I've been riding on and off for 10 years, mostly off. I'm 41 male in so cal. For the last 5 months I've really stuck to it and managed to lose about 20 pounds which has put me in at a BMI of 25. I would like to lose 10 more pounds. My cycling is now up to about 40 miles a day on the road at about 16 miles an hour 5-6 days a week. I ride a mountain bike with front and rear shocks, road tires that are about 1 inch thick and about 60 psi. I have a few questions.

1. Any suggestions on ways I can keep my energy level high after a ride and still maintain or lose weight? Whenever I step up my distance or intensity I gain weight. Conservatively, I burn around 1,200-1,500 calories per ride, maybe more but I tend to think I burn about 400-500 calories an hour for 2.5-3 hours, depending on wind, intensity, and stops. I eat about 3,000 calories and I'm tired all day after a ride. My diet is fairly good, i tend to eat about 2,500 calories of good food and about 500-800 calories of junk food.

2. Will a good road bike allow for an easier ride and decrease my post ride crash? Am I just wasting energy with my crappy mountain bike? I have to think that my speed will go up 5-10% with the new bike. Anyone have any experiences changing bikes and feeling better physically?

Thanks!

Moved from General Cycling.

I've always considered commuting on a FS mtb, as a strange looking thing to do. I mean it looks so out of place, the further away you get from a mountain, and the closer you get to a large urban area.

Keeping that in mind, IMO, a FS mtb is most probably the most inefficient mode of cycling on pavement. OTOH, it's most efficient mode is when you're bombing down a mountain side. A FS mtb is also NOT the most efficient means of going back up a mountain either. I've personally found them to be quite exhaustive going uphill.

However, I must say, they are a heck of a lotta fun going downhill though. Much better than a ht mtb when the downhill venture gets really tough. For downhill, they're simply indispensable! I can think of no other good use for them, otherwise...

For commuting, buy either a road bike, or a hybrid. Either will save you from draining all of your energy, prior to arrival at your destination. Perhaps even a ht mtb might work better, under more challenging road circumstances, within certain cities...

It seems to me your tiredness is not due to diet but actually due to riding too much. And if cycling is your only type of exercise that can be bad in the long run. Try to hit the gym once in a while and pick up running if you are able.

As to the food issue. You need carbs and water and some salt on longer rides. No protein or fat are necessary. You can absorb about 60 grams of carbs per hour or 1g per ideal weight kilo. But going over 100g of carbs in an hour is just a bad idea since it takes resources away from cycling to digestion.

You can get 60 grams of carbs from 2 gel packs so one every half hour. You should be able to ride under 2 hour rides with just water.

Recovery however is maybe the most important issue. To retain muscle and lose fat you need to have recovery nutrition. That means carbs and protein. I usually drink half a litre of chocolate milk immediately after exercise and then eat normally hour or two after.

Here's some good reading regarding your difficulty in losing the last 10 lb:

9 Reasons Fat Loss is Always Slower Than You?d Like

How to Set a Caloric Deficit for Fat Loss

To lose weight drop the amount of calories you're consuming to 2500 per day ... keep the good food, lose the junk food.

For energy ... how much are you drinking each day? And especially while you're riding?

Also, how much sleep are you getting each night?

Another thought. Sounds like you're already putting a lot of time into cycling and have the motivation to keep it up. You must be already in pretty good shape, but with that kind of time investment you could get into elite shape. Maybe you should consider a structured training program. That would guide you in applying the right amount of rest/recovery for the amount of cycling you do and also apply the right amount of high-intensity work to advance your fitness. It's my understanding that advanced cyclists actually spend the vast majority of their miles at light to moderate intensity (relative to their level of fitness) and the remainder of the time is spent in high-intensity interval training.

First thanks for the responses. Some more details:

I usually eat about 500 calories (all carbs) in the morning 1/2 hour before a ride. Then after the ride I eat at least 1000 calories high in protein and carbs. Whenever I step up the intensity I get very tired and will nap for 1-2 hours out of exhaustion. I then stay hungry and tired throughout the day and end up eating a lot of junk food just for the carbs. On my rides I drink plenty of water but don't consume any calories. Would consuming calories on the ride help prevent my crashing? I stay hydrated throughout the day.

I get about 6 hours of sleep a night, which seems to be enough.

