# did I ever bonk last night



## Provincial (Jun 14, 2017)

it was not a good mtb ride last night, hit a wall that I couldn't recover from
some background, in 14 months I have lost 60 lbs, for the last two months my weight loss has stalled, so this week I began limiting calories
trying to stay between 1500-2000 per day. everything was fine until last night, monday I rode 20 mile road ride and tuesday a 6 mile mtb ride 
they both went well, and I felt good after each ride
I went on a ride last night, 13 miles, tough single track, a lot of small ups and downs, some tough climbs and some tricky tech stuff

at 9 miles, and still 4 away from the truck, I powered up a hill over some logs and root balls ,and when I got to the top, that was it. I could not recover, shoulders back, legs ,arms, 
everything gave up a once, so I took a 5 min break and pushed on
wound up having to stop every 100 yards riding my granny gear
4 times I had to get off the bike and walk it up hill, 5 times I almost passed out, not good, light headed, seeing stars the whole bit
called my wife and told her where I was in the event, I did not make it
really not a good time
actually thought that I would not make it to the truck, the entire last miles
I finally made it to the truck, after two hrs to make the last 2 miles.
guess I learned my lesson about eating enough , and eating what I need to get thru a ride. 
didn't recover too well at home, but feel better this morning. 
will definitely take it easy today,


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## joeduda (Jan 4, 2013)

I would go to the doc and get a blood test and checked out. 2 hours to go two miles isn't right no matter how hard you bonked.

Edit: i reread my post and it may have came across as harsh. Not my intent. I had a ride like yours a few years ago, the last ride i had before i was diagnosed with Leukemia. Can't hurt to get checked.


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## JackWare (Aug 8, 2016)

Apologies if you've got this figured out already, but when I went on a strict calorie restricted diet for weight loss, I ensured I kept a high protein content to avoid my body muscle mass being reduced and I also worked out with weights and cycled more to increase my metabolism and build muscle tissue while burning fat as a mix of both cardio and strength training burns fat very effectively.
There are lots of good articles about loosing weight while maintaining muscle strength and endurance. 
Also some days your body just craps out, but just accept it and focus on the gains.

Good luck and stick with it :thumbsup:


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

mad pollen does this to me if it hasn't rained in weeks. I don't feel asthmatic in any pollen, but when it is overload, I can't get out of my own way on hills on the bike. rainstorms ? knock pollen down ? ride like normal again which is hammer as hard as possible until muscles give out, lungs never give out

so, maybe just bad air ?


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Sounds like you maybe needed a snack, something to replenish your glycogen levels. That may sound like the wrong thing to do if you are working to lose weight but you still need some calories for energy. And were you drinking enough water?


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## Provincial (Jun 14, 2017)

joeduda said:


> I would go to the doc and get a blood test and checked out. 2 hours to go two miles isn't right no matter how hard you bonked.
> 
> Edit: i reread my post and it may have came across as harsh. Not my intent. I had a ride like yours a few years ago, the last ride i had before i was diagnosed with Leukemia. Can't hurt to get checked.


I just had a full physical a month ago, and all is good
not harsh, good advice


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## Provincial (Jun 14, 2017)

chazpat said:


> Sounds like you maybe needed a snack, something to replenish your glycogen levels. That may sound like the wrong thing to do if you are working to lose weight but you still need some calories for energy. And were you drinking enough water?


I was drinking water, but most likely not enough, it was very hot and humid last night
and I am sure the lack of eating and loss of water was the cause. I will definitely have the right stuff with me the next time


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## sturge (Feb 22, 2009)

Glad you made it out...2hrs for 2 miles is crazy. Sounds more like getting hit by a stealth freight train than hitting a wall because you had no idea it was coming. The good news is now you know your limits. Congrats on the weight loss!


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## SkolinIN (Feb 16, 2017)

Provincial said:


> I was drinking water, but most likely not enough, it was very hot and humid last night
> and I am sure the lack of eating and loss of water was the cause. I will definitely have the right stuff with me the next time


water alone isn't enough to replace what you are sweating out. I'd suggest something like Skratch Labs drink mix or something added to your water to replace sodium and electrolytes etc.


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## tfinator (Apr 30, 2009)

SkolinIN said:


> water alone isn't enough to replace what you are sweating out. I'd suggest something like Skratch Labs drink mix or something added to your water to replace sodium and electrolytes etc.


If he was low on electrolytes he would've gotten a cramp at some point no?

This sounds like a bonk. The sugar in some of those will help some, but it burns up quick.

OP, take food with you! Also realize though, that once you hit a bonk, it's very difficult to come back from it within the same ride up to your previous level.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


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## twodownzero (Dec 27, 2017)

tfinator said:


> OP, take food with you! Also realize though, that once you hit a bonk, it's very difficult to come back from it within the same ride up to your previous level.


This. I always keep a cliff bar in my bag and some electrolyte tablets.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

tfinator said:


> If he was low on electrolytes he would've gotten a cramp at some point no?


Maybe, maybe not. Cramps are still not 100% understood.


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## tfinator (Apr 30, 2009)

chazpat said:


> Maybe, maybe not. Cramps are still not 100% understood.


Huh. I've never heard of bonks being from low electrolytes. Always calories.

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## tfinator (Apr 30, 2009)

twodownzero said:


> This. I always keep a cliff bar in my bag and some electrolyte tablets.


Yeah. Clif bars are great and last a long time.

Power bars are real sugary, so they don't keep me going as long, but they hit quicker.

My first move is to the basic and cheap nature valley bar.

Nutrition is something that can take a long time to perfect, and is always changing.

