We made our own hydration drink to fight cramps !

by Mike McGuire

This past season starting in early summer, I started getting pretty strong leg cramps in the middle of the night.  I was riding a lot, almost every day, but not long distances.  My trainer rides were some of my hardest rides.  And when I was outside on the bike, I never wanted any food.  No Larabars, no gels, and minimal water.  Indoors on the trainer I would drink 2 water bottle hours and hour and half session, but I never ate anything.

Since the cramps were really disrupting my sleep, I did some ‘research’ to figure out what I should do to change things up.  I looked at "nutrition" overall, and specifically about during-ride and post-ride and on-ride nutrition to determine what could help.  The Trainer Road Blog is an excellent repository of bike and racing knowledge and from there I was able to ask The Google some relevant questions and find some guidelines about on-biike nutrition and performance.  The short answer for me is more carbs during and immediately after riding, more salt, and no alcohol after.  So

So now I'm trying to be disciplined by eating and drinking nutrition during rides and immediately after rides.  For every hour on the bike, I eat half a Larabar or 3 to 5 Cliff Blocks, 250ml of water.  If it's a long ride or multiple rides, I try to add 1/4 bottle of the recipe below.  After every ERG trainer session or ride i consume 500ml of  Mikeade, up to 1L if I feel I need it.

This is the third variation of the same ingredients I have made and it feels right.  I reduced the initial amount of sugar and Maple Syrup (for potassium!).  Overall an all-natural, fairly thick, not too sweet, high carbohydrate fruit drink, with no chemical taste.  It stays mixed and does not separate.  It's best to mix a few liters at a time and drink within 2 weeks, like regular juices.

Shop around for juice on sale. (Walmart, Loblaws). Order Trace Mineral Drops online. Use high quality fine Bailene Sea Salt or similar. Way more effective than Gatorade or Zero Water, cheaper than a high-end drink mix. 

I've had no more cramps since I started making and drinking this.


Ride Ottawa Recovery Drink:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups coconut water
  • 1 cup pineapple juicer
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/4 coconut sugar
  • 1/4 maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 teaspoons high quality sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons Trace Mineral drops
Directions:
  1. Mix juices together in the proportions shown above.
  2. Leave some space in the top of your jug
  3. Add coconut sugar, maple syrup, and honey.
  4. Shake well 50 times, then salt, and Trace Minerals.
  5. Shake another 50 times.
  6. Chill in fridge.
  7. Drink 250ml per 1 hour during workout.
  8. Drink 500ml immediately after workout.

 

 

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