JMO....I think you're eating too much carbs in the morning before your ride...That may be the reason why you get tired, bonk and have a hard time loosing more weight...Try eating more protein with a little bit of fat and less carbs for your breakfast...Leave most of your carb intake for later in the afternoon/evening...Anther thing you could try is riding in a fasted state, and then eat after your ride.

^^^^+1

^^^ I disagree. Your morning carbs are OK. Suggest cutting down to 300 carbs, adding about 100 protein. During your ride, consume a mix of carbs and protein, ideally about 15% protein, at a rate of around 200 calories/hour. The simplest way to try this is to put about 500 or so calories of Hammer Perpetuem in one bottle, plain water in the other. Finish the food bottle during the ride. After the ride, have a serving of Hammer Recoverite. Don't buy a whole bunch of this stuff, this is just to try out the theory on your body. If it works, you can think about what you might eat to get the same result. Or just keep on with the Hammer stuff. Many people do.

After the Recoverite, have a balanced meal of carbs, protein, and fat during the next hour or two. You'll probably still get hungry before bed, so right before bed have a piece of cheese or a small bowl of ice cream. I eat a mostly plant-based diet, so I also supplement with whey protein from time to time during the day.

So three things: You'll eat better if you eat on the bike. Eat more protein. The junk food is probably displacing protein and other nutrients you need to recover.

And awesome job riding 200 miles/week on a dualie MTB. Of course you'd go a heck of a lot faster on a road bike! I think it's more fun to go faster on the road. However you are putting in a lot of hours on the bike and you may not want to reduce that by going faster. IOW do the hours and if on a road bike, you'll just do more miles. Plus you might find other roadies to ride with.

Nevermind the whole carbs vs no carb argument above ...

Reread what you wrote. You get 6 hours of sleep a night ... but then you need to nap for 1-2 hours. Obviously 6 hours a night is not enough. Your body wants to sleep 7-8 hours a night. For the next couple weeks try to get 8 hours of sleep a night and see how you feel.

The extra sleep might also remove those junk food cravings ... part of the reason you're craving junk food could be your body trying to find enough fuel to stay awake.


And in answer to your other question ... if your ride is over 2 hours, aim to eat 200-300 calories per hour. If it is under 2 hours you're probably eating enough already.

500 calories in carbs = eating 125 grams of carbs in one sitting , I don't think it's a good way to start a day, especially if they are junk carbs such as cereals and fruit juices...If you're going to eat a 500 calorie breakfast then at least split those 500 calories into protein, carbs and fats...Have some eggs, with hash browns and some wholegrain toast with butter 1 hour before your ride.

I don't think anybody is arguing about anything. We're just offering opinions.

Eliminate the 500 cals of carbs 1/2 hours before the ride. If you must eat before a ride, do so at least 2 hours beforehand; otherwise, your insulin levels skyrocket and your ability to burn fat is reduced by 70%. By cutting out those useless 500 cals of sugars before a ride, your body will burn more fat pure and simple. You would be better consuming say 100 cals per hour on the ride starting about 30 minutes into the ride. At that point, it is nearly impossible to spike your insulin levels. Eating too much has other effects on the bike.....

As far as being tired, you are either doing too much intensity or I might suggest reducing the 1000 cal post ride carb regimen to maybe 600 Kcals and continue refueling at a lower rate for the rest of the day. Post ride recovery should be 2-3 grams of carbs per kilo of body weight.....this is over the 4 hour window when refueling is much faster than normal.

You might need more sleep....I only need 5-6 hours per night but my wife needs 9 hours, we are all built differently. I did sleep a full 8 hours last night after doing a 600k ride.

Looks like there are no easy answers here. I'm not big on breakfast, as I just eat oatmeal. I'm really not too hungry in the morning so I could skip breakfast and eat a couple hundred calories on the ride (granola bars). Should I just caffeinate myself after the ride and stay awake the rest of the day and see if I get more sleep at night?

^^^ Yeah, eating a lot of carbs 1/2 hour before the ride will spike your insulin, but the insulin spike coincides with the start of the ride, so you have tons of energy right at the start and for the first hour. I don't do that, however. I have the luxury of eating 2 hours before the ride, which has the effect Weatherby says, and is much better for long rides.

