Living Car Free - does anybody else get tired?

i've been riding my bike around town for over 15 months now...i'm 36 yo and i get tired like tonight...i'm just exhausted...i try to ride fast all the time, at least 15 mph on my mtb bike

is this why i get these crazy loox from people passing in cars, why use all this energy

man, i am tired

I was having this problem with my MTB that I was commuting on. Weighed it the other day and it's 42 lbs..... Probably the reason I was so damn tired. I bought a lighter Trek 520 touring bike (1993) to ride around on that will hopefully fix this problem. Maybe you need a better rig for the job...

i've been riding my bike around town for over 15 months now...i'm 36 yo and i get tired like tonight...i'm just exhausted...i try to ride fast all the time, at least 15 mph on my mtb bike


First of all a MTB is NOT a speed bike so why try to push it to make it act like one? How fast you
pedal is YOUR choice, mate. If you have knobbies on the bike then they act like boat anchors on
pavement......get'em off the bike & change to slicks.

You want to remember.......
A bicycle is an elegant designed machine DESIGNED TO TRANSLATE YOUR ENERGY TO THE ROAD.
Make that transfer as efficient as possible. Learn more about bikes to understand how to faciliate
that transfer best. ;)

I think if your body is telling you to rest, you should listen.

My bike is a road bike and weighs 40+ lbs. Of course, it's a 30 year old steel frame, and has fenders, rack, lights, pump, tools, panniers, etc.

But yes, sometimes I just don't feel like going anywhere on it. So I stay home that night. :p
I get 28 miles 5x a week(commute) guaranteed, plus 2 5-mile round trips to the store. Anything other than that is optional.

15 months is just getting started. you keep getting stronger for years and years, and you'll learn that mountain bikes aren't the best choice on pavement . it's still true that living in a car culture with a bike means you'll be tired sometimes though. you'll live longer for it. after i was happy doing more than a hundred miles a week on my own power in hilly san francisco, having a kid and being too often exhausted and short of time motivated me to get into electric assist for passengers and groceries and so on. (disclosure: i sell the electric cargo assist i developed). still no car (ever) at 40 and loving life!

First of all a MTB is NOT a speed bike so why try to push it to make it act like one? How fast you
pedal is YOUR choice, mate. If you have knobbies on the bike then they act like boat anchors on
pavement......get'em off the bike & change to slicks.

You want to remember.......
A bicycle is an elegant designed machine DESIGNED TO TRANSLATE YOUR ENERGY TO THE ROAD.
Make that transfer as efficient as possible. Learn more about bikes to understand how to faciliate
that transfer best. ;)

learn more about bikes, yeah that's funny

See if you can get to bed 30 minutes earlier each night. You'll be surprised just how much of a difference you'll notice.

Muscles need rest between workouts. If you were weight training, that would mean at least one day of rest between workouts for that muscle group. If your muscles are fatigued, try taking a day or two off between rides.

could consider your nutrition. Possibly power drinks like Cytomax, etc. Bananas might help. Not uncommon to feel tired after a really strenous ride and maybe take a 30 minute nap on the floor. With nutrition and a cat nap, most of us recover and the whole day is not shot. Maybe, you don't get enough sleep at night.
a 15 mph average is not that great to experienced riders, if the terrain is flat.

May I propose an old school solution: tea and or coffee, my personal favorite is the red-eye (not the mixed drink you sicko egg drinking freaks :D ) but a black coffee with one or two shots of espresso. You'll forget how tired you are.

Or if it is the end of the day I say embrace your exhaustion, drink a stout and go to bed.

Remeber if god had wanted us to be sleepy he wouldn't have made coffee taste so good. :D

nothing wrong with a quick nap on the floor, smelling up the house. My wife has gotten used to it.

learn more about bikes, yeah that's funny

If you know all the answers then you asked your question...why??

knock it back from 15 MPH average to 12 - 13 MPH, you'll be less tired

If you have mass transit try to use that as a balance for all or half your commute..

Of course what every one else is saying here to.

I was having this problem with my MTB that I was commuting on. Weighed it the other day and it's 42 lbs..... Probably the reason I was so damn tired. I bought a lighter Trek 520 touring bike (1993) to ride around on that will hopefully fix this problem. Maybe you need a better rig for the job...

