[Closed] Bonking

up the gels/clif bar intake and, yes, road bikes take a lot more effort over the same time to ride than mtb's (ime) as you never stop pedalling.

I'm much the same smartay. I find a waterbottle with an electrolyte tab and banana 30 mins before I head out makes a difference. If I'm out for much more than an hour I'll take a couple of gels too.

eat, eat, eat.......

loads the day before and loads when you get back. As www said gels/bars are good when out on the ride too.

What wwaswas said. Also, try upping the cadence if you haven't already, spinning is more efficient and less labour intensive. It'll feel weird to begin with, but you'll soon get used to it.

Glad to hear that some else has found the transition hard, though might be age related!!!!

At the end of the day bought the bike to improve my offroad fitness!

[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280679602412 ]Electrolyte drink[/url]

I'm doing 32 miles every other day, find this works, as does a rest day.

I wouldn't think eating was tremendously important if you're only out for 20 miles or so, and I wouldn't be bothering with expensive gels or £1.50 cereal bars myself - a pre ride banana should do you. Are you otherwise in good health?

For rides of about 30 miles I just take a water bottle with an electrolyte tab in it. I have a banana,jam sandwich or bowl of porridge 1/2 to an hour before I go and it see's me through okay. Also make sure your well hydrated before you set off.

As sugested above eat properly & drink on the ride. Sustained climbs - use the gears, spin if possible and move your position around the bars. My sister in law always used to just put her hands on the brake levers stay there, if you get tired climbing try gripping the bars either side of the stem and bending the elbows a bit droppig your head a little or occasionaly getting out of the saddle. If it's any help I find the transition froma summer on the road back to mtb quite a shock for the first few rides

What johnners said.

How old are you? What sort of riding/ exercise do you otherwise do? Are you drinking enough?

I can happily ride 20miles into work at over 20 mph having only eaten a banana.

Thanks Johnners for the vote of confidence, do you know something I dont!!

What they said. By the time you've started to feel bad, it's too late so take something along to nibble on. I usually shove some small flapjacks in my jersey pockets and have one every now and then to keep me topped up. A bit of a break in the middle of the ride and I'm fine. Keep drinking too.

I've just spent 25 mins on the turbo, adjusting a new set of cleats and I'm cream crackered! 😯

Less than 90 minutes out on the road bike and I wouldnt consider anything other than a bottle of water/juice on the bike.

How many calories do you think you are actually needing to replace after 20 miles??!

Ok then this morning cereal at say 0800hrs, couple of coffees, glass of water prior to setting off.
No drink bottle cages on the bike at present, so might be hydration issue

when did this become the new meaning of this word?

Agree that less than an hour and nothing extra is really required.

When I go out after the commute (25 miles) i'll have some porridge just before I set off, and then take some bars with me.

I remember once I didn't have any extra food, or even take any and we did a big route in the evening when it was nice. 60 or so miles, and was hanging 😆 Had to stop at a M&S and buy a load of food to get home!

It's good to Bonk once in a while, shows you are pushing yourself.

No drink bottle cages on the bike at present

Not so smart-ay.

organic355 - Member
when did this become the new meaning of this word?

some time in the 1930s or 1950s, depending on who you listen to

+1 on eating properly beforehand, you shouldn't need food on a 20 mile ride

Get a water bottle fitted, doesn't matter how far i'm going I always take at least a 500ml bottle of water with me. I've been caught out once to often that a quick spin has turned into a lot longer ride.

Water bottle on and with water or salt and lemon juice in for 20+ mile rides. I often take a handful of jelly babies or midget gems along too, and have a little munch about halfway around. I found the cold yesterday made a big difference to my usual feeling/pace.
I still find that after a really hard push I can feel a bit nauseous, but it happens less the more I get out. I believe it is called getting fitter.

I can happily ride 20miles into work at over 20 mph having only eaten a banana.

That's far quicker than most. Few riders can 'happily' average 20mph on their tod.

But I do agree with the eating/hydration thing - no need for anything fancy on a 20 mile ride, but a bottle of water wouldn't go a miss!

Most riders don't live in Oxfordshire 🙂

The return journey is easier as there's a net height loss of about 60 meters 😀

Haribo Tangfastics.

No seriously.

Your body is still adapting to the bike; double, triple and quadruple check it's all setup for your shape too. I found I cramped less once I got the saddle just right.

Make sure you don't wallop yourself either, if you need to spin up the hills in a lower gear/slower pace then just do so. You can compensate on the descents/flats.

