...ok, maybe not a full bonk.
Pretty often, when I'm riding home from work, I'll get maybe 20mins in and start to feel like crap. No oomph, a bit wobbly, head a bit fuzzy, a bit hot and bothered....almost like the sensation of a bonk coming on.
It's a short commute, about 12km, but a decent climb of 150m ish from about 5km in. I think I probably eat and drink enough throughout the day. Just strikes me as odd as I've not had a proper bonk on a recreational ride in years, but often feel terrible on the way home. I'll usually get in, have a snack and a drink, then feel ok again in about 10mins.
Anyone had similar or got any ideas? It'd be nice if I didn't feel like crap on the regular.
Is your job stressful?
What are you eating during the day and when?
Are you actually taking on enough water during the day? Also are you drinking lots of tea or coffee?
Is your job active or sedentary?
Have the snack before you set off rather than waiting 20 minutes into the ride. Doesn’t sound like you’re eating enough in the day, 20 minutes should be easily achievable without taking on food and drink.
Job isn't stressful, just engineering stuff, but is sedentary desk work on the days I'm in the office (and hence riding in). I have a standing desk which I try any alternate every hour or so.
Tend to eat the same thing most days, currently on:
Protein shake thing and an oaty bar when I get in ~8ish
Banana about 10
Greek yoghurt and blueberries (a big Yeti mug thing, about half and half) with granola about 1ish
Apple and a granola bar mid afternoon, typically try and have the bar about an hour before I leave.
There's snacks and stuff at work which I might have if I'm peckish.
Usually have 3 coffees and a Nalgene bottle (1L) of water while I'm at work.
It's weird because some days I'll do a longish ride from work before heading home, and I'll never feel funny on those, just on my commute.
You going hard and fast on the commute to get home as quick as you can?
Had a mate, years ago, who used to do that. Picked them up at the side of the road two or three times, sometimes covered in road slime and mud after they'd collapsed. Then they stopped doing it. Took them an extra 3 minutes on the commute.
Not enough food during the day. No lunch? Just bars and other things that are effectively snacks?
Not really pushing hard, Strava reckons mostly within Z2 heart rate the last couple of times.
Yoghurt/fruit/granola is my lunch. Previously had a phase of chicken wrap things, but I think I had similar feelings on the commute, if I remember.
They say it's good for prostate health
It would be prudent to consider if it may be a heart problem. You say you can do a longer ride without issue but perhaps could be explained due to a more relaxed warm up.
I'm no expert but just said as someone who experiences occasional symptoms but not during exercise, possibly heart related, and recent ECGs show 'irregularities' so now awaiting a 24hr monitor. And thinking about it, I have occasionally felt a little under the weather during short cycle commutes to work.
On the other hand, mid afternoon energy slump/tiredness is a thing, I used to get it whilst driving home when I had an office role, which was probably not helped by a 1pm coffee followed by a manic busy couple of hours, pack up, and drive home ready for an end of day conference call (ear bashing).
However you imply its not just an energy thing...feeling crap, wobbly, hot and bothered are the bits that make me think it might be worth considering seeing your GP.
PS I saw my GP about it a couple of years ago, I don't think they ever looked at my ECG so it will be interesting if I can get hold of it to see if it shows the same irregularities that my recent ones do!
When I first started holidaying in the Lakes I was able to ride from the bottom of Latrigg to the top gate without dabbing once, if nice people held the gates open for me. Thirty years later and I'm lucky if I can get a third of the way up before I've blown and am lying in a heap at the side of the path. It's been suggested to me that modern tyres are much heavier and draggy, and this is a likely reason for my difficulties.
Just saying like. 😉
Are you warming up into the ride? I found I was hammering on pedals too quickly after a day sat on my bahookie. Just ease in for a few minutes.
Are you warming up into the ride?
I think Matt is correct, if your commute is short then you never properly warm the muscles up, and if you are going mental straight off it will damage so much.
I tend to go a little easier on the way home - often feel tired, especially towards the end of the week, so I back off a little.
Also, the traffic is worse so I'm more cautious. I'm fine in the mornings and find it hard not to go quickly, but even a slow ride is only 2 minutes slower over 16-18km. I take a slightly longer route home with a more pleasant last couple of miles (avoiding local scallies).
OP
How's your sleeping*,or are you on shifts?
When full time commuting (five days) ,I would often have something to eat mid afternoon.
Never had your symptoms, but my speed home would often depend on how I was feeling.
A bit like fossy^, I would often back off and drop in to pootle mode.
* you started the thread at 3.00 am
I do a 30 km commute most days. If I eat 1 hour before leaving I feel crap, especially if its sugary stuff like a bar or a coke. I now avoid mid afternoon snacks. I normally eat a reasonable lunch. If I'm hungry in the afternoon, I'll wait until just before I set off before eating.
Pretty often, when I'm riding home from work, I'll get maybe 20mins in and start to feel like crap. No oomph, a bit wobbly, head a bit fuzzy, a bit hot and bothered....almost like the sensation of a bonk coming on.
