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Not a traffic related one. Went out for a road ride with a chap I've ridden with in a group before. Just two of us, my route plan was for about 30-40 miles, nice and steady pace. I've done 100k sportive before and thought i was ok fitness wise, but done nothing the last two weeks due to other commitments.
Anyway we set off and the pace was brutal. I managed about 10 miles before i had to stop. Got off the bike and began to struggle to catch my breath, began to go light headed and could feel myself going to pass out, so had to have a lie down, raise the old legs and get some blood back up to the brain.
Back on the bike and managed to finish the ride, but felt knackered afterwards. Really didn't think i was that unfit.
So what's your worst "bonk"...or make me feel better just by taking the wee wee. 🤣
Hmm, might be worth going to the docs - you shouldn't be flaking out like that after first 10 miles
I had a pretty bad one a few weeks ago. I’d ridden up to Hamsterley Forest to go around the black route before heading back down to where we were staying.
It was dehydration from the weather being hotter than anticipated and me not drinking enough.
It was so unpleasant, and I must have looked so unwell that a German walker asked me if I needed any help.
Lesson learned. Plenty to eat and drink.
Yeah sorry but that sounds like 'book a GP appointment' asap to me.
Had the same on a night ride with a group I'd not been out with before from a shop ride. They absolutely blitz through the first 3miles or so of flat single track, no warm up or gentle into it - just flat out sprinting. When we got to the first climb I was absolutely done in....
Do you monitor your heart rate at all?
It’s very important to know when you’re giving it too much welly!
I once bonked so badly I had to stop at a supermarket, buy food and sit on a bench for half an hour before I could get home. I was less than 2 miles from my door 😀
What you describe is similar to something that happens to me regularly if head out in cold weather in the morning and ride straight up a big hill without a warm up first. I get dizzy and nauseous and see stars and have to stop and sit down for a while. Remember it happening since I was a teenager when I first started doing heavy exercise. All is fine if I start off slow and take my time building up intensity. Is that normal? Could it be that?
You don’t bonk after 10 miles. You went off for 10 miles at threshold. Your partner was at tempo. Seen it myself on a TT. Had numb fingers once when I went too hard, with light headedness and all the oxygen deficit symptoms. Time for some Zone 2. Lots of it. You’re that unfit 😉
if you've essentially done a 10 mile TT at your max pace with zero warm-up then yeah I could definitely see you feeling like that tbh! Sounds like the other bloke was a bit of a nob if he didn't check to see whether the pace was ok or not, would've been obvious if you were blowing out your arse the whole time while he was just cruising!you shouldn’t be flaking out like that after first 10 miles
Could it simply be you were riding at or above your power/heart threshold, trying to keep up with the other cyclist?
Don't monitor my heart rate really. The guy i was riding with is a GP, and he didn't seem concerned. Just said I'd gone a bit grey. 🤣🫣
Do you monitor your heart rate at all?
It’s very important to know when you’re giving it too much welly!
On this occasion RPE would have been as good as anything else - "the pace was brutal" should have been a big clue.
If you're worried about it by all means get checked out by a GP (good luck with that BTW!) but getting light headed after a brutal 10 miles doesn't sound like much to get too concerned about. Dial it down next time.
And I might be being a bit unfair here but your riding mate sounds like a bit of a dick not to pay attention to how you were doing.
The guy i was riding with is a GP, and he didn’t seem concerned
What a git!
Was matey just a bit fitter and/or trying to rip you legs off?
I've been in both positions, being the fitter rider and being one struggling before.
Groups of 4 or more seem to moderate their pace or rotate the role of riding at the back with the less fit riders so it's not such a chore and those going slower don't feel to demoralised.
Riding in a pair can just be trickier if there's a bigger gap in fitness than either of you realised or competitiveness/ego come into play.
I find the suggestions to book a GP appointment slightly odd. Have the people suggesting this never redlined themselves? The description sounds like you just over cooked it so unless you're experiencing other issues, I'd just chalk it up to experience and either don't go out with that guy again or get training.
You don’t bonk after 10 miles. You went off for 10 miles at threshold. Your partner was at tempo.
This.
The guy i was riding with is a GP
Was he trying to break you?
