On Bonking Onward

Bonking

What is “bonking”?

It’s basically when you have run out of “fuel“, and usually, even if you try to refuel your body during the ride, it never recovers completely. The effects also can go far beyond feeling tired, or fatigued. To me, it feels like you almost got hit by a train. You might feel irritable, unfocused, and you might make a bad move out there. The system beings breaking down.

Many volumes have been written about sports nutrition, and it’s a very complex process. Every body is different, and the body functions differently on different days. Past factors like sleep hygiene, type of training, stress, the weather, can also affect the body’s fuel processes, and its recovery patterns from exercise.

Some days, I’ve felt fine fueled on rice and lentils, other days I need huge amounts of food, water, etc. and I never feel completely in sync. I’ve rocked mountains on the rice and lentils and crawled miserably on the flats on gourmet fare.

The most interesting “bonk” was Floyd Landis’ in stage 16 of the Tour De France. He was crushed on the climbs,

He wrote; “ My legs had nothing left, I barely completed the ride. Interestingly, that night, he drank some Jack Daniels whiskey to console himself. This may have raised his testosterone levels, which then showed up abnormally high in drug tests, which then caused him to lose his title.

The next day, though, Floyd rode the best day of his career. He finished a full eight minutes ahead of his competitors, possibly the best mountain attack in the history of the Tour since the reign of powerhouse Miguel Indurain. Floyd’s dietary habits were sometimes erratic, even during races. He just did whatever he wanted, unlike Lance, who would obsess about his diet, and measure every calorie he consumed I like Floyd, though, because he’s real, a “good old boy”. One night before a race, with Tyler Hamilton, he consumed 13 cappuccinos, much to Lance’s chagrin. But he was a young rowdy rider in those days.

Landis wrote :’ It’s not unusual to have a spectacular day right after a horrible day”. I find this interesting. You’d think it would take two days to recover from a bonk in the Alps. Possibly an IV infusion.

I am not a racer. Sometimes I do ride fairly fast, but mostly I enjoy climbing, just to feel my legs burn. Then I can go fast on the downhills, but only if I’m alert enough that day to deal with the stress of that.

I will admit my diet is not perfect. Huge burritos, though, seem to carry me through a lot, they have the right “slow burn” effect, because the combinations of proteins, fats, and carbs synergize with each other properly.

I can ride great on a couple slices of pizza, for example, but only for maybe two hours.

I believe a certain amount of protein, maybe 30%, is essential to slow down the carbohydrate burning process. Burning it all up too fast entices the bonk.

The process goes like this: (simple version)

1. Simple sugars burned up quickly (excess though, stored as fat if not used)

2. Complex carbs break down into sugars for muscle fuel. (caffeine allegedly speeds the process, increases metabolism)

3. Muscles store excess sugars as glycogen, but only if muscles are well conditioned (electrolytes in sports drinks help here.)

4. Muscles continue to run on stored glycogen for sprints, climbing, etc.

5. When muscle glycogen is depleted, liver stores of glycogen are used

6. When that’s used, body starts to burn proteins and fats, a more inefficient process. Ultimately, losing muscle mass is detrimental.

The trick to using Power Bars and GU is to do it between steps 4 and 5. After that, it’s too late to make a big difference to your ride. However, afterwards, there is a concept called the “glycogen window” . If you replenish your body with carbs, your muscles will absorb it and convert it to glycogen, and the fuel will be stored in the muscles instead of the liver, ready for immediate use. You will feel more “snap” in your power stroke, as

The tank is full and topped off. Endurance will follow.

The best ride I did last year was with a huge chicken burrito with all the veggies, some chips, but then a Robek’s Whey protein shake, with bananas (for potassium) and some peanut butter (more fatty acids) . The shake has a whopping eight scoops of protein powder. Unlike some riders, I don’t have much problem riding right after a meal. But it depends on the meal.

That July day, I felt unbelievably bloated and sluggish at the start, but hammered out a 65 miler that had some relatively intense climbing, over several mountains. About two thirds the way through the ride, everything finally digested, and I just went into high gear.

