First thing I laid my hands on was a tub of Isostar powder so sat and ate it with a spoon, washing it down with water
Brilliant!
Bike Forum
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what is bonking?
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Posted 2 years ago #
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Never touched it since
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kendal Mint Cake is the old fave,used to carry that with me in my younger days,my old man used to swear by it..
Posted 2 years ago # -
Aye Blower, its got LOADS of sugar in thats why, a great back up and also yummy
Posted 2 years ago # -
Forgot about Kendal mint cake, great stuff unless you got it wet?
Brought back memories this post.
Steel road bikes, clothing was leather and wool, no mobiles, shops were shut Sundays and garages didn't sell food. You were on your own.Posted 2 years ago # -
only bonked properly once although have ben on the edges several times.
i went for a ride once with the intention of bonking to find the warning signs (not fun!!)
I tend to keep a go bar in the bottom of my camel back for these moments.
go bars are best for 2 reasons; the have the most indestructable wrappers & they taste rank (which means you never eat them some other time!!)
Posted 2 years ago # -
i looked it up properly before. Its way more than low blood sugar but your body forcing you to slow down to an intensity that it can convert energy from a source. That source becomes muscle protein or something like that. The figure was around 300 cals an hour. So basically not enough energy from all normal sources = empty tank = body goes to survival mode to make organs + brain get energy to work thus the hammer comes down. There was a posh wprd that had something to do with liver processing energy.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Oldgit- proper chamois in yer shorts,leather saddles...
rhsno2- go bars are nice i think..
must stock up on kendal mint cake again mithinks!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Only properly bonked once, thank heavens. In Portugal on a touring/ATB solo trip (I carried nobblies to swap from my touring slicks) waaay ago in 1988! Three hours uphill on a small breakfast and a fully loaded bike, crawled to a cantina for fizzy pop and a baguette.
Never, ever, again!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Only had the bonk once on a merida marathon. I could not believe how awful I felt. Never again. I always carry spare gels just in case. That's because I ate so much junk when I got back I had spots for a week and felt very, very sick for 4 days.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've had it a few times although now I can usually ride myself to within a gnat's crotchet of it and know when to stop.
First time was when I was about 17/18 on my brand new road bike out on the Christmas club run. Cold day, first ever ride on my new road bike (I'd never really ridden road before), it felt SO fast so there was young hotheaded me caning it off the front and up all the hills at every opportunity. It was also by far the longest ride I'd ever done, about 80 miles and with 10 miles to go I'd died completely. Weaving over the road, vision going swirly, it felt horrible. A clubmate pushed me most of the way back, I've never been so humiliated.
Got back home and just raided the fridge, anything and everything, I was eating cold rice pudding straight from the tin. Then went back to the clubhouse and had the full Christmas dinner (and endured a whole evening of piss-taking).
It's happened a few times since and it's always a grim tortuous feeling both mentally and physically.
Posted 2 years ago # -
No-one has asked the question that has to be asked -
Has anyone bonked while bonking?
That would be much worse than running out of steam on a bike
Posted 2 years ago # -
There's nothing quite like forgetting how to control your ipod as the fringes of your vision start to go black...
A worthwhile place to visit once a month I reckon, just to make yourself feel alive.
Posted 2 years ago # -
How much warning do you get ?
How quickly does it come on ?
Is it possible to catch it just in time and drop your level of exertion to a slothful plod and carry on ?I've done a few endurance events where I have got to the stage where I just can't go on any more.
Normally, a half hour break and some food and drink, and I'm good to go again, albeit at a steady pace.
How do I tell if I'm on the verge of bonking or just ordinary, run of the mill exhausted ?Posted 2 years ago # -
How much warning do you get ?
How quickly does it come on ? For me its like a switch being flicked. Thing is, its almost like I know what I am doing will make me bonk badly, like not keeping the fuel up regularly and pushing hard.The only explanation for what it feels like is this: physically your legs will be OK, your heart rate will be reasonably low, you'll envisage anything with a > 10mm rise as a 'hill', getting up that hill will mean you need your granny gear - or push. Once at the top your chin will be on your chest and you'll want to suck your thumb a lot.
Is it possible to catch it just in time and drop your level of exertion to a slothful plod and carry on ? Yes you can but you really really need to get some fuel in at the same time, something very fast acting to get you back to a position where you can eat properly. DOn't expect to feel good for a considerable amount of time, like days.
