# Post ride nausea/headache/feeling hot



## cyrjm (May 3, 2007)

Sounds like I have menopause but I'm a dude and in my 30's so rules that out. 

So, it's not often I get a chance to do real long rides anymore but yesterday I got to do a killer all day ride up in TN where it was hot as balls all day. I have an Osprey pack and went through 1.5 bladders of water with some Gatorade in between (we did 2 dif trail systems and had a break in between). I normally drink HEED but don't have cages on my AM bike so I only drink straight water but use Enduralytes as well as solid foods like Cliff bars as well as Hammer gel throughout the ride.

For lunch I had a PB samich and two bananas...so, I was consuming some calories for sure.

On the 1.5 hour drive back I finished 1.5 large bottles of Gatorade, 2 bottles of water and when I got home I was drinking water like a damn fish. Just about every muscle in my body was on the verge of cramping so that's why I was drinking heavy. My piss was clear so I thought that was a good sign I was hydrated. 

Long story short (kind of) about an hour or so after I got home I felt almost nauseous but not really bad. Took the wife out for dinner and ate well, hydrated the whole time. Then I got this headache and then felt hot as crap for the rest of the night. This is not new to me...I almost always feel hot as hell after any kind of ride.

Bottom line is I feel that I'm drinking plenty, consuming the right supplements but I feel like crap for hours after a hard effort on the bike. Anyone else have this problem?

Thanks for reading this long winded b***h session.


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## jennyv (Nov 13, 2012)

Cyrjm,

A couple of questions:
*How long was your ride?
*Were you carrying a 100oz bladder so went through about 150oz of water during the ride?
*Did you pee at all during your ride or only when you got home after consuming all that water?

Thanks,
Jenny


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## cyrjm (May 3, 2007)

Hey Jenny...so it was two rides. First ride was about 2.5 hours, super hot humidity. After that ride we chilled at the trail head before driving to the next ride which was about 2 hours long. About an hour break in between the two rides. 

My hydration pack is 100oz and was 85% gone for the first ride, topped it off for the second ride where I probably drank about another 85% of it. In between the two rides I consumed half a large Gatorade and ate my lunch. I also used 6 Endurolyte tabs throughout the day ( I weigh about 185 ).

I went to the bathroom right at the beginning of the first ride and right at the beginning of the second ride. It was a little too yellow the second time I went.

Immediately after the ride was done I started finishing off the one Gatorade and completely finished the second one on the ride home. I also had another water bottle I was drinking along the 1.5 hour drive home. I had to pee like a racehorse by the time I got home and no joke, probably peed like 6 more times that night, all clear. Not to be too personal but at this point it probably doesn't matter. 

Point is, I think I'm drinking enough but don't know why I feel like crap. I had the AC blasting in the car and didn't get the white, powdery face like I do sometimes when I do NOT drink enough. I ate Cliff bars, had Hammer gel during the ride...maybe that's not enough? 

Thanks for helping me out!

PS...my sister in law is a super good dietitian but I don't like to bother her with my problems on the bike.


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## 1362 (Sep 12, 2010)

mild heat exhaustion. Fluids are good, but, even water boils.


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## jennyv (Nov 13, 2012)

I have to agree with 1362...sounds like mild heat exhaustion. If you were riding with high humidity conditions, it changes how easy it is for the sweat to evaporate. The cooling effect of the evaporation of sweat is greater the more completely the sweat evaporates. So if humidity increases, then the evaporation of sweat is inhibited or blocked completely. Imagine being in a desert in very hot weather. You'll sweat freely, and the evaporation will cool you. Now, imagine being in the jungle in very hot and very humid weather. You'll sweat continuously, but the sweat will mostly just drip off you, cooling very little through evaporation.

It seems like you were drinking enough (34-40oz of water/hour), but you probably could have taken in more electrolytes (riding time you only took in about 390mg of P + Na through the Endurolytes and 205 through the Gatorade). I don't think this would have prevented the outcome, but something to think about for future rides.


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## cyrjm (May 3, 2007)

1362 made me think about heat exhaustion. I often feel the same way even on a shorter ride at my local trails. The trails are really punchy and I'm often redlining my HR when I'm riding my single speed. So, I might only ride 8 miles but they're not an easy 8 miles. When I get home I'll often just feel hot for hours and hours and hours. And I pretty much sweat just standing still around here ( I lived in the dry Utah mountains for 10 years before moving to Georgia...I don't like humidity very much ).

I'll be sure to pay attention to my electrolyte intake from now on. I drink water all day (I don't feel I over-hydrate, I just always have a glass of water at my desk). Would it be worth me using some Elete drops in my water? Maybe on days I know I'm going to ride?

Thanks again Jenny...much appreciated!

JC


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## jennyv (Nov 13, 2012)

Provided you're getting sodium through your everyday diet and not sweating profusely during the day, you should be fine. There are some jobs (ie. construction, UPS driver, etc.) where you might want to drink an electrolyte drink, but if you have an indoor desk job you're probably okay. I'm assuming the 8 miles takes about an hour to ride too.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

From experience being i ended up at med tent this last Sunday at a race. Heat and humidity are nasty when ur riding hard. Thing is hydration helps as well as proper electrolytes etc, but in high humidity....chances are its going to tear u up if going too hard for very long. And I ride 2x10

Best thing to do is shorten ride duration before a break and don't ride as hard. Simple taking a few mins half way through ur ride will help a lot. Otherwise I hate to say this, but don't ride ss when its this Damn hot and humid out. Lighter work load = less heat generated, less cooling required.

