Bonking

mickyc1

Hello all,

been mountain biking for abit but had a break and decided to get into road biking, so to get fit went out on my mountain bike for a few weeks as i had a winter break,
So my rides were a couple of 5 mile rides then upped to 8-10 miles week after, had no problems until yesterday.

I have been going out early in the morning 7, oclock and drank plenty of water eat raisins banana and went out but yesterday i was recked after 5 mile ended up doing 8 mile.
I have been drinking whilst riding say every 15 mins some sips of water but today my legs are tired aching and i,m abit bushwacked i have been eating well but can`t work out what could have happened.

When i have got in i have eat porridge fruit straight away & rehydrated.

Unless it`s becuase i am out early and riding empty even though i have had a banana ect raisins but i,m only out for less than an hour.

Any ideas or suggestions about feeding before ride.

Davdandy

Saturday nights left over curry.Works for me.

imposter2.0

If you are only doing 8 miles, you won't be 'bonking' at that distance - unless it takes you more than 2 hours at a high intensity to ride that far, which is unlikely. You are probably just riding too hard for your current fitness level to cope with. Try going a bit easier.

danlikesbikes

Would suggest that you eat your porridge & fruit prior to the ride to fuel you through the day whether you are riding or not but understand if you can't fit that in due to early morning riding.

Personally for me a simple smoothie does the trick for me if I'm setting out early & don't want to ride from empty. Plenty recipes out there but for me its skimmed milk, banana and nutella is a standard go to morning shake but lots of different options out there.

mickyc1

Thanks for replies lads ,

This happened the other week on a cold 10 Mile morning ride , i did wrap up well and next day felt really dehydrated for some reason.

Forgot to mention antibiotics ear drops for slight ear infection could this be an issue?

Then again this week.on a really cold morning. the ride was about 50mins

The day before i felt great on my ride , before i went out i had handfull of raisins ect and a banana and drank nearly a pint of water and took fresh water with me and sipped every 15 mins.

Came back felt starving eat , porridge and blueberries & honey, but later felt abit exhausted still, still felt like that next day sore legs/ lethargic / had some lukozade which picked me up abit which i dont usually drink but it worked.

Could it be the cold weather ? / or not eating really for 12 hours which is night & sleep up at 6.30 and only having a banana and some raisins which is never going to get into my system in time.

I am abit unfit as i have not bothered over winter , so possibly have done abit too much as stated by imposter.

Will take on board the milk shakes which i have thought about any other tips lads , cheers mike.

pinkteapot

What are you eating for dinner the night before?

I've found that stuffing down extra calories the night before a morning ride makes a HUGE difference. Didn't even consider it until my 4th or 5th 'long' ride (25 miles at that stage) when I absolutely powered round. I'd pigged out on Dominos the night before. Now, that's not a recommended training diet, but it was high in calories. Then I realised there was probably a reason that marathon runners are told to eat half their bodyweight in pasta the night before they run.

I've been riding since early March and did my first 45 mile ride this morning. Last night I had 150g (uncooked weight) of pasta, with tuna and tomato sauce. That's twice my usual portion of pasta. I then just had a bowl of bran flakes before my ride, and two fig rolls during it. Cyclemeter tells me I burned off 1,947 calories (though I'm highly skeptical it's really that many). Makes sense to me that I'd need to have put plenty of fuel in beforehand...

Another interesting thing I read just this week, on a related note. Not sure if it's true, but I read an article saying that you have to hydrate properly the day before a long ride. Apparently if you're dehydrated when you wake up on the morning of a ride then it's too late to fix it properly. As I said, not sure if it's true but I made doubly sure I drank lots of water yesterday.

I also avoid alcohol the night before a long ride, but that's more because it stops me sleeping properly.

mickyc1

Hi Pinkteapot,

Regarding your question , my evening meal is usually pretty healthy , fish , veg / meat veg / pastabake /

My meals daily are like this

Breakfast : bran ,banana , blueberries semi skimmed /
Dinner : tuna sandwich low gi bread brown or something similar
Tea as stated above
Snacks in the day are handful of nuts raisins / cereal bar low cal nuts / peanut butter on cracker

Plenty of fluids until urine clear all day / usually have my tea about 6.30 and maybe a brew and biscuit about 7.30 8.00
Thats it , sleep

I am unfit i know this weight is 103 Kilo about 16 stone , never smoked , dont drink much really , but i have not encountered this before usually i just get on the bike and start a few small rides and build up from there .

As stated this has happened twice in two weeks first time felt really dehydrated all day and next day did`nt touch bike again for 3 days to let body recover.

