Going to start commuting in the new year. 10 miles there, 10 back. Maybe more in the days with more light.
I’ll be doing this at about 5:30am going to a day shift. 6:30pm on the way home.
Then, 5:30pm on the way to a night shift and 6:30am on the way home.
Any suggestions for fuelling this please? Could I get away with doing it faster/espresso only on a morning shift then just use my normal day of food to fuel my ride home? Obviously if I ride further/harder I’ll have to add some carbs and/or caffeine in.
Will try to add some training in on my commute but not sure how worthwhile or easy it’ll be…? I was rather just thinking I’ll ride home fairly steady then go on the turbo if I need to or go in the gym. Maybe on the longer rides it’ll be easier to plan a workout. Could I get away with just using my intuition and doing some quicker efforts/rides when I can? Basically just enjoying time on the bike en route to work.
Can you eat at work? For a 10 mile ride, which will take you 30-40 mins, you likely don’t need to fuel on the bike. I’d have a coffee before, and then eat breakfast when there. However, if you haven’t got time once you get there, I’d take a few oat bars or a sandwich and eat it on the bike. On the way back, eat something before you leave, and then eat properly at home.
Regarding training - really depends on the roads/route. If it’s a rural commute with a few hills, you might be able to stay out longer and do some intervalls, but if its more urban, forget it. I’d try to ride at endurance pace and treat it as added volume to your training plan.
Absolutely you can do your commute with your normal eating. I did it for 3 decades no issues. If you do start to see too much weight loss, lack of energy, you’ll know to eat more over the day to bring it into balance. My morning commute was always fasted, no breakfast or anything during the ride. My commute was 13 miles each way.
Yeah i will be able to 99% of the time, the odd time it might be chaos when i arrive but will get a breakfast at some point.
I can make it more rural once the nights become lighter. Prior to that itll be bike paths & roads. Then theres some gravel tracks/mud tracks i can use too. Not many/any hills where i live
I commute March-November. 25 miles each way, on rolling back roads. Average speed 20-22 mph. Often slot in with a group in the morning and take my pulls for an extra hour before branching off to work (net 50+ miles), or incorporate a TR workout into the PM commute, which also adds time/intensity. Many days of 100 miles combined. I never bother to fuel the morning with anything more than a cup of coffee, unless meeting up with the group, then I’ll have a snack and pack some blocks or a gel for mid-ride. I wear a small messenger with food for the day, and some clothes. Fortunate to have a locker and showers at work, so I leave heavier bulky things like shoes there. Helps to have access to a fridge too… stock up on a few snacks. If I sweat a lot in the morning, I’ll jump in the shower in my kit and hang it up to air dry throughout the day. This amount of mileage can be difficult to fuel week in, week out. With the break in between, sometimes I’m just not hungry enough to adequately eat between rides, or I get too busy, so there are inevitably days I mistakenly under eat and flirt with a bonk (especially on days with a headwind). It’s never anything I can’t get thru though and I definitely make sure to top off the tank in the evening. You’ll be fine.
Thanks, yeah when the mornings get light im going to see how early i can go to bed and how early i can get up (or get home from work) in order to extend my rides and add some real training in. Itll be a work in progress im sure, least theres a healthy canteen at work if i get stuck.
I too had showers at work. When I started decades back I started with 3 days a week, Tue to Thu. Monday I drive in and dropped off a bag of work clothes and towels for the week. I then take used clothing home on bike. Friday I’d drive take the bag home ready to bring back on Monday.
After 3 months I moved to cycle commuting 5 days a week and I’d transport my work clothes on the bike. You can get cubes and various other smart packing things if you need to transport (on the bike) crease free shirts and ties for work etc.
Enjoy your commute it really helps bookend the working day , you arrive at work fired up and ready for the day, you arrive at home having left the stresses of the work day behind during your ride. Your brain isn’t full of work when you sit down with your family etc.
+1 on just eating a bit more at meals being able to accommodate that. Though if I was going to eat at work than I’d probably scarf a banana or something beforehand.
As far as quicker efforts, depending on discipline and/or weather that may be taken out of your hands to some degree. I get them unintentionally via being late or having to sprint through a yellow light. As much as I try to allow myself time to ride lazily wherever I’m going I end up forcing myself to ride hard(er) to get there on time. On the weather side, riding in low zone 2 when it’s 37 degrees and raining isn’t especially appealing so I just ride harder.