As above, that's not bonk, you can go hard for over an hour on energy stored in the muscles and liver.
What's worrying is that backing off wasn't enough and you were struggling for breath and light headed even after stopping. I'd see a GP and ask for referal to a cardiologist to do an effort test. And do you suffer from asthma?
And yes I've redlined myself enough over the last few kms of the X-C ski on a Winter triathlon to have the horizon moving around and strange things going on in my head - and finish 1st vet and 5th scratch in the national champs. Thing is that a few minutes of descent was all it took to feel quite normal again.
Sometimes just have tired days. But then i have issues with staying hydrated, celiac desease, and general digestive problems meaning I have to really plan my food ahead of time.
I dont take any risks with food anymore or I'll end up on the loo for hours.
So what’s your worst “bonk”…
I have never experienced a bonk like yours. For me it means just having nothing left so that even the slightest small hill becomes too much, TBH I find bonking comical and I will typically end up giggling at my inability to manage anything that isn't level or downhill.
I certainly don't feel that I'm about to pass out - not from being on an empty tank. I would have thought that other things have come into play. Such as dehydration and or overheating, as Kramer suggests.
Edit: Or a medical issue. I would definitely have it investigated if happens again and you can rule out dehydration/overheating.
Thing is that a few minutes of descent was all it took to feel quite normal again.
That's probably because you were in decent shape. It's a different story for someone who isn't.
Chasing someone up a hill and it started getting dark from the outer edges of my eyes. Not sure what that was but it was definitely time to back off.
If you're a bit tired, not as well prepared as you might be and set off , no warm up at something above threshold you can get it in a big mess in not many minutes. Not a classical bonk , but still unpleasant, and it'll be with you the rest of the ride no matter what you do later in the ridde.
How'd you feel today?
Been a long time since I 'bonked' - I can usually feel them coming on - I get like a flashing 'target' shape in my eyes before it happens. Only bad ones have been racing during my 'early days' but tend to get fueling right for long rides. I've 'blown up' from going to fast - went training with a lub mate for two up time trials - I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold his wheel when I was at 205 bpm on the ticker.
I've had the odd ride where I've felt terrible - usually followed by getting flu after !
It wasn't a bonk, but I passed out on the bike a couple of years ago. I wrote a lengthy post about it on here *before* I figured out that's what had happened because I just couldn't work things out. One second I was riding, the next I was sat in the tail with a gashed chin pissing blood. I had sensations in between if ****ting my chin and tumbling, like I was asleep as it happened. Anyway, it was the hottest day of the year in 2022, just hoofed up a big climb and had turned to descend a rocky single track.
Yes, yesterday on a Zwift race. I think I've got some low level virus that I'm not factoring in to my exercise routine.
I love a hard ride but I wouldn't kill myself trying to keep up.
Bonked when mountain biking in winter and then got stuck in a gully thing that was covered in sheet ice so had to drag myself and my bike up the side and into a farmers field...then got repeatedly shocked when I got stuck in the electric fence trying to climb over it into said field.
Couldn't even wimp out and get the train home as they were all cancelled so had to ride for another 2hrs to get home. 2/10 would not reccommend
So checked my Garmin heart rate Data. Max heart rate today was around 178 yet i know i can push into 190 and sustain that no problem. Just wondering if it was a big effort without much of a warm up too soon.
Think i will book a GP health check over the next few weeks anyway, just to double check.
My hay fever has been bad these last few weeks too, so wondering if that "might" not have helped.
This convinces me that my poddle on at my own pace in m.y own little world suits me down to the ground 👍
If you have easy access to one, take a Covid test.
Not likely the same thing but docs put me on statins a few weeks back. All sorts of muscle weakness ensued, and after a moderate effort on the bike, felt like I was passing out and was wondering how I was going to get back to the car. I’ve knocked them off, will be trying another type soon.
So what’s your worst “bonk”
Her name was Louise......
If you're that destroyed you might not be able to get your heart rate up to max as your legs will fail first. Thats the problem with effectively no warmup and straight into something above your threshold.
I assume the other guy rode to your house to warm up? Thanks mate!
Do I have the terminology right, "bonking" is basically when you completely empty the tank, rather than when you go too hard and need to temporarily stop?