I didn’t need “power bars” , “GU“, or Cytomax. The “GU” thing makes me chuckle. The stuff is basically sugar in a gel form.

Like; “Hey YU, wanna DU some GU? I think that stuff is only useful toward the grueling part of the ride, where you start to fade a bit, but well before complete muscle glycogen depletion. Power Bars have saved my ass more than once, but I use them wisely. A magic bullet. Never eat an entire power bar all at once.

The weirdest thing about cyclists is , we can get away with this. It’s a completely different muscular process, involving more “slow twitch” muscle fibers than “fast twitch”. A baseball pitcher, for example, will use more “fast twitch” fibers.

Another interesting ride was a 120 miler to NY with a full load. I started at 6 AM , and the only food around was a horrifying 7-Eleven Jimmy Dean Egg Sausage Bagel. I figured “If I don’t get on the bike within 15 seconds of eating this, I’m gonna die”. The bagel, a large coffee, and a banana lasted all the way until noon. I rode great.

The reserve fats in the dreaded sausage were burned up. I never normally eat sausage, bacon, etc. I will indulge once in a while, though.

One big thing on my list, however, is to avoid anything white. White flour, pasta with white flour, and anything “simple carb” is bad news. You are basically consuming a pure sugar, and consuming nothing. This is why Boll Weevils don’t bother eating your white flour in the cupboard. There’s nothing of value for them to consume! But they’ll happily eat wheat flour.

I’ve done okay with this issue, usually sticking with wheat bread, etc. The Jimmy Dean Bagel had white flour, but I think I got away with it because I had slept well that night, and my body somehow just dealt with it.

Poor sleep patterns, or sleep deprivation raises the body’s levels of the hormone Leptin, which raises hunger levels, and often causes a hypoglycemic effect, even without exercise. To me, when I am sleep deprived, it feels like my body is trying to guard itself against further injury and stress by causing me to eat more, so I can store more fat as a further safeguard. I am irritable, unfocused, and resting heart rate increases.

For modern man, wintertime is a strange time for attempting to exercise. Not too long ago, we would just roll up in some skins, eat some mammoth meat, and sleep with wifey by the fire all winter, as we had stored dried proteins, etc. for later consumption. Now we call that depression, and Pfizer steps in….

Modern man indulges in excessive intake at Christmas and New years, then goes into a frenzy trying to burn it all off in the gym on January 8. The result is often musculoskeletal injury, followed by more depression, a vicious cycle that snowballs upon itself.

Road Cyclists have always had a tough time riding in winter. Mountain bikers fare much better. A smart road cyclist will switch to a mountain bike for the winter, and work on their climbing. Riding a mountain bike in the snow is a blast, I used to do it all the time, just need to get those brakes done..

Riding “drop-bar” road bikes in the winter can be wonderful on the sunny days, but downright masochistic on other days. My least favorite days are when it’s bone chilling damp, but not especially cold. These are the days to watch out for, in my opinion.

Riding an indoor stationary trainer is so boring to many that they either push themselves to get outside, or take a few months off entirely. Then they have to battle the depression caused by being 30 lbs. overweight and drag themselves to the starting line. Their bodies are primed for bonking.

Lately, I’ve been mixing the indoor trainer in on miserable days with good results. But this requires some good jazz music.

You will also burn a lot more calories in winter, just trying to stay warm in addition to making the wheels turn. It’s a double-whammy for bonking.

Dehydration is also a huge issue, even in winter, because the expelled water vapor from the lungs will rapidly dehydrate the body. You can also be dehydrated without even knowing it. The best litmus test is your urine. It should run clear, not yellow and concentrated. To stay fully hydrated you must drink long before you are thirsty, and pee regularly.

So I bonked today. Bigtime. Ok, fine. I sorry. Let’s analyze it!

1. Still felt a bit overtrained from pushing the indoor trainer a bit too hard, also did some climbing in cold weather recently. That ride was slow but felt good, a recovery ride. But maybe I pushed a bit too hard and didn’t know it?

2. Sleep was ok, but not the incredible dreamless Delta 4 wave “deep sleep” that we really need. You only get a window of 45 minutes of Delta 4 every night. It usually happens between 4:30 and 5;30 AM.

