More on water

I ran a bike magazine test this weekend. They suggested weigh yourself, bike for an hour without drinking, then re-weigh yourself. All weights are done nude (which is French for naked, I believe).

I did it. Waited until 3 pm when it was nicely warm (probably in the low 90's) covered myself with sunscreen, and headed out the door, riding an hour, trying to imitate the end of a century or other ride, when you've lost that cool morning excitement when you felt that you could do anything, and instead you're trying to NOT think about the ride, or where your body aches.

So, I rode up a few big hills, down a few, averaged around 16 mph, in the warmer part of the day. Only stopped at a couple of lights; instead, I made several right turns on red, to avoid stopping. I was disappointed when some clouds blocked the sun, since I was trying to imitate a warmer day. Still, in 61 minutes, I'd been a lot of places, kinda like an evening ride.

And I lost 4 damn pounds of water. 4 pints. 64 ounces, give or take a few. Yes, the scales are not highly accurate, and I wasn't quite nude (I kept my glasses on, both times) but that is a 16 oz bottle of water every 15 minutes or so. A big water bottle may hold a pint and a half (24 oz.), and that's what I'd need every 20-25 minutes.

I think I lose much less than that when I ride home, since I am consciously cooling myself off by spritzing or shaking some water on my arms, legs, and face. But I am still impressed. Or maybe aghast is the word.

If it works like this on the last three hours of a century, that's twelve pints, 8 big water bottles. Typically, I've only been drinking about half that, less than two such bottles an hour (though it hasn't been this hot).