If so I've literally done it once, but it was in an EWS race, 2nd day and I started out dead then utterly died at the bottom of the second stage. Got to the point I was pushing up to the next one but had to stop literally every 20 feet or so to recover. Got to the top after a thousand years, just inside my time slot, realised there was no point even starting because I just couldn't ride safely, took a tactical time penalty to die in a hedge for a while and ram jelly babies down my face, then finally had to basically roll down the stage to the end. Mandatory drop 3/4s of the way down, I just rolled off it without even really seeing it, luckily I was already too brain dead to feel it when I landed on my head. Got back on, couldn't tell which way the trail went, some spectators had to point me down the stage. Reached end, died for the 4th time or so, the end marshall was pretty close to calling me an ambulance because I couldn't get the mile or so back to the event village.
Good times!
Worst one for me was back in 2021 just after I'd started having heart palpitations (which I now know were premature ventricular contractions - PCVs - benign).
Went out on the gravel bike hard one morning for an hour.. probably a bit dehydrated.About 5 miles out from home I started to feel weaker and weaker, then about half a mile from the house I did not feel well at all, nearly fainting when I tried to make any forward progress - even crawling along.
Got home, collapsed in the doorway then phoned 999 and the ambulance carted me off to A&E.
Never did work out what it was. After a *lot* of heart checks and an ablation to correct the PCVs I'm back to being pretty much as fit as I ever have been.
30-40 miles, nice and steady pace.. I’ve done 100k sportive before and thought i was ok fitness wise, but done nothing the last two weeks due to other commitments.
Anyway we set off and the pace was brutal.
So which was it?
Havent seen him about here for ages but there was a long time poster called Montgomery Wick based in the lakes. I wasnt exactly unfit on a bike at the time (Often met with other riders from all over the country and was either fitter or similar to all but the racing whippets) but we had arranged a meet up to do a 20-30 miles off rode jaunt.
Considering i had been quite friendly in picking him up in my car, happy for him to decide the route etc i was not prepared for what followed. I knew he was capable of 100 mile days in the saddle and toured all over the world cycling but i figured over 20-30 miles i could at least reasonably keep up with someone and have a good time.
I have no idea how far we rode but it was a few hours. It basically revolved around him telling me a point about 5-10 miles away and then him disappearing into the sunset at a rate of knots i couldn't live with and zero ****s given for how far behind i was. He would wait at the checkpoints and as soon as i got there he would saddle up and off he went. No conversation. Nothing. The highlight was him finishing his lunch just as i pulled up and off he went.
By the end of the ride i could hardly walk but i didnt give in and i didnt make a show of it. I drove him home and never felt inclined to revisit the experience. That was quite a humbling ride.
Some people just have a different mindset about riding.
Also bear in mind that some people may well be neurodivergent and not even be aware that it’s not a pleasant thing to do, especially if no one has ever told them.
Sounds just like the time I met up with some STWers at Swinley (of all places!) - never had problems keeping up with group rides before - we set off at a normal pace and after the first couple of trails I was done. Weak, shaky and exhausted. Kept going for a bit, then one of the riders (nice fella off here) rode back to the car park with me. Felt pretty embarrassed, like a newby... turned out, a week later had a TIA and had to see a heart specialist. Heart in AF, on meds ever since. Ebike eventually saved my enjoyment of riding.
"the pace was brutal..."
Well, there's the problem. Find a different ride buddy
grimep
“the pace was brutal…”Well, there’s the problem...
I know exactly what he means - it seems to be a reasonable pace, one you're used to, so you think you can keep with it.. warm up and maybe get through the anaerobic stage. But it feels unexpectedly brutal and you just can't get with it.
Went out with a mate (fit)and his mates (fit competitive rides).
I bailed out as they accelerated from a pace I could just about hold (after 50 miles) to one that was absolutely my maximum.
I raided a petrol station,.ate all the food and had a 2L bottle.of full sugar Iron Bru.
On a sportive I had some gator aid. Again a fast for me pace. But I felt absolutely sick for the last 20 miles. Proper vomit city.
