So I find after I get to work from riding in..or maybe 2 hours into my work day, I am just spent. The ride in exhausts me. I find I need coffee, or something to keep me going. Somehow I muster the energy to ride home.

When I drive in, I feel great all day with plenty of energy.

Also, if I cycle in, I can maybe do 1 - 3 days....somewhere in there..by the 3rd to 5th day, im spent. Zero energy left in the tank.

Does anyone else feel the same way? My commute is only 7km, but its tiring. Wake up at 5:30/6am and leave by 7-7:15am.

I do know i could use more sleep, as I usually hit the hay around 12..but even on the days when I crash around 10pm, im still tired the next day (although not as much)

Anyone else feel the same? How do you deal with exhaustion, especially if you commute daily? Do you eat a certain diet?

Thanks

I think you are just not getting enough sleep. I'd bet that the on the 10 pm days, you're still tired from the late nights, so you don't feel completely refreshed. I'd say to give it a try, commiting to go to sleep at 10 every night for 1 week. If that cures the problem, then you can experiment with how much sleep you really need. The other thing to try is making the mornings a bit shorter. have 1:45 from the time you get up to the time you leave is a lot of time. Maybe you can shorten that some? Also, maybe take a nap at lunch if there's a place to do it.

If all of that proves untenable, then i'd suggest just planning on riding only 3 days a week. M-W-F & taking the other days to refresh. Eating healthy and drinking caffeince will help, but if you're only getting 5:30 hours of sleep a night, but need more, you'll lilely always feel lethargic.

7km doesn't seem bad to me. But it's a lot warmer here in Phoenix so I can't say. Could it be the cold?

But I'm thinking diet. Do you breakfast properly? I also usually have nuts and/or fruit for a mid morning snack. Disclaimer: Part of my breakfast is coffee.

For me the ride in actually gives me energy. I'm not normally a morning person. But I'm better mornings and afternoons for the riding. My ride is 5mi or 8km each way. But as I said it's an easy 8km, no hills and very little subfreezing weather.

https://aeroshots.com/

Welcome to your new addiction lol, I havent tried it cause I have ADHD & at 31 still have more energy than my body can deal w/ haha.

you have to replenish your energy from what you spent when riding.... more so in the winter time (I believe at least). Before you ride, are you eating anything like a banana at all? You have breakfast when you get work? Even a protein shake is a good thing to have first thing when you get to work.

I have just the opposite experience. On days when I ride, I get to work feeling great. On days when I drive, my tail is dragging for the first hour or two.

When I first started commuting I kept falling asleep after getting home. After a month or two that went away. It happened again this fall when I resumed commuting to school, but not for as long as when I first began commuting.

I think much of it had to do with building muscle which I'm assuming uses a lot of energy.

Lots of good suggestions above. Sounds like too little sleep and not enough nutrition and hydration. My commute is 5 miles and my schedule is up at 6:00am; shower, dress, eat (peanut butter on toast), drink (plenty of water), etc.; by 6:30am I'm loading bike & hitting the road; by 7:00am I'm in my office stripping off my riding gear, cooling off and getting dressed; 7:15am ready for work. Driving in means I can sleep 30 minutes longer but I need lots of coffee on those mornings.

You already know the answer. You're just not getting enough sleep. I bet on those days when you go to bed at 10pm but "still feel tired, although not as much" you're simply not recovered from those days before when you only got 6 hours.

Sleep more.

i have the opposite effect too. i'm more charged and amped up for the day when i ride in vs. days that i take the train. the ride in gets my system going and gets my body ready for the day ahead. when i take the train, i'm dragging all morning long trying to wake my brain up.

i can't imagine a 4.5 mile bike ride ever tiring me out to the point of exhaustion (my daily commute is 3x longer and it doesn't exhaust me). as others have said, you're probably just experiencing the effects of a cumulative and sustained lack of sleep.

it's also possible that you're not eating enough replacement calories, but 9 miles/day of bike riding isn't going to burn an inordinately large amount of calories. if you were going 40+ miles/day, that would be a bigger concern.

Before commuting by bike I use to stay up til at least 12 MN and woke up at 6:30. Now that I'm commuting by bike, I'm usually asleep by 10:30 and up by 5:45. My commute is 4 miles, and since cycling I've felt much more energized and efficient at work.

As everyone else said, you need more sleep. You might look at your diet, but sleep cannot be supplemented. I wake up at 4:15 every morning, so trust me I know. It's sometimes hard to be in bed by 9-10, but it's necessary. And you can't get extra sleep one night and think it will make up for the last 3. You need to find you sleep needs (I make do with 6 or 6.5), and stick with it.

