Can't commute everyday :(

Azhar

mpdouglas wrote:

No one else has asked, so I will - what's your pedalling technique? Are you grinding the commute out in a high gear and killing your leg muscles? Or are you using the more efficient technique of maintaining a cadence of around 90rpm? When I got seriously into cycling this year, I wasn't at all focused on cadence and used to do the hardman thing of being in as big a gear as possible. Road cycling friends explained the error of my ways and I bought a bike computer with a cadence sensor, and started focusing on holding 90rpm. I found I could go much further for less effort. I now almost don't need the computer - my legs naturally find 90rpm and I hop around the gears constantly depending on incline, headwind etc. Six months ago, I could only manage 2 days a week of a 33 mile round trip into Central London. Now I can do 5 days with relative ease. I ask my question because I see lots of people on my daily commute pedalling at a really low cadence.

Tbh I was grinding out in a higher gear and working quite hard because if felt if I dropped down a gear, even though it may give me some respite, I felt like I wasn't going fast enough and making enough progress. Since some of the posts have been posted above about maybe taking it easy when commuting I have relaxed a little bit evn though it may take me another 15-20minutes to get to work. I have mentioned before that I feel like I've not done as well with the cycling if I don't get to work within an hour. I've been commuting 2 sometimes 3 times a week for 3 months now and still getting to work and back in the same time. Feel like my fitness isn't improving. I see the other cyclists wiz past me, I try to keep up but I can't.

Tis fitnes thing will come in time won't it?

project4cycling

I can only agree with what everyone has said here. You are doing really well. I use my commute to train for sportives and things like that. So, I've researched training methods and read up on the effects of training. I've been doing it for years and even so it is rare that I do a full week. The truth is your body is going to struggle to do 10 hour-long rides a week because it needs rest and recovery. Try to remember that you get fitter when you rest (after a ride) not when you are riding. So if you are upping your excercise you'll need more sleep.

I use a heart rate monitor to check how much effort I'm putting in and also when I'm doing too much. What I find works well is to go fairly hard in the morning, then do a "recovery ride" on the way home. This involves riding, but keeping your heart rate low. This actually helps the body to recover more than doing nothing.

Koncordski is spot on with the advice about how to organise yourself. Packing the night before and having the right snacks in your desk is crucial. It is unlikely you'll have elite level nutrition at work, but one simple thing that makes a huge difference is to drink a glass of milk (chocolate milk is even better) as soon as you finish every ride. A quick internet search will help you understand why that works.

And don't be hard on yourself. This is brilliant!

http://www.project4cycling.com

rubertoe

I notice that you don't have an protein during the day; this will help with muscle recovery and aid with the fatigue issue.

I suggest a big glass of chocolate milk.

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/ ... r-workout/

malcsussex

All good advice mine would be take it easy make sure you get there I bet the red mist wants a PB everyday your PBNJ wld be increase in days. Can you take the car part way??

Glasgow Calum

I don't have breakfast (and never have) and commute 8 miles 15mins after waking up. Is this bad practice? I love my bed so have never had "time" for breakfast lol.

Initialised

Protein, whether from milk, cheese, nuts, eggs, meat or shakes will help with fatigue, muscle recovery and development. Extra fats in your diet may help keep your joints lubricated so don't cut them out entirely.

Maybe switch from jam to eggs in your sarnies and have your coffee extra milky.

On the other hand, it's September, I always seem to slow down in September but I've been grinding at sub 80 rpm too much since switching to a 11-28 cassette (from 12-32) so maybe it's that too. Get a Cateye Strada Cadence (£30) to keep an eye on it. I had hell with my knees the first year from grinding, cod liver oil helped too.

Mix up your cycling a bit at the weekends, try and go out for a few hours every other weekend:

Go to your local trail centre take or hire a suitable MTB and blast around the trails to build up bike handling skills.
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/england-cycling

Use a combination of Googlemaps, Ordinancy Survey and Cyclestreets apps for your smartphone to look for extra on and off road routes to explore.

Explore your local NCN and C2C Cycleways ride without time pressure, just enjoy the scenery, stop for coffee and cake or a pint to refuel before you head back.
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/map?key=Nort ... nd&type=RG

Find a nice hill with a gradual climb and steep descent, see how fast you can go up and down, I clocked myself at 48.1mph last week on one of my favourite local descents, only been faster down a mountain (51.1mph) in a proficient roadie's slip stream (but we were both on MTB so go figure).

Azhar

hey guys. many thanks for all the replies. its great having so much advice to help me. i have researched the chocolate milkshake and now have that every time i;'ve got in to work. I think i mentioned it before but i was trying a bit too hard to get to work within an hour. so ive eased up, just a little, and now get to work in about 1hr 10mins to 1hr 20 mins. and try a lot harder coming home knowingt that i;ve got loads of time to relax and recuperate.

the lack of sleep was also making me dead tired, so i've now changed my shift to start a little later in the morning so it means i can travel after rush hour in the morning and come home once the rush hour has died down. so i'm looking forward to that! ive had quite a few near misses when i finish at 4 so i dont want to take that chance anymore.

gosport_commuter

All fantastic advice above, really would make sure you are getting a bit more protein if possible - your muscles really need it! I find if I havn't had enough I start to crave foods that contain it soon enough these days. to give a vague idea where you should be intake wise I "only" commute an 18 mile round trip and I eat EVERY work day:

A healthy bowl of fruit n bran + cup of tea with sugar for breakfast
A small snack (usually chocolate if im honest - 2 finger kit kat etc) 30 mins after arrival
A banana and another small snack (circa 100 calories) at 10:30 (my tea break)

A meat sandwich, usually a generous amount of Ham (the good shit, not the pretend stuff, at least 95% pork)
+ a packet of crisps, +flapjack (or 200ish calories of snacky chocolate!) +apple for lunch @ 1pm

lastly another small snack (100ish calories) 1 hour before the ride home @5pm

Then ofc comes dinner, which is a "normal" sized meat n 2 veg type affair with the family @ about 5:45pm

Evening sees many snacking opportunities, which I rarely waste! I tend to consume about another 4-600 calories in the evening watching TV and the like!


This all seems alot for most of my family/friends, but I can happily report that I am still about maintaining/slowly losing my weight, rather than putting it on as I was before taking up cycling again!