First Group Ride

[Bethany1]

I had my first group ride last Thursday. I've never gone because I'm slow, can't go very far (about 5 miles) and don't want to look like a fool. I told him if he needed to drop me, no problem. I didn't want to ruin their evening.

Another guy shows up and they agree to go 15 miles since it's hot. The three of us take off and I'm following along best I can. I've never ridden with anyone else before so I just did what they did. They were always about 1/2 mile ahead as I could only do 10 mph.

I made it to the top of the hill and the guy tells me we've only done 2.5 miles. They decide to take an alternate route so I could get back to the store and then they were going down to the river to see the flooding.

Sure enough, come mile 5 my body totally gives out like it always does. I'm not sore or really out of breath, but shaky, and my body turns into rubber bands. They showed me how to make a left turn and I headed back to the store.

I've never ridden in real traffic but if they could do it, I could. I made it to the local McD's and rested. Now I know why they say to bring a few dollars.

I finally felt good enough to leave and make it the next mile up to the LBS and started off. I was surprised to see the guy in his car pull up next to me and offer me a ride back to the store. He saw my car was still at the lot and had come looking for me.

So..why does my body give out every time at 5 miles and can't make it past 10 mph on straight roads? I've been riding since May and I don't seem to be improving.

On the positive side, I made it up the steep and long hills and was able to keep 10 mph on them (usually I end up doing about 7) learned to navigate through real traffic and make a left turn on a major highway w/o getting run over by semi trucks. I did have a good time.

Part of me would like to go again for more experience, but not if I can only do 5 miles.

[BC2COCyclist]

Sounds kind of like "bonking" I think. Do you eat enough before the ride etc?

[Catrin]

I think BC2COCyclist has it, it sounds like you bonked - which means your body ran out of fuel. At least it sounds like what happens to me when I bonk :)

There are some good threads here about what happens when we bonk and different ways to deal with it. Here is a link to a search of the nutrition forum on bonking (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/search.php?searchid=3653247) though there is certainly other threads on other TE forums. Check them out and feel free to ask as many questions here that you need to, learning how to fuel properly for the bike can be challenging.

[redrhodie]

Bethany, I'm trying to do some detective work to see if we can figure out why you're having trouble at 5 miles, so I went back through your posts to where you bought your bike, and noticed you're on a 56 cm bike. How tall are you? That's a pretty big bike.

[Bethany1]

I'm 5'10".

I went out with my son today on my WSD 29er through some back gravel roads and sure enough, come 5 miles I'm done. Son asked what I had for breakfast and I told him two bowls of cereal.

He's as confused as I am. He's wondering if my bikes are too big as well. I had a professional fit done for my Madone and the guy said it was fine.

Does my weight (215) make a difference?

I do love riding. I just thought I'd be a lot further by now.

[Catrin]

I'm 5'10".

I went out with my son today on my WSD 29er through some back gravel roads and sure enough, come 5 miles I'm done. Son asked what I had for breakfast and I told him two bowls of cereal.

He's as confused as I am. He's wondering if my bikes are too big as well. I had a professional fit done for my Madone and the guy said it was fine.

Does my weight (215) make a difference?

I do love riding. I just thought I'd be a lot further by now.

What are you eating with the cereal, any protein? I wonder if your blood sugar is spiking with the cereal and then crashing. How long do you eat before riding?

[ivorygorgon]

I am wondering how hydrated you are. How much do you normally drink? Are you a big sweat-er? Do you put anything (like electrolytes) in your water? The electrolytes seem to have a bigger impact on me than eating.

[grey]

I'm thinking it could be nutritional as well.
I eat 2 hours before a ride - usually 2 eggs, a fruit smoothie (banana, handful of blueberries and one other fruit blended with almond milk) and then either make amaranth pancakes or oatmeal.
I always carry 2 water bottles. The first contains electrolytes, like Nunn - the other is water. If I'm riding more than an hour, I drink the electrolyte bottle first, then move on to water. I keep this rotation - one bottle electrolyte, one bottle water, for the duration of the ride.
I eat every 90 minutes or so - a banana, a granola bar, a homemade fruit roll-up, or on long rides, a powerbar type thing.
Post-ride, I probably eat eggs again, or fish if I have it handy. Gotta feed the muscles. I also eat fruits and legumes, and roasted veggies.

I hope you figure out the cause of this - bonking is NO FUN.

[DarcyInOregon]

My two cents ... if you are a person who doesn't get the annual blood fasting tests through your doctor, meaning you don't know what your blood sugars are, then call your doctor and request the blood tests. You may be pre-diabetic, diabetic or insulin resistant, and bonking at mile 5 is your body telling you that something is wrong.

If you are ok health-wise, and I sure hope you are, then like someone said, get to the gym and do cardio on the elliptical, plus take spin class, plus get out and do some walking/hiking. Build up your cardio off-the-bike so that you can do 90 minutes easily on another activity.

