I_Like_Bike

I just got back from a ride. I started quite well then I decided that I was going to power my was up a pretty long hill, out of the saddle, and keep going no matter how much it hurt. When I got to the top I felt nauseous so I decided to slow down until I no longer felt this way. I still felt that I had the legs and lungs to go fast I just didn't want to re-enjoy my lunch. I ended up having to go pretty slow the rest of the way. Does this mean I bonked?

mattm

sounds like it to me, but i don't know what the technical definition of "bonk" is.

did you have to eat/drink to recover, or just rest? i usually associate a "bonk" with lack of fuel, not rest.

pdedes

usually bonking is when you run out of carbohydrate stores to produce glycogen. that is zero fun.

I_Like_Bike

That is what I have read too.

I think that so people (tougher then me) would have just thrown up and kept going but I didn't see the point in doing so during training.

Busta Quad

No.

Bonking basically means you have totally depleted your glycogen energy stores. It pretty much means you have no legs. You'll know when you truly bonk; picture barely being able to spin a 34x27 on flat ground. In running circles, bonking is known as "hitting the wall".

If you train your body to directly metabolize fat, by forcing it into ketogenesis, you can avoid bonking. There are , however, performance impacts from being in ketosis.

botto 

if you saw stars, then you bonked.

I_Like_Bike

I just saw one on your avatar does that count?

Ratfish

You're probably just out of shape or else you ate some weird stuff before your ride.

mollusk

Occasionally I see stars when doing the Aussie version of "bonking".

The one time I did an "American" version I was riding at about 10 mph and it hurt like hell. I felt like crap for over a week after that.

BTW, it is NOT what the OP experienced.

campyman099

If you have to ask if you bonked, you didn't. You know when it happens. I've bonked so hard before that I couldn't squeeze my brake levers to slow down in the parking lot.

I_Like_Bike

A 5 dollar foot long about 2 hour before, is that weird.

SushiJoe

Turbo Grafx 16, anyone?

umd

If you felt like eating your arm to keep yourself from falling over...

umd

It's like asking if you had an orgasm. You know. If you have to ask, you didn't...

calRider

Ouch, baby. Very ouch.

RideCO

That's right, when it happens there will be no mistaking it. I've been there on the bike and once on a long trail run, it sucks. It wont happen early on a ride or on a short ride, it wont come out of nowhere, its basically when your body reaches its limit.

Shimagnolo

I usually just start visualizing big heaping plates of steak, shrimp with lobster sauce, etc, and can't think of anything else.

Pinyon

You can feel really lousy if you become dehydrated or over-heated. But it is not a bonk. It takes lots of mental effort to walk a dozen paces to the car or place to sit, when you bonk.

sharkey00

That is not a bonk. Keep riding. One day when you are riding along on the flats with no wind and cannot get your speed up over 8mph for no good reason. Then you have bonked.

SushiJoe

Been there.

Tapeworm21

You know when you bonk. Your legs burning early is not a "bonk." When you bonk you almost want to die instead. It's the worst possible feeling you can have riding a bike.... but it teaches you VERY QUICKLY that you need to eat while you ride.

If you feel shaky after a ride and you eat anything that's put in front of you, you bonked. Luckily, it doesn't take long to "unbonk." Just need some food.

nitropowered

When you get tunnel vision or loose vision altogether, can't balance, cold sweats, all the bad stuff.

chrisvu05

I think the word bonk is way overused. If you end a ride just feeling a little crappy you did not bonk!
I've posted the following a number of times...i hope i don't have to anymore

my one and only bonk...trust me you'll know when it happens... i've posted this before.

One real bonk here....once you do it you really will know what it was. First century I did ever...260lbs...longest pre-century ride 44 miles (although plenty of 40 mile rides). Mile 113 (riding home 8 miles to the ride, 8 miles home) I was severely dehydrated and under nourished....i was confused, nauseous, dizzy, cramping with every pedal stroke, and apparently couldn't ride straight as I FELL off the bike and that's where i laid on the side of the road for almost 2 hours...all the while knowing i was 3 miles from home. I dragged myself under the shade of a small bush (it was 90+ degrees outside and even having just my face out of the sun felt better) I literally could not move and didn't realize how long I was there until I go home. Finally I got up and went roughly 4.2 mph for the next 3 miles to get home. Started a humongous bowl of pasta with cooked sausage and sat in the shower for almost an hour....ate my food went and laid on the couch and woke up 17 HOURS later! I wanted to ride the next day to spin my legs...i literally could not ride for almost 6 days. That is a bonk...

aham23

too funny.

bonking, while not a scientific word, is a science. too many people toss it out there after a crappy ride. maybe you are just a crappy rider in crappy condition?

later.

irish pat

That is also my definition of a bonk, for me it came at the end of a 35 mile ride, not going very fast, but I had no idea about nourishment or anything else to do with riding. I was about 2.5-3 miles from home and had to get off the bike. I thought I could not make it home. I couldn't put one leg in front of the other. I thought I would never be able to cycle again. I really thought there was something wrong with me. I hope it never happens again. worst feeling I've ever had on a bike. A hard effort will not cause a bonk.