Normally, a half hour break and some food and drink, and I'm good to go again, albeit at a steady pace.
How do I tell if I'm on the verge of bonking or just ordinary, run of the mill exhausted ?
Thats a bit knackered. If you are going flat out in your granny gear on level ground and weeping gently. You've bonked.Posted 2 years ago # -
Not sure if its been said already but as far as i can recall metabolising only fat for an extended period can be damaging to your health. Your body goes into a state called ketosis, where essentially the body produces ketones as a by-product of fat metabolism. These ketones are understood to have possible long term negative effects, such as stressing the liver and kidneys.
Its also characterised by breath that smells like pear drops as the body metabolises ketones to produce acetones.
I think the long terms effects are not fully understood though, and there is debate as to whether there are any harmful long term effects. All in all though not such an issue for short term 'bonkage' as the influx of cake at the nearest cafe will restore order
Posted 2 years ago # -
ow do I tell if I'm on the verge of bonking
One of the warning signs for me is I can't tell whether I'm hot or cold.
Posted 2 years ago # -
How do I tell if I'm on the verge of bonking or just ordinary, run of the mill exhausted ?
When it happens, you'll sure as hell know about it! Dunno about getting much warning though.
Posted 2 years ago # -
i get warning - if i can't stop daydreaming about food while i'm riding,
Posted 2 years ago # -
The first warning sign is it starts to feel like you are riding through treacle
Posted 2 years ago # -
How do I tell if I'm on the verge of bonking or just ordinary, run of the mill exhausted ?
For me, I usually get a sudden hunger pang/empty stomach feeling. If I stuff down some high sugar food, I can usually avoid a bad bonk but I know if I don't do it quickly I'll be in trouble...
I seem to need to eat a huge amount on longer rides to avoid it - certainly way more than most people and as a consequence have experienced the bonk several times. The worst was when I was 25 miles from home, pre-mobile phone days, with no cash. It took me two hours to ride those 25 miles (despite managing to scrounge a banana from a petrol station) and I was so out of it, I hallucinated a massive banana by the side of the road and started heading for it before a moment of clarity showed it to in fact be a tree...
Posted 2 years ago # -
The only time I got it bad I didn't see it coming. I was young and mixing it with roadie hardmen. I just remember staring at this guys rear mech for miles (it was a Simplex BTW) then we turned a corner and the narrow flat lane seemed to act like an Alpine climb I actually remember looking around to see if someone was playing a trick, then a few yards later I ground to a halt.
Posted 2 years ago # -
There was something in last weeks New Scientist (1 May 2010)
"Energy drinks give your muscles an instant boost.
If you spit out an energy drink after taking a sip, it could still boost your strength. This pre-digestive effect is immediate and seems due to a newly discovered neural pathway that links taste buds to muscles.
Nicholas Gant at the University of Auckland in New Zealand previously showed that mouth-rinsing and then spitting out a carbohydrate solution immediately improved performance at sprinting and cycling - even though it takes at least 10 minutes for carbohydrates to be digested and utilised by muscles.
......... Gant say's it's likely that taste receptors detect carbohydrates resulting in a signal to fatigued muscles "that help is on the way" so they continue working hard."Its not suggesting that spitting food out does any good, just that food in your mouth could prevent your body panicing just moments before it all turns horrible.
Posted 2 years ago # -
You get to know when it's going to happen if you listen to your body. There's a difference between running low on blood sugar and being exhausted. Try doing a really hard ride with plenty of carb drink, bars, food and whatnot - your legs will feel trashed but you'll be basically ok. If you are starting to bonk you feel crap all over and your brain starts to get fuzzy, your mood will drop, you'll struggle mentally...
If you start feeling weak in general, quite rapidly, then you're approaching bonk territory. Leg exhaustion is just.. well.. sore leg muscles.
Posted 2 years ago # -
molgrips - Member
You get to know when it's going to happen if you listen to your body. There's a difference between running low on blood sugar and being exhausted. Try doing a really hard ride with plenty of carb drink, bars, food and whatnot - your legs will feel trashed but you'll be basically ok. If you are starting to bonk you feel crap all over and your brain starts to get fuzzy, your mood will drop, you'll struggle mentally...If you start feeling weak in general, quite rapidly, then you're approaching bonk territory. Leg exhaustion is just.. well.. sore leg muscles.
yep agreed there,some people think bonking is just being knackered or legs in pain,well its no way near.
prob is with or what ive found with myslef,is if i do long rides and take a carb-energy mix in yer camelback or bottle it dehydrates me,.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just looked through my sports science journals I guess in Laymans you lot are close but not hit the nail.
