the way to a race, when you want a snack, I go for a protein bar / protein drink, as this is a way to get a moderate GI index.

Pasta? When I started cycling 20 years ago, the super cycling food was pasta. I thought the best thing for breakfast would be to eat cold pasta. I stopped this a long time ago. Pasta from wheat is a little harder to digest. You don’t want to overwork your stomach in the morning.

French breakfast. It should be noted that the French breakfast was not the end of the world, I still managed a five hour cycle ride, without noticing much difference, but next time you visit the continent – don’t forget your supply of oats – That’s my top tip for the day.

Related pages

• Cycling Nutrition
• Energy consumption whilst cycling
• Cycling food

The post Cycling breakfast appeared first on Cycling uphill.

According to this small study, in a 10 km time trial, cyclists reduced their average times from 965 seconds to 953 seconds – quite a significant time gap. (Pro rata – works out at nearly 1 minute for 25 mile TT)

“The amount of oxygen required 
to sustain 
sub-maximal exercise 
(ie at 45 per cent and 65 per cent of maximum power) was lower when the active beetroot juice was consumed. More importantly, though, was the finding that compared results to the placebo drink. The active beetroot juice significantly enhanced time trial 
performance – the 
average time recorded fell from 965 seconds to 953 seconds. This was confirmed by the fact that the average power output during the time trials 
rose from 288 watts in the 
placebo trial to 294 watts in the active beetroot juice trial. Again, this was a 
significant improvement.”

This study gave cyclists a drink of beetroot juice two hours before the test. In one group the nitrate was removed from the beetroot juice. In the other group, the natural nitrate was left in the beetroot juice. The group with nitrate in, managed to reduce their times.

The theory is that nitrate helps muscles work more efficiently using less oxygen to produce the same amount of power. When scientists from the University of Exeter researched Beetroot juice, they found it improved the endurance capacity of athletes; they believed the benefits were the result of the nitrate turning into nitric oxide in the body, reducing how much oxygen is burned up by exercise.

The first study on beets suggested that 500 mL of beet juice each day may lead to a 15% increase in the time taken to reach exhaustion [1]

Like many other fresh fruit and vegetables, beetroot juice is high in antioxidants which helps to reduce blood pressure. It is supposed to be very good at reducing high blood pressure, especially amongst men who have high pressure already.  The benefits should be seen with other vegetables which have high nitrate content such as celery, lettuce, spinach.

Side effects of taking too much beetroot juice include urine colour changing, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

Like any supplements, it is hard to quantify how much benefit an individual athlete will get. Some studies on long-distance time trialling are less conclusive suggesting beetroot juice has no benefit. (2) (for 1 hour TT)

Personal Use of Beetroot Juice

In 2011, I used beetroot juice for several races. This included setting a pb for 10 miles of 20.07. I didn’t do any harm. I was in great shape when taking beetroot juice and I set some really fast times. However, there are so many variables, I can only guess whether it was beetroot juice or the quality of training. I think it’s definitely worth giving a go.

However, I stopped using beetroot juice because it frequently caused mild diarrhoea. (I am susceptible to this kind of stomach problems) Any nitrate benefit was outweighed by this side effect. It may be that you are not affected at all. But, don’t wait to the national championships to down a few litres of beetroot juice… I wrote about effect of beetroot juice on performance back in

2011

****

Blog from 2011 on beetroot juice

Suitably impressed by  benefits of beetroot juice, I decided to hold my very own, not quite as scientific, study.

This week, I paid £3.50 for a bottle of organic beetroot juice from Holland & Barrett. I drank the beetroot juice for four days before a 10 mile time trial on Sat, 18th June. The course was the F20/10 in Hertfordshire.

I finished in first place with a time of 20.07. This was a new personal best at 10 miles (previous was 20.09 last year on U47). It was also over 1 minute quicker than my previous two 10 mile time trials (I did 21.13 and 21.17 this year)

Scientific Conclusions of this unique study

1. Beetroot Juice definitely turns your urine pink.
2. Organic Beetroot juice is expensive and doesn’t even taste nice, for want of a better description it tastes like highly concentrated beetroot.