Definitely get your water situation sorted! Stretching before hand helps too. I rarely stretch before mtb, but typically stretch my back and legs before some serious road action. Don't fill yourself with sugar, it's carbs but quick release. The simplest way is just to eat a balanced diet, but give yourself at least an hour after finishing eating before getting on the bike. This stops that feeling of food being obstructive, then take a nana with you and some water. Eletrolyte is only really needed after about 2.5 hours if you start properly hydrated and drink water on the go. Sounds like you're done inside an hour an a half (17mph, 20ish miles).

Buying sh*tloads of gels/electrolyte tabs will not fix this. Listen to your body and work with it, don't just force it to keep going.

Sounds like you just need to get a bit fitter*. There's no stop starting on a road ride like you often find off road which means the ffort is more constant, worse if you add hills. A small bottle of squash should be enough though to see you through a ride of that length. It sounds more like you are pushing hard up the hills and getting knackered rather than running out of energy from lack of food.

Over the ride you suggest I wouldn't have thought you'd need anything extra over what you would normally eat and drink throughout the day. Probably worth making sure you don't start off dehydrated and hungry though.

I personally don't buy all this haribo and jelly baby nonsense. Just an excuse to eat sweets 😉
I find the sugar rush is closely followed by an intense headache. Hydration is obviously key and I find the electrolyte powder helps me more than just water.

OP - just slow down? Over 17mph when you're just starting off on the road is a fair pace, particularly if its hilly. I just think you're pushing too much too soon tbh. After a month or 2 that pace will be more than achievable, but just get yourself used to the different physiological demands of road riding for your first few goes before pushing too much. If it was a long ride I'd go along with some of the advice on fuelling, but I don't think thats you issue tbh. Eat and stretch after. And deffo take and drink water. Of course, once you've got yourself used to it, go out and **** yourself over on a regular basis - its what its all about 😀

attendency to get the shakes anyway if i don't eat

I'd be tempted to suggest cutting down on sugary foods you eat. Try to eat more complex carbohydrates.

Ie wholegrain pasta instead of pasta. Brown rice. Brownbread.

Stop taking sugar in tea.

Dont drink coke or anything like that.

Try and eat oat type cereal with out sweetners etc etc

as you never stop pedalling

you don't need to stop pedalling on a mtb - or am I missing something?

Thanks Johnners for the vote of confidence, do you know something I dont!!

I'm not a doctor but I'm thinking you've probably got the Bad Aids.

Or diabetes.

or ME.

But probably the Bad Aids.

[i]you don't need to stop pedalling on a mtb - or am I missing something? [/i]

I've found gates a lot easier since I stopped trying to bunny hop them at speed 😉

My experience is that on fast downhills or singletrack you pedal when you need to, not all the time. Unless you run singlespeed you tend to spin not stomp up hills too.

On a road bike you tend to just reach a comfortablish cadence and stay there for 2 hours - there's not much that'll need you to stop pedalling bar traffic lights or busy road junctions.

Most riders don't live in Oxfordshire

The return journey is easier as there's a net height loss of about 60 meters

Are you saying it's flat, and therefore easy, and you go quicker than your 'easy' 20mph on the way home? 😕

I assume you road race. If not start. I've ridden with TdF riders who don't sustain 20 (admittedly in the hills).

Very flat 🙂

I don't road race, I bought a steel roadbike this year for LEJOG and have been comuting 1 or 2 days a week. 20 miles each way.

Quickest average I've managed is 22 mph. I try and keep a high cadence, so on the downhills I can hit >30 and then try and sustain it for as long as possible with the momentum on the flats

That's a good pace especially on a commute... Whilst I love commuting through London I'm lucky if I average over 19mph. Anyway that is off the OP's point.

How many calories do you think you are actually needing to replace after 20 miles??!

Well a [u]rough[/u] average for an average person riding at a sustained pace of around 18mph is a consumption of 65 calories per mile.

20x65= 1300cal.

Therefore, if you arent a big eater in general and tend to get by on around 1500-2000cal per day, you are going to be pushing your bonk threshold. Particulalry if unused to such activity.

I've just started a diet to cut down on the amout of refined carbs I eat and the first 2 weeks involve eating virtually no carbs at all.
My average for my regular loop went from 16.5 to 14mph and I felt like sh*t for the whole ride.
Carbs are important for exercise, just don't over compensate like I often do!

njee - my scepticometer kicked in but I can avg 22-23 over 13 miles on my steel bike coming back from Guildford Stn down the A283. That feels like a full 10 effort though and not something I would do every day.

So if it's like that - why not?

He should still do some racing or TTs though 😉

Whilst I love commuting through London I'm lucky if I average over 19mph

😆

You'd be lucky to average over 19 [b]K[/b]ph in London...

