Nutrition on the road - What, How and Why?

A good mix of solid food, energy drink (and electrolyte), and a gel or two. Definitely not that much fluid. I blame that

on cramps:

Nerves not muscles apparently, and spice is the answer...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-new-way-to-prevent-muscle-cramps-1468256588

Apparently pickle juice also works well ...
http://cyclingtips.com/2016/06/pickle-juice-a-cure-for-muscle-cramps/

There is no 'one' solution for cramp, and that's what is so goddamn frustrating about it. If i switch from road to mtb, i get savage cramp in the adductors and it has nothing to do with hydration, fuel or stretching... On other days, i'll cramp up because its hot and i haven't taken any electrolytes.

Did the ride london 100 yesterday having got a free entry.

Went for the idiot 'stopping is for the weak' policy and did the whole thing on two 750ml bidons. Wasn't too uncomfortable at the time, but feel so fuzzy and lacklustre today.

Oviously getting up at silly o clock and riding 100 miles are contributing factors to this, but pretty sure I'm really dehydrated... whenever i have a coffee my piss turns bright yellow straight after. Eugh

Rehydrate properly then. If you're really struggling, get a packet of one of the rehydration products from a pharmacy, i.e. Dioralyte or an own brand one.

Coffee ain't gonna cut it.

Coffee does have a diuretic effect. Tea's better if you fancy a hot drink, fruit tea better than that. Milk is brilliant at rehydration and replacing lost bits and bobs too.

Chocolate milk is better still, apparently.

Milk is brilliant at rehydration and replacing lost bits and bobs too.

Are you a doctor?

It's hard to believe, I know, but I'm not. Why, does you have an embarrassing ailment you'd like someone to take a look at? Just post a photo, I reckon we can work out what it is.

Ah, no - I've fallen for that trick before!

I put a load of chocolate milk and water in my finish line bag so I knew I'd be able to get some fluids in ASAP after finishing.

Was glad the offical bags had drinks in them too as took so long to collect as the lorry with my bag on it seemed to have only just arrived whilst all the others had nearly completely unloaded and sorted their bags.

Just buy a big ol' bottle of water and finish it off before you ride again? Milk just makes me feel bloated and wheezy, probably one of the worst things to have before a ride

Milk is always a bad choice

old, but still on topic
http://www.cbc.ca/news/milking-meaning-from-the-ingredients-label-1.916956

Went to a talk on nutrition by Etixx a year or so ago and they were really banging on about magnesium for cramp. Said that almost all of their riders were low or deficient in magnesium and needed supplements. Not tried it yet myself.

Or have some fruit? Chow down on a water melon or something

Oh god, never milk before a ride. After. Hydrates, and replaces lost carbs and salts, and some protein.

But it's not even that good for you, there's better options

In what way is it not that good for you?

//edit: it's REALLY hard to find out good info on milk. There seems to be plenty of information coming from e.g. the milk council, and plenty from new-earth type sites that would like you to drink almond milk and suchlike, but I've struggled in the past to find actual legit science.

In mallorca I happened to have a Box of beetroot concentrate flapjacks. Weather was pretty mild. But thats still warmer than I used to.

Anyway, wee was constantly a dark red tinted Brown colour. So I kept drinking. After a Winter of turbo training in a windowless basement room With no fan. I can really chug water while riding. Litres of the stuff.

Turns out it was the beetroot colouring my wee and I was horribly over hydrated all the time.

CSB.

Well just use your common sense, then go find the science, it's used to grow an animal up to 300lbs and not for a human

I put almond milk on my cereal, not for recovery

Vs Powerade milk based drinks rehydrate better

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2014-0174#.V6ECd2grK02

Milk-based drinks are more effective rehydration options compared with
traditional sports drinks. The additional energy, protein, and sodium
in a milk-based liquid meal supplement facilitate superior fluid
recovery following exercise.

Either way there's better options than powerade or milk, i'm surprised it's being suggested here, a good smoothie would be 10 times better

http://www.forksoverknives.com/7-ways-milk-and-dairy-products-are-making-you-sick/

Threads like this are always such a great source of SCIENCE.