# A question about nutrition



## queevil (Feb 17, 2009)

I don't race but I figured that this question would be best answered in this forum.

One day last week I went for a ride a 6:30 in the morning. I usually don't ride that early but that was the only time I had to fit it in. I usually eat really light before a ride because eating a lot of food makes me feel like I want to throw up even though I never do actually throw up. So, it's usually a bowl of cereal or a Cliff bar. I usually eat another bar on the trail if I feel the need. On this particular morning it was shredded wheat with almond milk.

Although these foods serve me well most of the time, I totally bonked. Just hit a wall. I went from riding very well to sapped of all of my energy very quickly about half way through my 12 mile ride. I couldn't even focus enough to pick good lines so I lost my balance a couple of times on technical climbs. Rocky, rooty singletrack with quite a bit of climbing. This has never happened to me before and it really happened without warning. I didn't go to bed hungry or eat trash the night before. I made it a point to hydrate well the night before.

So, now to my question. Could riding in the morning be the reason that I bonked? Could there be something about my body chemistry in the morning that caused it? If so, could anyone provide any nutrition tips so that I don't just run out of energy again? In three years of cycling this is a first for me. Hell, the only reason that I even make an attempt to eat right is because I want to be able to ride my best. 

Thanks everyone.


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## Gregg K (Jan 12, 2004)

I've only seriously bonked a couple of times. Once was many years ago as a kid who was 90 pounds going on a 120 mile road ride in one day. I just ran out of fuel. The other was riding with a national pro on my mountain bike back around 1988. It was early in the morning. I didn't eat my regular carbo breakfast. And I was hanging onto the bars to just barely make it home after a 30 mile grueling hike a bike. 

Fast forward to 2010. I would get 12 miles into a ride, and start to lose my blood sugar level. I'd stop and pull out the raisins. 

Now it's 2011. I've been on the Paleo diet for a year. I no longer eat before a ride. And I don't even come close to bonking. Granted, I have HEED in my water. But even before that I didn't have an issue once I got my diet away from the high glycemic foods. 

My only advice is to pay close attention and avoid the foods that have high glycemic indexes. Once the body stabilizes, and you have the carbohydrates stored up, and you have something to keep you topped up on the ride, you shouldn't have an issue any more. 

I'm surprised how counter intuitive it is.


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## 2fargon (Jan 22, 2011)

Interested to hear some info on this as well. I eat pretty well but still consume a lot of high glycemic foods like rice (Chipotle) and wheat bread (subway.) I find that unless I consume a good amount of carbs before a ride, I'm bonking about 1.5 hours into it. It seems like the crappier the carbs, the better I'm feeling for that ride and I hate having to eat clif bars or pancakes before I ride. I suspect Gregg K might be onto something with his Paleo diet. I wonder if a body dependent on high glycemic foods has a harder time using stored body fat for fuel than a body that doesn't consume a lot of simple carbs?


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## Metalhack (Aug 13, 2011)

You may just be over thinking it and had a little bug. Its the 1st time in 3 years that this has happened to you. If it happens again then I would look at other factors.

Its happened to me b4.


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## Crosstown Stew (Aug 16, 2008)

Staying away from a nutrition debate here, it might just be an off day. Stress, sleep patterns, temperature, humidity, body chemistry, hydration, etc. Could be a lot of things. 

Usually when i get hungry on the trail it's because lack of protein in my diet, if I get lightheaded/ dead legs feeling usually lack of hydration/electrolytes, lack of overall energy/bonking lack of carbs. But it usually takes several hours and not eating on the ride.

Edit: Time of day shouldn't have any bearing on you bonking, I do my road rides at 5:30am 3/4 days a week and don't eat pre-ride, ride anywhere from 90min to 150min


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## queevil (Feb 17, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback so far. Yeah, it could have been an off day. I'm not as worried about it as I am curious. I mean one time in three years isn't a big deal. It just happened to occur the one time that I got up early to ride. I got up at 6 and was on the bike at 6:30. I used to keep a journal of every ride that detailed every aspect pre, during and post. It was very detailed and not just about nutrition but about how I felt on the bike, what time I woke up that day, how much I slept the night before, ect. Why I got out of the habit of doing that I don't know but I think I'll start doing it again.


