Bonked From the Get Go

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BikeThePlanet

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So, my riding buddy Johnny has been bailing on me lately (not really his fault his wife is in her first trimester). Since I am a relative newb I don't feel really comfortable riding by myself, but will do Tijeras and Whiting.

So, on Saturday I decided to hit up Tijeras in advance of the rain. I usually ride in the morning, but I was in charge of a saturday lab at the school where I teach in the morning.

Anyhow, less than a mile into the ride I notice something isn't right. I have no injury. However, after driving 40 minutes and knowing rain is coming, I am determined to continue. I hit the up and down section along Antonio and the second wind kicks in, but only temporarily. After Waterworks my second wind is gone and I am bonked again (crashed on the drop in to Waterworks. Second time. It is kind of steep).

Still a long way to go and I have rubber legs. The last stretch of bumpy fire road and the flat fire road above O'neil I am running my lowest gear. On FLAT ground! Zero energy for the entire ride. Tried a Cliff Bar after Waterworks.

Anybody else ever bonk at the beginning of a ride? It sucks. Just under two hours of miserable riding. :(

A side question. Do you guys ride through the creek crossings? I do, but my whole butt gets soaked to the bone. Riding with soggy drawers is no fun. How do you do water crossings without soaking your butt?
 
On water crossings I usually drop into the granny or middle and easiest and go slow as to not kick up water.

On bonking, did you eat a big meal before riding? Maybe you didn't have the energy because it was being used for digestion.

You'll get stronger and learn what your body requires and what it doesn't in time.
 
If its a short ride I'll bomb through a creek crossing. But if I know i have a long ride ahead I'll walk the bike through any stream crossings. The last thing you want on an epic ride is a squeaky chain and the possibility of chain suck! As for bonking...I think we all have our good and bad days.
 
If the water is deep enough to guarantee wet feet if you pedal the full revolution, you can ratchet your way through the water crossing. Yes, you'll need to be in the right gear whether you do this or not.

It sounds like you may have gone riding on an empty stomach. You don't want to go out there bloated with food, but some sort of meal/snack at least a half-hour before you shove off is always a good thing.

My unsolicited opinion about chain lubes: the best ones I've used are Pedro's Synlube (I think it's called ChainJoy now) and Finish Line Cross Country lube. Those two stay on the chain (including water crossings) better than anything else I've tried.
 
Did you energize before your ride (morning and day before)? Did you do something intensive recently? Were you hungry/thirsty? Personally some days I'm just out of it (mentally is just as important as physically). There isn't alot you can do once you do hit the wall since your body has to process whatever you put in before it can use it, but liquids will get in your system faster than solids.

About water crossings...ride through them slow. The one in the jungle, tijeras creek, and the one below the alicia bridge: I get into the lowest gear beforehand and spin slowly through them and about 20ft after them. This prevents the rooster tail'ing that gets you wet, and staying slow after you cross gets the majority of water off your wheel. Plus you get less dirt and water into your drivetrain = bad.
 
Speaking of water crossings, anyone ride the new bridge they built in the Jungle yet? A week ago I was riding there around 4pm and a group of people just got done building it.

I asked if it was done and they had one more plank to nail down, but they said it'll be ok to ride. I backed up some to get a rolling start and I cleaned it, everyone applauded and I thanked them for their work. Fun little bridge.
 
I didn't eat for a few hours before. I had a big breakfast (big burrito and hash browns), so I wasn't hungry. Usually on the morning rides I'll eat a bowl of oatmeal and some OJ. It was probably 4 hour earlier that I ate.

I knew right from the get go. The legs were jello riding down Antonio to the trail head. I was dropping gears on flat pavement . . . :?: I am guessing even though I wasn't hungry I should have eating something. I tried the cliff bar halfway through, but I guess it needs time to digest. I felt like I had mono.

As for the water crossing, I will try slower. I just mash through it and I have been getting drenched.

On the drop in from the road to Waterworks, anybody else crash there? My buddy Johnny did last time and I did this time. It was pretty steep. I guess my butt wasn't far enough back.
 
Are you on your brakes dropping into WW? You could try bias'ing the brakes more to the rear or try to roll through while staying in control. Or enter from the Taco Bell side if you want to bypass the drop in. :P Also when I have bonked, I found taking a few minutes just resting helps alot (just not while in a race).

