hora – Member

6 hours running in heat? Abit different to guzzling 3lts of water in 2 hours spinning a bike round a trail center. After all a bike is a very efficient mode of transport.

Sorry, I was unclear. This was on an MTB. But still pretty intense.

My point, badly made, was that if in testing conditions my thirst doesn’t compel me to drink much more than when sat at home, you’d have to be overriding your instincts on a massive scale to guzzle 3 litres in 2 hours of gentle riding.

But on reflection I’m not quite sure why I’m even making this point.

Still dehydrated from yesterday maybe…

I’ve found myself in some pretty remote areas with a Camelbak, I’ve had one in the top of my Bergen a long time before they were even issued, but………. The best use EVER of mine was once wandering round Lincoln’s Xmas market with it full of hot mulled wine, strangely enough it never recovered from that taste, but it was a bloody cold night I think?

Drink to thirst.

Carry a small amount of excess “just in case” (you might be able to help out a fellow MTBer who has forgotten their drink!)

Can’t go far wrong with that.

Probably because a compromise between both strategies is the “best” one and most likely to not leave you under or over hydrated.

For instance, i know that my typical road ride in typical conditions i’ll need about a bottle and a bit. So i’ll drink when i’m thirsty, and i’ll keep an eye on how much i’ve drunk as well. So at half way if i realise i’ve only had a couple of sips, i’ll have a big glug, or two.

And carry on like that.

The thirst response can be wrong, or inhhbited, or inaccurate. Drinking a litre an hour to a timetable will leave you looking like a water balloon.

Drink to thirst.

I’m not entirely convinced by this, I can be quite far in to a big day before I feel thirsty by which point the damage is done. Likewise, I’ve never got on with set drinking strategies (x many litres per hour).

As already pointed out, everyone is different and trial and error is really the only way to work out what works for you.

What works for me is wee sips as and when I remember which on a fairly long hot day might equate to 0.5l per hour.