slloth

Haven't drove to work since August. I was going to try to do a whole year but am now seriously considering driving once in a while to save energy for my after work life. When I have a physically demanding day at work the bike rides just add and cause me to not have energy at home.

-Well that is my story anyway. Maybe I'm just making excuses and getting burned out!

Artkansas 

How long is your commute? If it is under 10 miles, it shouldn't tire you out.

I suspect that its more the tiring day between the rides. Are you eating okay? A little depression from all the work tensions these days could be eating at you.

I'd say keep it up. Maybe look at some other changes in your ride to vary the ride or smelling the roses on the way there and back.

Good luck, and keep on riding.

uke

Do what works for you. This semester, I've driven to class many times because of places I've had to travel to after class. Looking forward to those things ending this summer. In the end, whether you make one ride a day, a week, a month, or even a year, as long as you enjoy it, let that be enough.

buzzman

I'm curious what kind of distances we're talking about here. Are you getting proper sleep, hydration and nutrition? When I fall behind on that stuff I start to suffer.

bragi

Could you provide a few details about your commute? If you're doing 40 miles a day, I'd say burn-out is almost certain after several months or a year. If you're doing 6, not so much.

caloso

Don't sweat it, take a day off.

nahh

Yeah, a day off now and then is a good idea.

rumrunn6

Sloth - Rest is good. No shame. Heck take a week off!

slloth

Thanks for the positive feedback. My commute is only 9 miles round trip but I always ride aggressive. Maybe I will just take it easy this morning.

PaulH

Having had to drive to work yesterday due to the need to go to the airport after work, I observe that the frustration of driving here makes it far more tiring than riding.

Paul

ItsJustMe

I find that riding hard really takes it out of me, and only gets me home about 3 minutes faster. If I just noodle home, it takes 45 instead of 42 minutes, and I am fine.

rumrunn6

About speed, I was running and trying to improve my time and a friend told me that to improve your overall time you have to increase your speed by a considerable amount. It made me appreciate athletes all the more. I run a 10 minute mile and since that's my comfort zone I just accept it. The same thing applies to cycling, for me, I do my best but I don't want a heart attack and so I find my comfort zone, even if that if working hard, it's still my comfort zone. It is what it is - my speed is my speed, whatever it is.

snowman40

Not sure about me being more tired when driving, but I am definitely more stressed.

Of course, when the weather is nicer, there is a nicer view on the paths with all the joggers...

DataJunkie

This isn't the car free forum. If you want to drive to work then drive.
I did not drive to work for 2 years and now occasionally have to. It does not bother me in the least.

PaulRivers

Yeah, I totally agree - it's not a crime to drive occassionally.

I'd start with taking the middle day of your week off (probably Wednesday) to see if giving it a little bit of a rest in the middle of the week helps.

I think a lot of people have thrown out some good advice so far in this thread, but we might be able to offer specific advice on how to reduce how tired you are if you told us how long your commute is and what bike you're riding. For example, as someone else already mentioned if you bike slightly slower if can mean a small increase in time but a huge decrease in your energy level at the end of the ride.

evblazer

I'm planning on driving in Wednesday and it seems like a good day.. I get two days of bicycle in and get tired out. Wednesday I drive and get frustrated driving then I get two days of bicycle commuting to work it off before the weekend.

At a 9 mile round trip taking just one way easy as a recovery ride of sorts might do alot of good.

bhop

If my ride was 9 miles round trip, i'd ride every day! As it is, my ride's around 26 miles r/t with a few hills thrown in, I ride the bus two days and bike three.

PaulRivers

What kind of bike do you have? There are also suggestions we might able to make to make your ride easier and faster - for example, if you're riding a mountain bike with knobby tires changing them to street slicks (just as wide, but no knobs) won't change your traction on the street but will both make you bike faster and make it less work.

gerv 

If you are doing a lot of physical work at work and then have to ride home... even a short trip... maybe that's what's making you tired.

Myself, I'm a programmer and I have to occasionally get up from my desk to walk around the building just so my legs won't fall asleep. If I'm unable to commute by bike, I tend to be grouchy and restless ... probably because it's the only physical exercise I get.

slloth

Yes sometimes I do very physical work in my 9 hour shift. And then I ride home at a pretty good pace. A non cyclist would not be able to keep up and still be comfortable.


The type of bike is insignificant. I have road to work on single speed road bikes, fixed gear road bikes, geared road bikes and mountain bikes. It does not matter what kind of bike I ride because I just naturally keep pedaling! I don't always go super fast unless I have a ton of energy but for some reason I just naturally put in a lot of effort.

I think what I will do is just start driving on the days I am feeling really physically tired and not just lazy. I have tried to tell myself to just ride easy and take my time but for some reason I don't take my own advice! The only time I took a long time to get to work was when I road my Mountain Bike. The only problem was I still rode hard, I was just going slow!

Thanks all! I really will not feel bad about driving now. Maybe I will ride on my days off more!