What about Performance?

• A minute quicker than previous 10 mile time trials is encouraging. Unfortunately, the time trials are not comparable. The courses are different. The F20/10 is flat and the turn is really quick. Yesterday, it was a windy evening, but it felt quite fast. Also, I’m always faster later in day than in morning like last time trial.
• I made a few tweaks to my position and used some new aerodynamic equipment (aero gloves) I will be reviewing soon.
• Nevertheless, it’s really nice to set a new pb, and it definitely encourages me to try it again. It definitely didn’t make me feel any slower!

F20/10

On the way to the race, I nearly turned round because there were some strong rain and threatening clouds. However, the weather forecast had said clear skies and sun for the time of the race so I persevered. By my start time, it had more or less stopped raining. If was still raining I may have dns because it is not so safe on dual carriageways when wet. Quite a few riders decided not to race at all, and I can understand why.

I didn’t warm up for race apart from 3 miles down A10 to start. The road surface was pretty good apart from a section of lumpy bits at about 7 miles, but it didn’t last for long.

30mph Target

The funny thing is on finishing I was really disappointed not to get a ’19′ – this is a magic target because it means you averaged over 30mph for ride. Hopefully, if I keep downing the beetroot, keep improving aerodynamics, a less windy day, and even a bit more training and I should hopefully do it later in the year.

Thanks to marshals for standing out on a dual carriageway on their Saturday evening. It was also really nice to have a spectator on side of road jingling some Swiss cow bells. The A10 on a Saturday night is not exactly Alpe d’Huez with closed roads, but I really appreciated someone creating a little atmosphere, just after turn.

Beetroot Juice Capsules

• Beetroot juice capsules £8.79 at Wiggle

Links

• Beetroot juice at Amazon.co.uk
• BBC Nitrate helps reduce blood pressure
• Beetroot juice boost stamina

[1] Bailey, S.J., Winyard, P., Vanhatalo, A., Blackwell, J.R., Dimenna, F.J., Wilkerson, D.P., Tarr, J., Benjamin, N., Jones, A.M. (2009). Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low ­intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high­ intensity exercise in humans. J Appl Physiol, 107(4), 1144­1155.

The post Benefits of beetroot juice appeared first on Cycling uphill.

• Raw steaks for breakfast (Raw steaks were also allegedly used as a primitive treatment for saddle sores)
• Minestrone soup for lunch
• Pasta and red meat for dinner.

A more modern cycling diet may look something like:

Breakfast

• Fresh fruit
• Porridge  with soya milk, sprinkled with blueberries
• Toast / eggs

Lunch

• Quinoa / rice / salad
• Or maybe no lunch just eating energy bars on the bike

Dinner

• Lentils / rice / quinoa e.t.c.
• Lean white meat / fish
• Potatoes
• Vegetables

My vegetarian diet

I follow a vegetarian diet, so my protein comes from egg whites, milk/whey powder (recovery drinks), quorn, soya, lentils, nuts and other stuff. I also like to eat a lot of organic vegetables, lightly fried so that most of vitamins and minerals are still there. An average day for me might include:

Breakfast

• No added sugar muesli  (with soya milk and maybe blueberries / raspberries).
• See also: Cycling Breakfast – or French breakfasts are rubbish.

Lunch

• Eggs on toast
• Soup and bread / salad
• Fried sausage and bread

Dinner

Lentils or rice, vegetarian sausages, fake meat, lightly fried vegetables, quorn and vegetarian gravy. If I’m in Yorkshire, my mother may make Yorkshire pudding and stuffing which is a real bonus.

Pudding: Carrot cake / dark chocolate kit kats.

Pudding – is it allowed?

