Touring - Confused Biker Syndrome?

I've been reading an odd tour book entitled The Cycling Adventures of Coconut Head. The author traveled around the perimeter of the USA begging money from folks and cheating on and then abandoning his girlfriend mid-ride as part of a trip promoting environmentalism. It's a loathsome and low account. And what's worse, the author can't write. But aside from these problems, the tale is an interesting one, if only because the teller discusses what he calls "Confused Biker Syndrome." CBS is a state of mental fog that one allegedly gets into from being on the road too long, or being overstressed while touring. Even otherwise simple decisions are difficult to make when one is engulfed by CBS. The book gives as an example the author's taking ten minutes to decide what candy bar to purchase on a long road day.

Is CBS just another name for bonking, or is it something greater? Anyone here suffer from it on a tour? I did this summer, on my first trip from Pittsburgh to DC, after a long travel day ended with botched accomodations and another tantrum from the person I toured with. I remember zoning out for a few minutes.

Is CBS just another name for bonking

Yep ... sounds like it.


Anyone here suffer from it on a tour?

Rarely on tours, but definitely on the longer randonneuring events. Solution: eat. Eating even helps ward off the hallucinations randonneurs may experience on rides over 400K.



I did this summer, on my first trip from Pittsburgh to DC, after a long travel day ended with botched accomodations and another tantrum from the person I toured with. I remember zoning out for a few minutes.

You both should have eaten something.

Whenever you start feeling a little bit irritable or restless, or if your jersey suddenly feels like it isn't fitting quite right after feeling comfortable for the past 2 hours, or if the person riding with you starts to annoy you, or you feel like you just can't tackle another hill, or you can't do mathematical calculations in your head anymore, or anything along those lines ... those are the first signs of a bonk.

Cyclists who ride more than 2 hours at a time need to consume 250-300 calories per hour while they ride. And for cycletourists, it is a good idea to eat something the moment you get off the bicycle at the end of the day ... it doesn't have to be anything big ... crackers and cheese, or a couple cookies will do. It makes setting up the tent, and the rest of the evening, so much more enjoyable.

Yep ... sounds like it.



Rarely on tours, but definitely on the longer randonneuring events. Solution: eat. Eating even helps ward off the hallucinations randonneurs may experience on rides over 400K.




You both should have eaten something.

Whenever you start feeling a little bit irritable or restless, or if your jersey suddenly feels like it isn't fitting quite right after feeling comfortable for the past 2 hours, or if the person riding with you starts to annoy you, or you feel like you just can't tackle another hill, or you can't do mathematical calculations in your head anymore, or anything along those lines ... those are the first signs of a bonk.

Cyclists who ride more than 2 hours at a time need to consume 250-300 calories per hour while they ride. And for cycletourists, it is a good idea to eat something the moment you get off the bicycle at the end of the day ... it doesn't have to be anything big ... crackers and cheese, or a couple cookies will do. It makes setting up the tent, and the rest of the evening, so much more enjoyable.

Yes, eating and drinking is important, and we often failed to eat and drink before we needed to.

Yes, eating and drinking is important, and we often failed to eat and drink before we needed to.


It's something that takes some practice.

To help me keep eating while I ride, I have a bento box on my bicycle in which I keep my food of choice, and I nibble as I ride. Now on a tour, it's also nice to stop every couple hours to pick something up from a little grocery store somewhere, and have a snack. That was one of the best things about touring in France!!

...The book gives as an example the author's taking ten minutes to decide what candy bar to purchase on a long road day.

I think... I do this all the time, actually. I took about 10 minutes to decide what ice cream to buy the other day.

I think it all just comes from exhaustion. Enough sleep and enough food seem to remedy almost anything for me. I think people forget how important simple things like that are, and come up with all kinds of complicated reasons why they feel off and irritable. One of the heads of the kid's camp I worked at this summer claimed everyone's problems came from being dehydrated.

'Course, some people are just nutters :)

I think it all just comes from exhaustion. Enough sleep and enough food seem to remedy almost anything for me. I think people forget how important simple things like that are, and come up with all kinds of complicated reasons why they feel off and irritable. One of the heads of the kid's camp I worked at this summer claimed everyone's problems came from being dehydrated.

Which is quite possible too. The simple things in life are sleep, food, and adequate amounts to drink.

The confused thing usually has to do with an inadequate amount to eat ... low blood sugar ... not enough blood sugar to feed the brain.

But if you're feeling achy all over, especially the joints, or if you've got a back-of-the-head headache, or maybe you feel a little bit dizzy, or a touch nauseated ... and especially if anything starts cramping ... dehydration is the likely cause. And incidentally, this can happen while cycling or doing other sports, of course, but it can also happen sitting at your desk in your office if all you've had all day is a cup of coffee and it's now 3:30 pm.

