MultiVitamin and Water storage

[tcr37]

Me and two other cyclist are going cross country starting from Yorktown, VA along the Transwestern trail and switching over to the Western Express to finish in San Francisco. 

I was first wondering what kind of multivitamins would be good to bring along, including other supplements (if necessary).  I read about the First endurance Multi-V vitamin for long cycling trips, but I am open to any suggestions. 

Second, on some of the days during the trip, such as in Kansas and on route 50 in Nevada, there will be periods where there is nothing for eighty miles.  What do you guys suggest for water.  I have three bottles on my bike, but obviously that is not enough for one day of biking.  Any recommendations?

Thanks for the help,

Tom

[happyriding]

Vitamins are just marketing hype.  Eat fruit and vegetables with lunch and dinner and you will be fine.  Make sure to snack on Cliff bars, bagels, bananas, etc. between meals to provide electrolytes when you are drinking lots of water.

I toured across Nevada on highway 6 at the end of the summer, and there is a 170 mile stretch with no services.  I carried three water bottles, a 70 oz Camelback on my back, two 100 oz bladders(one in each rear pannier), and at the last minute I added two 32 oz bottles of Gatorade.  I also carried a water filter.  Forty miles into it, I was able to refill my Camelback, and I made it the rest of the way without filling up again.  I rode 120 miles the first day and 50 miles the second day, and at the end of the second day I was bonking and very weak.  At that point, I would have traded some water for a Cliff bar.

I suggest you do the whole 80 miles in one day so that you don't have to carry two days of water.  Camping overnight uses up a portion of your water supply but doesn't get you further down the road.  You'll have time to work up to that mileage if you aren't there yet.  On the other hand, camping out in the desert away from civilization is beautiful.

[Pat Lamb]

I carried two Platypus bladders (64 or maybe 80 oz), but never needed more than one to cross Kansas.  Nevada, or camping away from water sources, might require another.

If you pack a sleeping bag in a pannier, you can put the bladder in the center of the bag to keep it cooler.  (Not cool, just cooler.)  Probably best if you have a synthetic bag, as they retain warmth if there's a leak.  That said, the Platypus never leaked on me, although I lost a lid in a Wyoming wind.  (Used the other lid after that!)

Pat

[indyfabz]

Since you won't need the extra water carrying capacity for the entire trip, perhaps some 2L soda bottles?  You can then recycle them when they are no longer needed.

[bogiesan]

Supplements are only necessary if there are deficiencies in your diet. Don't let that happen. Eat well, eat according to the demands of your physical exertion, eat good foods.

The problem with anticipating your water needs is the anticipation of possible water problems. You can do 80 miles across Nevada with a gallon of water but if you blow a tire and must spend four or ten hours in the blazing sun, that single gallon of water might be your last.

There is a weird niche of bike tourers who do stretches like this at night; traffic is at a minimum, temps are cool or even cold, and all you need are good lights and a long nap before starting. Umm, this is something I personally have NEVER tried to do, even crossing Idaho's deserts, but I certainly understand the strategy.

Also, do you have an opportunity to practice?

david boise ID

[whittierider]

Here are a couple of web pages on carrying a lot of water:
http://epicureancyclist.com/?p=536
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=RrzKj&page_id=87049&v=13

As for supplements, I definitely recommend them because modern waterlogging farming methods have rinsed the nutrients out of the soil so our food is nowhere near as nutritious as it was a century ago.  Supplementing won't usually make a noticeable difference in the short term, but I can show you how even heart disease is mostly a result not of cholesterol, but of lacking nutrients.  The corrupt pharmaceutical industry doesn't want you to know that though, because they want to make billions selling cholesterol-lowering drugs that are proven to be harmful and don't extend anyone's life or improve its quality.  If you take only one supplement, at least get vitamin C.  It is at the top of a long list of nutrients that are needed for maintaining good heart health.  Most of the animals make their own vitamin C, and there's evidence that people did too thousands of years ago.  We don't anymore though.

[staehpj1]

I was first wondering what kind of multivitamins would be good to bring along, including other supplements (if necessary).  I read about the First endurance Multi-V vitamin for long cycling trips, but I am open to any suggestions. 

Do you usually take supplements?  If so I would continue to take what you already take.  Otherwise no.  Probably better to just try to eat reasonably well.

Second, on some of the days during the trip, such as in Kansas and on route 50 in Nevada, there will be periods where there is nothing for eighty miles.  What do you guys suggest for water.  I have three bottles on my bike, but obviously that is not enough for one day of biking.  Any recommendations?

I usually carry a platypus 2 liter + bladder mostly for carrying water in camp, and have carried it on top of the rack at times.  Usually I just fill some empty sports drink bottles and keep them inside my panniers, they stay cooler there.  I only carry two bottles on the frame and stop and refill them from water in the panniers when they are low.

[whittierider]

I have three bottles on my bike, but obviously that is not enough for one day of biking.  Any recommendations?

I forgot to mention this in my post above.  In addition to the bottles on the frame, you can put two more in one of the holders that goes behind the seat that triathletes use [1].  Originally I got the Aquarack from Profile Design but it sat down low and interfered with luggage, so then I got the Saddlewing from XLab that clamps onto the seat rails and sits up high, out of the way of luggage.  You can see it here with my huge (almost two gallons' worth of space) Mountain Wedge III from Jandd Mountaineering which I got to carry a few clothes and things for light credit-card tours of a few days where you stay in motels and eat in restaurants instead of carrying your camping gear:



Although one bottle hides the other one in the picture, there are two 32-ounce Zefal Magnum water bottles there.  Oh, and I should mention:  Do get the Zefal Magnum bottles if your frame is big enough to hold them.  Most touring frames are, but sloping-top-tube frames usually won't handle them in the seat-tube cage, even with a side-entry cage, because these bottles are so tall to get an entire quart in them.  The kind I have has been discontinued and Zefal now has a re-desiged one out that holds a couple more ounces.  I think some people were complaining of leakage in the old one although we never had any trouble, so this new one may have been to improve that.

With that arrangement, I can start with an entire gallon.  I would like to find a way to put another quart under the down tube but I can't safely just hoseclamp another cage down there to the carbon like I did to my old, thick steel frame which cracked anyway--twice--with less than half as many miles of hard riding as I have on this bike.  Twofish has their Quick Cage water bottle cage which just velcros on, but it doesn't go up to tubing as big as my down tube.



[1] The idea there is to make the bottles draft your body to reduce wind resistance; but wind-tunnel tests have found that it's actually beneficial to the aerodynamics to have a bottle in the seat-tube cage even if it's empty, as it acts as a fairing to guide the wind around the rear spokes.  The strangest thing is that it helps more if there's some crosswind component!  Obviously water-bottle aerodynamics won't have as great an effect when you have big panniers sticking out catching the wind.

[tonythomson]

I don't know that route but if 80 miles is the longest gap between stores then I would just throw in several small bottles of water in the bottom of your panniers.  No need to buy special bladders etc. Why small bottles - because if you get a leak then you will only a lose small amount of your water.
Your water will probably become warm regardless of where you keep it so if you don't like the taste then just throw in one of the electrolyte sports drink tabs, get the other benefits from it also.

I looked at Russ' link someone posted above and they have a massive water container on the top  of the pannier, I just wondered what happens when it's no longer full and the water starts sloshing around , I feel sure that would unbalance you.

Good luck