To serious procyclists, pudding or any sweet foods may be completely off the menu. I’m lucky in that my metabolism can burn away just about any quantity of sugar. So, even if I eat carrot cake, I don’t put on weight.

Tips for cycling food

1. Use your common sense. Eat a good balance of healthy foods is the best way to get all the minerals and vitamins needed.
2. Consider how to maintain constant energy levels – avoid spikes in blood sugar levels. I try to eat more lower GI foods. Convenience food like white bread/ sugar – tends to be higher GI
   Glycaemic Index  – Foods with a high glycaemic index increase the blood sugars rapidly. Foods with a low glycaemic index raise blood sugar levels gradually over a period of time. Therefore, before the start of a ride and at the beginning of a ride it is good to eat foods with relatively low glycaemic index. These foods include: apples, bran, spaghetti, baked beans.
   1. For example, brown bread is a lower GI index than white bread. Therefore, it is better to switch to brown bread before a ride.
   2. Foods with a high glycaemic index are better eaten at the end of a ride. High GI foods include: bananas, potatoes, jelly beans.
   3. Getting constant energy levels and avoiding blood sugar spikes is helpful for cycling.
3. Right balance protein / carbohydrates.  One mistake cyclists can make is to just eat carbohydrates; but for recovery and long term good health, you will need a mix of carbohydrates and protein. The diet of some procyclists, e.g. Team Sky is relatively low in carbohydrates, especially on days when they are not riding too much. Keeping carbohydrates low is the most effective way to avoid weight gain.
4. Avoid too many simple sugars. When you are very active, it is tempting to feel that you will burn off simple sugars, found in sweets and chocolates. However, even though you may burn off the calories, it is important to bear in mind these foods have nil nutritional value and can cause fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which is not always desirable. It is better to base calorie intake primarily on complex carbohydrates such as grains, lentils and  pasta. These provide steady blood sugar levels and not just an immediate ‘hit’
5. Good balance – When doing long rides, it is good to take a balance of foods. For example, I like the ‘natural raw food bars’ pictured left. It makes a good change to the maltodextrin based energy bars and drinks usually found in cycling. A good balance of food is important both physically and psychologically.
6. Little and often – It is often stated that the body can absorb  60-80 grams of carbohydrate an hour. For training rides of two hours or less, it is not needed to eat. In fact riding without taking on sugar will help improve your fat burning capacity – which is a good part of training. However, for long rides of 3 hours plus, you shouldn’t wait until you feel hungry because then it will be too late. The body can only process a limited amount of cars an hour, so for hard rides, you should try to achieve this every hour. If you eat 200 grams all at once, the body won’t be able to process it, and it will be counter-productive. This is important for races lasting over 2 hours such as a 100 mile time trial. There is only so much food the body can take per hour, therefore, there should be a constant supply of food.

See more on: Energy consumption whilst cycling

What are good foods to eat when cycling?

• Bananas (a GI index of 60
• Muesli bars (mixture of food, slow release carbs and higher release raisins.)
• Sandwich rolls e.g. jam sandwiches, banana sandwiches,
• Apples.
• Malt loaf.
• Custom energy bars. Tend to be expensive, but can choose bars which have mixture of carbs and protein. I often buy similar bars, which are not specifically manufactured for athletes. These tend to be cheaper. For example, Fruesli bars, Nutri Grain bars e.t.c.
• Liquid energy / maltodextrin.. – The simplest way to take on board energy. Good for short races where digestion is difficult.
• Recovery bars / recovery drinks. For a 2-3 hour ride, I often take recovery bars to eat towards the end of the ride. It is good to start taking on protein to aid recovery.

What happened to pasta?

When I started cycling in the 1990s, I thought pasta was the ‘superfood’ of cycling. It is a complex carbohydrate which enables long-lasting energy sources. However, in recent years, it has fallen out of favour amongst some cycling teams. The logic is that pasta is quite a ‘heavy’ starch / gluten, which is more difficult for the gut to digest. Therefore, gluten free carbs have been preferred, hence the growth in rice / lentils, quinoa, buckwheat e.t.c.

