It was like somebody literally pulled a plug outta the sink

Raffles
Raffles Posts: 1,137
edited July 2012 in Road beginners
On Saturday morning i participated in a club run which was 55 miles in length. The pace was great , the terrain varied and the cycling group was good and strong in managing an average pace of about 21 mph.. Before that run I had a big bowl of porridge with raspberries and honey in it and all was very well indeed.

Wife woulda killed me if I had even looked at my bike on Sunday or Monday so fast forward to Tuesday evening. For my lunch I had beans on toast and when I got home it was too late to meet up with the club. I grabbed 2 rounds of bread and put strawberry jam on them and decided id have dinner when I got back in from a 50 mile solo ride. I filled 2x500 ml bottles with orange cordial as id forgotten to buy energy drinks from tesco, and I headed out.

The wind was negligible and I thought what an evening for cycling !!

35 miles into to it and I was just delighted how things were going, I was riding on the flats at around 26 mph and it was no effort to sustain it, my legs felt feather light as I pounded up the hills and I was pleased to see my cateye displaying an average speed of around 20mph, though a fair share of this could be attributable to the fact the wind was so very light. At around the 40 mile mark I wasnt expecting what happened. That kind of distance is a walk in the park for me normally, but I literally felt the strength and energy drain out of my legs like somebody had yanked the plug out of a sink. :shock: I felt really hungry and thirsty and I just wished I was back home and didnt have to do the 10 miles to make it back. :cry: Well that 10 miles was miserable, those feather light legs felt as if they were filled with lead and as for pounding up hills.....................forget it !!

Would you say this is what a cycling bonk is like ? if I had have had the brains to bring some flapjacks in my cycling jersey and eaten well before that fateful 40 mile mark , im sure what happened would have been prevented. Is my situation similar to anything any of you have experienced in your time ?
2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 105

Comments

  • kev77
    kev77 Posts: 433
    It is all about the eating and drinking my friend, i have experienced it twice and on a personal experience i came to a complete stop
  • RandG
    RandG Posts: 779
    Try driving your car when it's out of fuel
  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    Raffles wrote:

    Would you say this is what a cycling bonk is like ?

    No
  • woodywmb
    woodywmb Posts: 669
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Raffles wrote:

    Would you say this is what a cycling bonk is like ?

    No

    Er, yes.
    http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1296598/
  • Raffles
    Raffles Posts: 1,137
    disagreement already :?
    2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 105
  • Blancmange
    Blancmange Posts: 103
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Raffles wrote:

    Would you say this is what a cycling bonk is like ?

    No

    +1
    - Slave to the cadence -
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,715
    That wasn't the bonk. You ran low on energy, certainly, but the fact that you were able to cover the 10 miles home means that it wasn't. The only time I've ever experienced it, I had to buy a sandwich, bottle of coke and a couple of chocolate bars from a petrol station and sat shaking like a leaf for at least 10 minutes before I could even consider getting on the bike again.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    whyamihere wrote:
    That wasn't the bonk. You ran low on energy

    Wot he said. 40 miles at 20mph average would be enough to empty most folk's tanks. Ideally you should have had something after about 75mins and then regularly topped up after that. I know it is hard on a club ride as everyone wants to crack on...so that is where energy drinks can come into play for some. Personally, I take a shed load of food on a club run and make sure I eat it when convenient (flexible with the times so as to fit in with the effort).

    Some time ago I also got into the habit of sticking an emergency gel into my saddle bag. Came in very handy on an early season 200k when I really was suffering and had run out of food.
  • cje
    cje Posts: 148
    The bonk is low blood sugar isn't it? Leading to disorientation, vision problems, sweating, panic, the shakes...etc Like when a diabetic has a hypo. This sounds like you just ran out of energy due to a lack of food.