3. Was lazy and started the day out with two huge mugs of 7-Eleven coffee, then a turkey grinder with white bread. Blech. The Irish crème at 7-Eleven is amazing !

This was my first big mistake. And I was actually aware of this.

Breakfast is the most important meal, but I was just not into the bowl of oatmeal, the banana, the wheat toast with jam, and the skim milk. I was on the run this morning. I wish my Mom was around this AM, but alas…

4. Sat at a desk for 4 hours. Blech. Felt okay though, stomach full, concentration ok.

5. Didn’t really intend to ride today, but felt suddenly motivated by the SUN shining, and it was somewhat warmer. So changed my mind and suddenly jumped in the saddle. Hurriedly drank a half gallon of water. Left at 1:10 PM., intending to be back in an hour. Figured the grinder was enough to get me through. It’s worked fine before…

6. Twelve mile mark, stopped to change socks and sat in the SUN for a half hour. This felt amazing, sunbathing in winter, getting essential vitamin D.

Everything was cool! I felt great. (you can get 3 times the RDA by sitting in the sun for a half hour! Most Americans are vitamin D deficient, as we work indoors)

7. Had some issues properly ventilating perspiration. This can be tricky on certain days, a breeze on others. My wind breaker was getting slightly damp. But generally I was doing ok.

8. Ran out of water 26 mile mark, this usually never happens on this ride, I usually don’t even finish the bottle, even in summer. Finding a refill is difficult on this final stretch. Not really interested in dealing with the administrator at the church…pressed on….

9. Hands and feet start getting cold at this point. A strong headwind on a climb is the final blow. Morale is now toast. Wattage drops to a crawl. The rest of the ride is a trudge, not fun. I know this is not a fatal condition, it’s just that this ride, that I have done so many times, is starting to feel torturous.

On the slight downhill stretch where I am usually riding in the “big ring” at 40 MPH, I am rolling along like an old man, looking at names on mailboxes to stave off doldrums. I have to endure, as there are no services the rest of he route. The wind picks up even more, a steady, relentless headwind , coming off Talcott mountain. It strategically follows every bend, nook and cranny in the road, there is no escape.

10. I finally get home, riding carefully through town, as it’s now the dreaded “pick Billy and Suzy up from pre- school hour” and harried mothers are wailing everywhere in SUV’s with cell phones. I pick my lines carefully, and stay out of the hornets- nests at the intersections. This is when the mistakes can happen, when you are 300 yards from the house, so be vigilant. Do not let your guard down for one second.

Amusingly, and before I entered town-proper, a lady sees me following behind her at a stop sign, she looks at me in the mirror and motions that I go ahead and make a left in front of her. This strikes me as strange.

She seems to know I ride this route. This is slightly annoying for a second, because she can just go straight and get out of my way. But I wave cars on all the time in town, so maybe now she’s reciprocating.

So I blow her right fender off, run the stop sign, and jam through the left turn. No cops or other cars are around, but I stll feel slightly guilty. I should have waved a thanks, but I’m immersed in myself at this point. I save half a millisecond not having to grind to a halt. Wow.

I think she saw that I was hurting. Ok. Thanks, green Subaru Lady.

11. Feet are cold, but have been worse. I am cranky, spacy, and very hungry. Leave me alone.

12. I cannot endure standing in line at the grocery store for some wholesome organic tofu- remedy. So I whip out the cell phone and order a large Won Ton soup, and some Mu-shu Pork. Extra Soy sauce.

13. Stomach now happily full, and feeling somewhat speedy from the MSG, I feel ok, my face feels like it got some sun, which feels really good. I am now in a reasonable mood, but of course, worry a bit about the cholesterol, chemical additives, etc, but pray with all the work I’ve just done my body will somehow “Jimmy Dean” it all. I have drunk a gallon of water now, more on the way.

I think I’ll skip the Jack Daniels, but I do have a strange craving for chocolate fudge swirl ice cream (made with soy milk) The deal breaker is what happens when I wake up tomorrow.

Peace out