Italian teams still stick to pasta by all accounts. It may also depend on how tolerant you are of digesting gluten. The pasta scare may be slightly over-done. I sometimes have pasta, though have got into a habit of red lentils and pasta.

Eating for recovery

It is just as important to eat food for recovery as it is food before and during a race. I recommend taking a recovery drinks after hard ride. This enables and easy absorption of carbohydrates and protein; it also helps to re-hydrates. See: Recovery drinks

Super Foods

In the past few decades, supermarkets have become very successful in marketing certain types of foodsas  ‘super-foods’. It appeals to that part of us, which thinks we can make ourself wonderfully healthy and faster cyclists, simply by eating some Peruvian waterbeans grown in moss-covered peat. Of course, it’s not as simply as that, but a good diet can definitely help.

A plate of superfoods for lunch.

A cynic might suggest to be a super food requires some or all of the following characteristics.

• Primarily bought from health food stops.
• To be twice as expensive as normal foods.
• To have an exotic name and label, preferably grown in a suitably exotic location of the world.
• To be endorsed by some celebrity chef or nutritional expert.
• To taste ‘healthy’ i.e. not particularly great, so the best way to get people to eat it is to call it a super food.

Despite a healthy ‘scepticism’ about superfoods, I’m still intrigued by the idea, and am an enthusiast (or mug) for buying expensive super-foods. If nothing else it is food for the mind. You get a certain mental satisfaction out of chewing your way through some raw wheat grass. I mean if it tastes of grass, it must be good for you right?

In this regard, Marks & Spencers has created a niche as being the leading purveyor of expensively packaged cous-cous and raw carrot super-food mixtures in the world. BTW: Who would have thought it that at Britain’s motorway service stations, you can now buy a meal of wild blue green algae with Spirulina? Whatever happened to that ritual of clot-inducing fry ups and a mug of warm tea? Marks & Spencers on the motorway service station is the silent revolution of British cuisine. It’s easy to mock, but when I go to the US, I miss this assortment of easy to buy healthy foods.

Some Real Super Foods

• Honey – moderate GI index. A natural source of sugar. Apparantely, native Russian beekeepers who aet a diet of honey regularly live past 100!
• Apples – An apple a day keeps the doctor a way. Great low GI energy source, and packed with naturally occurring Vitamin C and other antioxidants. Cheaper than more exotic fruits often labelled ‘superfoods’ but just as effective.
• Brazil Nuts
• Bananas. Where would cyclists be without bananas? Not just great for nutrition, but also good for sticking down your back jersey pocket, and then seeing how far you can throw the banana skin into nearby field.
• Yogurt. Good for the gut.
• Tea / Green Tea
• Wheat grass
• Bulgar Wheat
• Beetroot / Beetroot juice
• Green vegetables – broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, rocket, lettuce, Swiss Chard.
• Salmon – or Omega 3 supplements
• Wholegrain seeded bread. Switching from a processed white loaf (high GI) to wholegrain seeded bread, is easiest ways to improve diet.
• Seaweed – high in calcium. The chemical composition of seaweed is very close to human blood plasma and helps regulate blood.
• Blueberries – high in antioxidants.
• Marmalade sandwiches – the pre-race snack of Graeme Obree before his world hour record.
• Dark chocolate with over 70% cocoa content. Not all super-foods have to be boring.

Super foods are often over-exaggerated. You don’t become an amazing cyclist by eating some secret combination of ‘super-foods’ However, it is good to eat a variety of fruits and pulses with high-anti-oxidants and good mineral source.

Snacks during a ride

These are the main snacks I take on a ride. Power bars, protein bars, bananas. I buy them in boxes of 24. I also take some of the (non-cycling specific) nutri-grains or Fruesli bars because they are cheaper. I take liquid energy snacks when I’m doing intervals or really hard rides when the stomach is under greater stress.

