Dehydration sounds like a monster killer: De-HYDE-ration.

Yeah, yeah, another one of my horrible jokes. Out on my ride today, though, I got this idea because I was wondering whether I might be getting dehydrated. Dehydration is far from a monster killer; it\’s a monster in itself.

It was one of those days. For whatever reason, I felt tired. My energy level was low. My endurance seemed poor. On the way home, the 10 mph wind seemed awfully strong. Only will-power seemed to keep me going, and getting back home felt like it took forever.

Dehydration is a possible cause of fatigue, and is definitely no joke. I began to take sips of water and electrolyte drink more frequently. It didn\’t seem to help.

I ate a few more bites of food. That didn\’t help, either. Whatever was going on, I did a much shorter ride than I had planned. I was going to push for 40 miles, and did just over 29.

When I was back home, and did my post-ride weigh-in, I weighed 2.3 pounds more than my pre-ride weight. That almost certainly means that dehydration was not my problem today. Maybe I should have eaten more before and during my ride. Or possibly even skipped it?

After all, I was tired when I got up this morning. We all need a day off now and then. So why go riding when I\’m tired?

I went out because this is the last day of Bike Month, and I didn\’t want to miss it. I need to learn how to keep going when things don\’t seem to be going well. It\’s called slaying your demons!