HELP!! Fueling Advice, please.

ro63rt

Just looking for some advice for fueling & food for my commute. It's a 38mile undulating round trip although not large hills, I generally do it comfortably in approx 1hr05mins to 1hr15mins. I also carry a small lightweight backpack with lunch in, however I also work shifts so my times of commuting vary.

If I'm on mornings I get up at 04.15, dressed, glass of freshly squeezed Orange Juice & right out the door with a banana as soon as I'm off the bike at work. Then. I'll have porridge at break time & a chicken, salad sandwich at brew time an hour before I leave. Although sometimes I don't get chance for the sandwich. Then I'll get a choccy milkshake when I get in.

If I'm on afternoons I have my usual porridge & Orange Juice for breakfast & a banana before I leave. When I get to work I generally have a substantial meal I've homemade ie Kedgeree, Chicken Curry, Chicken & Chorizo Paella, all low fat homemade, with Brown Rice or Wholemeal Pasta & plenty of veg in. Followed by a piece of fruit. Then at tea time I'll have a Wholemeal Wrap with chicken salad in it, bag of low fat crisps ie quavers, hula hoops, French fries, rice crackers. Followed up with a yoghurt & a pice of fruit. Then at brew time befor I leave it will be some sort of cereal bar. Once at home again I have a choccy milkshake.

I don't commute nights. But do this 4/5 times a week or 3 if I feel dead. Some days I seem to fly other days I feel dead which I know is understandable. As anyone get any other advice, what about proper recovery etc. As I just feel drained after somedays & my legs are a tonne weight. We have good facilities at work too, decent showers, drying room etc and it's not an office job so clothing isn't a problem.

Also I'm more than comfortable doing 100miles on rest days & getting out on my MTB.

CJ Bill

TBH your eating sounds alright to me. If I set off for my morning ride and I'm doing that sort of distance I'll just grab a coffee or juice then eat when I get into work, generally muesli. If I think I'll be on the bike for longer it'll be a wholemeal bagel or cereal followed by a second breakfast when I get.

38 miles is a fair distance day in day out and if you're going full on each ride you're going to feel tired at times. I used to do a similar commute and sometimes by the end of the week I could barely move. Over the past year I've been a new job that affords me some better longer routes and I've invested in a heart rate monitor. Using that with a basic training schedule I'm now happily doing longer rides more often... however, I'm only going full pace on one or two rides a week. Rest of the time I'm putting miles in building my base endurance which does work to increase speed over time and leaves me fresher at the end of the week.

Kieran_Burns

Sorry - just to confirm, but you are carrying a bottle of water with you while commuting?

Daz555

OP seems to have ommitted bacon, and fig rolls.

2/10.

hstiles

Fluids. Being properly hydrated is absolutely essential to recovery. I don't go for energy gels, specialist bars or any of that expensive crap - although I do keep a gel in the back pocket in the event that I or someone else on a ride hits the wall mid ride. What I have found makes a big difference is a Zero isotonic tablet in each of my water bottles. It makes it much easier to drink and does makew me feel a lot less fatigued.