how long?

[Broughtonblue]

with all the threads on here about energy drinks, what food on a long ride etc, bananas keep cropping up as a good option to get the energy levels back. my question is, if you hit the 'wall' how long from eating the energy bar/food do you start to feel fresh again? and how long will that feeling last?

 

[Fiona N]

I think it's fair to say that 'feeling fresh' is not an option anytime within the next 24 hours if you've really bonked. But if you've got something like a good quality energy gel, you'll probably start to feel human again in a couple of minutes and ready to get back on the bike (albeit slowly) within 10 minutes. Real food will take longer as it needs to be digested before it can be absorbed so 10-20 minutes with a banana, flapjack an whatnot. Partly it depends on how completely you've driven yourself into the ground

 

[ColinJ]

I'd say Fiona is right.

If you don't have a gel handy, then a good slug of Coca Cola works almost as fast. (The real stuff of course - if you've bonked then you want the sugar, not sweetener!)

I bonked near a road junction once. My blood sugar was so low that I couldn't figure out how to cross. Fortunately, we were 50 yards from a supermarket so I waited with the bikes while my riding partner bought me a Coke, a sandwich and a bag of crisps. It was 10 minutes after I finished that lot before I wanted to get back on my bike, and over an hour before I really felt my strength starting to come back.

After you've got yourself moving again, you need to keep refuelling to make sure you don't bonk a second time.

After my worst bonk ever, I slept for 13 hours straight to recover from it!