Commuting - So tired I can't ride - motivation please

Back to school week is a brutal one this year. I have been riding consistently all summer, but school changes all of that.

My daughter (Senior in high school) has been fighting with two states for her driver's license, but next week we should have that cleared up. Until then, I work nights and come home at 2:00 a.m., grab a couple hours of sleep, wake up at 5:00 to get the school day going, drive her to school, then grab a couple more hours of sleep. Get up around 10:00 to take care of my stuff, then pick her up around 2:00 p.m.

On top of all the lost sleep, my son is starting at Texas Tech this semester, and I'm going down to Lubbock Friday night/Saturday morning. That's after being up all day, working all night, then not being able to check in until 2:00 p.m. or so.

What a week.

I want to ride, I am jealous when I see others riding, but I feel like I'm losing my mojo. I'm so tired and the guilt is thick as I climb into my car instead of onto my bike to get to work. It feels like when I do get back on the bike that I'll have to start all over again. Slow climbs on hills, lungs burning, legs all flippy-floppy.

Help a fellow commuter out by letting me know I'm not the only one who is affected at this time of year.

Feel your pain... I work at a small college. Next Thursday is the start of Orientation for the 2-year MBA program, followed by Undergrad Orientation on Friday and the Evening MBA program on Saturday. Events run through Tuesday evening, and then classes start on Wednesday. Every year, the number of events grows, and we have a smaller staff than we used to. This is on top of my other responsibilities at home and on campus, the start of school for my son, followed the next week by my daughter starting Kindergarten. I rode on Monday, but haven't even looked at the bike since. My wife and I will probably get out for a ride on Sunday morning, but next week is a series of long days, and I work until 7pm, so I am losing daylight quickly at this point. Plus, i am mentally exhausted. So, you need to give yourself permission to take that break. Mark your calendar for the next day you are in the clear, and rst up. You will look forward to climbing back in the saddle.

Back to school week is a brutal one this year. I have been riding consistently all summer, but school changes all of that.

My daughter (Senior in high school) has been fighting with two states for her driver's license, but next week we should have that cleared up. Until then, I work nights and come home at 2:00 a.m., grab a couple hours of sleep, wake up at 5:00 to get the school day going, drive her to school, then grab a couple more hours of sleep. Get up around 10:00 to take care of my stuff, then pick her up around 2:00 p.m.

On top of all the lost sleep, my son is starting at Texas Tech this semester, and I'm going down to Lubbock Friday night/Saturday morning. That's after being up all day, working all night, then not being able to check in until 2:00 p.m. or so.

What a week.

I want to ride, I am jealous when I see others riding, but I feel like I'm losing my mojo. I'm so tired and the guilt is thick as I climb into my car instead of onto my bike to get to work. It feels like when I do get back on the bike that I'll have to start all over again. Slow climbs on hills, lungs burning, legs all flippy-floppy.

Help a fellow commuter out by letting me know I'm not the only one who is affected at this time of year.

Why not let your daughter take the school bus to school so that you can get a solid block of sleep? Your sleep patterns are likely what is causing your exhaustion. Exercise without sufficient sleep is going to be a tough go.

Why not let your daughter take the school bus to school so that you can get a solid block of sleep? Your sleep patterns are likely what is causing your exhaustion. Exercise without sufficient sleep is going to be a tough go.
If you start having intense daily migraines, it's time to stop this, and get back to a regular sleep pattern. This happened to me, and those where doctor's orders.

I once worked for about 10 months straight, 7 days a week, weekdays on a regular office hours job, and weekends on the graveyard shift at a call center.(Sometimes double shifts).

The only time I had off, was Mondays mornings, and whatever national holiday we had.
So all this weird schedule broke my sleeping habits, and I was sleeping maybe 3/4 hours a day. For a while I was fine, but then it hit me. Migraines, exhaustion all day long, etc.
At one point my sleep patterns where so off, that I didn't remember if I had slept the night before, and my life became blurry. That's when I stopped.

The good thing was that all this time I was a full time commuter. (Didn't have a car, and I hate public transportation).

It sounds like sleep is more important at this time. We did quite a bit of traveling this summer that precluded doing much riding. I've got a high school senior and college sophomore and I know summer trips with mom and dad will be coming to an end in a few short years. You have to keep your priorities. I'm just starting to get back in the saddle (actually, I kept commuting on the days I worked this summer but did very little riding other than that) and know I've lost a lot of my conditioning. My legs will come back now that I'm able to ride more and I wouldn't trade the time with my family for anything. Don't beat yourself up just do what you have to do and ride when you can make time.

Sleep is important to one's health. Lose it and you will suffer. Worse is to ride when tired. You need to rest up. Your children seem to be old enough to take care of their own transportation to school.

Take time to get your family and life in order. It doesn't sound like it will take more than a week or two. Also the time off may motivate you even more.

Why not let your daughter take the school bus to school so that you can get a solid block of sleep? Your sleep patterns are likely what is causing your exhaustion. Exercise without sufficient sleep is going to be a tough go.

She attends a school in a different district than the one I live in, so busing is not an option. Trust me, I have thought of every contingency in this weird little world. The issue about obtaining her driver's license alone has drained me, and that has been over a year.

But thank God this is nothing serious; just lost sleep. It almost feels like a hangover, and I barely remember what those feel like as I no longer drink. No migraines or other ill-effects, just tired. After the past year of this exact schedule, the summer was a welcome change. My sleep patterns were just solidifying when school returned. Once the license issue is cleared up, I'll be able to sleep while she takes the car. You don't want to get me started on the license issue.

Get the daughter on a bike.....how far would her ride be? Of course selling that to a teenager who wants a drivers license would be a good trick.

She attends a school in a different district than the one I live in, so busing is not an option. Trust me, I have thought of every contingency in this weird little world. The issue about obtaining her driver's license alone has drained me, and that has been over a year.

But thank God this is nothing serious; just lost sleep. It almost feels like a hangover, and I barely remember what those feel like as I no longer drink. No migraines or other ill-effects, just tired. After the past year of this exact schedule, the summer was a welcome change. My sleep patterns were just solidifying when school returned. Once the license issue is cleared up, I'll be able to sleep while she takes the car. You don't want to get me started on the license issue.

I'm sure that once you get your sleep back, you'll get your riding back... and if you'd like, I'm sure that I'm not the only one willing to send you a "get back on your bike!" PM :)

I think that you need to release yourself from any guilt. It sounds like you are a bike commuter whose other priorities have taken temporary priority over your bike commuting. Feeling guilty over it will only cause you grief as the things in your life that should be bringing your joy right now are causing anxiety. It's ok to be a bike commuter who shelves that for a period of time in order to focus on other, higher priorities. Sure, it's not the greatest thing for you health-wise, but as soon as this part of your life straightens out, you can go back to commuting & truth be told, you won't have lost much fitness over it.

You guys are the Cycling Dr. Phil. Well done :-)