• See also: energy bars for cycling

Evening food before long ride

Before a long ride, I will have a good source of complex carbohydrates (e.g. lentil / rice mix) or some pasta. Avoid temptation to eat much more than usual. You will just give yourself stomach problems, which won’t help. Sometimes for early morning race, I have a small bowl of oats for supper. Rather than have super big meal.

Eat for the next day

Don’t just think about the present day; think about how your food will affect your ride on the next day.  If you have a long ride for tomorrow, eat good quantities of complex carbohydrates the day or two preceding.

How much to eat?

You can consume double the amount of usual calories during a 100 mile ride. During the Tour de France, riders can consume up to 7,000 calories a day. At this kind of intensity it can become difficult to replace as many calories as burnt.

Supplements

When it comes to supplements, I don’t really take anything. My mother buys me multivitamins and about once a month I take one. I’ve experimented with Beta-Alanine and Beetroot juice, but gave up after a couple of months. I like the idea of not taking any supplements. If I had poor health, I would listen to suggestions about missing food groups / vitamins. But, I don’t want to start taking anything like creatine or the like.

Related

• Cycling nutrition tips

Cycling Food

• Energy bars / Recovery food at Wiggle.co.uk
• Recovery and Energy Drinks at Evans Cycles

The post Cycling food appeared first on Cycling uphill.

I eat a lot of protein bars. Not just for recovery, but on longer rides of three hours plus. Perhaps because I get fed up with just eating all the simple sugars and carbohydrates, it feels good to be eating a more well balanced bit of food. Protein bars have the advantage of being lower GI than most energy bars so you get a slower release of energy without the surges and spikes of sugar.

I had two flavours – Mint Chocolate and Chocolate. It tastes quite pleasant, nothing amazing, but quite palatable for an energy bar. I preferred the non-mint version – though the mint version is still quite mild.

Like many protein bars, it requires quite a bit of chewing and eating. It’s not something to eat in a race because it doesn’t slip down easily. It feels quite compact and it’s a big job to get it all down. Having said that, a protein bar is really for after a workout rather than during it. You will also need to take water with eating it. It means quite a lot is packed into the 68 gram bars. The main thing is 20 gram of soy protein which is quite a lot of protein for a protein bar.

It is based on soy protein. As I take quite a lot of whey protein products, it’s good to have a variety of protein. Even if just because ‘Whey can make you a bit windy.’ and it’s good to have something different for a change.

If you’re looking to avoid wheat and diary these make a good choice. Even if you don’t have any wheat / dairy intolerances, there’s a benefit from diversifying diet away from just the wheat / diary staples.

The second biggest ingredient is beet juice concentrate which is all the rage as a natural supplement for making you go faster. Then there is brown rice syrup and cane syrup for the simple sugars. It doesn’t taste particularly sweet though.

The packaging states it doesn’t have trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils, though I’ve never paid too much attention to that aspect of nutrition.

Overall

Quite happy to keep using this recovery bar. I recognise most of ingredients and it’s pleasant enough to eat. The only main drawback is the price £22 for 12 bars make it nearly £2 per bar. However, they are pretty chunky and contain a lot of protein. One is pretty solid.

Main Ingredients

• Soy protein isolate
• Beet juice concentrate

Ingredients: Soy Protein Isolate, Beet Juice Concentrate, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Rolled Oats, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa, Organic Soy Protein Concentrate, Vegetable Glycerin, Natural Flavors, Organic Dry Roasted Almonds, Rice Starch, Cocoa Butter, Inulin (Chicory Extract), Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Sunflower Oil, Soy Lecithin, Salt

Per 68g

• Energy 273 Kcal
• Fat – 9 grams
• Carbohydrate – 27 grams
• of which sugars – 21 g
• Fibre 2g
• Protein – 20g
• Salt – 0.5g

Buying online

• Clif builders bar at Wiggle 12 bars at £21.98

Related pages

• Recovery drinks

The post Clif builders Protein Bar review appeared first on Cycling uphill.

