You know it's the Bonk when...

Peanut butter and honey sandwich is my emergency food now. It always feels so comforting after gels, electrolytes and other space food...

I've given up eating gels as emergency food - they only ever make me feel sick. Work well if ingested when not under stress though

The reason they don't always work well as an 'emergency food' is if you only ever take them in that situation you're not used to them and your body might reject them.

Train yourself to eat something and you will be much more effective at using it.

Andy Wilkinson, 24hr record holder uses PB&honey sandwiches.

Peanut butter and Marmite sandwiches cut into small squares. Eat a square at a time every couple of kilometres.

Although I now want to try Peanut butter and some form of syrupy honey substitute.

Sprinkle sugar on the pb

Meh, Lyle has me covered.

I haven't bonked for a couple of years- must try harder.

I do remember MBUK getting put on the top shelf in WHSmith in Winchester due to having "10 ways to beat the Bonk!" on the cover.

I had to take my copy out in a plain paper bag.

a decent flapjack recipe, laced with plenty of butter and honey is a winner.
Hippy is right, we all need to train with the right stuff
stonehedge leads the the way on the pain cave front..
dammit's has the right attitude too..

i've had a solid few months, been slack recently,
my winter gear is ready though for a season of endurance riding..
belgian mouthwashes.. and pebbledashing the sidis

I think I was lucky I didn't properly bonk yesterday although it got to the point that my mind was playing tricks on me so I don't think I was too far away.

I think I've only bonked properly once. I set out to ride my first sub 6 hour 100mi at the beginning of the summer. I rode my favourite flat route to my Mum & Dad's house near Dunwich.

I can't really remember much about the last 10 miles apart from puking into my mouth a bit on what was barely a bump in the road but felt like a mountain. My Mum & Dad met me at the "finish line" where I needed to be helped off my bike. I could barely twist my feet to unclip. I don't know whether my eyes were watering or whether I had tears streaming down my face but I know that I felt like it could have been tears at the time. I dropped to my knees and rested my face on the tarmac for about 90 seconds before I could find enough oxygenated blood to stand up again.

Can you imagine the state I would have been in if I had gone on a proper ride in the mountains like you guys? Maybe next year...

Some time later

...when dropout, jonny and joe smiff are ever decreasing dots on the horizon.

Stonehenge's Tails From Beyond Le Bonk are cracking me up.

It's excellent to completely rinse yourself every now and again.* I'm getting much better at avoiding total-wipeout having learnt a bit about how much I need to eat and drink. I think January in 3° and driving wind was the last time I had to go and sit in the corner of a petrol station forecourt, eat a snickers and have a word with myself.

*many non-cyclists don't 'get' this. Those that do should take up cycling!

'hitting the wall' in the NYC marathon 2004, felt very different to 'the bonk' on the bike, it was at 20 miles (3hr05m) just crossed pulaski bridge entering south south bronx, i could feel the bass in my chest as i limped past a sound system playing [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yys5iioLUNw&feature=related"]Star
Wars Imperial March FULL - YouTube[/ame] with jelly legs and nuasea, had to sit for a bit.
i finished in 4hr20m completely ruined.

I will never forget my first bonk with Kat Spencer, she is and will always be my saviour.

Might you want to re-phrase this, Alan? :)

I've sussed it... Don't go as far and push as hard at the start! Relatively superhuman this week! PB and honey sarnies were a win though.

I agree. The ride not very far very slowly while continually eating technique is not taught often enough!

I'm a champion at that discipline by all accounts.

Peanut butter and Marmite sandwiches

This is the best argument against being vegan that I have ever ever read.

This is the best argument against being vegan that I have ever ever read.

It's true, there are only piss-weak arguments around. The rest are even worse. :)

Peanut butter and Marmite sandwiches

+1, any time of the day or night. I also add honey for that extra tastebud confusion and fructose rush.

Bonking sucks ass but when you take some juice and a bar and ride through it and come out the other side just as everyone else is starting to feel shitty, that's golden.

Wiggle Magnifcat 2011. 20 miles longer than previous attempts. Exhausted myself on the way out holding onto a faster group who turned out to be doing the shortest distance. Marooned in pain, now pissing with rain and cold, had thought it was a flat course, it isn't - return not flat at all. Spent lots of time in the drops against the wind, neck barely holds head, nearly crash looking down too much. Attempt at good time morphs to just finishing until the last 5kms which sees an ill advised last ditch attempt. The sign about 3kms optimistic truly want to die etc etc. Good lesson - just about to enter 2012.

you know it's the bonk when ...

your trousers become much tighter all of a sudden

Last weekend funnily enough is the first time I've ever bonked. I put it down to starting off to fast and not eating a meal the night before. Fighting head winds I felt like I had to stand on the pedals to keep moving, what felt like hills were merely tiny bumps in the road. Got home and had to drag myself off the bike, damn it felt good to be home and I rewarded myself with a couple bowls of cereal. Funnily enough Mrs. Spenceey knew something was wrong when I got home and wasn't smiling.

This summer I joined my family for a weeks holiday in the Alps in Bolzano so I brought my roadbike along.
I went for a great ride one afternoon, got about 70/80 miles in with some tough climbing, great descents and beautiful views and got back to Bolzano just about empty but good enough to have a quick post ride beer and cigarette in the main square.

The problem was that our hotel was just outside Bolzano at the top of a hill which is either reached by a 9/10km gut buster of a climb or by cable car and as I had done the climb the last couple of days and was pretty exhausted, I thought I would get the cable car. Obviously, I missed it by 10 minutes and as it was getting dark and my phone had died I had to ride up.

FUCK! about halfway up it was pitch black, started raining and there was thunder and lightning. I was totally fucked, nothing left in the legs and had to lie down by the side of the road about 3 or 4 times to try and recover. It took me bloody ages to get back and when I finally did, I dumped the bike outside the hotel, staggered through the full restaurant white as a sheet, dripping wet in full lycra, went to my room, turned the shower on and passed out.

Never have I been in so much pain

you know it's the bonk when ...

the bow flyover seems like alp d'huez

Last weekend, mates due to come get me at 1230, go for a quick spin and be back for a late lunch.

Mates running late, 1pm rolls by, then 130, finally got underway at about 2pm.

I still hadn't eaten lunch.

No bother I thought, just doing 20 odd miles, I'll be fine.

How wrong I was.

With about 7 or 8 miles to go I started feeling really empty, by the time we got to 5 miles to go I couldn't feel my face lower arms or anything from the waist down. Wobbling all over the shop in the lowest gear on the flat, eventually I just couldn't push the pedals round, had to lie down at the side of the road and my mate's gf came and picked me up in the car! The shame!

I should really have taken something with me because the route doesn't even go near any shops. Lesson learnt!

Next day, got the bike out to give it a clean and could hardly turn the rear wheel, there was a hefty buckle in the wheel and it was rubbing the brake really badly. I dunno if I was more knackered than I thought I was earlier on in the ride and hadn't felt the resistance from the brake or what.