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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Yeah. Bonking. I do it bad when I'm trying to lose weight, usually 1.5-2 hrs into the ride. I can barely turn the crank over. I need to eat a few hundred calories an hour or two before the ride and then ~100 each 1/2 hour during the ride...banana, gel, two fig newtons, sports drink...

My sports drink is usually 100 cal of fruit juice and maybe 1/8 level tsp of table salt diluted to 24 oz with water in a large bidon. Sodium is really the only electrolyte consequentially lost in sweat, so the only one that might need supplementation if you're sweating a lot. Anything else is marketing BS.


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## kpdemello (May 3, 2010)

We used to bring a mix of water, whey protein, salt, and kool aid - provided all the basic stuff you needed in a bonking situation in a format that your body could absorb quickly.

Or, if you like to be all natural and ****, just eat a banana. Probably same end result. I find you don't need much in that situation, just enough to replenish some the simple sugars that you probably depleted during your ride and given your diet.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

tfinator said:


> Huh. I've never heard of bonks being from low electrolytes. Always calories.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


Agreed, but I thought he meant that if you get low on electrolytes, you'll get cramps, even if you aren't bonking.

EDIT: just saw that "he" is you.


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## d365 (Jun 13, 2006)

Sounds a lot like heat exhaustion too. Finishing the last 2 miles in 2 hrs is pretty significant, even for a typical bonk scenario. - not a doctor


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

Yup, probably lack of nutrition and recovery from previous rides. Also it depends on your current level of fitness on the bike.


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## Chris Huff (Mar 23, 2007)

I've had that happen a couple of times over the years.
Since you are trying to loose weight, I know the tendency is to not eat those "super sugary gels." 
But, once I started taking 1 gel 10-15 min before my ride, and one every 45-60min my rides have been a lot more consistent. Also, each gel is only 100 or so calories and you will burn several hundred if not 1000+ on a long ride.

Also, as others mentioned, you may need to intentionally up your salt and electrolyte intake all week long, not just during the ride. Having enough salt, potassium, magnesium, and calcium allows the energy to be more readily converted for your legs.

One last thought...
Are you doing a particular type of diet, or just restricting calories to a daily limit. If you drastically cut back your carbs, you will need to give your body time to adjust to using mostly fat for energy (can take a few weeks). 
Only asking because I switched to the Keto lifestyle in January and it took a few weeks to fully adjust. Now I feel like I have a different type of energy. Long slow rides are no problem, but prolonged high intensity (sprint climbs) drain me faster. But, I can start back on the long slow almost immediately. There is an entire thread on this topic so I won't go into any more now.


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

(I'm not a medical professional of any kind). Sounds more like a 'complex' bonk than simple bonk; I've bonked hard only twice in many years of riding and racing, and it's simply abruptly having 25% of your normal energy and wanting to (and being able to) take a nap on cold hard/rough ground, but you can still struggle along and ride with difficulty, although I suppose the symptoms would vary.
The stars and nearly passing out makes me suspicious that there was heat stroke/exhaustion or something more serious (like Afib) going on, wouldn't stars/passing out be more of a blood pressure issue?, and not simply glycogen depletion? Almost everyone should have at least a solid hour of hard effort in them pre-bonk, even while starting with a fairly empty gut, IMO. 
I suspect that one of the few benefits to aging is a slowing metabolism makes us less likely to bonk as compared to a skinny teenager. Sounds like you're ok, though, so that's good.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

jimPacNW said:


> (I'm not a medical professional of any kind). Sounds more like a 'complex' bonk than simple bonk; I've bonked hard only twice in many years of riding and racing, and it's simply abruptly having 25% of your normal energy and wanting to (and being able to) take a nap on cold hard/rough ground, but you can still struggle along and ride with difficulty, although I suppose the symptoms would vary.


I've bonked a lot more often trail running, very much had the urge to just lie down in the trail and take a nap.


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

chazpat said:


> I've bonked a lot more often trail running, very much had the urge to 0just lie down in the trail and take a nap.


 The first time I bonked was on my first long bike ride when I was about 13, probably 6'2" by then and 130pounds, it was a church group bike trip to a campground, we were probably 35 miles and 2.5hrs in when it hit me, I knew absolutely nothing about endurance sports, ate a big breakfast but brought zero food and just water. I remember we were at a rest stop with big crushed gravel near a water fountain, I laid down on the gravel and did immediately fall asleep, my friend was kind enough to spray ice cold water on my face and I woke up, -we're actually still friends almost 40 years later. An older racer guy with us pushed/helped me the rest of the way to the campground, I must have scrounged some food somewhere too.


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## Sisyphean (Jun 27, 2018)

Chris Huff said:


> I've had that happen a couple of times over the years.
> Since you are trying to loose weight, I know the tendency is to not eat those "super sugary gels."
> But, once I started taking 1 gel 10-15 min before my ride, and one every 45-60min my rides have been a lot more consistent. Also, each gel is only 100 or so calories and you will burn several hundred if not 1000+ on a long ride.
> 
> ...


This. Gels can be a life saver, and super easy to carry. You can even tape them to your top tube "in case of emergency". When you deplete your glycogen stores, everything just shuts down. A gel or two will snap you right out of it within 10-15 minutes.


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## JLDickmon (Jun 4, 2018)

Provincial said:


> I was drinking water, but most likely not enough, it was very hot and humid last night
> and I am sure the lack of eating and loss of water was the cause. I will definitely have the right stuff with me the next time


ahhhh
Heat exhaustion. 
Yep. Electrolytes are your friend.

I was always under the impression that a true "bonk" was a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. I mean, it happens. It's the body's natural defense against overwork to the point of injury.

But it sounds like your body was having so much fun just regulating your core temp that there was nothing left to make the "choo-choo go 'round the bend," as it were..

Here's hoping you recover quickly.


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