I had this maybe 3 years ago now. so I'd have been 48. 20-30 mins after starting, then nothing in the tank, light headed. Most of the time I could slow up and steadily recover, but sometimes it would be the end of the ride for me that day and I go home and have a snooze.
My GP visit after that led to my haemochromatosis diagnosis, although the specialist thinks it's unrelated. It has been less frequent since treatment.
I've had ECG's and bloods etc and all come out fairly clear.
One of the changes I have made over those years is managing sugar a bit, as I was getting a bit brundle-fly and I do have a family history of diabetes. so that may have helped if it was a blood sugar issue, but it's difficult to know and it's not that I cut it all out, just a slight reduction.
For me though, I think with age, some things have just got more obvious and are now things that impact me, but remain sub clinical.
You're not eating enough proper food during the day. Shakes and bars and fruit aren't good enough.
I would consider a visit to your GP to rule out any issues. I had kind of the same experience and blood tests showed I have some kind of blood/glucose issue that is like being a diabetic but not having diabetes.
Try a banana ~45mins before heading home?
Only other thing I can think of is are you climbing the hill home harder than you realise? Heart rate monitor on commutes and recent Lactate Threshold Heart Rate test?
Cheers everyone. The first 5km is pretty flat down a river, and in my mind I'm kind of cruising, but maybe in digging in a bit harder than I realise. Limiting factor on the commute is traffic lights, so pedaling harder rarely yields a quicker trip.
The blood glucose thing sounds possible, I'll can try snacking a bit later, and maybe I do generally need to eat a bit more, too.
I'd considered going to the doc about it, so maybe I'll make a few diet changes, then go pay them a visit if things don't improve.
* you started the thread at 3.00 am
Ha, yeah, it was 7pm here...we moved to Canada a few years ago. Sleep is ok.
When I used to do a 30km commute I tried to make sure I had a strong cup of tea in the hour before I left work, and maybe a piece of fruit and that would get me through ok. When it was a +700m climb as well i'd throw something sweet in on the ride as well.
But i'd definitely need more food in the day than you listed.
As Kramer said, ready proper food not just snacks
You need to have a proper lunch and eat more, what you describe is general snacking. The days I ride into the office I have a decent bowl of porridge for breakfast post ride and then have a takeaway container sized lunch of whichever pasta meal leftovers are in the freezer. I ride about 10-15km each way, similar to OP.
I'm riding for fitness and wellbeing, not to lose weight, so I need to fuel properly or quickly feel the consequences.
Another for where is the real food?
I'm not a nutritionist but most of that looks like quick energy stuff. High on sugars and also a lot of processed in there.
- Protein shake
- Oaty bar
- Granola
- Granola bar
High sugar stuff can be very spikey for both cognitive and physiological performance.
+1 for "you need to eat a proper lunch".
Sorry nothing useful to add other than I've experienced it. Happened to me around three times in two years. I'd taken on a more demanding/stressful job, and my commuting distance had increased to ~70 miles total a week. Was drinking too much strong coffee (for me), had anxiety from time to time about being mowed down by a vehicle. When it happened, I was just riding along, at a regular sustainable effort. I'd just feel absolutely wasted like I could barely make it home, light headed, and just want to stop and rest. Sometimes get the sweats.
Here's the least helpful bit: being made redundant sorted it.
Pretty often, when I'm riding home from work, I'll get maybe 20mins in and start to feel like crap. No oomph, a bit wobbly, head a bit fuzzy, a bit hot and bothered....almost like the sensation of a bonk coming on.
Does that last for the rest of the ride home, or does it work its way out of your system? It takes me 25 minutes of decent effort to warm up properly for a race. I know this because I go through a dead patch at 25 minutes which is pretty much what you describe. It lasts for a few minutes and then is gone. It has happened occasionally on my commute home - 10 miles with about 100m climbing at the end. It's generally after a few days of commuting, and always about 2/3rds of the way home - at roughly the same point that I'd be going dead in a race warm up. It has never happened on my morning commute, despite the fact that I eat breakfast after riding. I put this down to not being awake! 🤣
OK, so related, what proper food are we eating for lunch at work?
Sandwiches, a piece of fruit, and a raid on the biscuit tin.
And even with that mighty feast, I’ve occasionally bonked on the way home.
I used to eat a brown rice and lentil salad with cheese or tuna for lunch. Plus 2 or 3 lots of fruit and some kind of oat bar or similar.
From another perspective, wow that's a lot of food to eat during the day. It does sound a bit fast carb on the whole. However, most nutritionists say little and often is the best way to fuel yourself. I've never been able to do that. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is it for me. Nuts, fruit and 0% yoghurt for breakfast, small bowl of soup for lunch, little bit of meat/fish, veggies, and carbs for dinner. Still a fat bimbler. Mebbes try to transition to low GI stuff for your food and even out your sugar spikes? Jealous of your metabolism.
I used to eat a brown rice and lentil salad with cheese or tuna for lunch
Ooof, that sounds like my own personal hell 😳 all my least favourite textures, together at last!
wow that's a lot of food to eat during the day...
Yeah, I kind of thought that. I'm never hungry and actually have to force myself to eat it all. Maybe it's just the wrong stuff.