MORE than 5000 riders will tackle the 2018 Bupa Challenge Tourpresented by The Advertiser. For many participants the winding and hilly 137.4km course from Norwood to Uraidla will be the furthest they’ve ridden - and the first time some experience what seasoned cyclists call “the bonk”.
Bonking is slang for exhausting the glycogen stores in your liver and muscles. Marathon runners call it “hitting the wall”, cyclists also call it the “hunger knock” or “blowing up”. Whatever you call it, it’s guaranteed to make your vision go blurry, your arms go weak, your legs threaten to buckle and your brain foggier than a sauna.
Chances are if you bonk it will occur late in the event, just as you hit the base of the climb up Norton Summit Rd, so avoiding going into glycogen debt might be the difference between riding or walking up this tough climb.
Of course, a good diet is more than just a means to avoiding the bonk, so we asked two-time Under 23 Australian champion and Mitchelton–Scott professional Alex Manly to share her nutrition secrets for big events and year-round health and fitness.