Then this sat went out to do 10 miles on an mountain bike to gain fitness so i can start on my road bike which was`nt set up properly.
Got 5 miles into ride up a few hills and bang kerry packered cut the ride short and ended up doing 8 miles , soon as i got in i rehydrated , had some rolled oats, blueberries, honey , then still hungry at 12 beans on gi brown toast, still hungry afternoon, peanut butter on toast.
Sunday today give the bike a miss and starvin today eat scrambled egg on toast / sandwich brown gi lucozade which made me feel better and not as knackered which will be the sugar probably.

Just wondered if it could be the ear drops i had for ear infection? / or cold weather , stumped really .

pinkteapot

It's great that your diet is so healthy (beats mine, as I sit here eating a Creme Egg!), but I'm still wondering if you're eating enough calories the night before a ride? Are you currently trying to lose weight and therefore keeping your overall cals on the low side? If so, try stuffing down more carbs the night before your next ride. The fact you were so hungry afterwards suggests to me that you were running low on energy. Although I've only been cycling for a couple of months and am far from an expert!

Interesting comment too about the Lucozade pepping you up - the food you listed does make your diet look quite low in sugar. I get lethargic and grumpy when I'm low on sugar. Maybe some more fruit for snacks?

I drink Lucozade Sport rather than water while out riding. I just find it keeps me going better. I know that's a bit controversial - lots of people don't like isotonic drinks (there was a thread on one of the boards about them the other week). Works for me though - the sugar in it keeps me going far longer without a snack stop.

Nutrition aside, 10 miles on a hilly route on a MTB isn't going to be a breeze. Also, what sort of pace did you set out at? Is it possible you went off too fast rather than pacing yourself for the distance?

mickyc1

I probably have gone too fast ,

Thinking of it average speed 15 miles ph on mtb on the road after looking at cyclemeter stats, calories burnt on on 8 mile ride 626 , accent 286 , time 39.55 ?

Just the fact i am hank marvin & Tired and aching , i am going to leave it tomorrow and get some shakes made next time i go out i will do a banana & milk & peanut butter shake to drink , before i go , would have porridge but it wont kick in quick enough.

I will have to discover some drinks or gels or powders to help me out with protien maybe?.

cheers for reply.

pinkteapot

15mph on a MTB is pretty fast! I used to struggle to get above 10mph on mine. Looking back on Cyclemeter at my early rides, even after I got my hybrid I was only averaging 13mph and that was on relatively flat routes. Maybe try going a bit slower next time? Slow down, get round the planned 10 miles. Then if you get home and feel like you could have pushed harder, go a bit faster next time...

mickyc1

Thanks for your input pinkteapot,

Looked at my other cyclemeter rides and average is 12mph , so will take it easier , it will be better once i get on my road bike thinner tyres.

Just purchased a juicer gonna try some juices energy.


cheers mike.

nedmoran

I don't know what the problem is...i love bonking in the morning;)
Seriously though, sometimes you just have an off few days. I wouldn't worry about it.

Mikey23

Body saying its tired and needs a rest I reckon. Don't think specific nutrition programmes are that important on shorter rides of an hour or less. Normal healthy eating ... And creme eggs!

mickyc1

Mikey23 wrote:

Body saying its tired and needs a rest I reckon. Don't think specific nutrition programmes are that important on shorter rides of an hour or less. Normal healthy eating ... And creme eggs!

Hello mikey,

I have been resting between rides so maybe 10 miles and 2 days off went on a ride again felt good which was 6 mile ,then next day had the problem with the 8 miler when bonked.

And felt lethargic & aching legs slight headache and starvin.

Thanks for input.

Mikey23

you're welcome. i think it takes a while for the body to adapt to unaccustomed exercise regimes and sometimes it protests. also you have to build up an understanding of how your body works, what are its capabilities and limitations. it will become second nature but it takes time to build endurance. i have quite a heavy commitment this week in order to complete this dratted strava challenge, and figuring how i can do 230 miles in 8 days without breaking down!

mickyc1

God & there`s me complaining of being tired after doing 8 , lol.

Good luck on your strave challenge , i have entered the Greater Manchester Cycle 26 miles in june road bike thou not on mtb , thank christ its hard work on the road with them tyres.

nferrar

Assuming it's not related to your anti-biotics then chances are it's just a combination of muscle soreness from previous days and just the general pain that comes with starting out cycling after a long break. You definitely won't have bonked unless you fasted for 3 days before and did over an hour's effort. You're better off building up slowly, at most one hard session a week, the others should just be steady pace rides to start building up some base fitness. After a hard session remember it's the recovery that gets you fitter not the session itself, if you keep training hard (at high intensity) on successive days you'll only get a fraction of the benefit of if you'd had a decent rest day instead.

mickyc1

Thanks , nferrar

I feel alot better today got some eggs and beans down my neck last night and some shakes this morning and my legs seem alot better.
I will take on board all advice and personally tink i have done too much as gone too fast instead of just riding.

