Stretching, intensity, etc?
 

Since commuting requires different physical considerations than a weekend fun ride or training ride or race, I would love to get any comments on how other commuters ride...

For my 12.25 mile commute, I currently roll out the door and take the first two miles nice and easy (4 lane road) to get warmed up and then stop to stretch. Touch my toes for about 1 minute, then each ankle back and up to thigh for 1 min, and splits for 1 min. And then I'm off on 3 miles of 2 lane no shoulder road that I hit really hard to keep from slowing traffic terribly (usually have about 2 dozen cars go around me)... The rest of the ride is 4 lane and I just keep pressure on the road (after all, it's a commute, not a race). Once I'm at the office, I stretch again, then get cleaned up... The ride home is similar exept that I stretch before the ride starts. I can usually make it to friday without my legs being totally blown, just achy... and then it's nice to have the two days off to rebuild. I usually feel like superman on mondays...

Any comments on water consumption, nutrition, staying away from coffe/sugar/alchohol, etc. would also be greatly appreciated...

I might not be the right guy to respond, as my ride is alot shorter than yours and I see utilitarian bicycling as something different. Specifically, I'm not in it to win it, I'm just riding my bike to work.

This is my 3rd week of commuting 3 mi. each way to work. I've never felt so loose. Prior to this my back felt tight every morning. Now I simply stretch it in the heat of the shower and I'm good to go.

Staying away from coffee is not going to happen, so I bought a thermos which my local Starbucks barista is happy to fill and which I greedily suck down at my desk.

I guess if I was riding 24.50 miles each day I'd think about training too, but as it is I'm just having fun!

I never stretch but I will take it easy for the first mile or so. Then I'm blasting all the way -- usually 13 miles in and 20 miles home, depending on route and circumstances. I'm not in it for a world record but I know that I have to go at a certain, quick pace in order to make it to work in time, accounting for a flat tire.

I liken my commute to a long sprint. The stop lights give me a breather.

I run a lot, too, and cross-training is valuable. I couldn't ride 5 days a week. I'll often not ride on the weekends. Usually, by the end of the week I'm happy to set the bike aside in favor of a long run. I almost always take a weekend day off, normally Sunday.

I drink enough water to fill a lake, I eat all through the day, and always eat a banana or such about an hour prior to ride home. I always have a good-sized bowl of oatmeal before ride in. I have two water cages, and a Gatorade bottle usually is in one of them. I'll consume both each way.

I'm going to infer from Andy's post that streching may not be as valuable as fluid intake to avoid muscle ache (but I still think you should strech before a ride). And now that I think about it, muscle ache is generally caused by build up of lactic acid... fluid in the body helps carry that away. Also, coffe and alchohol are diuretics that limit the bodies ability to hold water and could compound that problem. So, I'm trading in the coffe cup for a litre water bottle that I plan to empty at least twice during office hours. Remembering more now... about how water helps the liver convert fat to glucose? More fuel for the muscles is always better :)

I don't worry about any of that stuff. I just put on my helmet, hop on the bike, and go. My bike does not have a water bottle cage, but the trip is only 30 minutes each way, so there is no need for it.

In my experience, stretching is very important in running, but unnecessary in cycling. I think the rough, jolting nature of running, compared with the smoothness of cycling makes the difference.

Back when I was runnning seriously, I could barely walk after each race or hard workout. I think sore, stiff legs are just the invevitable price of training hard.

Paul

My commute is 12.50 miles one way. I get up at 7:45 and am out the door at 8:00. I bring two bottles of Gatorade with me, one for the trip to work and one for the trip home.

Starting out, my commute is aweful! All I do is climb hills for the first 1 1/2 miles. I then get a breather of downhills and recover. After that, I am fine the rest of the way. There is a Waffle House a half block from work. I stop there and get 4 eggs without yolks, grits, toast, orange juice, and Special K.

There was an article in this months Cycling Plus magazine that said not to eat before the commute. It said to drink liquids and eat during the commute or right after. It says that if you eat within 2 hours of a commute, or any bicycle ride, that is not enough time to digest the food. The energy required to digest the food will reallocted to your muscles for the ride and the food will just sit in your stomach and make you feel bloated.

Actually, I didn't make the comparison. I just note that I don't stretch and never really felt the need to.

I also don't stretch before/after running. I just go slow at first and slow at the end. In both cases I make it a point to move after the event so as not to tighten up. Works fine with me. After a monster ride or run I'll subject my legs to COLD water ... this works great.

I doubt if my H2O consumption has any effect on soreness, but it's possible.

Stretching is not necessary, it can actually hurt. It tears muscle fiber. There is a small write-up in this months Bicycle mag. I ride 12.5 miles to work and never stretch, so far so good.

About the only time I ever stretch is on a tour when I'm trying to recover from a 'hard' day so I can back up for the next. On most rides I warm up by spinning easy in the early part of it and building up the intensity as my legs tell me they're ready. I have the same routine for my commute (13km one way) as I do for rides exceeding 200km (except that I usually find somewhere to stop and eat something after just over 100km if I can).

