# did I just physically wipe myself out or is this coincidence?



## GTM (Jun 29, 2017)

Last night after a good ride a minor headache and malaise began.. Ive had a headache and been "out of it" all day and its driving me nuts

Only thing I did different with my ride is I had bought and tried two "hammer gel" carb gel thingies because Id find about an hour into my rides id really start gettin tired. I rode to my riding spot (30 mins) and had one but it didn't really seem to do anything, then I remember about 30 mins in I felt really great. About an hour later I had the other one, and truth be told I got in a really good ride - made it through a few trails without stopping or walking up hills that I hadn't before.

But then I got home and I just tanked hard.. my hips and knees were aching and my muscles all over were screaming at me. I had a pretty large meal and a protein shake and had to lay down. I woke up a bit of a headache began..

My whole day has been a write off, Ive done nothing but mope about,,

The heck did I do wrong? Did I just push myself too hard? I also had a pretty intensive ride on thursday as well.. I just quit smoking earlier this month and bought my bike and have really been pushing myself

edit: should note i had 2+L of water with me which I drank over the course of my 3h ride.. I have a 3L camelbak but god damn that thing is heavy when fully full. I think I eat fairly well too


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Sounds like you just over did it. Consuming the carbs gave you energy to burn but your muscles aren't used to going that far/that long of a time. There are sort of two things to get tired, your cardio system and your muscles. There are lots of times I could keep pedaling a lot further on level ground but then I hit a hill and realize my legs are shot for climbing. 

I've never smoked but I was reading that thread started by a guy who had just quit and I was actually surprised how difficult the physical aspect of mountain biking after having been a smoker was and all the problems with the lungs. So it sounds like that was probably an issue for you as well. Congrats for quitting.


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## Jorgemonkey (Mar 10, 2004)

That happens with me usually when I don't get enough water the day before and it's hot. Saturday I did a 58mi roadie ride in the 90-something heat. I had at least 100oz of water on Friday. Then about 40ish oz Saturday morning. Had 3 h20 bottles that I drained 2x during the ride. Didn't get a headache, though my body was shot.

I'm hitting the trails tomorrow, and knowing it's gonna be hot I've been drinking tons. I know with my body and how it reacts to the heat whether or not I got enough water in the day before. 

So the intensive ride possibly was a factor also. I know tomorrow's ride is gonna be an easy one since my legs still hurt and are sore.


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## primoz (Jun 7, 2006)

It's just exhaustion. Normally you get headache when dehydrated, but 2l of water during 3h ride should be more then enough. But it depends on heat and of course on your hydration status before start of the ride.


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## TheBaldBlur (Jan 13, 2014)

Sounds to me like a classic Bonk coupled with dehydration.


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## desertwheeler (Sep 1, 2009)

I was having the same issues. Having a bad headache and just weak/lethargic after a ride. I would have water in my camelback and scratch in a bottle and eat gu. It still wasn’t enough. I had to start filling my camel back with a sports drink and eat gu on the ride. 
Since I did that my headaches and stuff have gone away after a ride. 
Everyone that I talked to said it sounded like an electrolyte imbalance.


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

You seemed to do things sort of right in your timing of gels. I would question actually when you took on your water, though. One thing you must remember is gels typically require a significant amount of water to process, something like 14oz per gel, as I recall. When I use gels, GU specifically for me, I always make sure to take on a bunch of water at that time and then move on to constant intake during my ride. Perhaps that had something to do with your malaise.

I would also ask what it was you did AFTER your ride. It is a very good idea to take in carbs right away to replenish your stores but also consume good proteins for muscle recovery, generally within 20 minutes of your ride completion. If I'm not close enough to home to make that happen, I carry Clif Builders Bars which offer a tasty 20g of protein with a sweet carb load around it. Don't rely regular Clif bars for pre-ride sustenance like I see SO MANY guys doing this, many of them my friends. Don't intake proteins right before your ride, they do you more harm than good in that case as proteins require energy to process and can cause gut issue. I have had friends seriously bonk big-time when they have relied on Clif bars pre-ride and then try to avoid or come out of a bonk with them as fuel. Simply, IT AIN'T GONNA WORK!


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

Just to add to what desertwheeler just mentioned, one thing I did that helped ME immensely was start using a drink product called Tailwind Nutrition. Unless I'm on a hella-journey like a few hours riding Demo Forest where you climb in and climb out and have hella-fun and burn energy in between, I just bring a 24oz Camelbak Podium waterbottle with 200-300 calories in it. It's 100 cal per scoop. For the hella-ride, I'll mix it in may pack for sustained effort. I might still use GU during the effort depending on how I'm feeling that day. You're going to learn real fast how your regular eating habits affect your ride efforts and what you had for dinner or breakfast beforehand will set the tone for your ride that day! 

This is giving you near instantly usable carbs and all the electrolytes you need. It's way better than sticky, crappy gatorade kind of stuff and when you buy it in the 50 serving bags, it's cheaper than the crappy gatorades per use, too.


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## offroadcmpr (Apr 21, 2012)

I’ve had a similar issues. My normal rides are just over a hour. Usually a fast pace with no breaks. I can often do the whole thing while never having to unclip. I have no issues on those rides. 
But I will occasionally do rides that are 2.5 hours with lots more climbing. Eating food on the ride has helped me feel good on the ride itself, but I still end up with a headache the rest of the day. I will eat lots of food when I get back, but I haven’t tried a specific diet to see if it helps. So far my solution has just been to avoid really long rides.


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## desertwheeler (Sep 1, 2009)

Just did a 30 mile 3.5 hour ride in 90* heat with high humidity which I never would have been able to do before with only drinking water and some gu’s. I drank 100oz of water with 6 scoops of Gu roctane and felt just fine the rest of the day other than worn out legs.
So my key for fighting headache and stuff is filling my camel back with a drink mix, it has eliminated my issues.


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