Second ride on roads, 60 miles in 4 hours, did I bonk ???

parsons1927

You say you had a few beers the night before so maybe a touch of dehydration thrown into the mix as well?

Mark Alexander

Peddle Up! wrote:

Eating curry before a 60 miler means bonking is the least of your worries.

If you had bonked big time, you wouldn't be asking. I bonked at the bottom of Alpe d'Huez collapsed and in Pontyprydd seeing double. The bonk's awful but can be overcome given a can of coke (short term). Cake (for when the coke rush run's out. Breakfast is a must for a long ride IMHO. Anyone who says not to eat before an early morning ride for example is mad.

Speaking of early morning runs... Curry's not ideal the night before a ride.

Mark Alexander

parsons1927 wrote:

You say you had a few beers the night before so maybe a touch of dehydration thrown into the mix as well?

I've done a 50mile TT at 08:00 the day after a stag do..... I planned to be polite and have one...... Honest. Missed a pb by 25 sec.

sloppyschleckonds

Mark Alexander wrote:

Anyone who says not to eat before an early morning ride for example is mad.

Think Cycling + did a feature on this a couple of years ago.

'For recreational athletes interested in maximizing their exercise regime, some experts recommend a regular training session where you deliberately do not eat beforehand'

Matt the Tester

cougie wrote:

I'd probably do 60 miles with no breakfast and maybe 1 energy bar - so I dont see that it was fuel related ? Maybe a bit long and a bit fast ?

you need to eat? :P

Garz

Mark Alexander wrote:

parsons1927 wrote:

You say you had a few beers the night before so maybe a touch of dehydration thrown into the mix as well?

I've done a 50mile TT at 08:00 the day after a stag do..... I planned to be polite and have one...... Honest. Missed a pb by 25 sec.

Must have been a s!*& stag do... :P

cyberknight

Simonhi wrote:

geebee2 wrote:

It sounds as if you did reach some kind of limit, the limit where you cannot keep a fast pace, but can still proceed at a slower pace.

With a real bonk, you would be off with the fairies, you might fall off your bike entirely, and if you went into a shop, you would get odd looks by being unable to walk straight.

This is what i think happened too, hit a limit or sorts but not the complete limit, whereby I was incapacitated to continue, just a very weak feeling.

I would love to go and find those two small hills again to see if they are merely bumps that have turned into mountains due to my spent state.

All advise is gratefully received, whilst I may not be the perfect figure of a man in training, I do like to know that I'm not wasting my time when expending such a lot of effort.

I think most of us on here enjoy the odd drink and food that is tasty but probably best left until after a biggish ride, but hey, life is for living and loving !!!

Cheers again peeps.

Si :-)

Sounds like my Sunday Run,

I have been on night shift so my body is out of sync with eating etc and i went for my 1st chain gang run .
I was fine for 45 miles but with about 5 to go i dropped off the back of the group and although i was not bonking i could not keep my legs turning so i simply stopped had a minute to drink etc and i continued at a reasonable pace for the rest of the ride.

ushills

In 1 hour on the road bike I can burn through 1000 calories so I would strongly suggest eating a while before you go out especially for 60 miles.

When I was younger and didn't appreciate just how many calories I could burn I regularly passed out when getting of the bike at the end of a race or training ride with no warning, fortunately I usually slumped against a wall or had just sat down.

I found energy drinks got energy into your system quicker than bars and prevented stomach cramps.

nferrar

Doesn't sound like you bonked but likely pushed your physiological limits for your current level of fitness. It's not all about eating enough carbs otherwise you could ride indefinitely if you just ate enough, but your muscles can't handle that sort of exertion - although the exact mechanics behind fatigue aren't properly understood (and your brain comes into a lot rather than it being purely muscle related).

I've only ever properly bonked once and I couldn't even turn the pedals over when freewheeling, had to get off the bike and fell asleep at the side of the road I have felt rubbish/drained/knackered plenty of times of 60 odd mile rides though, mostly if it's a big step up in mileage or if I don't take on enough food.