Hit the wall for the first time.......not nice :-(

[WellyWonkey]

Well all was well on my ride on Saturday, slowly building up the miles in preparation for the Manchester 100. Set off nice and early, 5 am, lovely weather, perfect temperature, birds were in full voice. I was aiming to do about 60 miles. I'd had my usual banana before setting off and hydrated myself (or so I thought). Anyway, I was 35 miles in to it, feeling great, legs were spinning well, I was sipping regularly when literally out of the blue.....BAM! That was me done, I couldn't believe it, I could hardly pedal the bike, I kept checking for punctures or that my brakes hadn't locked on. No, nothing like that, it was me, I was out of fuel. I had never even come close to feeling like that before (and hopefully never again!) I've read about it on CC and other places but never really understood how your body could react this way, well I found out big time. I was 30 miles from home running on empty, low on water in the middle of the countryside. At the top of every incline I was throwing up at the side of the road! It's a good job there was nobody around to witness my pathetic demise. My legs were on fire, my newly bought battery booster for my iphone had failed and had drained the normal battery on my phone. Great! No phone, no water, no food. I kick myself now for not taking more supplies, but as I've said, I've never even come close to feeling that way, I assumed (wrongly) that I would have experienced like a pre-warning on previous long rides.
I had to dig really deep just to get me to the nearest village, I did a lot of just rolling rather than pedalling! Eventually I found a shop and sorted myself out. I was out far longer than I intended which went down great with the missus, however even she dared not say anything to me when she saw the state I was in when I got home. She'd left umpteen worried messages on my phone (I think the phone had less energy than me!) She thought I'd come off or been knocked off in a ditch somewhere.
I must admit, it's knocked my confidence a hell of a lot. One minute I was loving cycling, the next..............hating every second. Not looking forward to getting out there again for a while I can tell you that much.
If anything though it's taught me a valuable lesson and I will take that lesson on board for next time....whenever that is???

 

[Markymark]

To check, you'd done 35 miles without food? I'd be exactly the same. If doing 60 miles I'd be stopping at 20 and 40 miles to eat. I also try and do 500ml-750ml per hour fluid too.

I usually take bananas and flapjacks with me and pop into the odd shop for water and chocolate.

 

[martint235]

Happens to us all at some point. Try not to be too disheartened. Everyone is different but here's what I do:

1. Have two 750ml bottles of water on the bike. If I know my route well I can predict when I'll empty one/both of them. However if I don't know my route and one bottle is empty, fill it at the first opportunity you get. Don't think "oh there'll be another shop soon". Sod's law says there won't be.
2. Have some kind of fuel with you. Whatever your preference is (mine is fig rolls). You might not need it but better to carry it around with you rather than find out you need it and don't have it.
3. Pace yourself. If you go flat out (I often ride to a mantra of "if you can go 1mph faster then go 1mph faster") you'll often end up blowing up. I find that any point in my training route I'm going as fast as I can at that point, however I don't think this equates to doing the whole 65 miles as fast as I can.

Above all, try it again. And again. It'll get easier.

 

[BSRU]

Did you eat/hydrate properly the day before?
Maybe you need to eat a little more than 1 banana before setting off.

 

[WellyWonkey]

To check, you'd done 35 miles without food? I'd be exactly the same. If doing 60 miles I'd be stopping at 20 and 40 miles to eat. I also try and do 500ml-750ml per hour fluid too.

I usually take bananas and flapjacks with me and pop into the odd shop for water and chocolate.

