I have a question about the IBA ride TIPS and caffeine

[scythefwd]

I'm prepping up for my first IBA attempt...
I'm a coffee drinker. I tend to have one in the morning, one at lunch, and maybe even one before I leave work for home. I may have a soda or two during the day.

Now, in the IBA 25 tips there is this little gem...

3. Leave your drugs and coffee supply at home.
It's this simple, drugs and other stimulants do not work! If you need No-Doze or other drugs to stay alert (the Iron Butt Association includes coffee and colas on this hot list), it's time to stop for the day and get some serious rest.

I assume nodoze and ripfuel and the other caffeine in pill form are no-gos. But would having my normal coffee or soda with breakfast and lunch actually be a DQ'ing event for me?

 

[Martien]

Drinking coffee during the ride will dehydrate you, so that's not a great idea. Also sports and energy bars or gels are not drugs, so it is perfectly ok to use these during the rides. However if you do get very tired during a ride, GET A GOOD REST!

Personally I like and use these two brands: https://www.scienceinsport.com/us/shop-by-need/energy?caffeine=140 (especially the Double Espresso)
and https://www.powerbar.eu/en_INT/performance-endurance

 

[JAORE]

"Drinking coffee dehydrates you" is an old wife's tale, at least in the quantities described above. It's so accepted that I re-Googled it to make sure I was on firm ground. That said, I'm normally a serious coffee drinker and I cut back slightly before an IBA ride to help get a better nights sleep. Then I MIGHT have a cup of coffee or a diet coke on the ride. But Martien is correct, if drowsy, get off the bike.

 

[LeMaitre]

If you keep your stop times short, 10 minutes or less, the ride should not take more than 20 hours. Now comes the question only you can answer for yourself. Given your current caffeine routine how tired are you after being up 16 hours? How about 20 hours? If you are not experiencing the physical crash and need for sleep, you probably will be fine. That said if it was a multiple day intense ride such as the IBR, I would follow the guidance.

Personally I will drink one or two cups in the morning of the ride so that I won't experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

-Mark

 

[EricV]

It's a day ride. Tapering off if you're a heavy coffee drinker a week or so before isn't a bad idea. Then when you feel the need for caffeine, it will give you a better boost, what ever form you choose to use. And caffeine withdrawal is no joke. Headaches for most people the day after their last caffeine infusion.

In terms of real world riding, it's your bladder and your caffeine addiction level. The more fluid you take in, the more often you'll typically need to pee. Caffeine is a diuretic, so tends to make you pee more often. But we all vary in how we tolerate that, and how our body responds to caffeine. A 5 hour energy is much less fluid, but still a good caffeine hit. Consider that for your mid day caffeine hit.

I would suggest you just maintain your regular routine. You're probably not a heavy enough user to experience withdrawal symptoms, but you won't know until you go cold turkey. If you don't drink coffee or soda on the weekends, do you get headaches on Sat? That's normally an indication of caffeine withdrawal.

For serious fatigue and micro sleep, nothing is as effective as SLEEP. Even a short nap beats trying to dose yourself with enough caffeine to stay awake. And stopping and getting some sleep is a lot safer too. You have time to get a room and grab 4 hours if you really need to on a SS1K, unless you've chosen a super slow and twisty route.

And don't forget that if you blow the SS1K on your attempt, you can still grab some rest/sleep and go for the BB1500 in 36 hours. You don't have to do 1000 in 24 during a BB1500 ride.

 

[Ira]

I'm prepping up for my first IBA attempt...
I'm a coffee drinker. I tend to have one in the morning, one at lunch, and maybe even one before I leave work for home. I may have a soda or two during the day.

Now, in the IBA 25 tips there is this little gem...

3. Leave your drugs and coffee supply at home.
It's this simple, drugs and other stimulants do not work! If you need No-Doze or other drugs to stay alert (the Iron Butt Association includes coffee and colas on this hot list), it's time to stop for the day and get some serious rest.

I assume nodoze and ripfuel and the other caffeine in pill form are no-gos. But would having my normal coffee or soda with breakfast and lunch actually be a DQ'ing event for me?

If you read this in context, it is saying that when your body tells you to stop for a while, do so and don't try to extend your saddle time by using stimulants. That's different than just following your normal routine.

Also, we wouldn't disqualify your ride for drinking coffee.

Ira

 

[Dave28117]

I will drink a cup before starting out on my ss1k rides. I may have 1 cup somewhere along the way. mostly this is just to keep the caffeine headache away. I otherwise alternate between gatorade type drinks for electrolites, and plain water. I have consulted my DR about coffee and dehydration and he told me in these quantities I don't need to worry. if you are trying to drink coffee along the way to stay awake, that's probably not a good solution. However, only you know yourself. as you are putting thought into this prior to your ride, it sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[Gerry Arel]

Life is short. Drink your coffee.

