Thought the Joy of Bonking was a great article in this month's mag - being a bit of crash and burn type myself I could relate to some of the stories.
So what's the best way to keep the carbs up during a ride? Is there a good alternative to my 3 litres of apple juice and a couple of biscuits?
um - eat, and keep eating
energy bars, gels, energy drink, malt loaf, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, haribo
doesn't really matter what as loong as its got lots of cals, you like it, and you keep it coming
If I'm riding for a long time I make aure I eat something every hour - and I have yet to have a "proper" bonk
It depends on the ride duration and intensity.
If you are going out for a long gentle ride you should aim to eat loads of carbs the day before and start the day with a big breakfast. You can then top this up with stuff like flapjack, sandwiches, bananas etc. while you are riding.
If you are going out for a short, fast blast then you will not be able to metabolise carbs that easily anyway. I once read that the speed at which you set off dictates (to some extent) the rate at which your body will consume food. This means if you set off really quick your body will think it needs to provide fuel quickly and will use all the easy to access energy stores really quickly, this will leave you feeling weak and wobbly in no time. I try to set off gently and do a reasonable period of warm up and then up the intensity. You can use easy to digest carbs such as energy drinks and gels to keep yourself going on this kind of ride.
You will also need to keep yourself hydrated to ensure that you can make the most of your food.
3 litres of apple juice? That would make me sick I think! My fave trail food is hot cross buns with jam in. Lovely. I only really bother eating on a ride longer than a couple of hours though.
proper bonks are ace (afterwards) it is like a separate reality. You know them dreams where you want to run fast but can't ... ? Just like that. Lieing in the ditch by the side of the road / trail for the rest of your life sounds like the best idea of your life.
You start to fantasise about all manner of foodstuffs and how much of them you can eat.
I wouldn't confuse carbs with calories.
I'd go for foods with lots of carbs and not a lot of fat - fat slows the absorption of carbs. Also, remember that your body can only cope with ca. your body weight in grams of carbs per hour, so totally stuffing your face every hour is probably a bit counterproductive 😆
After a spectacular bonk at SITS in Trentham Gardens about five years ago I started looking at eating properly and eventually settled on High 5 4:1 energy drink. I certainly don't consume as much of it as they recommend, but I can ride forever on the stuff.....it doesn't even make me feel sick, it's great:-)
Its not really a carb loading trick and only works when riding on the darkside, but I find that you can avoid bonking by persistently winding up one of your riding partners so they sit on the front for the majority of the day so you don't have to do as much work
Torq drink, torq bars, torq gels.
Oh, and apple "Pom-Potes" used with the above on la Marmotte (together with the fantastic little jelly bars and the ham and cheese baguettes)
Read the fitness article - that should give you a good idea of what to do. It indicates that up to about 90 minutes you should be ok but if you're going longer than that then you need to be fueling probably from the start. I use water in camelbak and an energy drink in a bottle. Drink every 10 mins and alternate between the two sources. Then at about 2 hours eat an energy bar/fig rolls/sarnie whatever and try for a solid source every hour there after. Keep some gels in pocket just in case.
I've bonked quite a few times which have only been as bad as crawling home and feeling a bit cold. I have also bonked spectacularly at least twice. They really weren't fun and not something I look back on longingly. I really just wanted to climb off and cry and be instantly transported home to me mum. Totally vile and to be avoided at all costs.
Have fun.
Fruit, Bananas and Oranges work for me, anything that's too processed really screws with my stomach. Granola bars and Cliff bars I can also tolerate. I avoid energy drinks as they really screw me up.
Water with Nuun Electrolytes is zero crap and calories.
I use an energy drink, which I sip every 15 minutes, and cereal or energy bars which I have a mouthful every half an hour. I did my first roadie century ride and having read advice on here I found I actually needed to keep an eye on the clock and make sure I did that, and I rode for the best part of 8 hours with no problems. (Couple of gels for emergency use)
Bit trickier doing the eating bit if you are off road, you have to pick your moments depending on the terrain!
Peanut butter sandwiches and cereal bars for me.
bonkings awesome, especialy whenthe ditch you long to crawl into is full of blackberries 🙂
the ones on manchester road have saved me many a time (followed by 2000 calories worth of eccles cakes fro the co-op)