Fighting that bonk.

It doesn't seem to matter if you ride 20 miles, or 100 miles, someday, at some ride, you will bonk.  If you've never bonked, consider yourself pretty smart at knowing your body and staying ahead of your glycogen stores.

What's a bonk?  You'll know it.  Quite honestly, the symptoms are different in everyone. It can manifest itself in lots of feelings in your body, the worst end result, is ending up in a fetal position with waves of nausea and cramps and the feeling you want to die.  Trust me, you don't want to go there.

To prevent bonk, i've come up with a system that works for me.  I will feel a sudden pang in my tummy.  it's not exactly a hunger pang, but it will grow to that if i don't put some food in the furnace.  

I immediately eat a GU Energy Roctane.  (Any products I use I buy myself, I am not sponsored by any company.) That has about 100 calories and a little caffiene.  It's what I call a "fast energy". I get a sudden boost, and it soothes that little dragon in my gut.  It burns fast, but it burns out fast.  I'll need to feed the beast about every 50 mins to an hour. I like the citrus type of gels...orange, cherry, etc.  I'm not a fan of vanilla, chocolate or coffee when im riding.  If you have Amazon Prime, you can get this stuff for a pretty big discount if you sign up for their subscription service.

Gels only last about an hour.  My slower energy, bigger foods are Honey Stinger Waffles.  They lay flat so you can pack a few more in your pockets. They are light and seem to always taste good.  If these just wont do the job, Cliff Bar mini's are pretty good.

If i dont want to eat a whole gel, but i also don't need the waffle, are the Honey stinger Chews.  I've tried alot of chews. These melt fast and chew up fast. There is nothing more energy destroying, than trying to chew and gulp air at the same time.  They go down fast, as well.  The newer flavors, include cherry cola, taste great and have some caffeine.  For a longer ride, i dump two packs into a snack bag.  That makes them alot easier to retrieve.

But what happens if this isn't enough?  You gotta eat or you're just not going to make it. It's as simple as that.  

Saturday, I had a pretty big bonk at mile 40. I felt it coming on around 25 miles. The gel just didn't cut it, and i was too late in eating my waffle.  IT seemed for other reasons, my previous food intake had been on the acidic side, and my stomach was not having it.

We pulled over to a sonic. While i craved a big hamburger, my wonderful BF got me a regular coke and a cup of water with ice.  I sipped on both until i felt better. That taught me something.  I've seen the Pro's drink coke, and boy have i craved diet cokes AFTER a ride, but never a regular coke. It did the trick. In fact, it did it very well.  

I was able to ride the full 70 miles with very little damage after that. 

All the while, i was craving something else, like a hamburger.  I started thinking about what I could eat or drink to stave off the bonk, or fix whatever was going on.  This satuday, is my last long ride before HHH.  I am toying with the idea of carrying a little bottle of chicken broth with some pasta finely chopped in it.  I know that sounds sort of gross, and It might turn out to be a disaster.  

I have noticed, that If I'm on a supported ride, and they have bananas and oranges, that's the best anti bonk food out there.

I've got Dr. Lim's Portables book.  Anyone have a favorite portable or food they like/tolerate during long rides?

Clear Skies!