No super fast rodie rides for me 😀
I went on a shop ride once, to look after my son. He of course wanted to do the A group. I rolled my eyes and checked with the owner (about me, not son!) and he said I would be fine.
Cue 1hr later when I was seriously wondering what happens your heart decides enough is enough! Average speed of the ride (from memory) was 27mph - much much higher than anything I had ever done (or since). But at least my heart survived!
Worst bonk after 90 miles in Majorca at a hard pace. Coming off the puig I could barely keep the bike in a straight line and was seeing things that weren’t there. Luckily mostly downhill for last 20 miles
I thought I was immune to bonks being an old git now and having a bit of a fat reserve (sports/diet science clearly aren't my thing) but had one about 3 or 4 years ago after embarking on a 150km ride incorporating some south downs hills and 95% off road to christen a new xc bike. I had to be back home on time as I'd booked a table in a restaurant to take the family. Id planned to find a chippy or cafe at lunchtime but realised I was about an hour behind schedule and just had to press on. I'd got an egg n bacon roll in the morning and been eating Trek and Nakd bars all day but these weren't enough to prevent a bonk. Felt sick and depressed, ended up sat on a bench eating emergency jelly babies for 5 mins, then forced myself to grind on. I was so hangry I shouted C**ts ! at a pair of twits walking in the middle of the road who forced me to slam the brakes on..
As for psycho ride buddies, ride solo and never meet people "off the internet"!
By the end of the ride i could hardly walk but i didnt give in and i didnt make a show of it. I drove him home and never felt inclined to revisit the experience. That was quite a humbling ride.
If your bellend riding companion had an ounce of self-awareness he should have been the one who felt humbled. I'd have given him a time to be back at the car and done my own ride. Preferably getting back an hour late after a leisurely tea stop.
Weak, shaky and exhausted. Kept going for a bit, then one of the riders (nice fella off here) rode back to the car park with me.
That's more the sort of "decent human being" behaviour I'd expect from a riding companion.
Rode with my cycling club the first time on the road, and joined the faster group. On the first climb I was thinking that the pace was high, this then continued for the next ~ 10km, I hung on in there and the pace then started to ease a bit. There was still periods where the pace was pretty full on but I made it back home in the group. I just thought that must be the usual pace, until I checked Strava when I got back and there was several segments where several group members (including myself) had set PRs and even achieved Strava top ten fastest times. I reckon they were trying to test me and thought they'd just ride me off their wheel. The next ride, the pace definitely a bit slower.
I reckon that your pal was trying to do the same to you.
I say that's cause for concern. My legs hurt, I get out of breath and woozy and have to stop if I am at sprint effort, occasionally I feel a bit queezy but passing out? That would have me round the docs. The other massively important thing is that if something's not right - stop. I once ran up a hill and pushed it whilst feeling crappy. Big chest pains that night, A&E, turns out I had given myself pericarditis because I'd worked too hard with a virus.
I’m an advocate of the “let them bugger off” method, I’m all for pushing myself but if someone is taking the pee I’m not going to kill myself to keep up. I’m on the bike to enjoy myself these days 🙂
There was a thread on being dropped on group road rides a wee while ago
is there possibly less camaraderie among roadies compared to mtb groups?
Definitely imo. Never trust a grown man who wears lycra.
My only real bonk experience was when I bizarrely set out on a challenging ride with just an apple and a water bottle. The apple was too big to fit in my frame bag so I had to eat a bit of it at the start.
First part of the ride was in flat forestry but full of dead ends. Managed to work my way through and did the big climb fine enough. On the plateau or on the downhill (green bit) my derailleur took a massive hit from a rock and meant I only had about 4 useable gears for the rest of the ride...
It doesn't look much on paper, 1800 metres climb over 70km but the blue section is horrific rocky jungle - almost unrideable, and i was having to push up all the hills (I took some mates here once and they shit themselves as it's so far from any kind of help let lone mobile reception). Just before the pink line I should have turned off and taken the quick route out, I was so far behind time and out of water and apple. Curiosity nearly killed me though. More horrific jungle. The easy last 10km was worse. I was riding so slowly up the little hill circled in red that I thought the bike was going to tip over. Easily the worst i've ever felt during exercise.