So far ur getting lucky but u could easily and rapidly put urself in the hospital by riding that hard in this crap. So be carefully and very mindful of what ur bodies telling ur, hate to see this weather claim a fellow mtber.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2


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## Settertude (Jun 22, 2013)

I agree that this sounds like mild heat stroke. We all have different internal thermostats and its functioning can change with time.
Some bodies are more efficient in this regard; regulating extreme heat and cold stresses that is.
Heat stroke is no joke.


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## Reverend_Maynard (Mar 16, 2012)

If you want to find out more, do 2 things:

Weigh yourself before and after the ride. The difference will be mostly water weight, with each pound equal to 1 pint of water. If you lose 5 pounds, you're probably down 5 pints of water and this level of dehydration could cause the symptoms you describe. Interestingly, supplementing with electrolytes can make this situation worse. As you dehydrate, the concentration of electrolytes in your body actually increases (less water to dilute them and you don't lose them at the same concentration they are in your body from sweating). Add too much sodium, for example, and a mild case of dehydration can become a major case of hypernatremia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypernatremia

Take your temperature. If it's over 100, you're on your way to heat stroke.


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## Orthoguy (Dec 4, 2011)

Heat exhaustion can sneak up on you quick in these conditions. I live in western north carolina and I have seen a number of cases so far this year. It has been particularly sneaky this year as the temperature hasn't really been that high but the humidity is very high. So riders will settle into a relatively hard pace at first and because of the humidity they cant dump the heat. Before they know it they have overheated. Whenever you start feeling nauseous and that weird tingly feeling hop off the bike, find some shade, and drink. 

By the way cryjm I just learned what your slogan on your shirt means. My office manager is from Maine and enlightened me to the meaning.


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## cyrjm (May 3, 2007)

Ha! Yes, born in Massachusetts but have lived out west and now in the southeast...I def. live up to that t-shirt for sure.

Couple things...I generally feel fine on the bike but it's after when I feel like crap. My sister in law is a dietician and we looked at a ride I did this past weekend. Nothing major, 4 laps at my local trails but 3 hours on the bike (mostly waiting for other people in the group). It was so freakin' humid but I was consuming lots of Heed and Enduralytes and eating a cliff bar every hour. Turns out that Heed simply does not have enough potassium/sodium and calories that I need. I'm drinking plenty but just not drinking the right stuff.

I have some racer friends out in UT that swear by the Half Evil from Carborocket. Just ordered some after she took a look at the ingredients. Hoping to have it by the weekend to give it a shot.

I've always wanted to weigh myself before and after a ride. I literally felt like I went swimming on Saturday I was so damn sweaty. I miss the dry desert.


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## DennisF (Nov 4, 2011)

Good info Rev.



Reverend_Maynard said:


> Interestingly, supplementing with electrolytes can make this situation worse. As you dehydrate, the concentration of electrolytes in your body actually increases (less water to dilute them and you don't lose them at the same concentration they are in your body from sweating).


I experienced this myself but didn't understand why and thought it might just be my imagination. I started running half-strength Gatorade and felt way better than normal-strength. I read about half-strength Gatorade here on MTBR I think, but was of the belief that full-strength was too much sugar. It never dawned on me it was too much electrolytes.

Then I got a CamelBak that I didn't want to put sugar in, and now just use water with a few sprinkles of salt in it. I carry homemade gel if I need calories (honey, but also potassium, sodium, and caffeine if I want). It works well for me.

My wife was having the same problem and tried water with a little salt for the first time today, and had no headache afterwards. She had been using half-strength Gatorade.


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## Fullcoilmojo (Aug 5, 2013)

It could also be the body ridding itself of toxins. I've noticed this to after I have periods where I don't exercise or eat clean foods for a period of time. Some times as little as 1 month


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## tjkm (Jun 9, 2007)

Looks like everyone has been feeling well for a while................that is good! I saw this thread and laughed since I lived this particular scenario this past weekend.

43 mile mtb, 3k of climbing with AZ temps in the low 80's and super windy! I drank 2 - 16oz bottles of Skratch, about 30 oz of water, 2 clif mojo bars and probably 2-3 servings of hammer gel from the flask. Ride time was 3hrs & 45 minutes. I am 43 yrs old, 155lbs.

About 45 minutes before the end of the ride, I got 'that feeling' in the gut, and knew it was just a matter of time before I got sick. I made it home, and had a few sips of chocolate milk and cold water. The hair on the back of my neck was crusted with salt along with my helmet straps. About 20 minutes of later, I got sick and then again about an hour later. After the second bout, I felt better, but not 100%.

This has happened before on long mtb rides. I have the Whiskey 50 coming up in a few weeks, and trying to not have this happen during/ after the race (like last year!)

Thoughts?


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## jtmanuel_rn (Nov 25, 2011)

i say, take it easy on the race and pace yourself. hydrate and load up at least a month prior to your event and not a few days or even the week before the event. this helps your body absorb and store as much fluids and electrolytes as it can. 

on the day of the event, try not to eat one heavy meal, parse it into small meals. this would give your stomach a shorter time to digest and your body to properly absorb whatever you ate. and all the blood in your body wouldn't be concentrated on your stomach which could lead to poor oxygenation of the extremeties.

during the event itself, try to drink and eat more on the saddle, but, like the meal, you should parse it into small frequent events. if you're using a bike computer or watch, have it alarm at regular intervals (i time mine at every 15 minutes) to remind you that you need to take a swig and chew.

after the event, try to slowly replenish the fluids and electrolytes that you've lost. i usually drink a 250ml "pocari sweat" (a japanese branded bottled water heavily infused with electrolytes) every hour or so for the next four hours then i switch to ordinary water.

just my two cents.


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## tjkm (Jun 9, 2007)

Thanks for the feedback. I will do the alarm on my phone for eating, and will for sure put some more calories in while in the saddle.


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