Another approach is to eat nothing before the ride until right before, then have a Clif bar and start riding. Which approach to take depends on time available and if you think you're good on glycogen.

I would certainly not eat a normal American breakfast with eggs, meat, hash browns etc. Way too many calories and barfy with all that fat and hard to digest stuff. Been there, done that, gained weight and felt bad on the bike. It all depends on how hard you go on the bike. Sounds to me like you go pretty hard, in which case neither your stomach nor legs will like a big load in your gut. I've had good results eating a fancy Continental breakfast of banana, yogurt, rolls, a little cheese, and orange juice. And coffee. That's pretty quick if you have the stuff.

Well then, skip the breakfast and eat during and after your ride. No need to force food when you're not hungry. That's what I do. When I wake up in the morning I don't eat anything because I don't feel hungry, eating breakfast doesn't do anything for me, it actually slows me down....But everybody is different , some people can't function in the morning unless they eat something, you need to experiment and see what works for you.

Yeah definitely ... if you're not hungry skip breakfast and have a granola bar or two on the ride.


And if you're really tired after your ride, catch a quick nap (30 min) and then go to bed earlier or sleep later to get more sleep at night. Especially if you're just sitting around in the evening not doing much and you get the munchies for junk food ... ignore the munchies and go to bed.

Right now I'm in the highest gear and I'm turning a cadence of 60-65 a minute. When I drop down gears and step up the cadence I feel like it becomes all hamstring. Also my bike has a 42 teeth front crank so it is not a difficult gear relatively speaking but hard for me in the highest gear. My legs aren't that strong. I've had some huge strength gains in the last 5 months and I feel like I have a ways to go before I can afford to have a moderate intensity day because I feel like I'm barely moving.

Your cadence is too low. It needs to be 90. Period. There is no discussion on this point. It can be more but get it to 90. You'll get faster.

Second, pushing for the max every ride is not going to make you faster optimally. You need to ride slower to get faster. Ride 70-80% of your ride in an intensity you can do and talk. So you would be able to chat with a buddy in this intensity.
15-20% at high intensity intervals. 2-4minute intervals and minute recovery in between. Push as hard as you can for four minutes.
5-10% at maximum intervals. These are going to hurt. You may puke and you may black out a little. This however is the shock therapy the body needs to develop the higher intensity strength. 1minute intervals with 1-2minute rests in between. You need to be ready to give up at 30second mark. But you won't as you still have 30 seconds to go.

It's funny training. It's pretty counterintuitive when you get down to it but as someone said it in a different topic it's about volume and intensity. You can't do high volume with high intensity so you need high volume low intensity with blasts of extreme intensity in between

And as a separate post to drive a point home. If all of your riding so far has been you pushing for greater speed and riding as fast as you can, you have been doing it wrong and it is no wonder you are tired. Basic symptom of burning out or overtraining (insomnia is also a symptom). There is a reason recovery rides and base miles exist. The pro riders use them. You should too

Do you have a computer that shows cadence? If not, get one, a cheap one works fine. I use a Cateye Astrale, about $35. So here's an odd thing: It turns out that most folks running long distance run at about a turnover rate of 90 strides a minute. And, oddly enough, a bike cadence of about 90 seems to suit most folks the best. My guess therefore is that it's actually built in to our genes.

So try turning the cranks much faster in a lower gear. Pick up the cadence about 5 beats a week. There is quite a period of adaptation, but it's worth it. At first, you'll go a little slower because your muscles are fighting each other. But gradually you'll develop the neuromuscular coordination to be able to ride at a 90 cadence at the same speed you're riding now and with less effort. You'll find your recovery is much easier, too. A problem with riding at a low cadence is that you burn too much glycogen, and glycogen is hard to replace every day.

You notice that if you spin faster, you use your hamstrings more. Yes, that's true. Nothing wrong with that. You want to have a nice smooth spin. Assuming that you use clipless pedals or toeclips, push forward at the top of the stroke, only push down gently, pull back at the bottom and unweight the pedal on the upstroke - don't pull up. Imagine that you are turbine powered. This all takes a while to develop. Your muscles have to get used to the motion. Don't get discouraged.

Ok. I'll try a higher cadence tomorrow on one gear lower. I'm pretty sure I can ride at 80+. That should be a good start for a couple of weeks before I get a new bike.