how many?
Roughly one every ten miles. The actual number of bike aid stations varies with the layout of the course. In other words, if it is a two lap course it may only require four to five aid stations since you are passing each one twice.
and people think they need more water/gatorade than this?
I can understand if you have delicate nutritional needs but…no not really I can’t understand, you could always just get water and put a pbj in yer pocket
=)
Roughly one every ten miles. The actual number of bike aid stations varies with the layout of the course. In other words, if it is a two lap course it may only require four to five aid stations since you are passing each one twice.
and don’t forget there is a special needs bag roughly halfway through the bike for you to stash whatever specifics you ‘need’ if you want something beyond what they provide.
The only complaining I have heard from people is due to their own screw ups not having enough of their own to make it a certain distance and not taking anything from the aid stations (or not enough to go 10ish miles.) On a VERY rare occasion an aid station might run out, but I can’t recall ever hearing about that happening on the bike.
i dont mean from the complaining side of things
im talking about the huge masses of hydration material attached to peoples bikes.
and don’t forget there is a special needs bag roughly halfway through the bike for you to stash whatever specifics you ‘need’ if you want something beyond what they provide.
The only complaining I have heard from people is due to their own screw ups not having enough of their own to make it a certain distance and not taking anything from the aid stations (or not enough to go 10ish miles.) On a VERY rare occasion an aid station might run out, but I can’t recall ever hearing about that happening on the bike.
I can understand if you have delicate nutritional needs but…no not really I can’t understand, you could always just get water and put a pbj in yer pocket
Word. In fact I’ve done that at a couple HIMs. Hell, I even tried a tuna sandwich at one. (I finished it, but I didn’t enjoy it all that much.) I don’t get the delicate thing either. knocks on wood
generally I agree with you, why carry so much on the bike when so much is available every 10 miles.
But you never know what can happen out there. Case in point, my last Ironman, Arizona a couple of years ago, I carried one bottle with a concentrated mix of Carbo Pro on the bike and had my Jet Stream available to put cold water in from the aid stations and then add a squirt of the concentrate to it. I get to the first aid station and all of their water is hot! Not just warm, but hot as it had been sitting in the back of a trailer all week in 90+ degree temps and hadn’t been put on ice yet. Hot water and Carbo Pro don’t taste good.
Food for thought:
If you are a middle of the pack rider, the aid stations can be packed with other riders slowing and perhaps stopping and you could be blocked from getting fluids etc. Also watching out for dropped bottles and not dropping those that you want. Fortunalty, most IM brand races have tables set far enough apart that you should be able to get something without much problem. Mostly they are every eight to twelve miles a part. The language barrier may be something to pay attention too, when I did Ironman Germany last year, they said ‘ISO’ (ESO?) for the energy drink. Had to ask another competetitor ‘whats that’?
One solution: HTFU!
As mentioned in all the other posts, for various reasons I go into a race planning to not use any aid stations, so I carry everything with me. I know plenty of other people do that, or have a specific fluid they use so they ‘can’t’ use the aid stations. I also know people that go out with one water bottle and a bunch of gels and salt. They take water at every aid station, and rarely have more than 1 bottle on them. To each their own, as long as they aren’t getting in the way.
Believe it or not, 17 at my last race…