There was a thread on being dropped on group road rides a wee while ago
is there possibly less camaraderie among roadies compared to mtb groups
I don't think so no, some road rides will be competitive and will be drop rides, the vast majority will be no drop rides.ost road rides will have a bit of a race up the hills or back to town, but they will stop and regroup, just like a MTB ride where people re group at the bottom of a descent.
You don’t bonk after 10 miles. You went off for 10 miles at threshold. Your partner was at tempo.
Yeah, this. I have a mate who's ftp is approximately 80 watts higher than mine - he's respectably fast, master world track champ etc - which means that he's consistently about a zone lower than me on any ride at the same pace. It's not that he's maliciously trying to kill me, it's just an unfortunate by-product of our respective fitness levels. I soon learned to just back off on climbs and let him wait at the top or simply tell/ask him to slow down.
People accusing the other guy of trying to pull your legs off may or may not be correct, but if you're significantly fitter than a riding partner, it's quite easy to lose visceral awareness of how hard at time they're having given that you're just cruising yourself. There's probably some sort of technical term for it, a sort of cycling sociopathy...
Bonking, as numerous people have said already, is something else, basically having consumed all the stored glycogen in your body, though the first will contribute to the second.
I had a similar experience with group riding. The pace was just too much for the length of ride we were going for. I'd get to the top and they would all just smash it off again.
I was in bits, crashed a few times, injured myself and said I would just head back to the cars. I was told to "man up" and "stop being a p***y" and they added a few more trails in.
One of the other guys bonked a few miles in and we just headed back. I reckon if it was 10% slower on the uphills I would have been fine. I got a message of abuse the evening after the ride too.
Never rode with them again and haven't spoken to many of them.
The whole experience actually put me off riding for a long time. I've actually not ridden more that 5 times in a year since the experience. It wasn't just the fitness side, but it totally killed my enjoyment of riding, slowly getting back on and I'm currently riding solo and building up my legs again.
Ironically when it was done to someone else in the group (when I was fitter) they got annoyed and said "if you want to go fast and don't want to wait, ride by yourself."
I find with people where "riding is life" and it's "balls out or get out" they are exclusive when they ride rather than being inclusive. Getting outside isn't about having fun, it is competitive and that isn't why I ride (or not so much any more). I'm not a competitive person either, which doesn't help.
When it is just two of you sometimes as oldnick said "let them bugger off" and have their ride.
@wildfires3 People with a desperate need to assert physical dominance are usually trying to cover for some other inadequacy. Tiny willy probably.
I don’t think so no, some road rides will be competitive and will be drop rides, the vast majority will be no drop rides
Yeah but most of the above tales it sounds like the dropped riders thought they were in a no drop ride but then either got dropped or half killed themselves trying to keep up.
There isn't even a concept of a drop ride when you're with a group off road. I get that roads are different, you can cover big distances quickly, we all ride at different pace, the tarmac stretching into the distance is inviting its frustrating riding slower than you can, so it's natural for group rides to break up... at which point you might as well be riding solo, no?
All this riding with other people lark sounds horrendous...
I reckon if it was 10% slower on the uphills I would have been fine.
I think you can make that 2%. You just make a tiny adjustment to your ftp on a smart turbo and a perfectly doable workout becomes torture. It's why you need to ride with the right group at the right pace for what you're doing.
That said, some of us can't really help our competitive instincts, which might seem a bit sad past the age of 60 where there's no way you're not slowing down a bit, but there you go. If there's just two of us I'd rather ride with someone who's younger, racing or whatever and loads faster, so it's utterly clear I'm going to ride at my own pace. Ride with someone who's about my level and chances are we're just going to make each other go a little bit too fast.
Worst of all of course is a mate who's just ever so slightly faster but might not be...Tell me there's no pleasure in burning off your mates...
Sad I know, but there you go.
Worst bonk I ever had was when I did a 2-day ride from Edinburgh to the NW Highlands. It was about 380km all-in and paved the whole way, so not a crazy massive ultra distance by any stretch, but it was the most I'd ever done. I was fit at the time and could do 100 mile rides well enough without struggling too much, so foolishly I didn't do much specialist training other than "ride my bike a lot".
