Hitting the wall

Bonk (condition)
In endurance sports, particularly cycling, bonk describes a condition when the athlete suddenly loses energy and fatigue sets in, usually caused when glycogen stores in the liver and muscles are depleted, resulting in a major performance drop.

Etymology, usage and synonyms
The term "bonk" for cycling fatigue is presumably derived from the original meaning "to hit", and dates back at least half a century. A recent DVD issued by the British Transport Films Collection contains several old films, one of which entitled "Cyclists Special", a colour film produced in 1955, tells the story of a party of cyclists touring the English countryside. At one point they stop for refreshments and the film's commentator states that if they didn't rest and eat they would get "the bonk".[1]
The term can be used both as a noun ("hitting the bonk") and a verb ("to bonk halfway through the race"). This condition is also known to long-distance (marathon) runners, who usually refer to it as "hitting the wall". It is also referred to as the "green grass" as pupil dilation causes vivid hues to appear.

Atau, dalam perkataan Melayu lama, kita panggil dia sawan tangis. Hahaha!

Yep. Itu lah yang aku rasa during my recent ride on CNY. Despite semangat melebihi kemampuan & gigil punya pasal tengok tour of Qatar & the recent tour de Langkawi promo, aku join geng way2ride Puchong branch doing their 100km from Puchong to KLIA & back.

The ride was awesome from the start where 11 of us rolled out on to LDP towards Cyberjaya. Some splinters & sprinters making the warm up part a bit quick. Traffic volume was light, so we had the road to ourselves most of the time. As we reached Dengkil, we took turn working up front. I was strong enough to maintain the group speed averaging 30km/hr from Dengkil to Kota Warisan. It was cool.

We headed towards KLIA Bomba junction using the straight Salak Tinggi road & still it was awesome. As we exited the roundabout taking 9 o'clock towards F1 Sepang, we were stuck in a wind tunnel. Cross wind was strong, so was the head front which was pushing us backwards. Trying to maintain the 30km/hr pace was using the 35km/hr effort. Most of us were drained on that stretch upon reaching our refueling post at a airport limo service canteen near LCCT. Time was 9.34 a.m. A half an hour ride where 30 minutes of it was battling the cross winds.

Half an hour for refuelling & we were off towards KLIA. A stretch was parallel to the runway. It was an awesome sight when those giant aircrafts take-off & land. Still we struggle to get pass the strong wind.

The moment of truth came when we reached Kota Warisan stretch again. That was where I hit the wall or bonk or kena sawan tangis. Suddenly kaki terus tak larat, especially climbing the Kota Warisan flyover. Memang betul kawan2 pernah kata kat situ kalau kena tinggal sorang2, confirm kena sawan tangis. Hahaha!

The rest of ride back to Dengkil & through Cyberjaya was all in cries. I was struggling to maintain 25km/hr in the vertical hot humid. Yep, masa tu jugak matahari dah mula terpacak. These few days, memang panas. We finished our ride at almost around 12.30 p.m. at Restoran Mawar, Bandar Bukit Puchong where it seemed like a never ending ride back.

I concluded the ride with these:

1. It has been awhile since I did my 100k. Last one was Kuala Klawang almost 2 months back.
2. My flu condition did not recover since the last 2 weeks.
3. I bet my body will suffer on post ride.
4. Aku bonked maybe sebab flu took away some of my stamina & dah lama tak buat long ride.

Facts :

• Route : Bdr Bkt Puchong - KLIA
• Distance : 98.34km
• Duration : 3 hours 45 minutes
• Average spd : 26 km/hr
• Weather : Too hot too handle
• Riders : Farid, Awe, Zali, Faidi, Amir, Yahya, TdF Green Jersey, Omar Abdullah, Dale, Saiful & me.