bayareawheeler

Not sure how its going to play out but a combination of insomnia and then a 2 year old have left me with about 1 hour of sleep before a hilly 60mile ride...wonder if I will bonk?? No way im not riding as its been raining for a week and it nothing but blue skies this morning.

keeping the sag (wife) on call

rollin

If you are riding on low traffic roads then in my (limited) experience, sleep is over rated, make sure you have a good breakfast, get hydrated and go for it!

Look forward to a ride report...

gfrance

While it is better to have great sleep, it is not completely necessary. How do you think those guys can compete in 24 hour mountain bike races?

timster

I ride a lot on minimal amounts of sleep. I have never bonked, but I do notice that perceived exertion is much higher, and I am much more tired afterwards than I normally would be (duh).

Like rollin said, eat well and stay hydrated and you should survive.

timmhaan

usually the night before isn't as important. if you don't sleep well for two or more days, then i'm sure you'll feel the negative effects a lot more. lack of sleep has a cumulative effect.

i've missed sleep the night before races and did just fine.

The Octopus 

You should be alright. Stop before you feel like you need to, though, should you start to feel sleepy. Falling asleep on the bike and waking up in a jolt, still rolling in the sand and having no idea where you are or what you're doing, is not recommended (been there, done that, and somehow managed not to crash, thereby once again proving the existence of God). I've started some pretty long rides on next to zero sleep and have been alright as long as it's daylight out. It's staying awake at night, when sleep-deprived, that can be rough. Have a great ride!

Paul L.

I did a 300k under those conditions. The last 40 miles were really tough. I hadn't had a good nights sleep in weeks before the event due to 2 year olds getting out of bed (there were 2 at the time so if it wasn't one it was the other). Not the best conditions for a personal record but definitely doable. Just remember to get a few zzzzs before driving home.

Brandy

I never sleep well before big rides and I'm usually dragging for the first few miles...then I'm okay. Have a great ride!

SaddleBags

Oh come on, the 60 miler is the easy part. The hard part is when you come back home AFTER your ride when you just want to flop on the sofa/bed/floor and your wife hands you over the 2 year old and says, "Your turn" then heads out the door.

ri_us

It depends on a number of factors: age, conditioning, rest before that night and your genetic need for sleep. the only way to know is to try. some people feel better after riding, some feel worse. Hope you're the former.

dekindy

Driving while sleep deprived has been compared to driving while drunk. You might not recognize it or have cause to need it, but your judgment and reflexes will not be as sharp as having a good night's sleep.

Prudence would dictate that getting some rest and taking care of the family would be more important at this particular time. A week of rain does not change that. I know that is not the answer you want to here, but bike riding should take a back seat for now.

SBSpartan

You won't bonk because you are tired from a lack of sleep. You will just be tired.

formula4

https://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=192956

Phoible

I rode a double century once on about an hour of sleep. Did fine, although I probably would have finished a little faster if I had been well-rested. There were some 2,000+ foot descents, and I did feel myself drifting off a bit on some of them. Made sure that I drank plenty of caffeine.

krazyderek

It's all about sleep, sleep is when your body release's growth hormone, naps should almost be illegal according to the UCI.

Machka 

#1 ... You will NOT bonk from sleep deprivation. You can ONLY bonk from a drop in blood sugar which is caused by lack of food. So don't forget to eat.

#2 ... You will be fine. LOTS of ultra-distance cyclist do ultra-distances with little or no sleep. Have a look over the stories on my site, for example: https://www.machka.net/ Many Randonneurs (thousands of us) do 1200K randonnees within the prescribed 90 hours with less than 10 hours of sleep in that entire time.

avmanansala

Short periods of sleep deprivation is okay, longer sustained periods of sleep deprivation is not.

Keep some caffeinated products at hand, but realize that when your body crashes, its telling you that you need to rest.

marqueemoon

Exactly.

DanteB

I usually don't sleep well the night before a double century and do ok on the ride. This fall however I got about 2 hours sleep Thursday night and 1/2 hour Friday night for a Saturday double century. I felt fine when I started, but about 35 miles into the ride I was climbing a hill and fell asleep on the bike twice. I was thankful I was going uphill and didn't fall off the bike. At the next rest stop I had some coffee and felt better.

After lunch, 100 miles, I started having trouble shifting my bike and couldn't find the problem. Then my headlight wouldn't work, so I finally called it a day at 150 miles. The next morning I found that my rear skewer was loose and my wheel had slipped in the frame causing the shifting problem and a plug-in had came loose on my headlight. Because of sleep deprivation I couldn't see the problems I was having.

branman1986

I would worry more about the drive home. When you feel it coming on(and it will), just pull over and take a little nap.

JLauren

+1

If you were riding on very low-traffic roads and not in a large group, I wouldn't have many concerns. But if you're riding in a big group or around any traffic at all, you're at high risk of losing what we in aviation call "situational awareness": not knowing about that car coming up behind you or not seeing an oncoming car at an intersection, or just missing your turn.

indygreg

As othres said, it is all about the individual. People genetically need a different amount of sleep. Knowning thy self is really the key.

That said, erroring on the side of safety is always good advice.

oboeguy

"Great exploits are accomplished on a night of restless sleep". Cyrille Guimard said that (more or less) to Greg Lemond early in his career. It's been true for me so far.

indygreg

FWIW I am one of the people that generally needs a lot of sleep (8 hours a night or more) - but have never slept more then a few restless hours the night before big (running) races and I have never had an issue.

jburnsdo

I used to ride after having been on call in the hospital for 30+ hours. I actually really enjoyed being out in the open and having some time to myself. Personally i found the endorphin rush I got afterward seemed a lot more intense---until my wife handed over the kids. . . good luck and keep is posted how it went.