I find that it takes much more effort to pedal my mountain bike than my road bike on the same roads. My mountain bike has slick tires and no suspension and, with all the stuff I have attached to the road bike, it's heavier than the mountain bike. Maybe it's the wheel wieght.

To the OP: Do you live in an especially flat area? I only ask because there's no way I could maintain a 15mph average in my area, which is very hilly.

Everybody says "tired" like it's a bad thing. I think it's good to get tired! You only build speed, strength and endurance when you overstress your body. Like others said, get good sleep and good nutrition, and then get tired every day.

15 mph is fast on a MTB, if you're talking about an average speed. I attain that speed (and faster) pretty often on flat stretches, but my average speed, over a longish ride in the city, is usually around 11 to 13 mph. (I'm 51 years old.)

You don't need to learn more about bikes, pedal stroke yadda yadda yadda.

You just need to rest more.

Another thought. I was feeling fatigued a while back. Tired for no reason at all, so I decided to pay attention to iron intake for several days-- taking molasses, eating tofu and broccoli (I'm vegetarian, and that combo provides more iron than either of them separately)-- and after a few days, I felt fine again. In addition to making sure you get the proper amount of rest, try getting some iron.

Possibly silly question, but are you hydrating properly?

When I get that wrung-out feeling, like right now after a demanding physical labor day at work followed by eighteen holes of golf, I can think back over the last couple days and know I haven't been drinking enough water.

Oh yeah, I'm 43 and do golf course maintenance. Today we were cutting trees. The hard thing about cutting trees is cutting up trees and hauling them off.

i guess it's a rant...i eat alright but not like i did back at college playing sports...i guess i ride hard to make up for not getting to a gym anymore (can't deal with the atmosphere)..yeah, it's pretty flat here but we have a wind like you wouldn't believe and it kills when it's up...

it all pays off at mtb festivals, a couple weeks ago i went to one and it was unbelievable how slow folx were...when we got to the bottom of the ride, i was ready go back up and to do it again

Two words: complex carbs. LOTS of carbs. Pasta, couscous, rice, etc, are all good. As long as you are eating the right foods, you will find you don't need to rely at caffeine at all to keep you going (at least in my experience).

Two words: complex carbs. LOTS of carbs. Pasta, couscous, rice, etc, are all good. As long as you are eating the right foods, you will find you don't need to rely at caffeine at all to keep you going (at least in my experience).


+1, I was dragging serious tail about 3-4 weeks into my new commute but I dialed up the cards and calories and it helped A LOT. Do some research on complex carbs. You need to combine foods to get em...beans and bread is an easy way to get them.

But to answer your question...yes we get tired but with rest we get stronger.

i've been riding my bike around town for over 15 months now...i'm 36 yo and i get tired like tonight...i'm just exhausted...i try to ride fast all the time, at least 15 mph on my mtb bike

is this why i get these crazy loox from people passing in cars, why use all this energy

man, i am tired

Well, if you are doing most of your riding on pavement, get some street slicks. That will help.

Also, mellow out. You don't have to push constantly. Believe it or not, your body has a speed it likes, turn off the cyclometer let it find its own rythym. It may be faster than you'd think.

Well, if you are doing most of your riding on pavement, get some street slicks. That will help.

Also, mellow out. You don't have to push constantly. Believe it or not, your body has a speed it likes, turn off the cyclometer let it find its own rythym. It may be faster than you'd think.

i got some slix...need to mount them up, thanks for reminding me...he he, my body is telling me: "drive a car, please, why not drive a car"

i got some slix...need to mount them up, thanks for reminding me...he he, my body is telling me: "drive a car, please, why not drive a car"
Are you sure it's your body telling you this? Bodies like to exercise. It's probably a lifetime of brainwashing by car commercials that's telling you to drive a car.

Or maybe you're just lazy. ;)

i got some slix...need to mount them up, thanks for reminding me...he he, my body is telling me: "drive a car, please, why not drive a car"

DRIVING A CAR WON'T MAKE YOU FEEL ANY BETTER! You know that. As soon as you get in a drivers seat you'll never be able to go back to biking, at least not easily...its like starting up smoking :p