Post ride headaches

Hi all!

Got a really boring show at work tonight, so thought I'd pick your collective brains....

Does anybody else suffer from headaches after long, or hard rides?

Went out for a bit of an epic yesterday, to see if it was possible to cycle to work. Got from monkston in Mk, to northampton town centre in 2 hours, off road as much as possible. Ride back was tough tho....

Anyway, after I stopped riding (5 hours!!!) I got a really bad headache, which I still have now, 24 hours later. Seems to happen whenever I go for a hard ride longer than 2 hours.

Don't think hydration is to blame. drank about 4 litres of water, and a bottle of lucozade sport on route, and ate a bit too. Also drank well before I set off and after the ride.

So does this happen to anyone else? Or is it just me?

Cheers all!

Steve

Dude, I'd have said dehydration but you seem to have drank loads. I get a similar thing if I run for longer than 90 minutes without drinking en route. Not sure, maybe Google it but perhaps you're drinking too much. Or too much too soon. Hydrating properly should be done well in advance and then kept on top of by sipping not gulping during and after the event. We're designed to work OK partly dehydrated.

I might be talking nonsense but I am sure hydration affects the shape of the eye and therefore vision. Maybe it's just holding your head up for 2hrs + if you have a crouched over riding style rather than upright. Maybe it's the jarring of being off road for 2hrs +.

Dunno but food for Google...

Water isn't that good at rehydrating yourself. Maybe try an electrolyte energy drink (the SIS one is tasty!) and see if that helps.

There are probably a whole host of other things that could cause it - so couldn't hurt to get yourself checked out by a doctor if you're worried.

Tom

This is something I get too and havent really got to the bottom of it. I'm usually hydrated cos not to put it tooo politely my wee is the right colour. I find if I eat bananas during the ride and malt loaf I don't seem to get it, so it may possibly be a salt/electolyte kind of thing (Bananas have lots of potassium in them and malt loaf is quite high in salt)

I find that i sometimes get headaches that last quite a while after riding if I'm dehydrated BEFORE i go out. Eg if I make sure I get a few litres of water inside me in the 5 or 6 hours before a ride I'm fine. No amount of drinking during the ride stops the headache once it starts. I guess I should be drinking small amounts of water more regularly throughout the day , but some days work just gets in the way! Glugging a litre or so just before riding makes me feel fat(ter) and slow(er).
A night on the power shandy before a ride doesn't seem to make much difference, but keep that whisky bottle away.

for what its worth this months Singletrack mag has a bit of nutrition and energy before a ride. For any ride lasting longer than an hour (as an average, i know we are all different) you should be drinking electrolyte/isotonic stuff and eating things like bananas, fig rolls, cereal bars etc. short term boosts like jelly babies, wine gums etc all help, though your teeth might fall out!! Water is good for short sharp blasts but not much else. As for me, i do all the above and still breathe out me arse on anything lasating longer than 4 hours, but i dont get headaches!

Cheers guys.

I shall try to hydrate a bit more the day leading upto a bigger ride, and see how it goes. Was peeing a fair bit, and the right colour too, so maybe I was just washing all the good stuff out and replacing it with water

So, should I try putting posh drinks in my camelback instead of just Squash?

Whats best? Don't really wanna be spending the Earth

I did take out a few sandwhiches, and 2 oaty cereal bars which I ate along the way too. Don't think I'd have made it back without 'em!

Try High 5 4:1 its the muts nuts you can get sachets or a tub. This worked REALLY well taken every 15/20 mins on an 8 hr run/ride XC endurance I did. When I run then ride on Sundays mornings I don't ride too well without using it on the run. I use it on all road rides as they last about 5hrs, any MTB ride over 90 mins or so and any run over an hour when I intend to bike straight after.

I'd go to the High 5 website or order via Wiggle and I'd suggest you get the trial pack as you get a bit of everything and will find out what you like/don't like before possibly commiting to larger quantities for discount.

You may need to drink more than 4 litres-do you use a camelbak or carry more water than in a bottle, say in a back pack? You might need to eat during the ride as well such as energy bars, bananas or gels.

Its worth getting a camelbak which holds 3 litres.

My current Camelbak holds 1.5L, and I have a 500ml, sometimes 750ml bottle on the bike.

On this particular ride, I re-filled both after 2 hours at my turnaround point.

Have been thinking about getting a bigger capacity camelbak for longer rides. Need more storage space too.

In the meantime, I'll look into filling my current one with something better than orange squash...

Steve