Water, electrolytes or energy mix, what should you drink while cycling?

This is a conversation we often have with guests. Some people prefer to have plain water in their bottles and, honestly, I think that's just a mistake on long rides.

You lose too much salt through sweat, even on cooler days, and you need too much energy to only drink water.

If you put electrolytes in your bottle, at least you're replacing some of the salt. That's better, but it still means that you have to eat all your carbs.

It's quite challenging to eat the necessary 60-100g of carbs per hour - it's simply a lot of food - and to spread it out evenly to aid digestion.

Eating all your carbs is especially hard in the mountains, because:

• it's difficult to eat while climbing at a firm effort and many people don't like to stop

• it's too risky to try eating while descending

• the climbs are so long that you can't wait to eat at the top else you'll bonk

You have to drink regularly while climbing - we recommend taking a big swig at every kilometre sign on the way up - and that opportunity to take in carbs is too good to waste. It means you're getting carbs little and often, which is ideal.

When you stay with us, we provide our homemade energy drink. It tastes great and it's extremely effective - literally no one ever cramps, everyone loves the taste, and most people ask for the recipe, which we're happy to share.

Our support car is always well stocked with drinks and snacks, and Terry will have a bottle ready to hand up as you pass - just like the pros!

Rides with us are not races so there are plenty of chances to eat a snack when we take breaks. The top of climbs are an ideal point to eat something.

To summarise:

• always take energy drink for rides longer than 1.5 hours

• energy drink is especially important for riding in the mountains

• drink every 5-8 minutes; the kilometre signs are ideal reminders

• eat snacks at convenient places to hit your ideal carb intake

When is it ok to drink water on the bike? On shorter rides up to 1.5hrs and sometimes as a change from energy drink if you're having some flavour fatigue. That's about it.

Let us know in the comments what you would like us to cover next!

Have a great day and a great ride.

Jamie

Lead photo: Chris Storrar