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## 247 (Apr 23, 2009)

I am NOT a morning person--so I can't ride trails at 6:30am----tried once--Bonked real bad------In fact, the earlier I ride, the more I have to eat beforehand.... I follow a real Paleo diet somewhat where I only eat oatmeal for breakfast, then Meat and veggies the next 2 meals of the day (no dairy either), drink Unsweetened Almond milk now...

--My diet is fine for my 1-1.5 hour rides where I _Ride Hard_--BUT If I am riding with others, and go on a _Hard Ride_, I have to get a Double cheeseburger (or something with carbs) or I will bonk!!!

_You have to take into account all factors like sleep, diet and foods you eat to ride--I eat the same daily and weekly year round (when not riding in the winter)--_ So I know going in if I am Riding hard-or going on a Hard ride--and adjust my food intake accordingly around that--if that helps...

--- But I will say the best fuel I have ever had befor a big ride (2-3 hours for me) was some leftover spaghetti.... I also drink Gatorade and 2 Cliff Gels when I ride....


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## jimification (Apr 12, 2011)

I'm guessing either your blood sugar or glycogen was low. 

When did you last ride before that? and for how long / hard? How long before the ride did you eat your shredded wheat? 

btw: If you don't know already, it's worth carrying a couple of energy gels with you for this situation. If you ever start to get that bonking feeling, chuck a gel down (with some water) and you will be fine in 5 minutes. (you'll need to eat something more sustaining in the longer term though)


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## rock_hopper (Dec 23, 2010)

I don't think it's a question of nutrition more a question of time of day. I ride to work pretty much every day at 7.15 after breakfast, usually takes me 30 minutes but sometimes I will extend to 90 minutes. If I'm doing a longer one maybe just have a banana before leaving the house and a bar on the road. At that time of day I can ride steady for hours but if I try and do MTB or up the intensity I'm all over the place. 30 minutes isn't very long for your body to wake up, warm, up, get alert and function optimally. 

You may have bonked because you've had breakfast so your body starts digesting the food, then your asking it to exercise and focus on a technically challenging MTB ride. Maybe your body just isn't alert and fresh enough to do all those tasks?


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## queevil (Feb 17, 2009)

jimification said:


> I'm guessing either your blood sugar or glycogen was low.
> 
> When did you last ride before that? and for how long / hard? How long before the ride did you eat your shredded wheat?
> 
> btw: If you don't know already, it's worth carrying a couple of energy gels with you for this situation. If you ever start to get that bonking feeling, chuck a gel down (with some water) and you will be fine in 5 minutes. (you'll need to eat something more sustaining in the longer term though)


Hey sorry it took so long to get back to you. My last ride before the one that I bonked on was 3 days earlier. I can't remember the exact distance but it was between 12 and 13 miles. I rode pretty hard and I'm guessing it to about an hour and 15 minutes. If that sounds a bit long for the distance that's because of the amount of climbing that's involved. My average speed for this particular ride is usually around 8mph +/-. I was on the bike maybe 15 minutes after I ate the shredded wheat.

Man, I'm just not going to worry about it too much. Mtb'ing is just one of those activities that you have bad days with and fortunately I feel good on the bike most of the time. If it happens again anytime soon I'll look further into it, maybe even see a doctor and or a nutritionist.

I had an excellent ride today. I pushed myself harder than I have in a long time and rode a shade under 21 miles. A conservative guess would be that 60% was technical singletrack climbing. Now, I didn't ride it all the way through. I needed a few rest breaks mainly because of the 100+ heat but it was still a really good ride. I started to feel kind of out of it but I just got off the bike, hit a Clif Gel and man did it work!

