How to Avoid Bonking on Road Bike Rides

You have most likely ridden a bike at some point and pushed yourself somewhat too forcefully. Inside, you begin to feel empty. Your pause is physical. You live miles away from anywhere. None then. Your legs are cement; you are swimming in syrup. You cannot proceed; all seemed lost. Try and regroup while seated next to the road. Now you want to prevent this from happening once more; thus, we have created a guide to maintain your energy levels throughout riding.

Sometimes bonking is called "hitting the wall," when a barrier in front of you causes your body to stop going forward. This is not the muscle aches your body is alerting you to quit from. Your body merely stopped; it cannot even tell you to stop.

Your body has run out of glycogen; hence, you stopped. For endurance activities, glycogen is the fuel you require. Not a throwaway battery; rather, it's your internal battery—that which is fortunately rechargeable. When you run between 70 and 85% of your VO2 Max, your body mostly runs on glycogen. Making high-intensity, short-duration efforts does not deplete your glycogen supplies. The stores go empty on this long and consistent voyage.

You might now be curious about what carbs are. Simply said, carbohydrates—starches, sugars, and fibers—found in grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products are the stars. Among the three macronutrients our bodies need to function properly are these ones. The other two consist of fat and proteins.

Thanks to their glycemic index (GI), carbohydrates also have another method of breakdown. The glycemic index indicates how over two hours the diet affects your blood glucose levels. Foods with a high glycemic index—that is, over 70—cause your glucose levels to rise rapidly. Foods with a low glycemic index (less than 55) will gradually feed glucose into your system.

About two to three hours before a ride and roughly two to three hours following one, you want to eat low-GI meals. Following this guideline is just as crucial as ensuring you have food on the bike. You want to eat high-GI meals during a long ride. Shortly after your ride ends, you should also eat some high-GI foods.

When riding, you can satisfy these high GI needs with gummy sweets, including jelly babies or even a jam sandwich, but the best approach is with an energy drink. A decent sports drink will keep you hydrated and include the carbs you require. You will be far more likely to stay on going and maintain your stocks topped off.

Keep it simple. Not sitting on your bike and starting to ride as fast as you can is the ideal guideline to follow. Save your strength, particularly if you are riding a course you are not familiar with. Fast heading will quickly run out of your glycogen supplies and make it challenging to maintain peak level.

Then you hit one, climb too many, and just bang the wall. 

Discover your own pace. Riding teaches you to pay attention to your body. You will be able to find a tempo you can keep to for hours over time, therefore relieving you of concern about blowing up. Your pace here measures your heart rate rather than a speed. About seventy percent of your maximum heart rate should be your target range. Eventually, if you pay attention to your body, cycling at this effort level will become second nature.

Eat over an hour starting now. We mean not a buffet here, but start to ensure your body is kept topped up. Eating too quickly will cause stomach issues, which can be just as awful as bonking. You therefore want to snack slowly and deliberately. It will keep you topped off and prevent additional unanticipated side effects.

How to sip? One should be trying to drain a 750-ml bottle every hour. You will find that your eating approach is useless if you neglect hydration. Your blood will thicken as you get dehydrated, which makes getting glucose across your body to where it is needed far more difficult.

Coffee rests. Though they're fun, coffee stops might make your legs heavy. Your legs starting to feel weighty is a reaction to standing. Your legs will chill while your blood starts to pool. You can also find it somewhat more difficult psychologically to get back on your bike and keep riding. Shorten every stop as much as you can.

You are not on fixed gear, remember. Indeed, you won't be peddling when riding coast or draft behind others, but you will be allowing your body time to heal. Your body will appreciate you for this; if you watch pro cycling, you'll find that nobody spends the whole race alone breaking the wind.

Keep in mind and act. We are not talking about cycling here; instead, shift your body around the bike every small bit. You can get a little surge of energy from moving forward or backwards on your saddle. Get up for a short period of time and modify your hand stance. By doing this, some muscles will have a respite while others will be engaged momentarily.

You should never have to worry about the dreaded bonk if you combine your food and ensure you follow our basic set of biking regulations.