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Bonking...

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Been getting back on the bike a lot more lately, but damn if today wasn't just off.

Rode 10.25 miles today. Started off kind of off my mark, had a hard time with the first little tech climb, and blew out of the bigger second climb. Not sure what was up, but I was slower, reactions were off, brain was wandering.

Got further into the ride, things started to warm up, but still felt like I had lead in my legs and lung.

Finally, on the last mile or so, I just bonked out. Its a 3 mile climb back up to the truck, then over the hill, then down to the truck. By the last downhill I was granny riding like a champ, death gripping, hands cramping, kind of tripping out.

I get that I am fat, but this is odd. Haven't bonked like this in the last month or so.

Any thoughts? Advice? Time to go back to pre-ride crack rock hits and meth bumps?

Oh yea, and I had some ass clown in no helmet who thought he was Josh Bender on his Huffy run into me 500 yards from the truck. Physics wasn't on his side though. 120 meth head pounds vs. 240 hoss pounds is still a win even if I am not moving. ****er.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,190
19,156
Canaderp
**** happens man.

Some days just aren't good. It happens to me all the time, I will try to get a good nights sleep and eat lots of good food but still end up having a crappy ride where I call it quits early.

Other times I will go all day with no food, come home from school and smash out an epic ride.
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,077
9,781
I have no idea where I am
Troll Karma:p


seriously:

Find some dirt road or greenway type trail with little climbing. Ride it at a slow to moderate pace for 2hrs. Do that twice a week in addition to regular trail rides and you'll start to see improvement quickly. Doing easy, boring, snoozer rides are just as important as the hard ones for getting back in shape.
 

Banshee Rider

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
1,452
10
It sounds to me like you need to eat. If you're a big guy then you're doing alot of work when you ride, and as counter intuitive to your waistline as it sounds, you'll need to eat more on rides. Your body cant quickly burn the excess calories you've stowed away, so its up to you to deliver them on time. Don't go straight for the protein bar aisle at the grocery store and think that's your golden ticket though. Finding which foods agree with your body before, during, and after rides takes some trial and error. I know this a precise suggestion with a vague implementation, but I did that on purpose, because what I found that works for me took a long time to figure out, and won't necessarily work for you. Do some homework. You'll find that having "good days" and "bad days" isn't as mysterious as you once thought though in the end.
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,289
MTB New England
It happens, and it can happen for no apparent reason. It's tough to predict when a bad day will hit. Shrug it off and move on. Good job getting through the ride.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,516
7,064
Colorado
Eat. Also invest in Gu or power gels. I tend to carry clif blocks too.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
Drink water that is not brown and has a strong aroma of ethanol.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,128
7,679
Transylvania 90210
Some days you eat the bear, and some days the beat eats you.

Eat and hydrate. Eat for how you plan to ride. Carb load if you are going to put on the miles. Drink before you are thirsty.

Try to get some protein in your system before the rides, and find some electrolyte "juice" with protein content for longer rides.

Dirt, how old are you? Age, along with crappy diet will kill your testosterone levels. You may want to consider adding a T-booster supplement to your training. I recently started a cycle of Stak by Animal, and I noticed a difference in my gym time.
 

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
I was envisioning this thread being different based on the poster and title.





On Topic: I recommend bananas. Easy to digest, lots of energy. Eat one before or during a long ride.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Where'd my "bag of dicks" reply go?

Yea, I looked at what I ate yesterday, and it wasn't much. I am working on three new probate cases, realized that perhaps I had forgotten to put a lot in the system before I went riding.

Going to take some advice from this thread and go for a light but long spin on the canal trails here in Phoenix. Maybe 8 miles, but all flat and simple. Just gonna spin the acid out of my legs and lungs. Think I am also going to grab something for breakfast here in a few minutes, its only 11...

Not drinking on school nights anymore. Just don't have the time for it these days. Between working, riding, the gym and trying to fix the relationship that I messed up, I am not flush with time these days. Mind you for the holidays all bets are off, but during the day in/day out time, its sober living 5 days a week.
 

the law

Monkey
Jun 25, 2002
267
0
where its at
I get that, too, sometimes. For me, it seems to have something to do with overtraining. I tend to push myself hard whenever I got out, especially on the mountain bike. So, I found that I needed to do both easy recovery and long training rides. I find that difficult to do on a mountain bike so I get those in on a roadbike. Doing long rides will help build up your basic aerobic endurance and easy recovery rides (~1hr) will help your recovery. Having a hr monitor helped me curb my enthusiasm for pushing hard on those days.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
My road bike has gone untouched for almost three years here in Phoenix. I've been hit once or twice on my bike, and with the way that these mouth breathing retards drive here, I have no interest in ending up on the evening news as another dead cyclist.

I can lock the 66 out and just ride it like a road bike with bigger tires on the canal.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
For a variety of reasons, sometimes you have a crappy day on the bike no matter how well you prepare. That said, you didn't say anything about what you ate before or during the ride. Ten miles is not that long but a guy your size needs to keep topped up on fuel. A slow drip of small doses works best for me rather than infrequent eating of larger amounts. Things like gels and the fancy new gumdrops (clif shots, honey stingers, etc.) are great, they are easy to digest and give needed spark without weighing you down. I also like to use electrolyte tablets like the camelbak elixir on longer rides. Shoot to maintain a steady level rather than waiting until you totally depleted and then eating something that will just sit in your stomach.

A lot of people suggest eating something substantial about 3 hours before your ride (to allow for digestion and give you energy reserves), then something small but power-packed just before you start (a gel, a handful of trail mix, etc) to step up your sugar level. From there, eat a gel or something at least every hour, if not more frequently.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Figured out why I bonked. Sick as a damn dog today. Guess I caught the death on a stick the ex brought home from South Carolina.