There are quite a few different recovery drinks to choose from. They will all have some combination of carbohydrate / protein. The most common recovery drinks are based on carb (maltodextrin/ fructose) and whey protein. There are also soy recovery drinks. The most important thing is not so much choosing the ‘right’ brand, but just making sure you take something in the right quantity.

High 5 Recovery

The High 5 Recovery sachets are pretty handy. Often I take a recovery drink after a race. Having a few sachets in your bag, makes it easy to make a drink without carrying a large carton or recovery powder.

It is very easy to mix. Just put some powder in, give a little stir, and it’s ready to go. It tastes very pleasant and is easy on the palate. Often I find recovery drinks hard work, but this is very easy to drink. The taste is fairly neutral and not-sweet, just easy to take down. The nutrition is the most common combination of carb (maltodextrin and fructose) and whey isolate protein. They say whey protein is better protein than beef, so it makes a good recovery drink. Some sports drinks can be acidic. But, High 5 recovery mixed with milk is neutral, which makes it welcoming post hard ride. It is similar to High 5 4:1, but has a higher protein content. It has roughly a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein. It is probably my preferred recovery drink.

• High 5 recovery sachets  9*60g £12.75 at Wiggle

The High 5 4:1, you could use as a recovery drink. I sometimes use as last bottle on a long ride, to help start the recovery.

Milk

Skimmed milk is an excellent recovery drink – and also cheap!

Milk contains a blend of casein and whey, which have amino acids in a pattern similar to muscle protein. Milk is quite a dilute recovery drink, in that 100ml provides just 1.7g of protein and 4.5 of carbohydrate. But, the advantage is that (skimmed milk)  makes it easy on the stomach making it less likely to cause stomach bloating or stress. (benefits of milk at Bike Radar) Milk also has many micro-nutrients that are helpful.

Soy based Recovery drinks

I sometimes get a soya based recovery drink, more for variety than anything. I find the problem with too much whey Protein is that it can make you a bit windy, if you know what I mean.

SIS Recovery drink.

I was impressed with this recovery drink. It is a mixture of complex carbohydrates, soy protein, and electrolytes. There’s a long list of ingredients which makes you feel it must be doing a lot of good things. Tasted a bit like the soy protein powders I used to take – which is fine.

However, quite a few studies suggest soy is not as effective as whey based recovery drinks, so I haven’t used this for a while.

SIS recovery powder tub at Wiggle

Torq Recovery Drink

A whey based recovery product with micro nutrients such as

• L-Glutamine (an amino acid)
• D-Ribose (a naturally-occurring sugar)

and in the Recovery plus – beta alanine, HMB and Sodium Phosphate

I quite like the Torq recovery plus. You make it like hot cocoa; it is particularly appealing in winter after a long cold training ride. In summer a hot drink is less appealing, but I’ve got through quite a few tubs during winter training.

Torq recovery plus at Wiggle

Coconut water

Coconut water is good for replacing lost electrolytes and de-acidifying the stomach. It is worth having a few in the fridge on hot days, it can be quite refreshing, especially when you fancy something different.

Elivar recovery

The Elivar recovery drink is formulated for over 35s. It has the highest ratio of protein to carb 1:1, and doesn’t contain any fructose. I reviewed Elivar drinks here.

One 65 gram serving provides:

• 28 gram of carb
• 14g of which is sugar

• 27 gram of protein

Benefits of taking recovery drinks

The benefit of taking recovery drinks are:

• After a race or long ride, you don’t feel like eating, but, the first hour after a ride is said to be the most important time for taking on food and water.
• The alternative is often eating cakes on sale at races. These drinks are better for you in that they are not just simple sugars. I find when you’re looking for snacks you often end up eating just simple sugars which are not very good for you.
• Electrolytes help replenish lost salts.
• Usually, after a race, I’m driving home. A recovery drink is easy to sip on the way home. It is better than waiting an hour or longer before starting to eat.
• Easily digestible on the stomach.
• Psychological benefit to taking an expensive recovery drink helps you think you are maximising your recovery from a hard session.

