Will Ride For Food - Opinion

I could see it in his eyes the instant he rolled to a stop at the top of the hill. “You doing all right?” “Yeah, just really hungry.” We'd been riding along at a good clip for a couple hours, and Bret hadn't had anything to drink or eat the entire time.

Granted, that was due to the fact that he hadn't brought along any food or water, or a repair kit for that matter, but when you're only 14-years-old properly preparing for a ride can still be a tricky task. He'd forgotten his riding shoes too, and was now wearing a borrowed pair that were a half-size too big, but thankfully he remembered to bring a helmet and a functioning bike, albeit one with a bottom bracket that creaked at every pedal stroke and what sounded like a couple of ball bearings rattling around inside the handlebar.

A gel packet was dug up from the bottom of a pack and passed over with a half-full water bottle, the bare essentials required to ease the symptoms of someone teetering on the edge of a full-blown 'bonk.' We've all been there – that lightheaded, woozy sensation that's accompanied by the feeling that if you don't immediately consume three cheeseburgers and a mountain of chili-cheese fries you'll starve to death...




I don't think it's too much of a stretch to call bonking a rite of passage for mountain bikers. It's a sign that you've ridden far and hard enough to deplete your body's energy reserves, something that requires a good deal more effort than just casually cruising along on a gravel rec path. Of course, with experience comes wisdom, or so they say, and these days I don't seem to bonk nearly as often as when I first started riding – a PB&J sandwich or a plastic bag full of trail mix is usually enough to get me through the majority of my rides, although maybe that means I should get out for even longer adventures.

Eating and mega-rides go hand in hand, and some of my best, or at least most memorable, meals have taken place in gas station parking lots, the closest source of the calories required to remain upright after or partway through a ride. Hot dogs that have been rotating on a greasy silver warming rack for days, if not months, beef jerky, ice cream, donuts, corn dogs – that's a five-course meal right there, no reservations or fancy attire required. And all of those calories can be enjoyed guilt-free as long as you've put in enough miles beforehand – that thirty-minute spin might not warrant a burrito binge, but after a five-hour epic? Go for it.

The color started to return to Bret's cheeks, and the thousand-yard stare diminished, so we started heading back to the trailhead, stopping a few times to regroup and make sure he hadn't passed out in the bushes somewhere. Luckily, that final section of trail was mainly downhill, full of berms and jumps, which undoubtedly made it easier to push aside any thoughts of the dizziness and unrelenting hunger he'd been experiencing minutes before.

Once the ride was complete we loaded the bikes up and headed back to town, but not before making a pit stop at the nearest gas station. Will Bret bring food and water next time? I'm not counting on it, but hopefully he at least remembers his riding shoes.