Northeast - Sugar and Bicycling

I went out for my (almost) nightly ride on the Ellen Farrant (Wantagh) Bikeway last night, but not before downing some cookies and a cupcake left over from my wife's Tuesday afternoon ladies party. Although I typically ride this bikeway at a decent but non-frantic clip, after about a mile outside of Cedar Creek Park, my legs began to feel like jelly and my heart felt like it was going to explode all over the pavement.

This is not the first time I've experienced this kind of energy drag after consuming sugar before a ride, but it was one of the most embarrassing. If anybody saw the 40-something guy in the dark blue Brands Cycle and Fitness t-shirt with the mp3 player and Radio Shack speaker on his handlebars and a look of total exhaustion and despair on his face, that was me!

Typically, you will see me riding the entire bikeway with my hands off the handlebars, drumming on my legs or singing along to a Beatles or Country song. I'm also the one who says hello to everyone I pass, but on this particular night, I couldn't even lift my head. People I normally out-ride by 3 or 4 mph were flying by me effortlessly and I couldn't even get up enough breath to say something clever to them.

I'm hoping this was just the damned cupcake and not the sudden onset of old age. Does anyone else experience this type of energy plunge after a sugary orgy like the one I had on Tuesday afternoon?

Yes. That's probably the "hill and valley" effect of simple sugars working on you when you do well on the rush and then bonk. The effect is attenuated by choosing to eat more complex carbohydrates like pasta or even bananas that take longer to metabolize.

Or it could just be the relatively high ambient temperatures combined with the humidity. Or the molasses someone poured on your chain...:D



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Quick follow-up...

Tonight, I took my OTHER nightly ride...to Chipotle. (You people must think all I do is eat.) No sugar ahead of this ride. Thankfully, I was back to normal, propelled by a full tank of vegetarian black beans, if you know what I mean.

I understand that what actually happens is that the influx of sugar prompts the body to counter by releasing insulin, the presence of which causes the body to remove it from the bloodstream. If this happens while you're exerting yourself, you can bonk.

Quick follow-up...

Tonight, I took my OTHER nightly ride...to Chipotle. (You people must think all I do is eat.) No sugar ahead of this ride. Thankfully, I was back to normal, propelled by a full tank of vegetarian black beans, if you know what I mean.

No fair! Jet assist is not allowed on MUPs! :D

Kevin

You so funny!

some things
-Complex carbs are good for workouts
-I carry "shot bloks" with me for when my legs give up on me... they have a little caffeine too.
-The heart exploding thing makes me think that maybe you were sleep deprived or worked out too many days in a row
-Do you think Lance Armstrong's presence on Team Radio Shack will lead to improvements in bike stereo technology?

>>>-Complex carbs are good for workouts<<<<

As a vegetarian, that's all I eat...except for all the many simple carbs I eat in between them. (cont'd below)

>>>>I carry "shot bloks" with me for when my legs give up on me... they have a little caffeine too.<<<

I don't do drugs. Also, as I've shamelessly revealed in other posts, I've got a few very embarrassing incidents in my past in which caffeine triggered photo finishes to the toilet, most of which I lost. (cont'd)

>>>The heart exploding thing makes me think that maybe you were sleep deprived or worked out too many days in a row<<<<

I'd go with the sleep-deprived explanation, as I've really been a slacker this summer, as far as good exercise. (cont'd)

>>>Do you think Lance Armstrong's presence on Team Radio Shack will lead to improvements in bike stereo technology?<<<<

Don't get this group started with the music thing. Every time I mention in one of these discussion groups that I have a speaker on my bike, I get slammed by people who immediately tag me as the rudest S.O.B. that could ever ride two wheels. In reality, my handlebar sound system is a charm when you listen from the saddle, but virtually non-existent to people riding by. Plus, the music is all the kind of stuff that makes people sing when I stop at a traffic light...no hip hop, no metal...all classic rock, bubblegum pop, and even some stuff from the 30's and 40's. I don't really need a better system (like the guys who carries the huge speaker on his backpack at Jones Beach) but I'd like one that's easier to control while riding.

>>>-Complex carbs are good for workouts<<<<
As a vegetarian, that's all I eat...except for all the many simple carbs I eat in between them.
I don't know what the food is like in the stores where you live, but where I live, the cookies and cupcakes sold have lots of fat in them - (fat is not a complex carbohydrate).

There was a recent article about how eating fat just before exercise (or complex mental tasks) isn't helpful. Might want to try a web search for it. So maybe cookies and cupcakes before a bike workout is unhelpful, but not because of the sugar.

Ken

Just recently read that too
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/fatty-foods-affect-memory-and-exercise/?scp=1&sq=fat%20rats%20maze&st=cse