Garmin Sharp Recovery video

Related pages

• Cycling nutrition
• Cycling hydration
• Energy consumption whilst cycling

External links

• Recovery drinks at Wiggle

The post Best recovery drinks appeared first on Cycling uphill.

The good news is that cycling is one of the better sports to do in the heat. At least you get a cooling effect from the wind – something you don’t get so much when running.

Heat in the Tour de France

On the BBC, there’s a good article by Geraint Thomas on riding in the Tour de France with temperatures nudging 35 degrees +

Thomas writes that:

“I had been drinking around three bottles of fluid every hour – 1.5 litres – to keep myself hydrated and to ride at that threshold. (BBC link)

For a six hour stages, that’s 18 bottles or 9 litres. That’s tough for whoever is on water bottle carrying duty that day.

Even with all that water, Thomas says his head felt as if it was going to explode. It’s one thing to ride in the heat, it’s another thing to ride at threshold in the heat. Thomas says he got used to the heat a bit, riding in the Tour down Under. But, even a professional with the best possible backup and experience, still finds it really tough; that’s an element of riding in the heat – it is always going to be a bit harder.

Tips for riding in the heat

• The need for water can increase dramatically. Once the temperature goes above a certain level, you can need much more than usual. It’s not necessarily a linear progression The danger is that you just take the usual amount, plus a bit more. Thomas writes that he was getting three bottles an hour. Just to emphasise – that is really a lot. But, the amount you need is quite an individual thing. To put it bluntly some people sweat more than others.
• Consider increasing your water carrying capacity. In winter, you can get away with one or two bottle cages, but if you need to be drinking 2 bottles an hour, it can become a real pain, having to keep stopping. For a pro, like Thomas it’s much easier when you have a team car and people to pass you water. For a lone, unsupported rider, it’s a bit more of a pain to keep stopping. If you’re going to be riding a lot in the heat, consider 1000ml bottles (I use this 1L SIS water bottle – good on down tube, but gets in way on the seat tube) or an additional rear mounted bottle cage, so you don’t have to stop so much.
• Electrolytes. When you’re drinking extra quantities of water, you need to take water with electrolytes in. If you just take plain water, you can deplete your salt levels and this can create real problems. A litre of sweat can contain up to about 800 mg of sodium (depending on person) – that’s 50% of recommended intake of sodium (link). I like to take some small packets of electrolytes in back pocket, to put in bottles when I fill up.
• Reduce concentration of energy drinks. When it’s really hot, your stomach will not appreciate highly concentrated energy drinks. As you will be drinking more you can afford to reduce the concentration of energy powder and you will still get enough carbohydrate.
• Getting the right quantity of water and electrolytes is not so easy. It’s hard to give precise quantities because everyone will be different depending on their weight, effort levels, propensity to sweat e.t.c. One  very rough rule of thumb is to check quantity / colour of urine. You will notice on very hot days, you need to work harder drinking extra water to keep urine normal colour.
• It is also useful to weigh yourself before and after a ride, you can easily lose a couple of kilos during a ride. However, don’t feel you have to keep the same weight after the ride, it is inevitable your weight goes down a little after a ride (even when it’s freezing), but if it is more than normal, it is a sign of excess water loss.
• One thing about riding in the heat is that it requires a certain discipline and focus to keep drinking and taking on energy. If you’re not careful, you can just suffer and not take on enough. Often it is only when you stop, that you realise how thirsty you are.
• Just because it’s hot in the valley, doesn’t mean it is hot everywhere. If you’re climbing mountains or even big hills it can still be a lot cooler high up. A good rain jacket can help protect should the weather change.
• With riding in the heat, there is an element of acclimatisation. If you go from a cold British winter to 35 degrees in Australia, it’s quite a shock to the system. The longer you spend riding in the heat, the better you will get. The body can change the way it sweats and it becomes more tolerable over time. Therefore, if possible give yourself time to adjust to the heat.
• There is a psychological element to riding in the heat. I’ve heard many British people say quite strongly “I hate the heat” – “I’m useless in the heat”. I do think this makes it even more difficult. Certainly some people will find it harder in the heat, but try and avoid being too pessimistic. Even if you’ve had a bad experience riding in the heat, there is probably quite a lot you can do to make it better next time – acclimatisation, drinking more, and gaining more confidence to riding in the heat. Don’t write off you ability to ride in the heat. See it as a challenge – something to get used to, like you train to get faster, you need to train to get used to the heat.
• It is possible to drink too much. It can cause a condition known as hyponatremia – when you take so much water, cells become depleted in sodium. The phenomena has been observed most in slow marathon runners, who took a long time, and drank too much at every water station. There is an element of common sense. You don’t have to down litres of water before starting – this will just make you want to stop.
• Caffeine. There seems to be conflicting research, some studies suggest caffeine can act as a diuretic and increase chance of dehydration. Others negate this. But, I avoid anyway.

