What is bonking?

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

dgk said:

I realize that it isn't the real definition but, judging by the
criteria, I'm never going to get to use the word bonk and I hate
letting a good word go to waste.

Just head for the UK, where it means something else altogether. ;°>

EFR
Ile de France

Bonk until you bonk! The best of both worlds. I think I'm too old.

There are two types of bonking. The first (and most common) is when
muscle glycogen is depleted. When this happens, you can still ride, and
may even feel quite good. As long as the going's easy. Flat roads, tail
winds and such. As long as all you need is an aerobic effort, which
relies on oxygen and blood sugar. This can be replenished through energy
drinks, bars, fruits, etc.

But as soon as any real strength is needed, like climbing a hill,
there's nothing there. You feel like someone has turned off a switch.
This type of effort is ANaerobic. It doesn't use oxygen. It comes into
play when the needs of your muscles are exceeded by what your heart and
lungs can supply. This type of effort uses stored energy. Glycogen,
which you are now out of. It can take up to a day or so for your body to
replenish it's stores.

The second type is when you really "hit the wall". This is when not only
have you depleted the bodies's stores of glycogen, but you have been
unable to (or just haven't) kept up you intake of carbohydrates to
maintain you blood sugar levels.

When this happens, you totally run out of power. And the body will shut
down muscular activity in order to maintain basic life functions. This
can be accompanied (besides the complete inability to move) by dizziness
and incoherence. and can become serious if too extreme. The pictures
you've seen of marathon runners who simply collapse and can't get up
without help, they have reached this level.

I've reached the first level of bonking many times, especially when
training for an endurance ride, pushing myself more than I should. it's
frustrating, but with my super low gears, not incapacitating. I can
still limp home, albeit at a newbie's pace. I've been lucky so far,
usually when it happens it's not until the last ten miles or so.

I've never let myself get to the second level.

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

In article <[email hidden]>,

SlowRider said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

Sadly, NY Velocity has broken their site, so I can no longer find the
excellent article "Levels of Suck Explained."

Is this it?

http://www.velocitynation.com/article.aspx?ID=182&CID=53

Thank heavens you found it.

Yes, that's the one!

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But you should know, in the UK, Bonk, has a completely
different slang meaning! 🙂

In the US, as well. One can only imagine how it morphed into the
meaning offered in this thread ;-).

Cyclists had the word first, I think. Reporters on British tabloid
newspapers wanted to broaden the subject range of their articles, but
needed a new word to describe their theme, because all existing words
were deemed too rude to print.

Whether the person who invented that new word chose "bonk" because he
was a cyclist, or because he wasn't, I don't know.

Jeremy Parker