Bonking after 20 miles?

Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5 miles into
the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate is around 155 bpm
and was having trouble sustaining a pace that would keep me at 135. I ate a
granola bar and felt a little better but not much. I had a meal of about 800
calories two hrs before the ride but have been on a significantly
reduced-cal diet the last few weeks.

I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt like. Is
it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having eaten a full meal a
couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that the low-calorie diet left my
glycogen stores too low for this short a ride? Thanks for any comments.

Zen Cohen said:

Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5 miles
into the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate is
around 155 bpm and was having trouble sustaining a pace that would
keep me at 135. I ate a granola bar and felt a little better but not
much. I had a meal of about 800 calories two hrs before the ride but
have been on a significantly reduced-cal diet the last few weeks.

I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt
like. Is it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having eaten
a full meal a couple hrs before?

Apparently, yes.

Quoted message said:

If so, is it possible that the
low-calorie diet left my glycogen stores too low for this short a
ride? Thanks for any comments.

Wind blows. Err, sucks. Umm, you used up a lot of energy fighting Mother
Nature.

Zen Cohen wrote:
:: Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5
:: miles into the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate
:: is around 155 bpm and was having trouble sustaining a pace that
:: would keep me at 135. I ate a granola bar and felt a little better
:: but not much. I had a meal of about 800 calories two hrs before the
:: ride but have been on a significantly reduced-cal diet the last few
:: weeks.
::
:: I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt
:: like. Is it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having
:: eaten a full meal a couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that
:: the low-calorie diet left my glycogen stores too low for this short
:: a ride? Thanks for any comments.

Yes, especially since you had been doing a "signficiantly reduced-cal diet"
for the previous few weeks.

Your body can store roughly 2000 kcals of glycogen...in your muscles and
liver....and since you were undereating prior, you were depleted before the
day started. That 800 cal meal didn't replenish you completely and than you
started riding...fairly hard because of the wind. The 800 probably wasn't
all carbs, either

So yes, you can bonk even if you eat...it depends on what you eat and what
kind of exercise you're doing. Without the wind, it might have been
different.

Roger Zoul said:

Zen Cohen wrote:

:: Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5
:: miles into the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate
:: is around 155 bpm and was having trouble sustaining a pace that
:: would keep me at 135. I ate a granola bar and felt a little better
:: but not much. I had a meal of about 800 calories two hrs before the
:: ride but have been on a significantly reduced-cal diet the last few
:: weeks.
::
:: I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt
:: like. Is it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having
:: eaten a full meal a couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that
:: the low-calorie diet left my glycogen stores too low for this short
:: a ride? Thanks for any comments.

Yes, especially since you had been doing a "signficiantly reduced-cal diet"
for the previous few weeks.

Your body can store roughly 2000 kcals of glycogen...in your muscles and
liver....and since you were undereating prior, you were depleted before the
day started. That 800 cal meal didn't replenish you completely and than you
started riding...fairly hard because of the wind. The 800 probably wasn't
all carbs, either

So yes, you can bonk even if you eat...it depends on what you eat and what
kind of exercise you're doing. Without the wind, it might have been
different.

What he said!

Joseph

Zen Cohen said:

Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5 miles into
the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate is around 155 bpm
and was having trouble sustaining a pace that would keep me at 135. I ate a
granola bar and felt a little better but not much. I had a meal of about 800
calories two hrs before the ride but have been on a significantly
reduced-cal diet the last few weeks.

I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt like. Is
it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having eaten a full meal a
couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that the low-calorie diet left my
glycogen stores too low for this short a ride? Thanks for any comments.

I doubt it, I think you just had an off day.

"Zen Cohen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it possible to bonk

Was it a hot day? One time I thought I bonked, but in retrospect, it was
probably heat exhaustion.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Zen Cohen said:

Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5 miles into
the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate is around 155 bpm
and was having trouble sustaining a pace that would keep me at 135. I ate a
granola bar and felt a little better but not much. I had a meal of about 800
calories two hrs before the ride but have been on a significantly
reduced-cal diet the last few weeks.

I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt like. Is
it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having eaten a full meal a
couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that the low-calorie diet left my
glycogen stores too low for this short a ride? Thanks for any comments.

For me bonking means you are about to fall off the bike due to
exhaustion and you're only still upright because of share will power
and the need to get something to eat "NOW!" By your description I'd
say maybe you haven't been eating properly lately and this has
impacted your performance but I wouldn't call it bonking.

Zen Cohen said:

Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5 miles into
the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate is around 155 bpm
and was having trouble sustaining a pace that would keep me at 135. I ate a
granola bar and felt a little better but not much. I had a meal of about 800
calories two hrs before the ride but have been on a significantly
reduced-cal diet the last few weeks.

I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt like. Is
it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having eaten a full meal a
couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that the low-calorie diet left my
glycogen stores too low for this short a ride? Thanks for any comments.

How low is "significantly reduced-cal"? If it's only about 500kCal/
day below your normal (e.g., 1500kCal/day vs. 2000kCal/day), and if
you're increasing your caloric intake when you need to account for
exercise (roughly 600kCal/hr. @ 16mph), then I don't think it should
impact your performance too much. More than that, though, and I might
expect some weakness.

How much riding have you been doing? It could make a difference if
this was your first ride in a few days or if you'd been riding at the
same intensity 3-4 days in a row.

Also, how was your hydration? I find that I drink about 30-50% more
on warm summer days than I do for a comparable ride in the winter.
It's easy to overlook.

-JR

Thanks for the helpful responses. Has anyone tried Garmin's GPS bike
computers? I got one for Father's Day and the info it yields is pretty
amazing. I uploaded the data from my "bonk" ride yesterday to
motionbased.com and can see where I started losing stamina around mile 19.
If you're interested, go here
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3192511 and click on 'speed,'
then click on the chart. Beginning around mile 15 I was pretty much going
with the wind. Dunno how interesting my info is to y'all but the computer is
cool. I think I'm going to get one with the integrated HRM. I luv gadgets!

"Zen Cohen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rode into the wind for 15 miles w/ about 16.5 mph pace. About 5 miles into
the return trip I felt very fatigued. My usual heartrate is around 155 bpm
and was having trouble sustaining a pace that would keep me at 135. I ate
a granola bar and felt a little better but not much. I had a meal of about
800 calories two hrs before the ride but have been on a significantly
reduced-cal diet the last few weeks.

I've never bonked this early into a ride, but that's what it felt like. Is
it possible to bonk after this short a ride and having eaten a full meal a
couple hrs before? If so, is it possible that the low-calorie diet left my
glycogen stores too low for this short a ride? Thanks for any comments.

Zen Cohen said:

Thanks for the helpful responses. Has anyone tried Garmin's GPS bike
computers? I got one for Father's Day and the info it yields is pretty
amazing. I uploaded the data from my "bonk" ride yesterday to
motionbased.com and can see where I started losing stamina around mile 19.
If you're interested, go herehttp://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3192511and click on 'speed,'
then click on the chart. Beginning around mile 15 I was pretty much going
with the wind. Dunno how interesting my info is to y'all but the computer is
cool. I think I'm going to get one with the integrated HRM. I luv gadgets!

Go for the HRM. The more info the more interesting. A couple of my
riding buddies have various Garmins and it is quite interesting to
compare the info from the same race from differnt guys. Also for
sharing performances on roads we ride on so we can do virtual races
against each other. Fun!

Joseph