oarsome_squirt

I'm new to road cycling and i just got my first bike. I want to start cycling for longer distances but at the moment after i've cycled for a couple of miles and i get off, i feel really dizzy, start seeing white flashing stars and i feel sick to my stomach-it is horrid. Why is this**********? and can someone please offer a solution???

P.S. I am no stranger to exercise , i am used to rowing at least 5 times a week!

botto 

Sounds like a question for a Doctor, and seeing as you're in the UK, they're free, so no excuses. Go.

Bop Gun 

Sounds like a lack of fitness. Get a heart rate monitor and monitor your HR....you may be thouroughly overexerting yourself for your fitness level.

ManBearPig

We have a guy in our club -- don't want to give his nickname out of respect for his anonymity -- but he routinely yacks during our rides. Strong rider, just weak stomach.

You might be bonking. Drink a few swallows of water every few minutes, enough so you never actually get thirsty, and eat a quality carbo source, like a Clif Bar and/or some gels to sustain.

ed073

Doctor.

oilman_15106

+100

mayukawa

Did you overexert and then just stopped without "cooling" down?

ed073

Yes.

They are called birthdays and anniversaries.

operator

Bonked haha

Machka 

I know of a cyclist or two who suffer from vertigo when cycling ... it's an inner ear/balance disturbance. I'm not sure what they do about it because they are long distance cyclists so they've obviously overcome it to some extent. I'd recommend seeing a doctor ... and don't forget to mention when this happens (i.e. while riding a bicycle).

From my own experience, I feel a bit that way when I ride uphill at night. The reason is that the sway of my light makes me feel seasick. It's worse if there are any other riders around me who also have lights swaying. I've had to get off and walk because I felt so horrible. The only other occasion when I feel a bit dizzy while riding is if I've had a bad cold. Colds always seem to affect my ears which in turn affects my balance.

big john

Do see a doctor. If you're not used to the position of a road bike, you may be having an issue with the nerves in your neck. How far below the saddle is the top of the handlebar?
Are you starting with a sprint, or warming up slowly?

SBSpartan

That is not bonking. Bonking is something horrible that puts you down for DAYS.

Go to a doctor. You probably are not eating properly and don't have enough fuel to do what you want.

I repeat you are not bonking.

Learn what a bonk is people.

howsteepisit

No way you bonk in a few miles. May be over-exerting (OP does not state what intensity he is riding at)

cuda2k

Maybe if you do nothing about it or go so far into the cycle that you're compeletely depleated, but if you do that well either you're doing a solo iron man or just plain stupid.

See a doc, explain what's happening and when. Perhaps try narrowing down the trigger events. Just riding slowly around the block, or just under high power levels? etc.

Machka 

It is highly unlikely that this situation has anything to do with bonking unless the OP is a diabetic or severely hypoglycemic (which are two things he might want to have checked when he visits the Dr) and in which case, he would have likely noticed similar symptoms before in other situations. Healthy people who do not have diabetes, or who are not severely hypoglycemic, do not bonk nearly as quickly or as often as some people on these forums seem to think they do.

It is also relatively unlikely that the OP is dehydrated, although if he is one who has a couple cups of coffee at work, and that's basically it for the day, perhaps that might have something to do with it.



It is much more likely, however, that the OP has some sort of inner ear disorder. And he'll need to visit the Dr to have that confirmed.

Or another possibility might be a blood pressure issue. And again he'll need to visit the Dr to have that confirmed.

John Wilke

The flu puts you down for days.

A crash puts you down for days.

A bonk puts you down until you eat something.

jw

munkyv22

Thank you for some sound advicve. What's with SBs? He's a virtual cornucopia of bad advice.

oarsome_squirt

Thx for all the advice - the thing is i have a healthy diet and i am used to exercisin hard for the majority of the week, i'm hydrated while i cycle i don't think i am overexerting myself because i ahv pushed myself harder on mountain bikes and i'm still gettin used to things eg. findin the best gears, traffic so i am not puching myself.

The odd thing is i feel fine while i am on the bike its only wen i get off that i feel this way.

Machka 

That could still be either inner ear or blood pressure.

Have you ever run on a treadmill? I don't know if everyone feels this way, but after I've run a while on a treadmill, and then I get off, I can hardly stand upright for a few minutes, let alone walk. I usually have to stand very still as soon as I step off the treadmill for a moment until everything settles. That is an inner ear/balance issue. Perhaps the same sort of thing is happening to you.

Or it could be that your blood pressure drops suddenly when you stop riding leaving you with the same feeling some people (including me) get when we stand up suddenly ... not a complete "blackout" but rather more of a "brownout" where everything just goes a bit fuzzy for a moment.

I'd still strongly recommend seeing a Dr ... but another thing you might try is riding very slowly for the last few hundred yards before you get off the bicycle to lower your heart rate gradually.

grahny

I can believe this is being discussed... go see a doctor, or atleast someone, anyone, with a plaque on their wall with letters likes MD, DO, etc.. on it... a dentist would be better at giving medical advice than strangers on the internet.

oarsome_squirt

I see ur point but both my parents are in a medical profession!! A vet and a midwife- they may not be doctors but their educational fields are so similar that they have a good enough knowledge to solve most problems. The reason i am asking strangers on the internet is that i may be able to find sum1 who suffers or suffered from similar or the same symptoms.

grahny

I understand, but there are many, many underlying issues that have the same symptoms.... anyone who is not a doctor who is actively treating you is simply speculating, and that's just not good practice for medical advice.

oarsome_squirt

machka - i hav never sufffered from an ear infection and so apparently it couldn't be an inner ear balace dproblem!
but the feeling u described about standing up quickly and a "brownout" is just wot its like exept it stays with me for up to half an hour- and then i can't eat anythin for a further hour !
surely if i had a blood pressure problem i would experience the same effect after doing other exercise- have u ever tryed pushing urself on a 2km erg!! it is the most exhausting piece of exercise i think i have ever done-ur heart rises into ur mouth and its rate rockets to 200 bpm, ur legs feel like they r on fire with pain, ur lungs are pressing up against ur chest so hard that u feel like an alien is gunna burst out of u like in the film and you're only half way through. After this i never get this horrible feeling - oddly jus satisfaction as the endorphins are pumped round my body.
Do u know know anything about the positioning of my body on the bike that could cause this problem because that seems to me the most logical of answers?

but thankyou because u have made me think of possible causes which i shall investigate further nonetheless

oarsome_squirt

i shall ask a doctor for another opinion as soon as possible!

Bop Gun 

aaaa......this is a "discussion" board

BTW that looks like a pretty severe fracture of your distal radius....ouch. Hope all is well with that.