    The bonk can be caused by too much sugar. I remember LA saying he had two cans of cola and a doughnut before a triathlon and ended up bonking because the quick spike of blood sugar led to an equally quick drop in blood sugar.
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Only bonked once (matron!). Stopped dead on hill and fell onto a grass verge still clipped in. I lay there for a while.
  • NITR8s
    NITR8s Posts: 688
    I bonked on my first 100mile ride, around mile 80. Literally had to keep stopping and starting for the last 20 miles, when I finially finished I crawed across the line and collapsed. After lying unable to catch my breath or move for about 10 mins I made it to the first aid crew, who called an ambuelance. However, by the time the ambuelance arrived I was fine.

    Bonking is not fun.
  • jameses
    jameses Posts: 653
    cje wrote:
    The bonk is low blood sugar isn't it? Leading to disorientation, vision problems, sweating, panic, the shakes...etc

    This. Only experienced it once, mercifully with only ten miles of (mostly) downhill back home. Coasted through most of it, struggled to keep up 10mph on the slightest incline. Lost all peripheral vision - not fun when riding back into the centre of town on a saturday - and collapsed the minute I got through the door, just lay there shaking for about fifteen minutes. One of my housemates had to carry me to my bed because I couldn't walk the ten yards to my room. Not quite the same as just running out of energy!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    cje wrote:
    The bonk is low blood sugar isn't it? Leading to disorientation, vision problems, sweating, panic, the shakes...etc Like when a diabetic has a hypo. This sounds like you just ran out of energy due to a lack of food.

    The bonk can be caused by too much sugar. I remember LA saying he had two cans of cola and a doughnut before a triathlon and ended up bonking because the quick spike of blood sugar led to an equally quick drop in blood sugar.

    Yep, I've had it too many times and never learn. Last one was a couple of weeks ago 85 miles into a 100 mile sportive and a mile from the top of a big climb. At the top I got off and ate 2 energy bars, got back on and rolled the mainly downhill 5 miles to a petrol station, barely able to keep the bike upright, where I got some more food inside me and topped up my bottle. I gradually recovered over the next 5 miles and was then flying again. The irony was that I had eaten far more than I usually would, making sure I topped up at each feed station to try to avoid this happening. I think the problem was that I ate a big handful of jelly babies at each stop and I reckon they caused a sugar spike / insulin reaction. I went out for a slightly longer ride last weekend and managed on half a banana and a single energy bar plus about a litre of energy drink with no problems at all.

    You know when you've bonked as all you want to do is get off and curl up in a ball at the side of the road. On one occassion I was stuck with no money and seriously considered to trade my car keys in at a shop to get a bar of chocolate!
  • woodywmb
    woodywmb Posts: 669
    Raffles wrote:
    It was like somebody literally pulled a plug outta the sink
    Sounds like the bank rather than the bonk.
    http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1296598/
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    Hopefully a lesson learned and you didn't die. 40 at 20 would have finished me without doubt. I'm quite surprised how many people own up to having allowed this level of energy and fluid depletion
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    Mikey23 wrote:
    Hopefully a lesson learned and you didn't die. 40 at 20 would have finished me without doubt. I'm quite surprised how many people own up to having allowed this level of energy and fluid depletion

    It can happen to anyone, even the top pros. Plus it can occur from taking on too much sugar rather than not taking on enough food.
  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    cje wrote:
    The bonk is low blood sugar isn't it? Leading to disorientation, vision problems, sweating, panic, the shakes...etc Like when a diabetic has a hypo. This sounds like you just ran out of energy due to a lack of food.

    The bonk can be caused by too much sugar. I remember LA saying he had two cans of cola and a doughnut before a triathlon and ended up bonking because the quick spike of blood sugar led to an equally quick drop in blood sugar.

    I have bonked many many times

    Oh I am diabetic :)
  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    I'm a diabetic and I have to be careful as if I take too much sugar my body tried to handle that and diverts all my energy away from my my muscles.

    I now find that on a cafe stop if I just have a black coffee and a tea cake that my body handles that well, but a cake is a no no!

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