What does a bonk feel like?

[Tri Girl]

You were probably just fatigued from the pain meds the night before- just not on your game today.
When I bonk- it's quite obvious to me. It'll vary for everyone, but for me I get very irritable and often get teary/weepy for no apparent reason. When I start feeling it- it's too late to do anything about it and I usually finish the ride/run and call it quits for the day.
It took me the better part of last summer to figure out why sometimes I'd get so cranky during a long ride or long run (then it was like- duh!).

[sundial]

Oh, ok. Glad to know it wasn't the lack of fuel or something. Trigirl, I can relate to your weepy stage in the game. I get that way when I am tired too.

[Torrilin]

I... tip over.

Nearly all of my falls can be attributed to "didn't eat lunch" combined with "went biking". I'll get lightheaded, stop tracking basic things like "is there traffic", my legs will turn to jello... So I try to stop, because in that state walking the bike is a *good* idea. And then I fall over in slow motion. I have learned that this is a bad combo, so now I'm making myself sandwiches before I ride, or starting out early enough that I can grab a sandwich while out.

What you're describing is similar to what happens to me on a day where I try to ride even tho I've overdone it for the week.

[mimitabby]

Actually, you might have been more energetic with a real meal under your belt.
I can't go for very long even in pleasant weather when I don't eat.
But I wouldn't call it a bonk, i'd call it low energy from the drugs and lack of food.

[onimity]

A bonk is when you burn enough energy to deplete your glycogen stores without consuming enough carbohydrates to replenish them. This usually takes about 2 hours, but can happen faster if the exercise is more intense or if your glycogen stores were depleted at the outset. Your blood glucose drops and you feel symptoms of hypoglycemia, you feel irritable, sad, shaky, sweaty or you just fall over. Bonking really badly is called 'cockroaching' for the way the insect behaves flipped on its back.

Sounds like you might have needed a rest day, or that you maybe didn't eat enough (esp carbs) after your last ride. You also may have started off a bit dehydrated, or any number of things. But a bonk is something different. As they say, you'll know it when it happens.

[Dianyla]

I always thought that the running term "hitting the wall" was fairly equivalent to "bonking" which is used more in the cycling/triathlon world. As onimity says, it's the point of glycogen depletion.

Bonking for me means dizzy, delirious, incoherent, unable to stand straight, chills, etc. It always amazes me how easy it is to not notice that I'm bonking while on the bike. Then, when I stop the bike or get off and walk around I'm suddenly very very woozy.

An active bonk is different from "dead legs" which are often a result of overtraining, sickness, medication, or not properly replenishing glycogen after a previous ride.

[Aggie_Ama]

Since I bonked twice, I would say for me it is a crying feeling. I will get so fatigued I feel like I don't know right from left. I bonked on the 85 mile Shiner GASP and was crying uncontrollably, cramping in odd muscles (the side of the shin) and was nauseated. Plus I got chills even though it was nearly 90 degrees.

[Eden]

Just FYI - chills, shaking and cramping can be symptoms of dehydration/heat exhastion - so if its hot out you may be experiencing this as well as or rather than bonk!

[teigyr]

Let's see...I've bonked and done heat exhaustion and maybe have experienced combinations of the two.

When I bonked bigtime, I was at around mile 40 of a 60 mile ride. It was hot and I know I didn't eat or drink enough. I was at a personal best with my average so I didn't want to slow down and that was a huge mistake. At first I felt uncomfortable on the bike, like I need to squirm around and stretch. All of the sudden I had to stop. I then drank and ate but that was it...I rode back to the car but had to stop every 1/2 mile to rest. This was on a flat road also. It tooks days to come out of it and back then I was a pretty strong rider.

The heat combo was a 100 mile training ride. I had been feeling kind of iffy and then had to rest. I was at around mile 90 and the rest of the ride was downhill incline. I had to stretch out on the grass with my head on my helmet. I was given gatorade but promptly threw it up. I had chills even though it was over 90 degrees. The ride leader wouldn't let me continue either. The worst thing? The gatorade was fruit punch flavor and it stained my clothes as I threw it back up!

I hear once it happens, you are more suspectible. I don't know if that's true but I do know I have to make sure to eat, hydrate, and stay relatively cool or I get really shaky.

As far as non-bonking goes, I do know that not all rides are the same. I can eat what I always eat, prepare like I always do, and ride like a sloth and feel fatigue. I can also NOT do everything right and ride in less than desirable weather and ride really well. For a while I attributed good rides to mismatched socks (that always worked for me) but to be honest, I don't know why some days are better than others.