Hot Weather Survival Tips for Riders (and Corp)

Compiled by Lynn Kutner

The training and survival tips presented here are the result of suggestions from many different riders and crew who participated in the Washington, DC AIDS Ride 3 in 1998. Comments about what strategies worked for a specific individual are presented in quotes ("like this").

Each person will respond differently to exercising in extreme heat - due to your individual metabolism and physiology, and differences in experience and training. The key points of surviving the heat are summarized below.

YOU will need to experiment to figure out which strategies work best for YOU.

Rule of Hydrating and Cooling:

Key Points:

1. Hydrate!
2. Drink Gatorade, Cytomax, or something like it to replace electrolytes
3. Keep your body temperature down

Electrolytes - What They Are and Why They're Important:

Your body requires electrolytes (principally sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.) Under everyday circumstances, you would almost certainly get plenty of these in your diet, and never have to worry about them. Your body is generally able to regulate your electrolyte balance fairly well, but in sustained efforts over several hours in hot weather, you may lose more electrolytes in your sweat and urine than you are replacing.

Very roughly, you can lose the equivalent of about one teaspoon of salt per two liters (~two quarts) of sweat (that translates roughly into two grams, or 2000 mg of sodium). And you can easily sweat away more than a liter per hour. In hot weather, it is a good idea to boost your electrolyte intake a little:

• Use Gatorade / Cytomax / other sports drinks
• Put some extra salt on your food
• Eat foods with lots of electrolytes:
  • Salty foods (for sodium and chloride)
  • Oranges and bananas (for potassium)
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables

Again, it's important to remember that different people do differ. You need to experiment (cautiously), listen to your body, and find out what works best for YOU.

Drink water and Gatorade / Replace electrolytes

• Keep ice water in your Camelback / water bottles both to drink and to pour on yourself; fill bottles / Camelback with ice and then top off with water.
• More emphasis is needed on the balance needed between water and Gatorade intake; if your electrolytes are too low you may not be absorbing all of the water that you drink.
• Pay attention to the "strength" of the Gatorade. Many people get a stomach ache and cramping if they drink Gatorade full strength, but if it's diluted too much you may not be adequately replacing essential electrolytes
• "I think it helps if people start hydrating before the ride. It seems that many people only think about hydration while they're training. The minute they get home or the office they go back to drinking coffee and sodas. I made a point to drink more water than normal for about 4 days prior to riding. I drank two liters on the short flight from D.C. to Raleigh and took a liter bottle with me to day zero, drank more in the hotel room. (Peed a lot but I felt great.) "
• "Hydrating is a full-time job. You need to start teaching your body to store fluid a few months before the ride. Always keep a water bottle at your desk, and try to drink from it often. The night before a ride (and the whole week before the Ride) you should be drinking water steadily. And most importantly, you need to drink lots following each day's ride. In the hour post-ride, I always drink a large bottle (27oz) of Gatorade and eat a CLIF bar. This is the best time to re-stock your carbos, and your body will continue to dehydrate as it cools down unless you drink to prevent it."
• "I drank 70 oz. plus one water bottle of water and Gatorade (about half and half) between successive pit stops during the entire ride. Specifically, I drank only water between 2 stops, then only Gatorade, then only water, etc. I guess mixing Gatorade and water all day would provide same benefit."
• "Back pack hydration full of cold water at every stop and drink it all (70oz). Get used to drinking lots of fluids BEFORE the ride. And practice peeing in the woods! Get comfortable with drinking and peeing often - don't reduce fluids to avoid lines or woods."
• "Bottle #1 with Gatorade (not diluted too much, especially in the afternoon heat - can dilute by alternating with drinking water). I also drank Gatorade at rest stops, especially in the heat of the day when I knew I was losing electrolytes through sweat and pee. Riders need to experiment with Gatorade before the ride to develop taste and tolerance for it."
• "The body absorbs water better in small amounts. If you drink in huge gulps, your body will stop absorbing it and all that good fluid will go straight into your bladder. This is the beauty of the CamelBak: you can take small drinks more often really easily. This is also a word of caution to those who drink a gallon at each pit stop and are still dehydrated."
• "For the past two years, I have used two water bottles - one large filled with ice water and one small filled with ice and Gatorade. I promised my riding partner that I had to drink all of both bottles before each pit stop. At the pit stops, I drank another bottle full of either water or Gatorade (depending on how I felt at the time). I stopped at water & ice pit stops to finish off a bottle and re-fill. At camp - I got a gallon jug of water and kept hydrating until bedtime, and then drank about 2 bottles before starting to ride again."
• "I started drinking as soon as I woke up, and stopped drinking after pit 5. This seemed to be just about right so that I didn't have to get up to pee every hour, but also didn't dehydrate at all."

