Longest ride yet then BONK

[jasonmccullum]

Managed a 40 mile ride to...my longest ride yet....done in it 2:37mins

Not sure if this is good though.


The ride felt really easy until 5 miles from the end and then my legs stiffened up and started to BONK.



Drank loads while riding but didn't eat anything... Any suggestion on what i should eat and how often?

 

[Fab Foodie]

Ha!

Eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty... them's the rules.

40 mile is about as far as I'd get without some sort of fuelling. You can eat what you fancy and what's convenient, for 40 miles energy drinks are good. I like jelly babies which are easy to eat without stopping. Malt loaf, flap-jack, gel bars, mars bars bananas are all fine, but you need to eat before you feel your energy levels drop, by then it's too late!
Little and often from the off is the best way!

Congrats on 40 miles.

 

[gbb]

Hi jason (i assume )
Nearly 15.3 mph average...not bad if you havnt been doing that kind of mileage.
You're not hanging around with that time. You'll hear many can do far better, but take into age, fitness etc etc...that's not bad, not bad at all.

40 miles, Its a nice milestone to reach...congrats

As FF states...

 

[GrasB]

You need to eat your energy about 30min before you need it, this is really a minimum. Recommendation of Bananas & home made oat based nibblely things from me (you need them to stick together & not be to dry) though I do tend to use gels a lot my self.

 

[Broadside]

Just trying to work this out myself as I am struggling a bit after the 40 mile mark. I have found a big bowl of porridge with honey is a good start if it's a morning ride, but I am also told that you need to load the carbs a bit for a couple of days beforehand so your body gets ready, it's not a simple case of just eating on the ride - this is no good however if you are looking to lose weight at the same time.

 

[jimboalee]

A 12" deep pan pizza the evening before.

4 Weetabix with half a can of Tate & Lyle, washed down with full fat milk for breakfast.

You shouldn't need to take any food with you. Just some water.

40 miles? You'll put on weight after this lot.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Just trying to work this out myself as I am struggling a bit after the 40 mile mark. I have found a big bowl of porridge with honey is a good start if it's a morning ride, but I am also told that you need to load the carbs a bit for a couple of days beforehand so your body gets ready, it's not a simple case of just eating on the ride - this is no good however if you are looking to lose weight at the same time.

Your body's primary source of fuel when riding at a sprited pace is mosly glycogen (a glucose polymer) stored in your muscles and liver. Assuming that your diet is reasonable and you're moderately healthy these finite reserves are fairly full most of the time. There's about enough for 30-40 miles riding approx and when it's gone you bonk and get the sugar munchies. So a good porridge brekkie helps to keep levels topped-up but again it will be finite, so keepingyourself topped-up as you ride is a good thing and will get you past the 40 mile mark.
I find myself starting to feel like I'm running low around 30 miles of hard riding and if I expected to get past 40 miles I'd have to start piling in some calories at 30 miles at the lastest, regardless of a good brekkie.
The alternative is to drop the pace when you feel wobbly and have no food, at lower exertion you'll burn a higher percentage of fat which helps to extend your glycogen supply. The reality is a tad more complex, but that's the gist.

 

[Steve Austin]

An energy drink will help. Something like SIS PSP22 will work, and help you ride longer without feeling the bonk

 

[TheDoctor]

Eat something during a 40 mile ride, certainly, but don't get too hung up on what. Malt loaf, scones, bananas, flapjack. I swear by those Eat Natural fruity nutty bars, but that's just me. Tea and cakes are just as good

 

[gbb]

When i started stretching my mileage a few years ago, i'd ride 15 miles hard, then wonder how i'd get home the same distance . I started having a mars bar and a Lucozade drink at half distance and a ten minute sit down to admire the view.
Its not very scientific, but bugger, it gives you (or it did me anyway) a zing when you set off back

 

[lukesdad]

Tea and cakes Doc.? does that involve a stop by any chance.

 

[Globalti]

Some purists may disapprove but... since I started road riding last year I have become a devoted fan of maltodextrin. For those who don't know, this is a basic carbohydrate, which is water soluble and easily absorbed by the stomach. A couple of tablespoons or more in your water staves off the fade and keeps you going.

When I did my first 100 miler last Autumn I was feeling quite tired towards the halfway rest stop, so I refilled my bottle and upped the strength of the powder. The second half felt much easier and seemed to get easier as I went along, a really gratifying result, I can tell you as I had been dreading the later miles.

As Steve Austin advises above, you can buy maltodextrin in various guises, I use SIS because they're just down the road from me and I ride with a couple of their staff. Curiously it tastes better as the ride progresses, perhaps because your body is craving the carb and the minerals.

 

[Jezston]

This is the beginners forum, isn't it?

Ah, good. Then it's ok for me to ask exactly what 'the bonk' is?

 

[Rob3rt]

This is the beginners forum, isn't it?

Ah, good. Then it's ok for me to ask exactly what 'the bonk' is?

Check this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_the_wall

 

[Paulus]

The "Bonk" is when you run out of fuel. Your legs will have no strength. In extreme cases you will feel nauseous and your vision will play tricks on you before you finally fall off the bike. As many posters have said, the way to stop this happening is to eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty.