Bonking

[MissJean]

Clouds part and singletrack calls.
Through the trees we fly!
Energy gone, I bonk.

Don't you just hate it when you bonk? What is the trip point?
I didn't do anything much different this ride than before any other ride. I ate a sandwich in the car on the way to the ride, had plenty of water. 20 minutes in, started riding real sloppy and got a slight headache. Called it a night.
I was famished when I got home, so maybe it was just not enough food.

[If_Rider]

I've found the meal you eat the night before has more impact (both positive and negative) than what you eat right before a ride. Bonking is no fun!!

[Slappy]

You mean there's such a thing as NOT riding sloppily and with a slight headache? Do tell....

[MissJean]

I've found the meal you eat the night before has more impact (both positive and negative) than what you eat right before a ride. Bonking is no fun!!


Wouldn't the food you ate the night before have already made it's way through your system by the next evening?

[Jisch]

I used to bonk fairly often the first decade or so of riding. I don't know if my metabolism changed or I just pay closer attention to the early signs, but I haven't bonked in a long time (I don't believe in superstition, so I have no problem typing that). I always ride with a couple of PowerGels and a few Clif Bars (multiply that for longer rides). As soon as I start to feel a bit slow, I drop a gel, if I start to feel hungry I eat a Clif bar.

I tend to plan my food stores pretty carefully, its always a gamble for me to share my food, despite my better nature. I'll make exceptions for newbies, but the guys I ride with every week should know to bring food if they need it by now.

Bonking sucks, I've had some cold, hike a bike, fogged vision doosies. I remember calling my wife on the drive home from a ride once, begging her to start some pasta. My friend and I ate that whole pound of pasta in one sitting and I ate again two hours later. That was a bad one.

John

[peterdbikes]

The closest I came to bonking was years ago on a rode ride. It was about 20 miles into the ride and I was trying to play catch up with some faster riders. I started a small climb and began to push it a bit more. I soon realized I didn't have the energy. I slowed the pace and then it hit. I was at a point where I could not even turn the pedals. I barely had the energy to stop and get off the bike. I rested and ate a bar or two. By the time someone came looking for me, 20 minutes had passed and I was well enough to pedal the 5 miles back to the car. I felt like crap for a few hours longer, until I had a good lunch.

I only get headaches on a ride if I don't drink enough and are dehyrated.

[CTMBRer]

I don't think I have ever bonked but I think I have come close. On really long rides, I bring a gatorade bottle filled with two cans of warm coke and try to take little swigs of that throughout the ride and drink plenty of water.

[Doro]

I bonked for the first time this week out at lynn. I felt great the first 2 hours of the ride but by the last hour I couldn't even hold a line or my bike for that matter. Granted I was trying to keep pace w/ much better riders than I but still it was bad. By the time I ate some food it was too late. I think I learned that consistancy is key. Like Jisch said if you start to feel a little beat then drop a gel or eat something. Also I will plan what I eat that day a little better. I was trash the next day as well. That was no fun. Couldnt even hold a line on flat single track.

[Mr_Cheeze]

There has to be many factors that could result in bonking, and they probably differ for each person. Proper nutrition and sleep are the most obvious. Simply lacking a key nutrient, like iron, can definitely cut your endurance quickly. I mention iron because that's a common issue for many women.

Pace is the main one for me. I have bonked only twice, and both times at Otis. The first was several years ago. I had just started riding again after a few years of lost interest. Rode Otis alone and didn't watch my pace. I reached the far end of the area from where I parked and couldn't pedal one more stroke. It was a looooong walk back. Don't remember what I ate that day, but it probably wasn't enough.

The second time was a couple of years ago. Went on a group ride at Otis with some hill-philes who didn't warn us beforehand that, by the way, we're riding lots of long uphills. Ugh. I was stroked out in an hour.

I haven't bonked since then, thankfully. That's the worst feeling. Now I carry a bottle of cytomax on every ride to supplement a big breakfast (lots of egg protein and usually oatmeal before a ride). The only issue now for me is my upper back (traps), which tightens up, sometimes severely, after a couple of hours. This forces me to rest more often than I would like.

I believe that weightlifting helps endurance greatly for more technical rides. Soft bodies are going to conk out faster on rough terrain.