Also, as someone else pointed out, take a look at how much time it takes you to get ready in the morning. Do you really need 1.5 hours? I would love to read the morning paper with a cup of joe as much as the next guy, but it's just not a luxury that I get. Consider doing some things the night before. I always make my lunch and lay out my clothes the night before and make sure all my bike gear is in "grab and go" condition. Besides adding speed to your morning, evening prep also allows for a mental focus in the morning. Instead of think about "did I get this, I forgot that", you can focus on the day at hand and enjoy the ride.

It's that, and that the OP's body is accustomed to going to sleep around midnight. Going to bed occasionally at 10 won't be the same as refilling the sleep bank, because his body won't be ready for sleep.

Get in the habit of going to bed early, if you think that's the answer. Since your commute is only 7 km, unless it's all up a very steep hill, it isn't the exercise that's wearing you down, it's getting up early to do it.

A 7 Km ride should basically be energizing. You don't mention what you have for breakfast. From the timing of when you get tired, it sounds like your food has run out. Oatmeal is a good start, with a banana, raisins or blueberries.

I like my oatmeal raw. Just put it in a bowl with a little milk. Just like cereal, but it lasts longer.

I ride 12 km each way, 5 days a week. I go to sleep at 11 pm each night, a bit later on Monday nights. I get up at 6:20 for a 7 am departure. I do get 30 minutes to an hours nap each day.

Tuesdays are my difficult day as I have to work until 9:30 pm that night, riding home at 10 pm.

My guess, eat more. I eat mueslli every morning, and a big lunch.

z

Hi All,

Thanks for the suggestions. Im definitely going to work on getting more sleep...im just not a morning person....<sigh>

5:30-6am - wake up & start breakfast - a large bowl of oatmeal.
- I let it cool and add maple syrup with a large glass of Orange Juice.
- Then i wait...for...well...my morning 'movement'. I really don't like starting my
day unless this happens...
6:45 - Get dressed...and out the door by 7:15

I will try juicing carrots and apples in the morning (while I wait) and see if that helps boost energy.

Maybe im just not a morning person?

In the absence of medical problems you need more sleep, more hydration and good carb-loaded breakfast. It takes time to build hydration, days, not months. It takes time to build a "sleep cushion" of sorts, this can take couple weeks. Basically, what you have here is physical exertion highlighting some problems with lifestyle that sedentary person can get away with.

However, check with doc to rule out low iron, heart problems and latent infections/inflammations. What you describe is not normal and you absolutely correct to question it.

Good luck

SF

Best to get 8hrs of sleep and a bit more. Your sleep patterns should be regular. I don't follow this though so.... =P. Try to condition your legs so that 7km seems little. Like do 30km weekend rides or something. 20 should be fine honestly.

For that much fatigue, I was expecting a killer commute. 7km should just be a blip and not noticeable under normal circumstances. There's lots of advice about a hearty meal but for 7km, I'd sure hope your body has that in it without eating anything. As others have mentioned, first focus on getting adequate sleep, and if that doesn't solve the problem, I'd vote with sci_femme: when was the last time you had an annual physical? Something just doesn't sound right...

What quality of sleep are you getting? Might be worth a sleep study, since all that free medical care in Canada covers the testing...

Sleep is everything when you're commuting by bike. With our baby boy keeping me up at all hours, with anywhere from 3-4 hours of sleep each night, I can't ride. Until I can get myself to bed again at 9 pm to be up by 4 am, I'll be driving.

Another vote for sleep. I usually get up at 0430, riding by about 0545 or so - I like to take it slow and drink my coffee in the morning, and don't like to rush. I shower at work, so I have a protein shake and my coffee, watch the news a bit, iron and pack my clothes, make lunch, and roll. By getting up at 0430, I have to plan to be in the rack by 9pm latest. Adequate sleep is essential, even with just an 18 mile roundtrip commute like mine. Dunno your age, but at 53, I have to make sure I get the rest.

And I love this routine - I get to work energized and ready to go. I get to have fun on the way to work, cuz I be ridin' my bike!!

I'd go with sleep as everyone else is suggesting, but what is your route like and how hard are you riding? 7 km seems like a short commute to me, as I have an 18 km commute each way, but I only have about 150 metres of elevation gain to deal with. If you are riding up some killer hills or perhaps riding really fast then maybe that has something to do with your exhaustion. Possibly slow down and don't ride as hard.

Perhaps get a heart rate monitor and see how hard you're working as you ride in. If your heart rate is really high then maybe you're riding too hard, if your heart rate isn't that high maybe it's sleep, nutrition or some other factor.

Htfu

When you get to work, have your moment. I wake up at 4:30 am and out by 5 am for an 11 mile commute in. Then I chill out, change, eat and have my moment.

Get up a little later, take a shower, have the bike ready the night before, grab a banana, and out the door 1/2 hour later. Get to work, cool off, change, eat breakfast have your moment.