Other Electrolyte Replacement Suggestions

• V-8 was recommended by some riders as another way to replace electrolytes (due to the high sodium and potassium content); others said that V-8 was tough on their system and suggested avoiding it.
• "I have trouble with Gatorade, so I have two quick cups of V-8 at breakfast. At every pit where they are served I eat bananas, pretzels, trail mix, and any of the other snack items like Goldfish and CLIF bars which contain sodium and potassium. Occasionally, I will stop at a 7-11 and buy one of the other sports drinks if I'm feeling depleted."
• "A quick note on V-8. As a runner, I experimented with it about five years ago. Seems like a good idea, right? Tomato juice, etc.... Well, its so acidic that it sits in your stomach like a brick. I ran a half-marathon to qualify for the Marine Corp Marathon. Unfortunately, the V-8 made me sick and I thought I just wasn't ready for the marathon. Turns out it was just the tomato juice. So, be careful. Gatorade, potato chips, and pretzels are great sources of sodium, etc..."
• "For those of you who don't like Gatorade, you should also be eating bananas (excellent source of potassium) and pretzels (sodium). Salty foods also make you thirsty, so you'll drink more. Salty foods, contrary to popular belief, do not dehydrate you. They just dry out your mouth. If this helps you drink more water, or better yet Gatorade, so much the better. CLIF bars are also high in potassium."
• "Wouldn't want to drink too much of it because of the ca rbonation, but Gingerale is as good a source of electrolyte replacement as Gatorade..."
• "Eat Pretzels! They are a great "non-Gatorade" way to replace the sodium you are losing through all that sweating and peeing."
• Eat oranges at the pit stops.

Get Wet

• Wear a wet cloth under helmet / on neck (bandanna or other cloth).
• Keep a bottle of cold water on your bike for pouring over your head through your helmet.
• Walk through all misters available at all pits.
• Pour cold water over your head (completely drenching hair/head) at every pit.
• Soak feet (and body?) in wading pools at pits.
• Take advantage of every opportunity to get sprayed (hoses, sprinklers, water guns, etc.).

Ice Down

• Put ice in your shirt / jogbra.
• Lounge on the ice sofas at pit stops.
• Wrap ice in a bandanna and wear around neck while riding.
• Put ice bags on your head at pits.
• Put ice down pants (put on the femoral arteries - major blood route that can be easily cooled).
• Ice pack to "sponge" body at pits.
• Water bottle filled with ice and chew on ice chips at the pit stop (great for cooling down).

Stay Out of the Sun

• Sit in the shade by the side of the road between rest stops.
• Stay out of the sun whenever possible (pits, resting, etc.).
• Start early in the morning - plan to cover the most miles in the early and late parts of the day (when it's cooler).
• Sunblock helps keep you cool by moisturizing your skin.

Eat Wisely

• "It's important to eat small amounts as frequently as possible -- eating medium to large amounts will cause digestion problems during intense physical activity and should be avoided. (I ate one of every food item offered at each pit stop: one banana, one bagel slice, one Clif bar, etc. I also ate one of something while on the road between pits, usually a Clif bar or GU.)"
• "Don't eat too much -- my biggest problem last year was nausea from food. I kept the volume down (Clif bars were good for packing in the carbs, but not the volume). If the stomach is busy digesting a big lunch and you're trying to ride and beat the heat, it won't work. The digestion is slowed, the cooling of the body is reduced."
• "I also think people need to be careful of not overeating. When it's that hot your body can process only so much at a time. I think if your stomach is too full it interferes with water absorption (a good question for Ed?). Anyway, I know I used to eat too much at pit stops. Now I just nibble at stuff (mostly real food like fruit), never feel full and it makes a big difference."

Other Advice

• Practice hydration / electolyte balancing during training rides; train in hot weather (if possible); do back to back hot weather training rides to acclimate your body and to learn what YOUR body needs to stay healthy.
• Weigh yourself before and after each ride (check for too much water loss!). One pint of water weighs about one pound.
• Stop at all pit stops; stop at all water & ice stops.
• If you are feeling any symptoms of dehydration / heat exhaustion (headache, nausea, dizzy, not sweating, feeling chilled when it's hot out) - STOP IMMEDIATELY and take the time to cool down / drink water / drink Gatorade.
• Get checked out by medical when you're feeling a little bad, instead of waiting until you're about to keel over (several people wished they'd taken themselves to medical earlier when their symptoms weren't as bad).
• Check the color of your urine. If you're drinking enough it should be clear or very pale yellow -- this does NOT mean that your electrolytes are necessarily ok.
• Take your helmet off immediately upon entering pit stops or when on the side of the road to allow some cooling.

Words of Wisdom

• "Keep a sane pace. When the body gets hot, take a few minutes in the shade to cool down (good time to pour cool water over the head). Ride slower when hot. Going up one big hill after lunch, I kept dousing my head with cold water to cool down and it was amazing how much better my endurance was and I didn't get that hot- hot-i'm going to pass out- feeling."
• "Enjoy the ride -- it's not about finishing, it's about having fun and staying alive. I am a slow rider and was easily able to finish every day. Perhaps more assurances that this can be accomplished without a severe push will encourage riders to take time to take precautions."
• "Recognize your limitations. Work with them. If you can't take the heat, find out how to deal with it. We train for hills, learn to ride in traffic, and toughen up for the saddle -- can do the same for the heat. Get out in the heat as much as possible and learn how to ride in it."
• "People need to listen to their bodies. Slowing down can help a great deal. It doesn't make sense to charge out of the gate only to get sagged halfway through the day because you burned out."
• "I just want to say that the solution for some folks is not as simple as drink more or cool down more. For some reason their balance of fluids and electrolytes is very fragile. I think the most important point that can be made to new folks is to make sure you stop when symptoms come even if you are following all of the hydration instructions. My daughter thought the hills were just taking a lot out of her, and did not think she could be in trouble since she was drinking lots of water, Gatorade and peeing!"