Gatorade makes me thirsty.

x2

Are you sure it's the Gatorade making you thirsty, and not just increased thirst from increased exertion? Is a 20 miler unusually long for you? i.e. have you routinely done this distance before, or are these longer rides new to you? 

Have you tried just water to see if your thirst perception or hydration needs change?

Yes, it probably is .......... from my favorite reference ........ http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/label/dehydration

Then I'd stick with water and try other sources for calories, like gels, shot blocks, etc. and see what works best for you.

You do not really "lose" electrolytes through sweat.

Gatorade is a salty sugary water.  It certainly doesn't "encourage" you to drink water.  It just makes you thirsty and want to drink more.

When it is all said and done, it only really upsets the osmolality of your system by increasing the levels of sodium in your blood.  This then makes you more thirsty so that you will consume a fluid to correct the balance.

Your body is a remarkable system.  When you sweat and deplete the minerals in your body, the system maintains the proper balance of sodium/water that you need to effectively continue.  You can still perform at the same level up to 4 or 5% body loss through dehydration with little detraction in performance.  If you look at studies of both elite and amateur athletes comparing ones who have lost higher percentages of body weight to those that didn't, the electrolyte concentration in their blood is a remarkably similar proportion.  What does that mean?  It means your body regulates and optimizes the levels of things that it needs to perform.

The real reason to drink water?  To help keep your cooling system in check and working properly.  And why some salt?  Because drinking too much water will dilute the sodium concentration in your blood which can lead to hyponatremia (and eventually death).

No one has ever been recorded as dying from dehydration in an endurance event.  People have died from hyponatremia .........

I dilute my gatorade with water. About 55% g'ade, 45% water. I do tend to get a thirsty feeling (it's really only my mouth that feels thirsty; I'm not dehydrated or anything) after about 4 or 5 hrs of riding. But I don't know if it's from consuming g'ade for four hours or from having taken in a gel every 25 mins for 4 or 5 hrs...

Lots of sweet stuff.

I don't mean to be overly simple about this, but really just drink more water!  I usually drink about 3 pints of water and 1 pint of 1/2 water 1/2 gatorade in a 25 mile ride.

Actually a big fan of the Orange Accelerade (w/caffeine) for longer rides.  The protein/carb mix seems to work better for me than just plain Gatorade.

With regards to the Gatorade, you could also try to buy different flavors.  The "Fierce" flavors always make me thirsty too, or at least feel like I need to drink more, but the "Rain" flavors are a little smoother and don't leave my mouth all puckered.

You really don't need any calories if you workouts are under 90'.

You may be falling for the endurance athlete I need all these cool and expensive type drinks and gels trap/marketing hype.

Seriously you don't need much and to save money buy powdered something to drink if you go longer way cheaper than things like Accelerade. Gummy bears/worms (fat free candy works great and is about 10% of the cost of gels or similar things) work similar to gels and shot bloks and are way less money too. You need water, electroltyes and carbs when you work out longer than about 90'. How you get them is part of the fun.

 I'm with you... I drink water and I eat a bit on long rides. If you want a little salt and carbs try pretzles, payday bars are REALLY good as are banannas, and I am a big fan of a tortilla with peanut butter and jelly rolled up like a wrap. If you ar bonking on rides of 1 hr to 1.5 hours you probably need to start out with a fuller tank.

that's nice. but 22 miles take me more than 90 min. Thus something is needed. and nope. not falling for anything.

Well I don't use gatoraid on the bike.  I did try some Powerbar Endurance stuff, it was on sale.  Yup it's nasty, I see why it was on sale.  I tried it three times thinking it was an aquired taste.  I wanted to pull over and brush my mouth out in the mud puddles.

Trash can it went in.

Joe

I always dilute G'ade with water...works for me, but I like Daremo's tip...

I'd recommend Gu20as it is not nearly as sickly sweet as most drinks and it uses maltodextrin which is a complex carb and not sucrose/fructose 

 "these prezels are making me thirsty"