Another idea is you may be riding in the heat of the day and you are simply heat sensitive.

And check your electrolytes like others mentioned.

The categories are one - fitness ability, two - blood sugars, and three - electrolytes. Your problem will be in one of the categories. Unless .... hate to mention the obvious, but make sure your brakes are not rubbing against the rims. Flip up the little lever if you need to do so.

[redrhodie]

Wow, so much to think about, and a lot of great advice. I think the bike size sounds in the right range. I was just thinking, well, if she's 5' 4 and on a 56, that could be the problem.

[Velocivixen]

Two bowls of cereal wouldn't keep me going. What kind of cereal? Where's any significant protein? The body takes longer to digest protein and complex carbohydrates, so that's what I focus on throughout my day, along with healthy oils/fat, plenty of fresh fruit & vegetables. It sounds like how I feel when I bonk- all trembly and like I am out of energy.

How is your fitness level?

[Bethany1]

Before cycling I was in terrible shape. I've had a bad back for years and last year I could barely do anything without the muscles seizing up for several days at a time. I used to do a lot of walking but when your back would seize up, I had to stop. I had two rounds of physical therapy and talked with a back specialist. He said to lose weight now. Doc figured I'd hurt my back when I had that first gran mal seizure and fell backwards behind the sink and toilet.

I couldn't make it around the block without exhausting myself for a week. I got about a mile (1/2 mile to the light and head back) but it's all uphill back to my house. I'd end up walking up the last hill completely spent. I'd do different routes but each have different grades of hills going back home, some of which are half mile or more.

I told myself I'd at least get to the Peru sign, 5 miles uphill once I got my Madone and nearly killed myself up to the top but I was determined to do it. It's all downhill from the top and coasted all the way down at 30mph. I ended up having to walk the last mile home going up two other hills. It was a 12 mile round trip. I probably spent two days sleeping it off.

After someone mentioned hypoglycemia, I went back over my medication side effects. I started taking Celexa a couple of months ago and one of the side effects is hypoglycemia. When you are medications, I try to make sure everything works together and know the side effects.

Celexa has really changed my life for the better as the depression is basically gone.

I always have two water bottles full of water.

Getting blood sugars tested sounds like a great idea. I'll set up a visit and see how that goes. I'd hate to have something serious and not know it until it's too late.

I went riding with DH last night. He had his chopper bike and I took his Townie. It was really relaxing to do a couple of miles together on a comfortable bike.

[Roadtrip]

I too think 5 miles and your cooked could be a little abnormal, or at least reason to talk to your doc about it, just to be sure. Glad you have an appt to talk to your doc to invistigate. I don't think your weight itself shouldn't be a factor. I currently weigh more then you and even when I first started biking (30 pounds heavier) found I could do five / six miles and not be as spend as your appear to be. I'm doing 18-20 mile rides now.

I would say the hydration idea is key as well. I've seen my DH bonk hard by not properly hydrate/eating prior to a ride and he's thin and fitter then I.

Good luck!!!

Shannon

[Velocivixen]

I do not think that weight, alone, makes a difference. I have seen women who would be considered overweight who regularly cycle who could kick my butt any day on a bike (I'm 5'6" & 137 lbs.). Yes, it does require more strength and endurance to carry around more weight, but weight is not the only factor. It sounds, too, like you could benefit from continued strengthening overall. Eventually you could build both the strength and stamina to go longer and farther. I know I can go a lot farther on flat ground vs hills.
Have you tried riding more than 5 miles on completely flat ground to see how it goes?

[Bethany1]

Okay. Did a test run today to check things out. I went up to Lincoln to the Mopac trail with DH and son as I'm sick of gravel hills and semi trucks. The trail is relatively flat, easy to ride and no stupid cornfields.

I stopped off at the gas station, picked up a Gatorade, a protein and energy bar and drove to the park. I ate the protein bar about halfway there.

I reset the computer and headed off at around 10 mph taking sips of Gatorade as I went. I made it 4.5 miles without any problems and DH said he needed to head back to the car. He's a weekend warrior and him going that far was really great. I split the energy bar with him and headed back.

I made it the other 4.5 miles back to the car without any problems. DH had to stop and rest a few minutes and we went on. I was a little tired, but not even close to "bonked" when we went back to the car. Son had been sitting there for twenty minutes.

We drove back the hour and 20 minutes back home and I'm doing great.

[Catrin]

Glad to hear the experiment worked! It does take some effort and experimentation to work out the nutritional requirements of cycling, especially if you were not active before starting. There are lots of good threads here, and there are also a few really good books on the topic. "The Cyclist's Food Guide" by Nancy Clark is a good one to start with.

[Velocivixen]

Hey, good for you! So that was an easy fix.

I'm still trying to figure out what, when and how much to eat prior to and during rides.