IMHO any disruptions to your regular routine do more harm than good. Get up, have a cup... hit the road. Works for me.

 

[SteveAikens]

I'm a heavy coffee drinker. To that point, when I travel in my car, I carry my own coffeemaker and coffee with me. I may or may not have taken a few long rides on motorcycles. I have, and will never, stop or cut down on my coffee consumption to do so.

That said, at 75 y/o, and being a heavy coffee drinker for likely 65 years or so, I find NOT having my coffee does indeed have negative effects on my system.

I completely concur with Gerry Arel's post. Take a long ride on a motorcycle should not be a reason for a change of legal lifestyle.

 

[Greg Rice]

I am not a heavy coffee drinker but I do have a couple cups every morning. I don’t change anything prior to a IBA ride related to drinking coffee.

When I am riding through the night I usually have a cup of coffee at a gas stop.

 

[scythefwd]

Life is short. Drink your coffee.

IMHO any disruptions to your regular routine do more harm than good. Get up, have a cup... hit the road. Works for me.

Thats actually one of my bigger worries lol.. it'd be breaking my routine (I usually drink a pot or 2 during a day, but honestly, one in the morning and at lunch with gator aides and water between wouldn't be a major change...

 

[scythefwd]

If you read this in context, it is saying that when your body tells you to stop for a while, do so and don't try to extend your saddle time by using stimulants. That's different than just following your normal routine.

Also, we wouldn't disqualify your ride for drinking coffee.

Ira

Thanks .. I was a bit disbelieving so I wanted to double check. I do agree... caffeine and other stimulants don't work. They keep the body moving, but the mental fatigue is what's so killer on bikes. I appreciate the clarification.

 

[scythefwd]

Drinking coffee during the ride will dehydrate you, so that's not a great idea. Also sports and energy bars or gels are not drugs, so it is perfectly ok to use these during the rides. However if you do get very tired during a ride, GET A GOOD REST!

Personally I like and use these two brands: https://www.scienceinsport.com/us/shop-by-need/energy?caffeine=140 (especially the Double Espresso)
and https://www.powerbar.eu/en_INT/performance-endurance

Coffee is a diuretic. It makes you pee. It doesn't just suck all the water from your body.

A cup or two in a day (unless you've never drank coffee before) should have 0 effects on the body.. especially when hydrating at other stops. I do appreciate the link to the powerbars.. it was not a snack I had considered for the ride... and it makes perfect sense. I do agree about the rest. 100%. If I feel tired or even "not on" the day I start the ride.. it terminates then and there. I'll do an overnight stop and forego the attempt. I do have a 1k mile trip I HAVE to make (its actually 1070, and the odo on the moving truck, which had the most freakishly accurate speedo I've ever encountered... dead on with all those radar signs, every single one, not one mile off .... anyways, the trip said 1100 for that and it's the same trip).

 

[scythefwd]

If you keep your stop times short, 10 minutes or less, the ride should not take more than 20 hours. Now comes the question only you can answer for yourself. Given your current caffeine routine how tired are you after being up 16 hours? How about 20 hours? If you are not experiencing the physical crash and need for sleep, you probably will be fine. That said if it was a multiple day intense ride such as the IBR, I would follow the guidance.

Personally I will drink one or two cups in the morning of the ride so that I won't experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

-Mark

My daily routine involves about 5 hours sleep on an average day. 24 -36 is not uncommon for me (be up all night and do work the next day and then sleep after I get the kids to bed, maybe an hour nap before dinner)... Staying awake has never been my challenge. My biggest worry, honestly, is the mental boredom. My communicator says 8 hours talk time... and I have no idea how they measured that. It takes 3 hours to charge it though. I'll probably keep it on for directions til I hit my first LONG highway stretch (its about 700 miles, give or take)... and then turn it off. Once I start nearing my next highway changeover, it'll go back on. It's design, unfortunately, means I cannot charge it while riding... and it cannot be used while charging (that would be a slick feature no?).

 

[scythefwd]

It's a day ride. Tapering off if you're a heavy coffee drinker a week or so before isn't a bad idea. Then when you feel the need for caffeine, it will give you a better boost, what ever form you choose to use. And caffeine withdrawal is no joke. Headaches for most people the day after their last caffeine infusion.

In terms of real world riding, it's your bladder and your caffeine addiction level. The more fluid you take in, the more often you'll typically need to pee. Caffeine is a diuretic, so tends to make you pee more often. But we all vary in how we tolerate that, and how our body responds to caffeine. A 5 hour energy is much less fluid, but still a good caffeine hit. Consider that for your mid day caffeine hit.

I would suggest you just maintain your regular routine. You're probably not a heavy enough user to experience withdrawal symptoms, but you won't know until you go cold turkey. If you don't drink coffee or soda on the weekends, do you get headaches on Sat? That's normally an indication of caffeine withdrawal.

