Training & Nutrition - Step to preventing over training

Recently I've been training sometimes twice a day. 1st, an early morning 40-50 mile ride and every other day I spend 45 minutes to an hour on the training later in the evening after already riding the daily 40-50 miles.

Am I over training?

What steps should I take prior to my rides and after each ride to prevent over training and keep my muscles strong and healthy rather then dead and mushy, which happens during some rides.

Thanks

It depends. How old are you, how fit are you, how long have you been training, how hard do you train, what are your goals and how are you feeling. That would probably be overtraining for me but for you it could be different.

Nutrition, hydration and rest is an important part of training, not just riding. Do you have rest/recovery days? You should have at least one day off (or very easy ride) a week. You should allow at least one bidon of water/sports drink per hour (more if it's summer) when riding hard.

Food is important too. My favourite bike snack (not so much in taste but for performance) are bananas. A little inconvenient to carry (multiples) sometimes because of the size and because they damage easily but I swear by them. I have been near bonking and ready to drop out of the ride/race and managed to gulp down a banana and minutes later have got a second wind and managed to continue at a similar pace to the one I started at.

A couple of links you may find helpful.
http://www.bicyclesource.com/body/nutrition/
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/index.htm