Commuting - 0 to 120 in about 4 days.

Well,

I lived. Last week I went "full on commute". Two tires (but I think, thanks to everyone's advice here, that I've solved that problem). My knees don't hurt. My thighs on the other hand.. But, I enjoyed it. And well, I recovered enough to ride Monday. Today is supply day, so I'm driving the gas monster. I'm thinking since it's a rather long commute (30 miles round trip and a gain of about 700 ft., that I will be going on an everyother day (MWF) for about 3 weeks to settle in. Does this sound like a good plan? My other issue is nutrition.. I've been reading some of the other post and have developed some inexpensive pre ride fuel sources (honey and granola).. but I'm wondering how much a need for protien I will need what with the more extensive use of my legs..etc...

And also, I've been touted on the benefits of the "Holy seat" or the one for guys who don't want Tcancer.. Any info on this?

Hi William,
Well, I am also a newbie, but I will throw in my thoughts....I know that the road warriors will set me straight if I tell you something wrong...then we will both learn something!:)
I think riding 3 days a week and working up is a good idea. I ride 4 days a week...on Thursdays, I play golf, and I can't haul the clubs on my road bike! I use this opportunity to also haul in a weeks worth of clean clothes to work, and haul the dirty stuff home.
As far as nutrition, in Bicycling magazine, they said that a good old rice crispies treat has almost the same nutritional benefits as the much more expensive energy bars! I also read that a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich packs a lot of good stuff, too. On my last long ride, I took along a PBJ sandwich, cut into fourths, and ate one little section about every hour. Seemed to work for me.
Right now, I am using the factory seats on both of my Fujis', but I always ride with my padded shorts. Without the padding, I was experiencing numbness, so I knew that something had to be done. So far, I have not experienced any other problems, and the seats are reasonably comfortable. As I start to add more miles to my weekend rides, I might change my mind, but for now, I will stick with the non-holy seats!
It will be fun to see what others have to say...we might both learn something soon!

Originally posted by William Karsten
I'm thinking since it's a rather long commute (30 miles round trip and a gain of about 700 ft., that I will be going on an everyother day (MWF) for about 3 weeks to settle in. Does this sound like a good plan? My other issue is nutrition.. I've been reading some of the other post and have developed some inexpensive pre ride fuel sources (honey and granola).. but I'm wondering how much a need for protien I will need what with the more extensive use of my legs..etc...
William,

My commute is hilly, mixture suburban and urban, about 30 miles round trip. I am no expert but I can offer some tentative advice based on my experience and reading.

The Monday, Wednesday, Friday plan is a good one. 30 miles is a long way to go everyday without recovery periods. Some cyclists on this forum have a higher training level and can maintain a higher weekly mileage, but even elite athletes are recommended to alternate intense training days with lighter recovery days. You will probably find your muscles need a day off in between to recover. Although you may find you can ride 30 miles a day several days in a row, repeated several weeks in a row, eventually you will overtrain and fall way back in performance, needing weeks off to recover. Alternating hard workout days with rest days or light workout days using different muscle groups will help give you the highest enjoyment and level of performance from your body.

Glucose is the main fuel of cyclists. The body stores a great deal of glucose in the liver and muscle tissues, but cyclists deplete this reserve rapidly, so it must either be replenished frequently (granola, etc.) or it's depletion prevented by taking in carbs on the bike. "The bonk" is a sign of glucose depletion. In addition,
the muscles need fat as fuel and keeping a little fat in the diet is recommended for top performance.

After a workout, the muscles will attempt not only to repair themselves (for which they need protein,) but they will also store glucose as reserve fuel. Post ride recovery nutritional requirements include eating protein and carbs as soon after a workout as possible as this speeds muscle recovery. Super high protein diets, however, are not necessary as excess protein is metabolized as fuel, and a very inefficient one at that. Since the typical American diet is already overabundant in protein sources,
any increase is not recommended. Rather focus on when to eat protein, not how much.

Keep the water and other good drinks coming. I use lots of frozen orange juice as it's cheap and high in fructose, vitamin C and has over 10 times the potassium of Powerade (one can of concentrated orange juice costs about the same as one 20 oz. bottle of Powerade and makes 4 - 6 times the amount of drink; you can easily dissolve a few lumps of frozen o.j. in a Powerade bottle.)

Listen to your body. Everyone is different, so you will know when to push and when to let off. It is a lifelong habit of exercise that derives the benefits. Slow and steady wins the race. :)

I definitely think that's a good plan! On the rice crispies thought, it's definitely better to get the home grown kind--more economical/cheaper and they add some funky preservative (of course to make it last longer) that makes it taste weird. I must admit, I love that stuff!

