Hydrating right is not just vital for your health, it’s also important for performance

There are a lot of myths about hydration, and about how and what you need to drink in order to stay fully hydrated. Hydration status is best thought of as the level of water in your body.

But probably the simplest hydration indicator is urine colour. Clear and copious is the goal! However, vitamin supplemented bars, gels and antioxidant supplements can cause dark urine, so be warned. Vitamins B and C can turn urine yellow at even small doses but this does not necessarily mean you’re dehydrated.

If you're thirsty, drink

One of the major fallacies about fluid consumption is that you can teach yourself to survive without water. This probably stems from sports where fluid was restricted in order to minimise body weight, such as boxing and bodybuilding.

Many old-school riders and coaches used to advocate this as a way to make riders harder and learn to survive without liquids. While it will make sessions harder and the rider (hopefully) mentally stronger, this is simply dangerous.

Fail to sweat effectively and your core temperature can start to rise, leading to complications such as heat stroke. So if you’re thirsty, drink. As a general rule, the larger the rider and the faster the speed, the greater the sweat rate, but in fit or larger individuals it is likely to exceed one litre per hour.

You need to drink, even if it's cold

In the summer good hydration is particularly important because of the heat and faster riding speeds, meaning more and quicker heat build-up, but thinking about your hydration is not just confined to the hot months: exertion will lead to sweating, regardless of the ambient temperature.

Drinking to offset the loss of fluid and help cool your body’s core is vital. Yes, you can survive an hour without drinking but several hours’ sweating, gaining internal heat, with blood that is getting thicker and less effective, is a recipe for disaster.

It’s important for riders of all levels and abilities to see fluid replacement as part of riding and to learn how much they need to offset thirst and maintain energy levels.

Can't drink? Make up for it afterwards

There will always be times when you can’t drink as much as you’d like and have to deviate from your normal drinking plan – whether because of the terrain, speed of riding or you’ve simply run out of liquids.

Instead of worrying that you might be dehydrated, attend to your fluid replacement as soon as you can after the event. Your immediate post-ride hydration should constitute 150 per cent of the missed fluid intake. If you usually drink 600ml in an hour, then you’ll need to take in 900ml of a sports drink with electrolytes after riding. These are best absorbed after being chilled in the fridge.

You can improve on nature

Water. What could be better than pure, natural water? One of the biggest myths about fluid intake is that you can’t beat water for hydration – it’s not true, you most certainly can.

Sports drinks work better at maintaining hydration during rides and rehydrating you after, as the added electrolytes – sodium chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium – help your body maintain its optimum hydration status. Research shows that you absorb 35 per cent more water, and rehydrate better, when consuming a 4:1 ratio carbohydrate and protein drink than if you drink just water alone.

If recovery-type drinks are too rich or expensive for you, down a bottle of your favourite fluid replacement drink as soon as you get off your bike – you’ll still absorb three-quarters of what you drink.