Did i bonk?

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Did an eighty mile bike event yesterday and i think i might have hit the dreaded wall(bonk).
I was going ok for about fifty miles and then my legs just started to feel like lead and the bike seemed twice as heavy.
I was then stopping every ten miles to eat(jelly babies)and drink,.by then the enjoyment of the ride had gone and my main accomplishment was finishing.
The last hill with about two miles to go was agony with me just creeping up it in bottom gear.
I did a century ride last year and although i had a bit of cramp i didn't feel like this.
I wonder if i did not fuel up enough,had some pasta the night before and had porridge for breakfast but on the ride only eat a few flapjacks and some jelly babies.
The other thing because there was a low turn out of riders we all became stretched and i spent most of the ride on my own and i tend to ride to my max instead of pacing myself as i would with other riders.

 

[jay clock]

yes....

 

[ianrauk]

No.
Maybe nearly and running on empty but not a bonk.
If you had bonked there was no way you could have continued to ride.

 

[TheSoulReaver03]

I don't get this thing about "bonking". It's always my muscles that start aching. I did a 60 mile bike ride a few days ago and all I had was sore as hell legs and butt. Sure, my bike felt like lead and I had to stop every 5-10 mins or so, but that's it.

If you eat before and while riding, I don't think you should be bonking except if your heart is weak and not yet used to exercise.

 

[MikeW-71]

I don't get this thing about "bonking". It's always my muscles that start aching. I did a 60 mile bike ride a few days ago and all I had was sore as hell legs and butt. Sure, my bike felt like lead and I had to stop every 5-10 mins or so, but that's it.

If you eat before and while riding, I don't think you should be bonking except if your heart is weak and not yet used to exercise.

There's fatigue, and there's a bonk, the two are very different.

If I suddenly decided to ride 40 miles further than I've ever done before, I know I need to eat on the way and I would feel fatigued at the end. The last hills would be a struggle for example.

A bonk is completely running out of fuel. You haven't eaten. You'll be sitting at the roadside seeing stars for at least 20 minutes. During that time, you really need to eat something to get some energy to continue at all.

If you eat during the ride, but not quite enough, you can also get a "hunger knock" where you can continue, but you feel pretty weak. I reckon the OP ended up riding too hard and blew up.

 

[the snail]

if you'd bonked you wouldn't be asking the question. Getting tired out to the point your legs don't want to work is one thing, bonking your legs will be f***ed, plus you'll be nauseous, dizzy and disoriented with a headache and basically feel like you're going to die.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

if you'd bonked you wouldn't be asking the question. Getting tired out to the point your legs don't want to work is one thing, bonking your legs will be f***ed, plus you'll be nauseous, dizzy and disoriented with a headache and basically feel like you're going to die.

If that is the "bonk," no i didn't feel as bad as that,probably what mike said i rode too hard and blew up,also my lack of food intake didn't help either.

 

[cyberknight]

I think there's your problem . i f i read your OP right you did not start eating till the 50 mile mark where i was advised to eat every half hour from the start .

 

[TheSoulReaver03]

Well, according to CGN, if you never bonked that means you're not a proper cyclist. I don't see the connection between not eating for hours then barely being able to walk and being a cyclist.

The only time I had a bonk-like feeling is when I cycled to a football pitch and wanted to play a bit with my mate. It was a struglle to even keep standing, and I was about to fall asleep, but I could still pedal the bike.

 

[ColinJ]

As above, if you have to ask - NO or maybe NOT QUITE!

Bonking is so severe a problem that you cease to function properly and you can't just soldier on. You might forget your own name, lose the power of speech, your eyesight could be affected etc. See THIS LIST.

 

[TheSoulReaver03]

As above, if you have to ask - NO or maybe NOT QUITE!

Bonking is so severe a problem that you cease to function properly and you can't just soldier on. You might forget your own name, lose the power of speech, your eyesight could be affected etc. See THIS LIST.

Oh please...all this from using your legs to pedal...yeah right. Take a look at sprinters or marathon runners. It's more intense than cycling, and how many have you seen who suddenly developed memory loss?

 

[ColinJ]

Oh please...all this from using your legs to pedal...yeah right. Take a look at sprinters or marathon runners. It's more intense than cycling, and how many have you seen who suddenly developed memory loss?

You are digging a hole for yourself ... Stop digging.

 

[winjim]

Oh please...all this from using your legs to pedal...yeah right. Take a look at sprinters or marathon runners. It's more intense than cycling, and how many have you seen who suddenly developed memory loss?

Eh? The bonk is hypoglycaemia and nothing to do with having tired legs.

 

[velovoice]

Bonking is a brain thing. Your brain can only run on two possible fuels (carbs or ketones, a byproduct of fat burning/ketosis) -- and it's one or the other.

FYI, your body meanwhile uses carbs or FAT not ketones as fuel. If your metabolism is running on carbs, then yes, hypoglycemia can and does happen. If you're keto-adapted, then your body is using fat as fuel and your brain is using the ketone produced from that as fuel. You need no carbs hence no hypoglycemia and -- studies show -- no risk of bonk since fat stores provide 20x more available fuel than carbohydrates can provide at any given time, provided of course your metabolism is adapted to be running on fat rather than carbs in the first place.

Tiredness/lead legs etc is the body running out of fuel, as anything you have left is being diverted to the brain for survival. Push it further til your brain has no fuel and you get headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, hallucinations, you name it -- complete and utter shut down. Often hand in hand with dehydration as well, which at the extreme end could be a step from heat exhaustion.

And then there's the effects of electrolyte loss, specifically magnesium, which if taken to extremes can kill you.

No, you did not bonk.

 

[ColinJ]

Here is marathon runner Gabriella Anderson demonstrating how just using legs can induce a few problems. I suspect that speech might have been somewhat difficult at that time and I wouldn't expect her to remember where she had parked her car either!