Now, if you've been out in the hot sun all day and haven't been drinking enough, you might progress through the headache, dizziness, and nausea into a confused state ... and this would be heat exhaustion.

It's something that takes some practice.

To help me keep eating while I ride, I have a bento box on my bicycle in which I keep my food of choice, and I nibble as I ride. Now on a tour, it's also nice to stop every couple hours to pick something up from a little grocery store somewhere, and have a snack. That was one of the best things about touring in France!!

+1 Spain, of course, was a different story. That was back before I retired from drinking, and I made it a habit to sample the wonderful Riojas along the way. Made the climbs more difficult, and the descents more . . . interesting?

I carry all sorts of snacks on longer rides. I usually have a baggy of cashews or almonds, a banana or two, a couple of power bars, and one or two gels in case of emergency bonk. I also make a point of stopping and eating a SMALL meal every three hours or so. It helps to break up the day, and it keeps me from getting energy depleted. The trick is not to eat too much at once.

I carry all sorts of snacks on longer rides. I usually have a baggy of cashews or almonds, a banana or two, a couple of power bars, and one or two gels in case of emergency bonk. I also make a point of stopping and eating a SMALL meal every three hours or so. It helps to break up the day, and it keeps me from getting energy depleted. The trick is not to eat too much at once.

Yes, I also carry salted almonds (good for electrolytes too), some fruit, and usually a few granola bars or cookies or something.

But I'll mention something else ... it can be difficult to get enough to eat and drink on the first few days of a tour, if you start the tour from somewhere other than your own house. Those are usually the worst days for eating and drinking for me ... I end up cranky, desperately thirsty, achy, and usually struggling with feet cramps. After a couple days in the new country, I'll usually have sorted out what's available in the grocery stores, and will have figured out where things are, etc., and I'm good to go after that.

According to an on-line medical dictionary, Confused Biker Syndrome is defined as the inability to choose between an LHT and a 520, Schwalbe or Conti's, STI or bar ends, 700c or 26", hammocks or ......
oh forget it.

According to an on-line medical dictionary, Confused Biker Syndrome is defined as the inability to choose between an LHT and a 520, Schwalbe or Conti's, STI or bar ends, 700c or 26", hammocks or ......
oh forget it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/lol.gif

Yes, eating and drinking is important, and we often failed to eat and drink before we needed to.
I never let this be a problem when on tour. I eat pretty much constantly when riding and when I stop I either fuel up or at least make sure the jersey pockets are well stocked. I always have something to eat ready and quickly accessible in the jersey pockets, but when they get empty there is something to restock them in the handlebar bag.

I find the fresh fruit and fresh baked goods are nice when you can get them, but more often it is fig newtons and beef jerky in my pockets.

The body seems to crave what it needs if you listen. When I need carbs, or electrolytes, or water, or protein I seem drawn to foods with them in it. I find I get much better at this after being on the road for a few weeks.

On the CBS thing... It wasn't completely clear to me if you were describing a short term thing like a bonk, a more mental state from days and weeks on the road, or maybe some combination of the two.

FWIW: I did have a backpacking episode where I was unable to get/keep enough food or water down. It was extremely hot weather and a gastric problem that had not yet been diagnosed nearly laid me out. I forced myself to continue hiking at a slow pace and forced little sips of water and nibbles of food for two days. I was incapable of completely rational thought throughout the period. I was hallucinating much of the time. It was very scary stuff. When I got out of the woods I sat in the air conditioning and slowly sipped Gatorade until I was ready to eat. In an hour or so I was pretty much OK.

Well come on, some of this must be in the character make-up of a person. My brother never fails to exasperate me on this one. You can be in a long line with all the menu choices on a large board, and he will *always* hesitate and spend more than a few minutes mumbling and umming and erring when he gets to the front of the line. I'm constantly reminding him to choose what he wants first while we wait, but somehow he has a natural genetic trait that predisposes or compels him to chronic indecision. He genuinely seems to be incapable of just asking for what he wants without an apparently prolonged and agonized internal struggle that involves various facial expressions and matching short intakes of breath and unintelligible verbal utterances.

I gave up trying to hurry him a long, long time ago.



I think... I do this all the time, actually. I took about 10 minutes to decide what ice cream to buy the other day.

I think it all just comes from exhaustion. Enough sleep and enough food seem to remedy almost anything for me. I think people forget how important simple things like that are, and come up with all kinds of complicated reasons why they feel off and irritable. One of the heads of the kid's camp I worked at this summer claimed everyone's problems came from being dehydrated.