Some tips which are screamingly obvious, but still worth mentioning:

• Don’t forget the suncream
• Well ventilated helmet will not get too hot.
• Some jersey tops are very good at dispersing the heat, but make sure you don’t get your back sun-burnt like Chris Froome did. (CW link)

Effect on performance of dehydration / heat

If you do lose water, then it can adversely affect your performance. According to this study

Losses in excess of 5% of body weight can decrease the capacity for work by about 30% (Armstrong et al. 1985; Craig and Cummings 1966; Maughan 1991; Sawka and Pandolf 1990). (Link)

Problems of dehydration:

• Your blood becomes thicker, and the heart has to work harder to pump it around the body.
• Dehydration can damage your ability to process glucose and create energy. (energy production requires water)
• In the heat, blood can move to the surface to help cool the body, this reduces the amount of blood for your leg muscles. Drinking insufficient is more likely to cause overheating. Cooling the body by pouring cold water over yourself, can reduce body temperature

Good Electrolytes for the heat

I’ve used different electrolyte energy drinks. It’s hard to tell much difference between different brands. These sachets are quite useful for putting in the back packet, giving energy and electrolyte for when you fill up bottle.

SIS electrolytes  sachets at Evans cycles- Carbohydrate mix (93%) (Maltodextrin, Fructose, Citric Acid, Electrolytes (2%) (Sodium Chloride, Calcium Lactate, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Lactate)

High 5 Zero Hydration tabs – These hydration tabs are just electrolytes without carbohydrates; they are easy to carry and slip into a water bottle

Some experiences of riding in the heat

Given a choice between heat and cold, I will always choose the heat. Being a stick thin hill climber, makes you excellent at dispersing heat. This is an advantage when it’s hot, but a problem in the cold. My feet get such poor circulation that even when it is 25 degrees I can end up wearing two pairs of socks – more out of habit than anything. But, when it’s hot it can still feel harder to cycle and race. I’ve done a few long time trials (100 miles) where I’ve ended up dehydrated and felt my performance was compromised as a result. Part of the problem there is when racing, you don’t want to bother stopping to pick up water, but you pay a price as a result.

Tuesday I went out to Stow, it was perhaps 25-28 degrees. I stopped in Stow to take on more water, I bought 3 75ml bottles and filled up two bottle, and more or less drank the third one. I was really thirsty. It’s probably not great to take on so much water at once, though I did have some electrolyte pouches to keep the salt intake balanced. It was only when I stopped that I realised how thirsty I was.

Related

• Energy consumption whilst cycling
• Cycling and nutrition

The post Cycling in the heat and avoiding dehydration appeared first on Cycling uphill.