As I have been training on my road bike (20 mile day -35 mile day -rest, etc...) I have noticed that either 4-5 hours later on my big day rides I feel bad until I fall asleep. I should obviously feel tired, but it's not like a soreness in my legs - I have a slight headache but my stomach feels unsettled and I'm a little dizzy. I'm not planning on letting this keep me from riding, but I was wondering if anyone experienced the same sensations when they began training. Water intake should not be the issue as I am drinking 4 liters of water on a 2/2.5 hour ride and then coming home and drinking more and eating well.
As I have been training on my road bike (20 mile day -35 mile day -rest, etc...) I have noticed that either 4-5 hours later on my big day rides I feel bad until I fall asleep. I should obviously feel tired, but it's not like a soreness in my legs - I have a slight headache but my stomach feels unsettled and I'm a little dizzy. I'm not planning on letting this keep me from riding, but I was wondering if anyone experienced the same sensations when they began training. Water intake should not be the issue as I am drinking 4 liters of water on a 2/2.5 hour ride and then coming home and drinking more and eating well.
-matt
I can only share my experience(s). Early on, I used to get similar symptoms after longish rides. Problem was that I wasn't eating enough carbs and/or drinking enough. Your body is probably starved of the right nutrients. Be careful not to replace quantity of food/water with quality. You need a good quantity of quality food. The quantity is something you have to work out for your body.
You mentioned that you drink water; you probably should be replacing lost electrolytes (your sweat is salty because you are losing nutrients other than water). You get this from things like gatorade, banana or other eletrolyte-laden drinks (liquid or powdered form).
As I have been training on my road bike (20 mile day -35 mile day -rest, etc...) I have noticed that either 4-5 hours later on my big day rides I feel bad until I fall asleep. I should obviously feel tired, but it's not like a soreness in my legs - I have a slight headache but my stomach feels unsettled and I'm a little dizzy. I'm not planning on letting this keep me from riding, but I was wondering if anyone experienced the same sensations when they began training. Water intake should not be the issue as I am drinking 4 liters of water on a 2/2.5 hour ride and then coming home and drinking more and eating well.
-matt
4 liters in 2 hours is a lot of water....that's 4 kg, almost 9 pounds. I drink about 1 liter an hour total fluids on a really hot day, maybe 1/2 liter when it's cooler. From several articles I've read, your electrolytes could be too low as a result of all the water consumption without accompanying sodium.
Suggest you try cutting your total fluid consumption to about a liter an hour, consisting of half water and half a sport drink with 6% CHO and a good amount of sodium, up to 1000 mg per liter.
I've had the same thing happen to me. After much research (there's a great medical journal called "The Physician and Sports Medicine" with online archive of articles as well as books on Sports Nutrition), I've found conflicting information. The stomach problems most likely are combination of things that some books called "athletic collitis" or gut ischemia. It can be caused by a number of things including: eating too soon before a ride, sensitivity to fructose and other sugars in sports drinks/food bars, too much water, too little water. It sounds pretty common and alot of athletes get it to varying degrees. I had a bad case after my last 40 mile ride. Nausea, stomach cramps and the "runs." The best way to treat it seems to be to ride it out and play around with your eating and drinking habits until the problem goes away. Some of the literature also suggests that as you get fitter and your stomach adapts to the training, the problem goes away. It may take months. You may also have bacteria in your water bottle. Hope this helps.
Look up "hyponatremia". That is a fancy word for a sodium deficit that usually occurs when people drink too much water without replacing electrolytes during strenuous exercise. The symptoms sound very similar to what you are experiencing. Try adding salt to your water or using a sports drink designed to replace electrolytes during and after your rides. Hyponatremia can be life threatening if it is severe, so definately make sure you replace electrolytes while riding instead of just rehydrating.
As I have been training on my road bike (20 mile day -35 mile day -rest, etc...) I have noticed that either 4-5 hours later on my big day rides I feel bad until I fall asleep. I should obviously feel tired, but it's not like a soreness in my legs - I have a slight headache but my stomach feels unsettled and I'm a little dizzy. I'm not planning on letting this keep me from riding, but I was wondering if anyone experienced the same sensations when they began training. Water intake should not be the issue as I am drinking 4 liters of water on a 2/2.5 hour ride and then coming home and drinking more and eating well.
-matt
Watch out if you drink too much water... too much of everything is bad!
Try eating some sugary type foods after the ride. You're blood sugar may be dropping beyond that good rate. Power bars usually do the trick for me, but it takes more now than when I first started to get that crappy feeling, so there's hope.
After I couple more big rides I think I have isolated what the problem was - I was sure as hell drinking enough water but I wasn't replacing the rest of nutrients (mostly sodium) that I lost. Many of you suggested this was most likely the problem. I'm trying to make it a point to have all that stuff ready for when I get back from a ride instead of trying to find it afterwards - makes things a lot easier. Later all
You really can't afford to wait until after the ride for sodium and carbs....that's too late. You need them right along with your water right from the start of the ride. Reports I've read lately say that hyponatremia (low sodium) from drinking too much water is more harmful to endurance athletes than dehydration.
The salt and carbs in a sports drink help you maintain blood volume and proper electrolyte concentration. Believe there are many studies over the last few decades that show you can ride longer and faster with them than on plain water. I go with just water for my 19 mile training ride, but for anything longer, I'll also carry a bottle of Gatorade or Cytomax with salt added.
If you don't care to spend money on commercial drinks or powder mix, you can make up a drink at home using Karo corn syrup or even plain cane sugar and table salt. Just go for a 6% carb concentration (60 grams/liter water), and 600-1000 mg of salt/L. Squirt in some lemon juice for flavor, and you're all set for a few pennies.
If you don't care to spend money on commercial drinks or powder mix, you can make up a drink at home using Karo corn syrup or even plain cane sugar and table salt. Just go for a 6% carb concentration (60 grams/liter water), and 600-1000 mg of salt/L. Squirt in some lemon juice for flavor, and you're all set for a few pennies.
OK, I have another question about "after a long ride". After a long ride, say 2-3 hours on Saturday morning, I'll be fine for the rest of the day. ...but later start to feel a little jazzed up, like when you drink way too much coffee. By night time I'm still feeling so jazzed up that I can't get to sleep. While I'm sure I could probably solve this problem with enough beer, I don't think that's the ideal solution. Another cyclist suggested sex (which seems to help, when the timings right) but that's not always an available option.🙁
After a big ride (for me, five to eight hours), my formula is in order:
hydrate carb reload (usually real food) hydrate shower hydrate turn the tv on to baseball or golf (the more boring the better) sleep for about 30 minutes
