Isotonic Drinks.Yay or Nay.

[vickster]

Are you properly hydrated before you go out and not just with coffee? What colour is your urine when you get back? Do you properly rehydrate when you get home and not just with coffee?

How long are you cycling for and how much do you drink in that time? I'd think the cereal bars will be giving you some of the sugar and salt you are using

 

[nickyboy]

Going to the GP sounds like good advice.

One more suggestion:

If you're riding hard and you set off a bit dehydrated, you never catch up. You have to be well hydrated before you even get on the bike.Coffee is useless for this. Try drinking a pint of water when you eat your porridge.

I invariably wake up somewhat dehydrated (you can tell by the colour of your pee) so I always drink plenty of water before setting off on a hard ride

Edit: TMN to @vickster

 

[Bazzer]

As @vickster suggests, check your pee.
I thought coffee was a diuretic, so personally I will not touch it or tea after a ride, unless I am seriously cold. And even then I will take the same amount of fluid in another form. I'll do the same before a ride too, (say commuting to work and a cuppa with breakfast),
I get banging headaches if dehydrated. Consultant who manages a couple of resident kidney stones, says 2 litres of fluid a day, (excluding tea, coffee). More if exercising.
In a similar vein to what @nickyboy said, I was told if you are thirsty, you are already showing the first signs of dehydration, so are are already playing catch up.

 

[OskarTennisChampion]

Going to cover all bases.
Cut out Coffee before rides and drink water.
An appointment with the Doc on Friday booked already.
All going well there,stick to above coffee and water drinking.
And take aplenty water with me on rides.
@ayceejay .You may well be right
My pee is quite dark,so yeah,not enough fluids.

 

[vickster]

If you drink a lot of coffee, best to start to reduce regardless, do fairly gradually to reduce withdrawal symptoms, I.e headaches

 

[jefmcg]

I wouldn't skip the coffee. Caffeine is only a diuretic if you aren't accustomed to it. It shouldn't dehydrate you if you are regular drinker. If it did, my grandparents would have died of thirst; I never saw my nanna drink anything but tea - oh, except the occasional sherry. Even if you aren't getting caffeine headaches now, skipping that coffee might give it to you.

And even though doctors say it, there is no evidence that you need 8 glasses (2 litres) of water a day. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day. You should drink when you are thirsty, but as @OskarTennisChampion says he is thirsty at the end of a ride, he should be drinking more. But that can be tea, coffee or - bless - beer!

 

[nickyboy]

I wouldn't skip the coffee. Caffeine is only a diuretic if you aren't accustomed to it. It shouldn't dehydrate you if you are regular drinker. If it did, my grandparents would have died of thirst; I never saw my nanna drink anything but tea - oh, except the occasional sherry. Even if you aren't getting caffeine headaches now, skipping that coffee might give it to you.

And even though doctors say it, there is no evidence that you need 8 glasses (2 litres) of water a day. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day. You should drink when you are thirsty, but as @OskarTennisChampion says he is thirsty at the end of a ride, he should be drinking more. But that can be tea, coffee or - bless - beer!

With respect, the OP states his pee is quite dark before he sets off for a ride. That's not an optimal situation and, if you ride hard, you will, in all probability, become more dehydrated.

The advice (or otherwise) regarding how much water to drink on a normal day has very little relevance to how much you should drink if you do a hard ride. On a warm day riding hard in the Peak District I drink a litre/hour and I need every drop

Sure, drink whatever you like after your ride within reason. But before a hard ride you need to get hydrated and water is pretty good for that.

The key here is "hard ride". I've occasionally done very social, flat rides and have drunk very little on it. But hard riding on a warm day.....different matter entirely

 

[jefmcg]

@nickyboy, what part of "he should be drinking more" did you not understand? We seem to be violently agreeing with each other.

 

[Luddite Joe]

I used to often get a mild headache after a 2-3 hour ride and it would last all day.
I tried drinking loads thinking it was dehydration.
I tried different foods, pre- and post - ride.
I tried different positions on the bike, thinking maybe I was straining my neck or shoulders.
Nothing seemed to alleviate the headaches.
Then I read somewhere that eating bananas can help, so I tried that and bingo! No more headaches.
I take a banana with me on every ride now and don't suffer headaches any more.
Even on 100 mile rides one banana does the trick and I'll usually only drink about 2 litres of fluids.
Might be worth a try.

 

[Crackle]

Interesting thread. I've noticed an increasing frequency to succumb to bugs after long rides. I'm not particularly sure what the cause of this is yet, after all it could be anything. One thing I have decided to change is my coffee start. I tried increasing the amount of water I drank on a ride but I ended up knowing the location of quite a few farm gates and hedges. I put this down to the mild diuretic effect of coffee. Instead I'll dispense with the coffee first thing and load with water, have the coffee later. At least I know where the farm gates are if the water goes straight through!

 

[jefmcg]

Then I read somewhere that eating bananas can help, so I tried that and bingo! No more headaches.

Hmm, that probably potassium. That's also in isotonic drinks.

@OskarTennisChampion the NHS offers an over-40 health check. I hadn't been offered one, so contacted my gp and asked for it. Lots of basic things, including blood pressure, diabetes and some standard blood tests. Might be worth seeing if you can get one of them.

 

[ayceejay]

What jef says. It is certainly dangerous to assume that the cause is dehydration. Note that one basic check in Jef's list is diabetes and a fluctuation in blood sugar could give you a headache and a sugary drink is not going to help at all.

 

[OskarTennisChampion]

Lots of interesting angles here guys,and all very feasible and helpful.
I will get the doc's appointment out of the way,and get back to you all.
Thanks again.

 

[albion]

The coffee thing is a myth. Even doctors fall for it!

Coffee boosts performance.

 

[Travs]

Agreed - caffeine definitely has a positive impact both pyschologically and physically in my experience.

As for @Crackle - succumbing to bugs is common where your energy levels have been hit and your natural defences are down. I've seen a few stories of people upping their Vit C levels to counter; I usually take a dissolvable one in a pint of water post ride; or you can try a Cit-c focussed juice thing etc.