George

If some of the guys in the Tour de France don't eat for three days how do they avoid bonking.It seems to me a lot of times I go out and get between 23 and 25 miles and the anchor comes out.I do eat more sugar that I should.I'll have to cut back or stop eating garbage altogether. Or maybe I'm not in good enough shape or both.I dont stop when I start losing speed,I just keep plugging along and I dont go below 12 or 13 mph.I just dont know if I'm bonking or not.When I go on a long ride I usually stop for a short drink and I'm off again.If I stop for 5 minutes that's a long time.Do you think I should rest longer? When I first started riding and heard people going 50 or a 100 miles I thought they were doing like I was, just making pit stops and taking off again.When I went 40 miles I stopped maybe a total of 10 minutes.I know I'm doing something wrong, any help will surely be appreciated,thanks George

ranger5oh

uhhh... they eat.

You shouldt need any food for rides under 2 hours, if you are rested beforehand. If you arent rested, it really depends, but you should probably eat some sugar about 15 mins before your ride.

If you plan on riding more than 2 hours, I start eating at the 1 hour mark, and then eat some carbs every 30 mins. I supplement this with about 24 oz of water per hour if it is hot out. If it isnt very hot, I probably only drink half of that. You need to eat BEFORE you bonk, and that is the main trick. Keeping your carb level steady will keep your energy level constant.

Grampy™

The average TDF rider eats 7-8,000 caleries a day, counting what they eat on the bike. They wouldn't last 50 miles without eating....

centexwoody 

When I know I'm going to ride for an hour or so after work, say starting at 4:30 to 5:00 pm, I'll eat a protein bar around 3:30. It tides me over from my sandwish sack lunch and seems to help me from 'bonking' at the end of my ride. Or I'll eat a couple of handfuls of dry roasted peanuts before I ride. Though I can hardly classify my riding as worthy of the claim to bonking...

The posts about keeping your blood sugar steady are right on. My wife buys these South Beach Diet High Protein Cereal Bars that she says are the highest in protein, lowest in fat & carbs per protein content. They also taste pretty good. One of those late afternoon an hour before a ride or on Saturday before a long ride works great for me.

I hate those Clif bars & other kinds of dried, hard buffalo chips and their protein content per fat & calorie percentage aren't any better than the cereal bars.

CrossChain

My signs of bonk: reaching for lighter gears than usual-- which I spin ever more slowly; general crabbiness and irritability and normal aches or discomforts become less bearable; a total body weariness, feeling of being totally drained. There's a dramatic difference between true "bonk" and the usual tiredness, lactic build-up, etc. that comes with a longer ride or harder ride.

Carry a few packets of energy gel in your saddle pack. They digest more quickly than more solid bars or ham sandwiches and can give you a bit of a lift...maybe within 20 minutes or so. Eating small amounts frequenty is obviously better than ingesting a sub sandwich amoeba-style.

Don't feel badly if you come home dragging occasionally...everyone does. If it happens a lot, then time to look at eating and training styles. Everybody's different and often we have to use general rules and then find what's best for ourselves.

NOS88

George, sounds like you need to eat small amounts more often as you ride. In terms of bonking, when it happens, you know. There's nothing quite like it. Keeping up any speed seems impossible, and you begin to suffer in ways that make you wonder why you started cycling, and even who or where you are.

rck

Pre-ride have a bowl of the oatmeal of your choice. About 20miles into the ride stop for pie and a cup of coffee. Keep a couple of gel-packs, bars, or bananas handy and do not forget to stay well hydrated.

Big Paulie

That sounds about right for my day, as well!!!

stapfam

Not on your smaller rides, but 20 miles does seem a long distance sometimes. For the Long rides I carbo load before for about a fortnight- or is it that I carbo load all the time. Breakfast before a ride= 2 hours before the start for a full breakfast or 30 minutes for a porridge. Then from the start of the ride I snack. Carry plenty with me for variety but the other thing is I sip on the water bottles continually.

Seems to carry me through to 6 hours but then it is stop for a bit more substantial meal of pasta or rice.

So eat a bowl of porridge, snack every 15 minutes to the 2 hour mark- stop for a full breakfast- snack again- at 4 hours stop for pie and at 6 hours a 3 course meal. Should give you the energy to carry round the 30 lbs you put on with my training regime.

stonecrd

Guys in the TdF eat/drink a lot both before and during the race. A 'bonk' is a complete depletion of your glycogen stores, it would probably not happen on a ride less than 3hrs. If you bonk you feel like death, can no longer turn the pedals and feel like you are going to black out.

For me hydration is more of an issue than food on rides less than 4hrs. I have had a couple of occasions I have had to bail out of a ride because my HR went from 126 to 165 and my speed went from 18mph to 15mph at the same time after 40mi or so. I have started carrying more water and have not had that happend again. Stopping doesn't seem to help me, I always feel worse after a stop and have to spend a few miles getting my legs moving again. I generally will ride up to 60mi without a stop. Now physically I have not been able to ride more than 75mi and I think this is probably because I don't have the physical conditioning yet and stopping for a prolonged rest is not in my nature. The big thing that gets me after long rides is my back, arms and butt get sore and this affects my riding form which makes me work harder.

George

Thanks for all the replys and I learned more again.I think what I was looking for will help me a lot.

NOS88

You know one of the things I've just remembered is a guy I used to ride with that had real problems with his blood sugar level. This was a strong, fit guy who ran marathons and did several century rides each month during the summers. He had to eat something about every half hour, even when he wasn't exercising, or he'd get faint and pass out. It didn't matter how much he ate to try and "carbo load". He still had to eat something, or he'd find himself in trouble. I haven't been in touch with him for over 20 years. So, I have no idea if he still needs to do this, but, it may be possible, George, that you'll have to experiment to see what level, rate, and kind of fuel intake you need to do the kind of rides you want to do. If it were me, I'd be prone to carry more food/fuel than I thought I was going to need vs. less.

stevelon

Oh God. I love the W picture

dbg

What seems to be called "bonking" in cycling circles --we used to call "hitting the wall" in marathons. There is only so much glycogen your body can store for ready access to fire muscles. When it's gone, you're in some trouble. Your body cannot break down stored fat fast enough to meet immediate demands and some funky things start to happen inside your body (I've heard this colorful metaphor used: "When there's no more fuel for the fire, your body starts breaking down chairs and tables and walls and such to throw on the fire."). And I know from experience that your mind gets strange too.

What I find interesting is that you often are not the least bit interested in the very thing your body needs most (restoring carbs, fluids) when you get really depleted. When running, it is inconvenient to stop and have a sandwich. That became my habit. When biking for extended periods I used to skip lunch when everyone stopped because I didn't feel hungry and didn't want to feel bloated getting back on the bike. Those were stupid ideas, and several times I became an anchor to the group. Now I force myself to eat at regular intervals during long rides --especially if I don't feel hungry. And these days I usually feel much stronger.