Anyway, thanks everyone for all the help and things to consider. As I push myself harder and harder I may have to tweak my nutrition somewhat to find out what does and doesn't work for me but I have a general idea of where to start. Thanks!


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

I think you ate way too close to your ride time. You woke up, got dressed, bike loaded, ate, and to the trail in 30 minutes. Your body was trying to digest the food and provide you with energy to climb the hills. I would've probably have gotten sick in that situation. I did once as a kid growing up in a very similar situation.


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## beanbag (Nov 20, 2005)

2fargon said:


> I wonder if a body dependent on high glycemic foods has a harder time using stored body fat for fuel than a body that doesn't consume a lot of simple carbs?


yup

Also, nobody has mentioned that the OP might just be underslept. That can really take a lot of energy out of you.


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## Gatorback (Oct 9, 2007)

Crosstown Stew said:


> Staying away from a nutrition debate here, it might just be an off day. Stress, sleep patterns, temperature, humidity, body chemistry, hydration, etc. Could be a lot of things.
> 
> Usually when i get hungry on the trail it's because lack of protein in my diet, if I get lightheaded/ dead legs feeling usually lack of hydration/electrolytes, lack of overall energy/bonking lack of carbs. But it usually takes several hours and not eating on the ride.
> 
> Edit: Time of day shouldn't have any bearing on you bonking, I do my road rides at 5:30am 3/4 days a week and don't eat pre-ride, ride anywhere from 90min to 150min


Yeah, we could easily have a serious nutrition debate. And of course I would jump in and be a part of it.

But the bottom line is there are too many factors that could play a role in just one bad day to focus solely on nutrition. It is worth the original poster thinking through them, and trying to identify the culprit or culprits, but it is tough to pinpoint nutrition as the cause for one bad day without going through so many other factors and being able to rule them out. And usually you can't rule them out because so many things change from week to week and ride to ride.

I had a tough day Saturday on the road bike, and the week before I did the same ride with primarily the same guys and felt like Superman. I'm pretty certain is was a combination of things: more work stress, more heat and humidity, a few uphill sprints thrown in this time on my hard ride Friday morning as opposed to just my normal hard Friday ride, and maybe some others.


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## jrastories (Aug 2, 2008)

I would go with the time of day, I wonder if you usually wake up at this time on a day to day basis or if you woke up early just for this ride?? I remember when I was doing races early in the morning I would try to get up early the days leading to a race to get my circadian rhythm on track. I am pretty bad at riding in the morning and will never try to do any intensity in the morning because it is just not there, I will save those workouts for later in the day so when I put out a 90% effort it is truly a 90% effort.


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## Surfdog93 (May 30, 2005)

Any type of strenuous physical activity is more difficult for me in the morning, much prefer 2PM +


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## Cordell15 (Aug 23, 2011)

Sure you will. You don't have to follow their meal plan especially since it cost a shitload and takes a long time to prepare.


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## AC/BC (Jun 22, 2006)

I find that stopping and having a beer on the trail brings me back around again and prevents the bonking from continuing.


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## paetersen (Jul 28, 2007)

what about the type of body, dominant muscle type, BMI, etc? It's bad to just say 'low glycemic index foods worked for me so they must work for you too.'

I have a very fast metabolism and a criminally low BMI. If I sit on the couch and stuff my face I lose weight. I need high glycemic foods like bagels, breads, pastas and granola to feed my body. I have no significant fat stores to metabolize.

You need to analyze your body type and work out a diet that is right for you, not something that worked for someone else who may have entirely different food needs.


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## queevil (Feb 17, 2009)

Man yall are awesome. Thanks for all the things to consider. If you have any more thoughts keep 'em coming. 

Although the beer thing might work I can't drink one without drinking enough to pass out. I'm one of those types. So I've abstained for the last 12 years. I have nothing against drinking, it just doesn't work out well for me. Many of my friends drink and manage not to ruin their lives an I say more power to them.

Paeterson, you and I are in the same boat. I ate Ramen noodles pre ride and felt awesome on the bike. I pretty much blasted through everything the trail had to dish out.


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