Fall Hydration; Cyclocross!

As the weather turns, many cyclists turn their attention from road or trails to Cyclocross!

Although Fall and wet weather don't usually mean hot racing conditions, Cyclocross is unique because riders typically don't drink during the race. While the races are short enough to not require a bottle, they are certainly long and hard enough to get super thirsty and start the nasty sequence that results in dehydration.

But there is something you can do! Mix some elete in your warmup bottle or sip on some water with elete as you drive to the race venue. In a clinical study conducted on smokejumper firefighters (the abstract for the study can be found here), firefighters who drank water alone needed to drink 74% - 74%!!! - more water to achieve the same levels of hydration as those firefighters drinking water with elete!

If you are racing Cross and you won't be able to drink during the race, the best thing you can do is to start the race well hydrated. Drink elete before and after the race and don't let dehydration ruin your day!