Where's this new bridge btw?
 
Yeah, no food = no energy. You could have surely used that Cliff bar a half hour before you started your ride.

Since I have been losing weight (55 lbs so far), I have learned the importance of nutrition. I once took off and tried to go up Chantry Rd only having munched on a box of Junior mints at the movies and it was my only meal within a few hours. I did even not make it halfway. Also, I think now that I am older it is even more important. I do not have that endless energy I did when I was 19.

I work at night, so that means my rides are in the morning. I usually have a good breakfast and I try to get my ride in an hour and a half after that. I think that is the sweet spot for me. I will return home and have something for recovery (usually a protein shake). For any rides 3 hours or more, I will eat 2 hours into the ride. And if the ride is an all day affair, a nice bowl of pasta is always nice the evening before.

Bonkville sucks.
 
Big meals before rides slow me down as much as not eating well. Small bowl of oatmeal, banana and cup of coffee works well for me.

Dean
 
I was going to give you some advice on nutrition...
...then I remembered that I consider chili fries a good recovery food.#-o

I will say this, however: make sure you've got plenty of water to wash down whatever bar or gel or jumbo-jack you choose to eat mid-ride.
 
Bonking is normally a byproduct of one, or more, of three things: fitness level, hydration or nutrition. My statement sounds simple but our bodies are complex and it's even more frustrating that everyone is built differently. For example, a breakfast burrito may give another rider sufficient fuel before a ride...but it would probably kill me.

Hydration you can control right away. It doesn't start during the beginning of your workout but the night before. Hot weather affects that as well so be mindful about extra fluids. Nutrition could be anything from an improper breakfast (or lack of) to losing too much electrolytes (heavy sweater? hot day?) to not enough calories on rides past the 1.5 hour mark (fatigue, cramps).

As for fitness, since you're just getting back in the groove, don't kill yourself in the beginning. Give it time to build up properly. That doesn't mean you shouldn't push yourself, just make sure you're not pushing so hard that you're not having fun. Once you find the right formula that works for you, you're golden and those bonking days will be behind you.

Without knowing your eating habits or fitness level, my guess is that it was all three that caused your early bonk.
 
It could have been hydration, too, now that I think about it. I ate the breakfast burrito at ~8:00 with a little left over Snapple. Then only had a few sips of water until the ride at ~1:30. Even if not hungry and thirsty I should have ate and drank. I figured since I was still feeling full it would be fine.

As for Newbie + 1x9, that really wasn't issue. The ride is only ~13-14 miles. Not a lot of climbing, it isn't that big of deal. I ride it often. I ride 30-40 on the road bike. Sure I can't clear Mustard at Whiting, but I can do two loops easy enough (albeit without being able to clean Mustard). It is not like I was doing VQ.
 
Dropping into Waterwork, try the left trail instead of the steep drop, it has a switchback, but it is not as steep and it bring you slower in line for the small wood bridge.
 
BikeThePlanet said:
S...
Anybody else ever bonk at the beginning of a ride? It sucks. Just under two hours of miserable riding. :(
...
Click to expand...


I try really hard to take one day per week off from exercise to let things heal up and I try and cross train 50% of the time (effectively riding every other day).

I'm pretty in tune with my body and my nutrition and hydration are pretty optimal, but to answer your question: YES.

If I'm solo, I have been known to either turn around and go home, or to simply decide to ride my heart rate in a lower zone. The lower heart rate does definitely make the ride longer so that is a consideration.

Listen you your body. It takes many days to recover from an epic ride or one where you didn't hydrate properly.
 
Try attaching some light weight fenders for those stream crossings or wet conditions. After all this rain we are now getting I usualluy put them on my bike for severaldays after things start to dry out. I picked up some Topeka fenders that work pretty well. Not real fond of how the rear fender attache to the seat post otherwise it's a quality poduct.
 
BoingBoing said:
I was going to give you some advice on nutrition...
...then I remembered that I consider chili fries a good recovery food.

I will say this, however: make sure you've got plenty of water to wash down whatever bar or gel or jumbo-jack you choose to eat mid-ride.
Click to expand...

So who has the best chili fries?
 

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