Cheers mike.

Mikey23

That's the spirit.. I did 38 yesterday on the coasting in Cornwall with some brutal climbs and scary downs and felt completely knackered yesterday... But went out today and did another 40 and am feeling fine. Not quick but consistent!

steve6690

I'm no expert but I think you're riding at too high an intensity, too often. Just go out and ride for an hour at a pace you could hold a conversation. Then build up the time to a couple of hours or more. I'm a beginner and this has reaped rewards for me. No need to ride every day at our level either. Make sure you give your body time to recover.

team47b

Bananas take about 3 minutes to get into your blood stream and assuming you eat your porridge with sugar/honey some form of fast acting carbs this will get into your blood stream almost immediately and give you enough energy to keep you going until the slower acting oat carbs kick in.

'Bonking' is hypoglycemia or simply low blood sugar. Eating a few grams of fast acting carbs will relieve this instantly, for example an apple. Hunger is triggered by a high level of insulin in your system, your body is then trying to balance this by asking for carbs. The large amount of insulin is caused by the fast acting carbs you eat and also by the large quantity/portion size you must be eating.

As you weigh over a hundred kilos you should be able to burn fat for energy on the bike, you will be burning 85% fat for fuel with the effort required to move such a heavy object (mountain bike )

IpswichJames

are you having enough protein in your diet? If you're over 100kg you should be at least having your body weight in grams of protein per day to repair muscles and other vital tissues and aid with muscle protein synthesis. especially post ride.

porridge is not the best carbohydrate choice to have post-cycles as well as your body requires a insulin spike to aid in glycogen replenishment, so I'd choose to basmati or jasmine rice which are much better. (& taste nicer!)

also, if you're complaining of muscle soreness, try foam rolling afterwards.

the recovery phase is THE most important time of the day to consume food to allow yourself to be ready for the next workout and give your body appropriate nutrients to repair and restore sufficiently.

hope this helps!

crikey

Eating a few grams of fast acting carbs will relieve this instantly, for example an apple

Are you serious?

If you have ever really bonked, you need a big slug of the purest glucose that you can find, not a bloody apple!

For this very reason, when diabetics suffer from low blood sugar, they need sugar, quickly....

'Hypo' kits in hospital contain Lucozade and Mars Bars, not apples.

team47b

crikey wrote:

Eating a few grams of fast acting carbs will relieve this instantly, for example an apple

Are you serious?

If you have ever really bonked, you need a big slug of the purest glucose that you can find, not a bloody apple!

For this very reason, when diabetics suffer from low blood sugar, they need sugar, quickly....

'Hypo' kits in hospital contain Lucozade and Mars Bars, not apples.

Yes, I was being serious. The OP is not having a diabetic hypo, just low blood sugar.

As an insulin using diabetic I do know how many grams of carbs are required to raise your blood sugar above 70mg/dl.

You need 15 grams of simple carbs, this is usually sufficient to raise your blood glucose above hypo or 70 mg/dl.

I have also been given a glucose drink hypo recovery in hospital when my BG was 52 mg/dl and it went up to 245 mg/dl and required an injection of fast acting insulin to bring it back down.

I agree that if you want to eat a mars bar (43 grams of fast acting carbs, 242 calories) to raise your blood sugar it will work but it will then produce a large insulin response, and part of insulin's job is to store excess energy as fat, I was just suggesting that eating the right amount of carbs is a better solution.

Compromise eat a third of a mars bar :shock:

I still think fruit is a healthier choice, if you want something faster than a mars bar eat 3 dates (15 grams of carbs 60 calories)

crikey

I think you are being a little choosy in your choice of glucose.

When you bonk and you are not diabetic, you have the capacity to deal with the excess. It also leaves you in a position where you will eat grass, leaves, your own arm etc to recover.

Don't bother with apples...

team47b

Chocolate is slower in raising you out of a hypo because of the fat content, so the point I was making was that fructose is a faster way to solve the problem.

If you strongly object to eating apples then a banana will work fast too

A lot of people take up cycling to loose weight so it's always good for people to know about the healthier choices, why eat junk and four times the calories when you can choose not too.

oldwelshman

Guys, tha distance and speeds OP is riding at will not cause Bonking and hardly going to get fatigued. it is not difficult to even start from scratch and do 20 miles rides for a week, then 30 miles after two weeks. It is not too difficult to start from scratch and be racing within 12 weeks.
Need to man up lol