The 3-4hr partial bonk!

springtide9

Been riding on the road just this year but really have been biking regularly for more like 2 yrs.

Finding the time for regular long rides is tough due to family commitments... which means that at most I'll get one long ride once a week on the weekend... mostly around the 3-4 hr mark... but on occasions manage 5hrs.

I have done a few longer events.. including a 100 mile Sportive in April as well as an 8hr MTB event last October and a 12hr event in June this year.

What I'm noticing is that around the 3-4hr mark into the ride I really start suffering. Riding mostly 4hr stints usually means it's at the end of the ride.. which has been worrying me with regards to longer events... but as I was on the bike for longer yesterday.. I pulled through it and was feeling pretty strong towards the end of the ride.
H
Most of my rides are early starts.. so it's up.. cereal breakfast and out of the house - within 30mins.... yes not ideal cycling on a partial full stomach - but have found it better than not eating at all... it just means the first 45mins is a little uncomfortable.

In terms of energy drinks, bars etc.. I probably over do them and I do take in a reasonable amount of fluids. I have tried gels to try and give me a pick me up... but have little effect.
The thing is.. once I get through this 'irritation' food intake seems to have a huge effect on my energy levels.
What it feels like is that my body is waiting for me to completely run out of energy... before deciding to process anything I've eaten.
Usually at the time I worry about pushing hard to get through it on the fear I'll completely bonk leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Anyone else get this and is this normal?
And is the cure to just push on through with the knowledge that you'll eventually pull through it... or could it be my early morning starts and lack of time to really digest what I've eaten be the issue? Happy to push on through but as it happens regularly and is really annoying, worth asking if there is a cure!

sfichele

Try a read of this book it's excellent:

http://www.anitabean.co.uk/books/cgsn.htm

Basically, you are not eating enough before you start your ride. Also on long rides +3 hours its hard to get all the carbs you needs - even if you are eating along the way.

For longs rides the most important thing is to eat 2-3 hrs before!
The recommended amount of carbs is about 2.5g per kilo of body weight, so if you weight 75 kg you need to eat at least 185g of carbs before you go out.

springtide9

sfichele wrote:

Try a read of this book it's excellent:

http://www.anitabean.co.uk/books/cgsn.htm

Basically, you are not eating enough before you start your ride. Also on long rides +3 hours its hard to get all the carbs you needs - even if you are eating along the way.

For longs rides the most important thing is to eat 2-3 hrs before!
The recommended amount of carbs is about 2.5g per kilo of body weight, so if you weight 75 kg you need to eat at least 185g of carbs before you go out.

Thanks for the reply.

I thought that it was likely to be the case.... but not something that I cannt easily resolve - without getting up at stupid o'clock or shortening the ride etc

First thing is the best time to get some miles in for me... so it will have to try a few things to see if I can minimize the lull - or just put up with it. I do try and avoid products with caffeine as I always find a dip after the boost... but maybe a little caffeine might be the answer to help get over the hump.

Thanks again... and any suggestions are more than welcome (apart from - changing the time of day I ride!)

suzyb

I'm watching this thread with some interest as I have the same problem.

Did Pedal for Scotland yesterday and tried to make sure I had enough energy by having pasta for breakfast (around an hour before I started the ride). It didn't work

sfichele

Try carb loading the night before, and get as much food down you when you first wake up.

nickel

As others have suggested I'd carb load the night before and then try and eat as much as possible for breakfast. I usually eat something along the lines of a bowl of porridge and two slices of wholemeal toast before a long ride. After the first hour to 90minutes of the ride I then try to consume around 60g of carbohydrate per hour (I weigh around 60kg so a gram for every kilo of bodymass), this is typically a gel and two slices of malt loaf an hour. Ever since I started doing this I've been able to ride much harder even after say 70miles when I'd usually be limping home feeling knackered. It might seem like an excessive amount of food and gels to be eating to some people but it works for me!

sfichele

You also need to start eating the instant you start riding - the gels or the haribos or whatever you eat take an hour to come through as energy

springtide9

Think I'm eating/drinking enough, as yesterday had:

Before leaving the house...
- bowl of Muesli, Apple & 1/2 Gel Block (Clif Gel Block)
[cut down on the quantity of cereal a little to reduce the amount of 'fibre' - probably had about 150g - and I'm about 82kg]
[ Porridge is my usual choice... but I was running late! ]

Roughly after 1 hr:
- 1/2 Gel Block (Clif Gel Block)

After roughly 2 hrs:
- 50g Energy bar.