Should I offer the solution for cycling events?
Nah
cackle cackle...just kidding.
I think I might create a website of sports science for roadies and mtbs noobs for my summer project for free of course if I can get the advertising.
How much detail would people want?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've never bonked - am I a virgin? What do you call people who think that they have bonked but actually just got the symptoms a bit confused - dry humpers? Discuss.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I have problems with blood sugar control and get easily hypoglaecimic - with that I get about 3 minutes warning starting with blue/white vision and general diziness. I can go about another 15 minutes with glucose tablets but then need something more "proper".
With bonking I get less than a minutes warning - from reasonably okay to zero energy (even to brake) and no balance. I seem to be able to then go quite a while very slowly if I drip feed myself energy bars and glucose tablets with a gel.
My worst food mistake ever was grabbing what I thought was a packet of glucose tablets to discover 50km away from home in the middle of nowhere that they were 1 calorie breath mints.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Only had it once. On a commute home in the middle of winter. Blowing a gale and pouring rain with 12 miles done and 8 to go I totally lost it. Felt awful, got home, ate a mars bar, went to sleep, ate dinner my wife had made then went to sleep again. I was totally ****.
I never see anyone else on the second half of my commute in winter, I go across a moor road. I was standing holding my bike and a guy rode passed and asked if I was okay - I think I imagined it.
Always carry a chocolate bar now, just in case.
they were 1 calorie breath mints I would have killed for them when I bonked.
Posted 2 years ago # -
It's your own personal hell...especially when you've got a long way to go. I hadn't done it for years then was re-introduced to it once last year. You'll probably get a major sense of humour bypass at the same time
Eat, drink, take the rest of the ride easy, though it's not as though you'll have any choice on the last one.
If you are going flat out in your granny gear on level ground and weeping gently. You've bonked.
That's pretty close along with the physical torture and associated mental slump you get.
dry humpers? Discuss
Posted 2 years ago # -
i had it when doing Sleepless last year. About 3/4 of the way into my 5am lap and it hit me like a freight train. I was dreaming about food all the way till i finished the lap. shaking and totally lacking energy.
I got into our area and proceeded to grab anything i could. I sat down rocking back and forth, ate an entire packet of chocolate hobnobs, a can of coke, a whole packet of fig rolls, a mars bar and a cup of tea.
I couldn't think straight and felt throughly confused.. it's an immense feeling and the daydreaming of food is overwhelming
Posted 2 years ago # -
I was dreaming about food all the way till i finished the lap. shaking and totally lacking energy.p
That's the feeling I get as well. There could be a dozen gorgeous naked women next to me and I'd still be thinking FOOD, NOW!
Nothing else is needed - staunch vegans will be knocking on the door of the local greasy spoon begging for a bacon sarnie. Gourmet diners will scrape the last dregs of a lukewarm Pot Noodle in an effort to get any sort of calorific intake.Crawling along a flat road or trail in low gear, willing the body to go on and it just won't, there is nothing there! One of the most depressing and demoralising feelings ever.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Spill it zaskar, I want detail. I'm a scientist.
The solution is just to eat or take carbs. It's simple
As for carb drink dehydrating you.. dunno how that'd be possible. Maybe if it was mixed too strong or too salty or something. All you really need is 3-4 scoops of plain maltodextrin powder per hour unless you are racing or in really really hot weather, then some electrolyte is nice. Flavour it with nothing, or some squash. Syrupy sweet yucky SIS type stuff is nasty.
FOOD, NOW!
Sometimes I've got back to the car and found only sugar-free gum. I still eat it, in vain hope...
Posted 2 years ago # -
carb drinks don't dehydrate you, that's impossible, they just don't quench your thirst. For long distances I'll take a carb drink in my camelback for energy then have a bottle of plain water on the bike to quench my thirst.
Kev
Posted 2 years ago # -
so its mi thrist that was the problem then,although looking back be 15 16 years ago it was that dextrain stuff,anyone remember that?probably because i mixed it twice as strong as it said too ha!
Posted 2 years ago #
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