P.S. I drink 5-10 litres of water/day on average. Riding or not.

Thank you for the clarification and I do appreciate your input, but if you noticed, I didn't quote any comparison you made, I used the word infer: To derive by deduction or by induction; to conclude or surmise from facts or premises; to accept or derive, as a consequence, conclusion, or probability.

And I'm not trying to argue here, but it is still my opinion that stretching should not be left out of any athletic exercise. However, I do agree that stretching incorrectly can do more harm than good... I found a nice link to bicycle specific stretching here: http://www.totalbike.com/November1999/stretch1.html

But it appears that water intake is something that everyone agrees to be very important as well as taking it easy for the first 5-10 minutes.

Anyway, last month was the first month for 5 days a week, 25 miles a day riding. I lost a little under 10 pounds. Is this going to slow down once I'm in better shape or am I going to have to make an effort to raise my calorie intake?

That depends on various factors. I would suggest that if you're feeling hungry and tired more often than previously, definitely increase it.

Stretching when done right is a good thing and you should stretch before any kind of work out it preps your muscles for what they are about to do. I have not read the article in Bicycle magazine but I do know one thing if your are tearing muscle you ain't doin' it right. I highly recommend reading "Stretching" By Bob Anderson he shows you the safe and proper way to stretch. Stretching is or was natural to us by example watch animals they stretch all the time. Now I try and stretch before my ride and warm up on the bike the first mile, drink lots of water. I drink a power shake before I ride and have a muffin and yogurt when I get to work. It is against the law here in Seattle to start your day without some kind of coffee drink, caffeine does dehydrate you but so does living so just keep drinking water all day (I was told once you know your are drinking enough water when you piss starts to turn clear). If I am on a non commute ride I do additional stretches on my first rest stop which I take about an hour to an hour and a half into the ride just a quickie break to stretch and then I peddle. When I commute home I just do some quick stretches since I also have a bus to catch I usually do not have time to do a full regime. But I do stretch when I get home. I also work with a guy 62 years old has been riding to work for 30 years never stretched a day in his life and he is doing fine. If you are cramping you might want to increase water intake and add a couple of bananas or something high in potassium to your regime. I also eat all day at break I will eat some fruit and maybe a carb. lunch vegies a little protien and more carb last break carb and vegie or fruit I always eat a banana before I ride and dinner is a little fruit, a little vegie, a little carb, some protien and chocolate. Can't live a day with out chocolate. And a couple of hours before I sleep I eat soething very light. You should try to never have that hungry feeling.

ANd oh yeah what Chris says I about the same amount of water weather I ride or not (which is rare to not ride I am 21/2 monthsinto car free and I have only missed it once when I went to central Wahington and could not take my bike on the bus)

I used to have a ride that started on a big hill. There was no chance to warm up.
I prefer a gradual start for a few mins, then steady cruising, then freewheeling the last few hundred yards to cool down so I dont get sweaty when I stop.

I can stretch on the bike, stand on the pedals, push your heels down and lean forward. Its better to stretch when warm, and never to bounce into a stretch, but just hold it.

I have to eat before a ride, and really have no problem with it.

I think you can see from the replies no one rule holds true for everyone. Whatever works for you can only be found out through a process of trial and error.
Having said that, here's a run down of how I work through my week of commuting. Please excuse the metric thing.
I do a one-way commute of about 19kms - it starts with a 3 km descent followed by a 3 km climb of about 5% average.
I have been commuting now for about two and a half years and have just clocked up 20,000 kms.
The temperature at this time of the year when we start riding is about 5 - 10 C.
In terms of food I have a small bowl of cereal at least one hour before I leave and the mandatory coffee of course. I have a muffin when I get to work.
I take a litre bottle of water for the commute which suffices no matter how hard the ride is.
As far is stretching is concerned, I personally now do a small range of stretches every morning when I get changed at work - part of the getting ready routine - and try and do three nights a week of more intensive stretching when I get home. The reason is I found I was losing flexibility in my hamstrings as my legs bulked up. The other important factor is starting and finishing the week off with easy rides to allow the body to recover properly.

I never used to stretch, never carried a water bottle. But I started getting really bad shin pains. Anyway I saw a chiropractor and a boffin on bike positioning, and now I have gone to the opposite extreme.

I stretch twice a day for about 20 minutes each, and always carry water, even on short commuting rides. I do yoga once a week..about one and a half hours of instruction by really rubbery limbed people. I found out that I was really stiff, and that all these stiff hammies and hip flexors etc were giving me knee and back pains and generally affecting my performance on the bike...like everyone I want to get up the hills faster.

I'm no expert, and middle aged, but if you get shown how to do the stretches correctly by experts the tearing and such can mostly be avoided. Try yoga.

I find a good hot shower does it for me both ways ( lucky we have showers at work) My first hill is only 1/2 a k from home ,its not a steep or long hill but it seems like Everest some days , once its out of the way I'm fine :) I use a low gear & spin up it , that's my warm up !