Nature of work making you hate your commute.
 

I work a landscaping job. My work schedule is: (be prepared to say "Holy S&%T!!!) M-F, 6:30am to 6:00pm. My round trip commute is almost 20 miles. Slightly uphill on the way there. I commuted Monday for the first time and it took me 48 minutes to get to work, 36 to get home. Tuesday, I HATED my ride because I was pretty much dead from the day before. My time went to 58 minutes and I hated every single minute of it. The ride home was even worse because I was so tired from work. Oh and one last thing, it's been in the upper 90's here in Denver lately. Stupid huh?

Anyone else have this issue?

My new, post-2008 crashdown job, which started out as a promise for rapid, major advancement within my local town government (and has turned out to be mostly a maintenance gig) is a big disappointment, so far. However, my bicycle commute is what makes it all worthwhile.

My recommendation is to take steps to get out of a job you don't like; but, in the meantime, think of it as a good excuse to get on your bike each day.

If you are just starting to commute by bike, you may want to do it only a few times a week, especially if you are physically drained from doing it. If I were you, I'd ride twice a week the first week to give yourself time to adjust. Maybe ride Mon & Friday (if you don't work weekends). Then once you feel good riding both days, add a Wed ride. Once that becomes doable, then add one more day & then a fifth day. Biking takes effort, especially if you aren't used to it & are already doing a lot of physical labor.

+100

Going gung-ho on anything will make you hate it. Work yourself up to it. MK313 is definitely right about that. Also, since you have a labor-heavy day, make sure you are eating appropriately and drinking as much water as you can. Sleep is super important and will make you feel 100x better if you are sleeping poorly now.

Slow down!! 20 miles in 48 mins translates into 25 mph. 36 mins is 33.3 mph. Average a more realistic 19-20 and you should be fine. My commute's 16.5 miles w/a 500 ft elevation drop on the way to work. 48-52 mins are my average times. The homeward leg takes about 10 mins longer because of the climbing. It's a marathon not a sprint. :thumb:

Lots of water, brown rice, oatmeal, kale, fresh vegetables, fish, chicken, a protein supplement and sleep. When doing these types of distances it's necessary to treat oneself like an athlete. Can't over emphasize the importance of getting enough sleep.

If one is feeling burnout after only a few days adjustments need to be made.

^^^ 20 miles round trip means 10 miles each way. So 10 miles in 48 minutes is 12.5 mph average.

+1

I do golf course maintenance. Pretty much the same type of work, but the company limits us to 40 hrs., no OT. Starting at 6 a.m. we do 10 hrs on Mondays, 8 hrs. Tues, Weds, Thurs, and 6 hrs. on Fridays. The guys that pull weekends put in 4 hrs. each day, Sat. & Sun. Then get the following Tues. off. Check around courses in your area and see if you can cut your hours from 57.5 to 40.

I you exactly how you feel! I work in retail where throwing freight (stocking shelves) fast all day is the name of the game. I'm almost always pooped at the end of the day. If you wake up one morning and seriously don't have the energy to ride enjoyably, then sleep in, drive there and cycle-commute another day. No need to kill yourself.

I went through the same thing when I started commuting but it will get easier. Go a little slower, not balls out. The idea is to FINISH the commute and still feel you like have energy. If you are just starting out commuting and hauling balls all out, that might not be the good idea at first. Remember the point of the commute at first: is to get there safely. Time does not matter at this point. That will change as you get more commutes under your belt (or saddle lol).

Is your job, or your commute, new to you? If so things may get better with time, even though being tired and going slow is frustrating - I know I don't like it either but it happens to me sometimes too. I also have a pretty physical job, but it doesn't kick my butt like it used to when I first started. One more thought - I'd guess it's tough to get enough sleep during the work week. I start at 5am so I'm up before 4am every work day - I almost never get "enough" sleep, but feel better at work and on the bike when I get closer to enough.

To the OP: When I wrote my original response, I didn't realize this thread was about being too tired for your commute. I guess I read too much into it and thought you were saying that hating your job made the commute a drag. Now I realize you were saying that being tired from the job is what's making the commute a chore.

Sorry for the misinformed feedback, but I'm glad you don't hate your gig!

My job is easy. I just hate getting up at 3:30 in the morning to ride in. I frequently don't get home until 7:00 pm. But that includes a lot of time reading and listening to music on the bus.

Both are new to me actually. I've done landscaping and roofing for years, but this is my first "full time" job doing it. It was weird that when I got this job, the 6 days leading up to the starting date, all I could think about was riding my bike to work.

As for the sleeping part, yes, I never felt I got enough sleep. Even though my start time is 6:30, they want us to be there at 6:15 or so. So it leaves me waking up at 4:30 to get out of the door around 5:05-5:10 just to make sure I'm there on time. And then I'm usually getting home around 7:00 pm. I usually shower, eat, and I'm in bed by 9:00.

I'm assuming it will get easier, the work and commute, but the 2 days I did commute, and the suck I felt is not making me want to ride again.

I work in tooling design, which is part hands on making stuff, and part computer work. I do part of the computer work on a laptop during the rail portion of my commute. My immediate boss is also a cyclist, who has unfortunately been "grounded" by carpal tunnel syndrome, though he supports my commuting by bike.

Ride on Monday and Friday to start. Give you 3 days in the middle of the week and 2 days on the weekend to recover. Then when you feel you can add another day add Wednesday. Then you get a day off in between the ride days. Lather rinse repeat for Tuesday and Thursday as time goes on. I am still stuck on the 3-4 day a week rides. I also workout once i get home in the evening so that might play a part as well.

Either way, that is what I suggest.