Sometimes I stop by the local convenience store to pick up a snack, too. Just a little pit stop. :D

nebill,


No numbness either, I wondered weather or not it was somethign that would silently sneak up on me.. But on that note, I can "save" my father's day gift for something else.



Originally posted by Pete Clark
Since the typical American diet is already overabundant in protein sources, any increase is not recommended. Rather focus on when to eat protein, not how much.



Pete,

You have given me a wealth of information. I use powdered gatorade for the morning ride, for breakfast I usually have a bannana, oarnge and apple.. along with some soy milk..

The ride home, I hit the glucose prior to with a big gulp of honey and about a 1/2 - 2/3 cup of granola. I'm thrifty (ok, cheap) and hate to spend a dollor a piece or more on powerbars or the like... And I don't like having high concentrations of High Fructose Corn Syrup in my diet.. (I read something once by Paula Newby-Frazier that scared me away)..

So I've hit about 2 of your important points on nutrition by luck.. or proxy.

But about protien. I eat meat, perhaps 3 times a week, maybee 4.
It varies, but it is along the lines on 1 chicken based meal, one beef or pork (usually pork... BBQ pork shoulder, smoked with oak wood chips... man I just got really hungry) and one fish based meal. I do run and will get back to swimming (I am a better swimmer than runner) soon, starting slowly.. but gradually increasing. Do you suppose that there is a need for more of a meat or protien in this manner of eating?

Bill,
It may be late for this comment, but depending on how much you have been riding, even 3 days at that kind of mileage could be pushing it. You might try 2 days this week to see how you feel and go for a short easy ride when you get home the other days. There is no need to hurry. The last thing you want to do is push too hard and make it unpleasant so that you don't enjoy the ride.

I have a Terry Liberator holey saddle. It is fine, no numbness, but I am wondering if the numbness is more a function of saddle height/adjustment than anything else. I think a lot of people may set their saddles too high resulting in pressure caused by too much leg extension/rocking. I actually have the snout of my saddle tilted up ever so slightly.
Regards,
Raymond

Right on, Rainman! Along with saddle height, tilt can really affect comfort. The other day I started out on a ride, after just making a seat adjustment, and after 10 or so km, it wasn't quite right. I stopped and made a minute adjustment (it only took a minute!) and it was perfect for what turned out to be a 100+km ride.

I think you've got a good plan. Allowing a recovery day, especially at the beginning, will pay off in spades. Later, you probably won't need it.

Your ride diet sounds good, in my opinion. In planning for exercise, bear in mind that you're mostly eating for later, like, an hour later. So the beverages, etc., will improve your recovery and leave you better primed for the next activity.

I wouldn't worry about increasing your protein intake. Just don't eat that BBQ pork right before a ride. ;)

P.S. Monkey around with your saddle adjustment a little, changing things a little at a time... just to see what effect it has, and learn what you like. Then, if you still have a problem, consider a holey saddle.

Originally posted by roadbuzz
I think you've got a good plan.
William,

Roadbuzz put it in a nutshell.

I'm really greatfull for all the advice that everyone has put forth here.

Thank you everyone, and I hope to be able to contribute back to the forum in the future.. perhaps a funny story or two.

The "ghost dog" chase from wednesday should crack you up.

Just a quicky since there have been so many good and informative posts already:

30 miles per day is pretty ambitious as a commute; mainly because you HAVE to get somewhere within a certain amount of time. So, I think you can feel pretty good about yourself commuting 30 miles per day ANY number of days per week.

As far as nutrition, unless you have an unusually poor diet, you do not need to make any additions to accomodate your commute exercise.

The muscle pain experienced from physical activity is rarely because something is missing in your diet. It is usually due to what is ALREADY IN your diet. Obviously, cut out the smoking if you do smoke. Cut coffee from your diet will help reduce some of the muscle pain. Be judicious in you intake of alchohol. Drink unfiltered, unpasturized micro-brew or home-brew beer as an alternative to processed beers so that you can enjoy the B-complex rich yeast.

Meat is good in moderation; 8 ounces of beef per day is enough (believe it or not).

Reduce or avoid shellfish, shrimp, lobster, etcetera.

You are a smart guy. Focus on what goes in your body more that what you have forgotten to put into it.

Finally, working out sporatically or every other day sets you up for constant recovery pain. Once you start commuting every day, you will break through the wall of pain and be able to ride pain free.