For serious fatigue and micro sleep, nothing is as effective as SLEEP. Even a short nap beats trying to dose yourself with enough caffeine to stay awake. And stopping and getting some sleep is a lot safer too. You have time to get a room and grab 4 hours if you really need to on a SS1K, unless you've chosen a super slow and twisty route.

And don't forget that if you blow the SS1K on your attempt, you can still grab some rest/sleep and go for the BB1500 in 36 hours. You don't have to do 1000 in 24 during a BB1500 ride.

I definitely get withdrawl symptoms the day after... I can stave them off with a couple cups of coffee in a day, but my "normal" caffeine content on my coffee has given folks palpitations. I can usually take a nap after one of em lol... I have an insane tolerance to caffeine. I wish it wasn't so, but even drinking 4 redbulls barely gets my heart rate up.. and I can sleep after that (within an hour of finishing the 4th). I wont be gunning for the 1500 BB. This is a one way trip from where I'm staying now to my new home. It just happens to pretty much fall in line perfectly with the requirements for a SS1000. 90% of the road has a speed limit of 75. IF my math is correct I'm looking at 16-17 hours in the saddle, and about 2 hours lost at stops (10 stops, 10 minutes each, and a long 40 minute one for lunch... ). 10 hours (451 miles) is my longest ride so far on the k12rs, and I felt really good after the ride was done...

My plan is 10 minutes per stop stretching and fueling. during that period I'll be snacking on things like jerky and granola bars. Putting down some water or gatoraide and hopping back on.

 

[rneal55555]

...Also, we wouldn't disqualify your ride for drinking coffee.

Ira

Thank God for that none of mine would have counted, I pretty much follow my usual routine, but will adjust somewhat to meet hydration needs to deal with the heat.

 

[EddyC]

Drinking coffee to the amount one is not used to and to neutralize the "downs", might help for a while, but has an inherant danger of getting to another "down" soon and usually in a more severe manner.
I believe one should not change one's daily routine radically.
Maybe, there is also a mental issue: a nice cup of coffee could get you back in the game, could warm you up, could make you say: "Ahhhhh, nice!"
If you like a cup of coffee, I can't see why one should not enjoy one, especially since the ride could be hard enough on itself!
Stay Safe... Ed.

 

[kerrizor]

Maybe, there is also a mental issue: a nice cup of coffee could get you back in the game, could warm you up, could make you say: "Ahhhhh, nice!"

I mean.. sure, I live in Seattle, but I ain't fancy - I have a particular love for the coffee at Circle K and Love's (Flying J needs to up their game, just sayin'...) More than one ride has been "saved" by stopping for a quick cup.. but I think it is the stop as much as the caffeine that help.. getting off the bike and pausing helps to "reset" my brain and attitude.. plus getting a few calories of sugar and fats (from the creamer) certainly help with brain fog!

 

[kerrizor]

I am not a heavy coffee drinker but I do have a couple cups every morning. I don’t change anything prior to a IBA ride related to drinking coffee.

Just out of curiousity, does that hold for the IBR? Your 48/10? I just knocked out my own 48/10 and didn't change my caffeine habits at all.. curious what other folks do.

 

[EricV]

I've been at your caffeine intake level. Graveyard shift for over a decade and too many 13 hour shifts to count. Advil helped me on the weekend days to offset the withdrawal. I could go to sleep after a quad espresso from Starbucks. (never wasted money on that again)

In terms of mental fatigue, fine motor skill movements can help offset this, like digging something out of your tank bag or putting a couple M&Ms on top of the tank bag and moving them around with the clutch hand. Even tapping out a rhythm with your fingers on the bars as you move along. Anything that requires a secondary focus to repeat or maintain.

In terms of boredom, math works for me. I'm always thinking about time, speed, where should I be, and when, at points ahead on my ride. How many miles I've ridden, Vs the time that has passed, figure that out mentally to come up with my average miles per hour. Then work out when I should be at my next gas stop based on that average, break that down to a known distance up ahead, (like some city on a sign I just passed that says XXX miles ahead), so when should I be there to stay on target or be ahead of target, etc.

You're moving, so you can work on things you need to get done for the move. Mental list making keeps your brain at a higher level.

In regards to comm, yeah, it's not going to last the entire trip. Your plan of shutting it off may meet your needs well. As a back up, consider a short hand list of your route turns taped to the tank in a zip lock bag if you don't have a tank bag w/a map window. Just a simple thing like:

I-64W (96.9 mi)
Merge I-64W/I-81S (30.6)
Exit 191 I-64W (116)
R 2 lanes merge I-64W/I-77N (61.4) Toll
Follow I-64W (500)
Exit 3B I-70W (232)
Exit 20 MO-7 (keep left onto MO-7S/NW Hwy-7) 2.0