'Course, some people are just nutters :)

On the CBS thing... It wasn't completely clear to me if you were describing a short term thing like a bonk, a more mental state from days and weeks on the road, or maybe some combination of the two.

FWIW: I did have a backpacking episode where I was unable to get/keep enough food or water down. It was extremely hot weather and a gastric problem that had not yet been diagnosed nearly laid me out. I forced myself to continue hiking at a slow pace and forced little sips of water and nibbles of food for two days. I was incapable of completely rational thought throughout the period. I was hallucinating much of the time. It was very scary stuff. When I got out of the woods I sat in the air conditioning and slowly sipped Gatorade until I was ready to eat. In an hour or so I was pretty much OK.

It was probably both lack of food and water and too much time on the road for Ted Schredd the Coconut Head author. Being cheerful despite not knowing where you are going and not having more than two dollars on you must be difficult.

...
On the CBS thing... It wasn't completely clear to me if you were describing a short term thing like a bonk, a more mental state from days and weeks on the road, or maybe some combination of the two. ...

I'd assume the alleged CBS is a longer term thing. I remember this one time, many years ago, riding across South Dakota, a beautiful young woman came up to me when I was resting in the shade of a tree after stopping to do some shopping. All smiles, she was asking me how far I was riding, where I'd been, what I'd seen, and so on. I was thrilled -- probably hadn't engaged in any conversation for a day or two at this point, and hadn't spoken to a member of the opposite sex in much longer than that -- but I was totally not up to the task.

I remember, she asked how many days I'd been on the road... and I could not remember. Ummm... five days? no, wait, five weeks? Before long, she got in her car and was gone. I got back on my bike and, after a while, decided the correct answer would have been 16 or 17 days.

I would not rule out the possibility that I was bonking, but I doubt it. Nor should we overlook the fact that I was always hopeless when it came to conversing with pretty girls. But, all things considered, CBS is a viable explanation of my behavior.

According to an on-line medical dictionary, Confused Biker Syndrome is defined as the inability to choose between an LHT and a 520, Schwalbe or Conti's, STI or bar ends, 700c or 26", hammocks or ......
oh forget it.

LOL, you hit it on the head. I actually went nuts over every single one of those things. Good call!

But you forgot 2:

Trailer or Panniers

Drybag panniers or rain covered panniers

Well come on, some of this must be in the character make-up of a person. My brother never fails to exasperate me on this one. You can be in a long line with all the menu choices on a large board, and he will *always* hesitate and spend more than a few minutes mumbling and umming and erring when he gets to the front of the line. I'm constantly reminding him to choose what he wants first while we wait, but somehow he has a natural genetic trait that predisposes or compels him to chronic indecision. He genuinely seems to be incapable of just asking for what he wants without an apparently prolonged and agonized internal struggle that involves various facial expressions and matching short intakes of breath and unintelligible verbal utterances.

I gave up trying to hurry him a long, long time ago.

You have a nice way with words and painted a very vivid picture there. I was in line with him getting upset until I realized I was sitting at my computer and infact not in line at McDonalds.

Are you a writer and if so, what have you written?

You both should have eaten something.

Whenever you start feeling a little bit irritable or restless, or if your jersey suddenly feels like it isn't fitting quite right after feeling comfortable for the past 2 hours, or if the person riding with you starts to annoy you, or you feel like you just can't tackle another hill, or you can't do mathematical calculations in your head anymore, or anything along those lines ... those are the first signs of a bonk.

Cyclists who ride more than 2 hours at a time need to consume 250-300 calories per hour while they ride. And for cycletourists, it is a good idea to eat something the moment you get off the bicycle at the end of the day ... it doesn't have to be anything big ... crackers and cheese, or a couple cookies will do. It makes setting up the tent, and the rest of the evening, so much more enjoyable.

I agree with the above, but I will add that sometimes just getting off the bike for 5-10 minutes can work wonders too. Maybe go for a walk somewhere, or just sit by the side of the road doing nothing. Just forget about what's going on and let your mind and body rest for a few minutes.

I had this issue in New Zealand in Te Urewera National Park last month. I remember riding through the mountains on a dirt road that was in absolutely treacherous condition. The condition of the road and the length of the mountain descent made me VERY nervous, and a minor crash made me even more nervous (even if it did no physical harm). I stood by the side of the road looking down at the valley into which I was going to descend thinking "How the hell am I going to deal with this?". In the end I just walked away from the bike for a few minutes (but still kept it in sight) and recuperated. That was all I needed.