Yeah, I totally misjudged it. I've done 40 miles before and my banana has always sufficed. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Lesson learnt I hope :-)

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Yeah, I totally misjudged it. I've done 40 miles before and my banana has always sufficed. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Lesson learnt I hope :-)

30-40 is relatively easy on a small breakfast or as some do on nothing, but once you start to push beyond that, you need fuel, depend on how accurate figures are I will burn say 40-50cals a mile 40 is probably closer, so 60*40=2,400 as much as your daily needs (depending on how you live) so if your not putting that in like a car you run out.
Nice to hear you over came the difficulties, you will look back at it and say "ok I f'd up a bit, but I managed to over come it"

 

[WellyWonkey]

Cheers everyone, thanks for the great advice. I really want to complete the 100 miler so I'll take stock of all the tips and tricks from experienced cyclists on here, dust myself down, get back on it at the weekend. View it as a massive learning curve

 

[Saluki]

As others have said. A bit more to eat than one banana is the way to go. On a long ride - not that I have done one this year yet - I have porridge for breakfast and some fruit. I take flapjack and jelly babies with me and will stop at about 30 miles for coffee and cake. 2 bottles of water or squash or even water with an energy tablet thingy in. I don't take gels, they are vile to me but I have some of those little gel shot things for long rides as I can munch on the rubbery texture which moistens my mouth and gives me an energy boost.
Glad you overcame your problems. Check to additions to your phone before trying them out on a long ride too I would suggest taking money for a phone box but as none of them take actual cash any longer, how about a debit card in your pocket for emergency 'come and get me' calls.

 

[Spinney]

You're obviously not like me - for me a long bike ride is an excuse to pig out on flapjacks, jelly babies, cakes at cafes etc - all with the excuse of avoiding hitting the wall/bonking!



My last long ride (102 miles at a rolling average of about 12 mph) was fuelled by a large bowl of muesli with banana, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, a tray of chips in the middle of the day, and a couple of scones. Liquid was a cup of tea with the chips, and two 750 ml bottles of squash.

Oh, and there might have been a bag of jelly babies involved as well...

 

[BSRU]

Try keeping a few gels permanently in your saddlebag/pannier for emergencies.
Because they are no the most pleasant thing to consume they will be there when you need them.
I tried keeping jelly beans but I kept eating them.

 

[yello]

You guys must be riding at a greater intensity than I do, or maybe my system works differently, or maybe I'm just lucky, because I've never bonked. Never.

I'll ride 100km (in under 5hrs) on no more than my normal breakfast and a bidon of water. True, the strength in my legs has faded and I wouldn't go further than that but it's certainly something I do. Sometimes I'll take half a jam sandwich, or a flapjack if I've made some, but not as a rule. That said, I do know the whereabouts of boulangeries in case I need!

That saud, I have noticed that it's an easier ride if I've eaten well the night before.

 

[WellyWonkey]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think the general consensus is that I needed to consume more energy whilst still riding rather than relying on energy stores in my body.
I feel a bit of a numpty really for allowing myself to get in that position, it's quite obvious with hindsight where I went wrong and all of your experienced advice only confirms this.
I think I'll go and buy a basket and put it on my handlebars when I do the 100 miler. It will be more like a rolling 100 mile buffet !!!

Cheers guys

 

[cosmicbike]

You're obviously not like me - for me a long bike ride is an excuse to pig out on flapjacks, jelly babies, cakes at cafes etc - all with the excuse of avoiding hitting the wall/bonking!



My last long ride (102 miles at a rolling average of about 12 mph) was fuelled by a large bowl of muesli with banana, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, a tray of chips in the middle of the day, and a couple of scones. Liquid was a cup of tea with the chips, and two 750 ml bottles of squash.

Oh, and there might have been a bag of jelly babies involved as well...

Sounds like my kind of ride!

I tend to go out on a normal breakfast (cornflakes or weetabix), but always have a choccy bar and 2 x 750ml bottles. That's the norm for up to 44 miles. No idea after that, never gone further (yet)

 

[Nigelnaturist]

as @BSRU says about gels in the saddle bag I usually have a least two flapjacks in there, ok they get a bit squashed but at the end of the day you body doesn't know any different once you eat it, those with chocolate can give a little quicker boost, but tend to melt in the summer, I will do 40-50 quite happily on 500-1000ml of water (heat and excursion dependent), always have porridge, packet of crips to help with salt loss, usually when I get home as my rides are really not long enough to worry about that whilst out, a peanut butter sandwich is good as is jam.

 

[DWiggy]

Jam sandwiches filled with plenty of jam will keep you going