After roughly 3 hrs (and at the point of feeling rubbish!)
- Gel Block (a bit at a time... but had the whole lot - equiv to 2 std gels)

After roughly 4 hrs:
- 50g Energy bar.

Over the ride, I also consumed 2.5L of energy drink.

Think most hardened roadies would think this is excessive.. I have tried eating less but get similar issues.... hence pretty much use the 1g/kg/hr rule (gels/bars + energy drink)

Ride lasted just under 5 hrs (80miles / 5000ft), but was feeling very good at the end and would have liked to see what my 100 miler time would have been - but had got to my destination and more importantly - it was lunchtime at the in-laws!
What is odd... is it feels like I really have to 'crash' before I have a second wind - and I get that 'sugar rush' feeling from consumption - almost kicking my body digesting the food properly.

Unfortunately I don't get the chance for very long rides often and they are mostly events.. so 6+ hr rides are rare for me. I might see if pushing harder at the start of the ride while I still have 'reserves' - kick starts my body earlier. I was looking at my Garmin data.. the 'crash' only appeared to last about 20mins... and after 30mins it looks like I was fully recovered... but obviously felt much longer at the time.

Thanks again for the info above.

oldwelshman

I amnot convinced carbloading is the answer, unless you ridelong hard rides, like tdf
You body can adapt and I suppose some people are different.
If you eat a lot before and during rides your body is likely to get used to that.
I usually just have some weetabix in morniong and take a banana or two and thats ok for about 70miles for me.
Often I take marziapan an gel for races over 50 miles and dont use them but I always make sure I have stuff in case I need it.
I do tend to eat slightly miore on winter rides, maybe due to the cold

Wrath Rob

Seems excessive to me

For my longer rides, I get up ~30 mins before leaving the house, have 3 Wheatabix and then jump on the bike. After 2 hours I normally start to run low so at least 15 mins before I have an energy gel. Or cake stop. What ever comes first. Then something every hour after that. That gets me to 5ish hours. After that I run out of fitness so food is less of a concern

oldwelshman

Wrath Rob wrote:

Seems excessive to me

For my longer rides, I get up ~30 mins before leaving the house, have 3 Wheatabix and then jump on the bike. After 2 hours I normally start to run low so at least 15 mins before I have an energy gel. Or cake stop. What ever comes first. Then something every hour after that. That gets me to 5ish hours. After that I run out of fitness so food is less of a concern

Sounds like me if you swap the gel for a banana the gel is my reserve
I do notice a difference if I take just squash for drink with no energy drink though. I only do rides up to 40 miles if no energy drink in bottles.

pbt150

Try adding some salts/electrolytes to your bottles if you're going out for more than 3-4 hours. I'd also think about trying to eat a bit of protein (think ham sandwich, or High5 4:1 drink). You'll start breaking down the proteins in your muscles after a while - might be worth a try.

springtide9

Thanks all.

FYI - The quantity on "food" (if you can call it that)... is more than usual, since I wouldn't usually use gels/blocks on normal weekend rides (so would have just been two energy bars)... but have an event coming up in Oct - and wanting to get used to the 'blocks'.

I have tried High5 4:1 and seemed pretty good, although only for one (12hr MTB) event. Seemed to do the trick, but only currently have the sachets (got them for races). Might give it a try as an alternative for longer days in the saddle.

From my experience, I have found for long events that it does depend on effort to how much you need to consume.. and it also varies on fitness and individuals. Having tried reducing the usual 1g/kg/hr for a 12hr MTB event (to roughly 0.6), I almost had to quit at the 6hr mark.. but I did recover and my last 4hr worth of laps were not far of the pace of my first 4 hrs. Finished mid club level, so did better than expected... but the event is mostly filled with wannabes weekend heroes wanting to have a bit of fun - a bit like me! lol

I guess your body can get used to food consumption, but the books I have read imply that it is harder for your body to convert fat to usable energy compared to carbs. Don't know enough about the subject and now in my 40s, so it's not like it's ever going to progress into anything more than a hobby.. parts of me wants to stick to what I know that currently works for me, but with a few tweaks here and here. Problem is, I don't get a chance to do enough long events to really have a decent tweak/feedback system.