TSY; how knacked are you after doing 20mph for an hour? Not disputing it, sounds feasible if you have flat terrain, little or no wind, and no traffic lights/junctions to negotiate.

And as Njee sez; if you can sustain that sort of pace, you should be racing, or at least Time Trialling. 20+mph for an hour solo is bloody good, even on a flat course.

I personally don't buy all this haribo and jelly baby nonsense. Just an excuse to eat sweets

What your body needs is energy. In the form of sugar. Haribo are just as good as many other things such as energy bars in my experience. Gels are good if you do bonk, as they contain such a concentrated amount of stuff in a very small package. But for just general riding, I find a few Tangfastics an hour great for delivering small digestible amounts of sugar over a period of time.

And they're £1 for a decent sized bayg. Enough for a whole day. 🙂

Unless you are racing, and really pushing yourself to the absolute limit, if you're needing all sorts of gels and drinks etc, you're either not eating properly, not exercising properly, or both. Or you've got some sort of health condition you should see a doctor about. Even fairly strenuous exercise shoon't be requiring you to have all that stuff, if you're in reasonably good shape and have a suitably decent diet. As a courier, I'd be working 8, 10 hours a day or more, spending at least 6 or 7 in the saddle, and sprinting from place to place. I din't need all that energy drink/bar/gel malarky, I just ate normal food.

'Energy' foods is a big market, which relies mostly on the gullible.

It's good to Bonk once in a while, shows you are pushing yourself.

Nah, it shows you're not eating properly!

I really try to eat something long and slow-release before and during a ride these days, even 20 miles seems to take it out of me, but I'd be surprised if I eat more than maybe ~1800 cal in a normal day (and I'm old), so I find that I do need to load up now, unless I'm only out poking about.

Fast-release / simple sugar is not the way, your metabolism will dip fast after the rush is over.

One of my two best ever bonks ended up miles from home, sat on the side of the road sobbing my heart out, which is both stupid and funny looking back at it, but it was scary and pretty desperate at the time (getting dark, cold, wet etc). I knew (from experience 😉 ) that I hadn't slipped into hypothermia [yet], but recognised that could be next ...

Tangfastics

Can't think of anything more vile to eat while riding 🙁

Grab yourself something like this - ready-available sugar in various formats -

[url= http://www.diabetes.co.uk/shop/productdetails.aspx?pid=1719 ]Hypo Wallet[/url]

It's pretty handy...

how knacked are you after doing 20mph for an hour?

Not too bad, for a while I was doing 20 lengths in the pool as a warm down. Ygga at lunch, then beat the time on the way home.

It's the step up to sustaining in excess of 23 mph that kills me, did 10 miles with a fair wind in around 24 mins, but that was on the limit.

What your body needs is energy. In the form of sugar. Haribo are just as good as many other things such as energy bars in my experience.

Yep, I agree with the obvious cyclists above. A fitish person should easily be able to ride 20 miles without eating anything at all, even before. A strong cyclist, a lot more.

This is just you getting used to road riding. Give it time, you'll come round and will be doing 20mph averages soon enough. It's not that hard, on the flat at least. Experience is what's needed here, and longer rides.

Fast-release / simple sugar is not the way, your metabolism will dip fast after the rush is over.

Not saying that Haribo is a replacement for proper food, just good for giving you sugary bursts of energy in a cheap and tasty form. 🙂

Dried fruit, nuts, chocolate. Much tastier than nasty energy bars an ting. Glucose powder and a pinch of salt in yer water/drink. Just put a bit of thought into it.

are we talking 20mph average across the board, including traffic lights, cornering, junctions etc?

I can happily maintain 21/22/23 mph for long periods but my average is 19mph roughly after taking into account the above.

also, how are you working out your average? gps, mapping, or (a potentially poorly calibrated) speedo/bike computer?

not having a go, just very keen to hear how others achieve their fitness.

It's the step up to sustaining in excess of 23 mph that kills me, did 10 miles with a fair wind in around 24 mins, but that was on the limit.

Blimey. 😮

GPS for me typically. Most of my rides are between 17mph and 20mph average, depends on the terrain and since most are either hilly or done on a fixie I guess 17-18mph is more likely.

Geared roadbike on the flat though, 21-22mph is easy enough for a fit guy. Certainly over a TT course. Anything more than that solo is getting tough.
I'm a bit old for those sorts of speeds nowadays anyway. I'm much happier churning out big distances.

In reference to the OP I've done an 80+ mile hilly ride without eating anything at all. It's just about getting your body used to it.