Have you ever been too thirsty to drink? I didn’t think that was a thing. We haven’t escaped the heatwave that’s covering the eastern half of the country. The humidity has also been quite something.
So about my hydration issues. The Scooter Cannonball trip for next year is still on. Open registration will start soon. It appears that a fair bit of the course will be through desert. Staying hydrated will be essential. With that in mind I’ve been doing longer and longer trips on the scooter in hot weather. On one of those trips I was actually too thirsty to drink. How weird is that?
The heat had soured my stomach so just pounding down water wasn’t an option. In the end I went into an air conditioned McDonalds and slowly sipped an ice cold Coke. That settled my stomach enough that I was able to drink water again.
One of the annoying things about stopping to drink is that I have to take my helmet completely off. My full face helmet gives excellent protection but it’s crowded in there. Rather than take the time to remove the helmet it’s easier to keep on riding.
Perhaps the thing to do is to drink water every gas stop. To facilitate that some sort of water bottle mount might make it easier and quicker. Right now I have to dig a water bottle out of my seat compartment or from the saddle bags. It’s just enough of a pain that it’s easy to skip drinking.
Then there’s the option of a water bladder with a hose. Maybe the drinking hose can be snaked into the helmet? Worse come to worse I could get a new helmet but I’m trying to keep the costs from running away from me.
Right now I have just about enough money set aside to do the Cannonball on a shoestring budget. It should be possible to save up a bit more and have a more comfortable experience. Finding low budget hydration solutions will help.
I didn’t even know hydration was going to be an issue until I started pounding down some hot weather miles.
-Sixbears
Dehydration is a real problem for long distance riding. Keeping a scheduled water stop and checking your urine for a well hydrated pale yellow look is important.
ReplyDeleteDehydration can cause accidents while riding as your brain (mostly water) is running like a scooter low on oil and you make dumb mistakes.
Be careful buddy.
I "know" these things but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. For some reason I never had difficulty keeping hydrated on canoe or sailing trips. One hot long distance canoe trip I was drinking about a gallon and a half of water a day. I've got to transfer that mindset to scootering.
Delete6 Bears its easy when the cooler is right there and you can pee over the gunwales.
DeleteRiding down the road your inclined to drink, gas up and pee all in one stop.
Not sure how often you need gasoline for the scooter.
Dehydration and loss of balance on a scooter is bad.
Concerned
Michael
I don't mind stopping every 100 miles. By then the legs need a stretch anyway.
DeleteA bladder is by far the best approach. Insuring that youll be consuming only room temp liquids.
ReplyDeleteIce water be bad...
Your support team , is going to be the real expensive thing.
I'm going to pick up a bladder and start testing it out. I've sections of my support figured out but this trip is a logistics nightmare. I'll have a better idea once I'm registered and have access to more info.
DeleteBack in the day. When I was going through college in SoCal . Also did a lot of off road racing on bikes . In Baja , which also required much logistics with a support chase crew. Water was a big deal part of that. A bladder worked quite well .
DeleteI have been very careful with hydration since going through a serious heat exhaustion event (bordering on heat stroke). It was scary how much I lost control of my body and its functions. Not something you want occurring while riding the scooter. After this happened, I started mountain biking and found that a bladder with tube was essential for keeping the fluids up. Also carried extra water to sip on during breaks. Some hydration bladders make the water taste crap - shop around for one that you can enjoy / tolerate.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. Maybe I can get some idea which water bladders are decent from reviews?
DeleteOnce you get heat stroke it seems easier for that to come on again. You don't even have to get that bad for your thinking to get fuzzy. Today I drank a quart on 50 mile trip then tanked up again when I got home.
I tried some cheapies and they all tasted nasty. Camelback is expensive but, for mine, worth it. There may be better alternatives out there these days. My MTB 'career' finished up a dozen years ago.
DeleteCamelback is excellent.
DeleteDo NOT add water flavorings, electrolytes to your Camelback or hydration bladder.
You never get it washed out and it turns nasty. Add it to a travel tumbler you fill from the water bladder.
I'm trying a Camelback knockoff that's supposed to not impart unwanted flavors or odors. It will give me a chance to experiment on different ways of carrying and using a bladder.
DeleteI'm trying a Camelback knockoff that's supposed to not impart unwanted flavors or odors. It will give me a chance to experiment on different ways of carrying and using a bladder.
Delete