Left Edinburgh at 5am, and got to House of Bruar at 12 noon - goal being Dingwall that evening so was ahead of schedule. Think that was about 105 miles or something. Felt amazing the whole way up to there and was having the absolute time of my life...but I was definitely putting in more work than I should have up hills etc. Being ahead of schedule not necessarily a good thing.
Sat and had a massive box of chips and an overpriced coffee outside watching all the tourists. Stayed for like 40 mins which in hindsight was way too long.
I set up again on the gradual uphill cycle path to Drumochter and my legs had completely died. I felt like the chips were not digesting, and started to feel a bit sick. Tried to chase the chips with an emergency gel and that also didn't help. Was reduced to a total crawl within just a few miles. My arse started absolutely killing me, and I started noticing all sorts of aches and pains, headache, kinda also felt like any water wasn't going down and I was really "full".
It took me 2.5 hours to get up to Dalwhinnie with many stops, by which time I was a total pale wreck with shaking hands. I decided to shorten the day, and absolutely crawled into Aviemore at like 6pm. Totally grim, never felt like that before. I had a shower, ate two main courses and 10 hours sleep and I felt totally amazing the next day and finished off with no issues. Weird!
I started to hang with some roadies and had a session that totally burnt me out to the point of not wanting to ride for at least a month after about an hour in. Chat more and you realise if they are in any way serious they :
- Know their FTP, have a power meter and a computer that tells them they are pushing too hard.
- Started feeling the night before, at least three hours before the ride, with a top up 30 mins prior, while staying fuelled during the ride.
- Are on top of their hydration, likely with some hydration supplement added to their water.
- Warmed up properly inc movement and 20-30 mins rollers.
- Are bike fit, having trained over winter.
Turn up as an MTB'er without a warm up or having fuelled or slept properly and it's easy to feel terrible early on.
massive box of chips and an overpriced coffee outside watching all the tourists. Stayed for like 40 mins which in hindsight was way too long.
Sounds more like cafe legs and a carb coma rather than bonk, though you could've been unlucky and had all 3.
I stop for an amazing cooked breakfast 2 hours into one of my fave rides but I regret the fried potato when the big hills start
All this riding with other people lark sounds horrendous
I feel a bit less odd for riding solo 98% of the time after reading this thread
I find it hard sometimes to ride even with people you've ridden with for years especially on the road. Some people are incredibly consistent week in week out and others like me vary massively one weekend to the next.
I ride most weeks with a mate, we spend the time riding fast. But we also don't want to kill each other.
That isn't saying we don't try to give each other a bit of a kicking, but absolutely make sure the other person doesn't end up broken.
Anyone that goes out with the intention of breaking someone they are riding with is a dick
@grimep - I am no stranger to cafe legs, so I just carried on thinking that it would clear within 20 minutes...but it never did. So I think it was some form of bonk or other brought on by my stomach not wanting to digest anything. Never felt anything like it since, genuinely felt like someone put a bung in my stomach and drinking water was just filling me upwards like a test tube.
By the time I had got to Aviemore I was starting to feel good again, and hungry again, but by that time with all my 10kmh creeping up beside the A9 for the preceding hours it was too late to carry on anyway.
@grahamt1980 - there is a balance to be had. One of my favourite regular rides is a sort of gravel / xc ride out along the coast paths west from Edinburgh with a mate of mine. We are fully tacitly racing each other on the way out, stop for a chippie at the turnaround point, and then just go steady and chat towards home. Kind of a monthly thing.
Literally EVERY time we leave town we are both like "yeah I'm just gonna go steady tonight" and that never happens and it turns into a smashfest trying to tear each other's legs off within a km. However we know each other really well, it's not far at all (20km each way), and the thrill of beating your very fit mate up a little climb is great fun without the rules and regs and nerves of actual proper racing.
I'd never do that in a big group with people I don't know.
Ok, managed to get an appointment with the Drs this afternoon. ECG trace done, blood pressure, and a bit of a check up. All ok, no probs found.
Dr suggested that because i was able to continue with the ride, this was a good indication it was probably nothing. Guess it was just a combination of high pace, lack of fitness compared to my compatriot and going hard too soon (stop s****ing at the back) 🙂
Good news! Now to return the favour to your 'mate'...