HeIncreasesMe

Today was the worst commute by far. I will no longer take for granted a couple sips of milk at night and a good banana in the morning.

I could not go pass 10MPH this morning. My body would not do it. Maybe for like 30seconds, but that was rare. I had to stop and search through my bag for some food. Luckily I found a Jamba Juice Fruit Snack. And I had a little pre mixed Powerade in a bottle. So I was chilling by the side of the road for a few minutes trying to get my brain focused and body ready to go.

I am figuring since I didn't eat last night and didn't eat this morning...I had no glycogen to work off of when I hit the road this morning.

Has this ever happen to any of you? What did you do?

DataJunkie

You had glycogen just not enough and your body reacted by slowing down.
Yes, it happens to just about all of us.

One day on the way home my first year I was hammering away for the 30 miles. 9 miles before home I hit the wall and it seemed all of the sudden I could barely keep moving. It took me an hour to finish that ride and 2 days to recover.
Now on mountain centuries I am better at staying fed. Every so often I screw up and I have to stop to consume as much food as I can force down my throat. Usually about 15 min later I start feeling better.

Scorer75

Yes. What I do in situations like that is sit up and take in the scenery.

It can be lack of food in which case I'll stop and grab a Snickers bar, or it can be your body is tired, this usually happens after riding for a number of days in a row.

Either way, it beats sitting in traffic in a car so just enjoy the ride, even at 10mph.

harleyfrog

I've gotten into the habit of having a granola bar or two in my fanny pack when I commute, just in case I need it for just such an occasion.

mmerner

When this happens to me, I check to make sure the brakes aren't rubbing.

nahh

i do too, but alas. they never are.

HeIncreasesMe

I just got up to make sure this wasn't happening. I did have to put that little handle back in on my brakes when I stopped. But, I figured I knocked it out when I was leaning over my bike to open up the bag ont heo ther side.

Tsuru

some days, this happens... your blood feels like it's made of sludge, your muscles, lead. Barrel through it! My definition of a good ride? You make it to your destination, as best you can, and without getting killed.

And no..... it's never the brakes. Though a few times I'd swear it was.

Ka_Jun

The bonk sucks.

cg1985

Reminds me of a quote about airplanes

A Good landing, is one you can walk away from.

A Great landing, is one where you can re-use the plane.

Captain Slow

Ah yes, meet The Bonk.

I cannot stress enough the importance of a first meal in the morning. You can skip all the others, but you must eat brekky. Only time you'd ever skip is if you were out to burn fat. The time honored method is to perform some low intensity exercise on an empty stomach, and then eat afterwards.

Cycling is low impact, but definitely not low intensity. Okay, enough admonisment. Here's a suggestion:

Just as you (hopefully) carry a spare tube, patch kit, and a couple of allen keys, so too should you carry emergency food. Next time you're at the supermarket of your choice, buy a Powerbar. They're nasty things,
but the do work. Best of all, a Powerbar will keep for years (decades?) as long as the package is intact.

Should you ever have to use it, eat half, recommence riding. 15 - 30 minutes later, eat the rest of it. You'll
begin feeling better...

Plus, the gas that a Powerbar induces on an empty stomach will propel you forward, a metabolic JATO...

cg1985

Builder Bars by Cliff are pretty tasty. And they do the trick as well.

DataJunkie

After a while you improve enough that carrying food is unneeded. I rarely need to eat on a commute anymore being that I can ride 30 miles on an empty stomach.
Plus, there are always convenience stores nearby.
I guess what I am trying to say is that it gets better.

Quickbeam

I used to say "I never bonk!"... Until one day I did. I had no food and no money with me and a good 15 miles to go before I got home. When I finally made it home I felt like I was near death. No fun!

mccook

Carbs. If you don't eat enough carbs your body is going to let you know.

nmanhipot

It can happen to the best of us - and quite unexpectedly! I guess I'm a huge packrat, but I keep a partial box of Clif bars in the car "just in case" for before or after the ride and I keep at least some Clif Bloks in the bag for "emergencies". I have to use my "emergency" food probably a half-dozen times per year.

bryce_atx

This happened to me last Tuesday on a training ride. I consumed 300 calories on the ride and I thought that would be enough, but it wasn't, and I was out of gas with about 15 miles of rolling hills to go. There's nothing you can do but slow down and get some carbs in you (I limped to a convenience store).

I bonked hard, and it took a verrrrry long time for my HR to drop down.

Have a saddle bag? Throw a Gu in there for an emergency 100 cals.

Tsuru

Exactly!

I have great days and good days.
That's it.

I hope I never have a "bad" day.

stringbreaker

The same ride that takes me 35 to 37 minutes in the morning usually takes me 27 to 32 minutes in the afternoon. Its either slightly uphill to work or I'm just in a hurry to get home.

DataJunkie

Better destination.

That and for me my way home is more downhill.

SingingSabre 

First bonk...congrats!

I always have two granola bars in my bag... Like patch kits and inflating tools, I think it's worth it to have a backup.

Carbon Unit

I have only bonked a few times, but I still remember my first time. I ate a light breakfast and went on a 30 mile group ride. At about 20 miles mark, I just hit the wall. I almost couldn't turn the pedals. I took a short cut to the coffee shop where everyone was going to meet up. I probably pedaled 4 or 5 miles in my bonked condition and it was the most agonizing ride I ever did. After I ate something at the stop, I felt better.

On occasion when I have trained several days in a row, I will have an off day where I just don't perform well. If it is bad enough, I will end my ride and try again the following day.

Buglady

The bonk sucks. Luckily I knew about that problem long before I started riding - I've always been hypoglycemic, so I always have a snack or two handy (granola bar, fruit roll-ups, nuts, anything like that). Never had a name for it till I started cycling and was reading here about it.

Powerbar Gels are perfect for bonks (I won't use them at any other time though... ick).

I can ride without eating in the morning, but if I don't eat enough the night before (good dinner PLUS a bedtime snack), I'm toast.

vaticdart

While I've had the omg-I'm-slow-and-nearly-bonking thing a few times, I also once had a period of a few days were my cruising speed dropped by 3 or 4 mph and I could not figure it out. It was driving me crazy. Then in the process of my nth time looking over my bike, searching for the usual culprits in the wheels, tires, drivetrain, etc, I noticed my seat was about 10 degrees crooked. Opps.

Fixed it, my cruising speed went right back to where it should be.

bhop

I get that way in the afternoons occasionally, but in the mornings i'm ok. I actually ride slower and have a harder time if I eat before I ride. I do always eat breakfast though, just after I get to work.

As far as last minute energy, I had some Hammer Gel samples from when I bought my cycling shorts. I think they are great. They don't fill your stomach like a bar or solid food. The Hammer brand tastes like pudding to me. (haven't tried other brands)