Multi day commute fatigue. Feel rotten!

I know I could go and see my GP, but he doesn’t cycle and I have never had much faith so I wanted to get some thoughts on here.

I have cycle 3 > 2 week rides averaging ~ 75 miles in the last 4 years, but I have noticed that when I commute to work and back (22 miles each way) which takes 1.5 hrs each way I do 2 days on the trot and then on the 3rd day I wake up feeling rotten. Whole body aches, feel nauseous and just wiped out for the whole day.

I don’t push hard on the rides as I am conscious I need to work, but I really am concerned and want to try and understand what could be going on. Had an exercise ECG last year and that came back fine. Cortisol overload …

I drink a protein shake when I get to work along with carbs so I don’t think it’s a lack of calories.

If I do book into see the GP what do I ask for suggest as I know he won’t relate and will just tell me to stop cycling?

could it be a lack of salt due to all the sweat and the body not being used to it. Sometimes I need Salt on my weekend rides or I get a headache. Maybe you need food during the ride. Do you start on an empty stomach?

When i was in my 20s I would have done that mileage without flinching, but im 50 now and i doubt I could manage that even if I didn’t have to work.
If you’re looking at 130 miles a week (have i read that correctly), that’s actually a fair chunk to do on top of a full time job.

I’ve noticed that when i do a 6 day stint at work i am totally **** after it, i need a minimum of a day off before I can contemplate riding a bike or anything remotely strenous.
So, if you’re 50, I wouldn’t be worried.
If you’re 20, something definitely wrong ime.

If I’ve read things correctly, it sounds like you are simply facing fatigue after four rides of ~22 miles over two consecutive days, so day three feels like hell.

Whereas I’m guessing you did ~75 miles split over the week with rest days in between rides.

If you work five days a week, can you not try alternating days between cycle commuting and non-exercise commutes?

47 years old. So maybe age + job is the real problem.

I don’t think it’s salt as I’ll eat a packet of salted nuts at work too.

Although I sit coding all day at work, I do wonder how much impact the 8 hours also has.

Bloody frustrating though.

You say you’re not pushing it but the only way to genuinely tell is either HRM or power meter and keep in zone 2. 22 miles is a fair way – I’d expect that to take close to two hours in zone 2 unless you are particularly fit.

You don’t say what age you are but as @martymac states it does get more troublesome as you get older and recovery from efforts just takes longer.

The HRM is an interesting point as when cycle touring I average ~ 10 mph so 22 miles in 1.5 hrs could indicate I’m pushing harder than I think.

When I get my Garmin back I’ll put the HR on to see what zone I’m in.

Set your heart rate zones according to Lactate Threshold Heart Rate, rather than your max heart rate, the difference could easily be one zone.

Prawny on here used to cycle commute ~200 miles a week iirc and he gave it up towards the end of last year, because it left him wrecked by Friday.

So, if you didn’t do the cycle commute do you feel perfectly healthy?

If you do the ‘recommended’ 5* half hourly exercise a week, do you feel perfectly healthy?

Age, stress, fitness, and many other things all have an impact so maybe spend some time baselining before hitting the NHS for free sports fitness advice which isnt what it’s for imho

Eat more. You’re not fuelling enough and carrying that over. Rice the night before. Even just a tin of Ambrosia before bedtime and something an hour before leaving for home.

I used to get that too.
Had a 15 mile each way commute; could either do it all on road – mostly busy urban stuff with junctions, lights, traffic etc or I had a canal towpath option whcih took about 20 minutes longer and was really only an option in dry weather.

Both options were mentally quite taxing; the road one for the fairly obvious reason of not being run over, the off-road one for not falling in the canal. Both options involved a lot of slowing, stopping, getting going again either at lights and junctions on-road or for dog walkers, bridges etc off road so it was never a nice smooth spin.

If I did that 5 days a week, I’d not want to look at a bike again all weekend so I’d lose all my “quality” riding time. The answer was to mix it up a bit – ride in / train home, a day of getting the train both ways or driving in, ride both ways, do road in (on the CX) and then towpath home and so on. I was lucky to have all those options.

Also, never get into commuter racing. Road riding is a bit more difficult because you sort of feel obliged to be as fast as possible to make it safer when mixing with cars but that then tires you out much more quickly.

If I don’t ride I feel fine and I’m ok if I just cycle in the evening. It’s the early 7am start and double ride on the same day that seems to be too much. I might try the drive in cycle home .. routine to see how that goes.

It’s far too easy as a life long cyclist to forget age and that what we try and do could just be a little too much.

How about a lack of electrolytes, not just salt ? I find one or two of those electrolyte replacement tablets dropped in a litre of water really helps with the recovery.

Also, try alternating the days where you commute with a strength session in the gym or a session in the pool ? Again, this helps me hugely with the fatigue of riding on consecutive days and aleviating the ‘boredom’ (for want of a better word) of riding the same route day in, day out. Particularly in the winter.
I find weight training (for strength) and swimming for the aches and pains and just reaxation, or an interval session are absolutely complimentary to the cycling.

Don’t drive, buy a Cytronex.

Friend uses this on a 24-mile commute and raves about it – saves his legs on the climbs and leaves him feeling fresh on a ride that would not be possible otherwise.

https://www.cytronex.com/

PS: Your original problem is probably due to age and having a job where you can’t sleep for recovery.

It’s a lot of extra calories burnt riding that far, I’d guess it was an energy failure thing. Strava will probably estimate 1000+ calories for each 22mile leg. Whilst that’s not to be taken as completely accurate, 1000 calories x2 rides x2-3 days on the bounce is a lot of extra food to take on – it’s actually quite hard to do.

Like you, I find back-to-back commuting days sometimes quite tiring.

I’d still be able to reach a similar level of fitness to 10 years ago if I really tried, but there is no way I could replicate my recovery levels – it’s just a case of the body getting older.

Thanks for your comments here. I now feel that maybe at my age it is expecting quite a lot. I have noticed that my recovery takes longer and I feel the effects of the previous day’s ride much more than I used too. I’m not a big eater either and at a minimum I would say 3 hrs would require an extra 1000 calories, which is quite a lot of food to consume whilst at work.

The cytronex is a great idea and I’m going to investigate that one. My ride is not super hilly, but 1500ft for 21.6 miles so not flat either. The climbs are steep and it is difficult to keep the HR down.

I also like the idea of an ebike as it would be good for winter months and for doing plenty of low HR endurance stuff ready for the spring / summer.

I wouldn’t buy a cytronex. front wheel drive is horrible. The motor is weedy (Cytronex call it efficient) and the 180wh battery capacity (range) is really small. (how they manage the lightweightness)

a mid motor (or rear wheel drive) bike (road or mtb) will be a little heavier. But waaaay nicer to ride.

I’m a couple of years older than you and commutting apx 120 miles over 4 consecutive days on a Shimano E7000 equipped hardtail with fast rolling (but quite heavy/tough) 2.0 schwalbe big ben tyres. it’s 44lb with mudguards and a pretty heavy 150mm fork. Sub 40lb would easily be possible by fitting a rigid 29″ fork and 700c road rims/tyres but it’d be more business and less fun for me built like that.
My commuting distance varies between 10 or 20 miles each direction (depending on where I’m sleeping) the terrain is undulating and I have the option of making half of it off road when dry(ish) whatever route I choose is slightly less elevation than yours.
The journey time is quicker than I could ride on my roadbike fully lycra’d up at threshold. but I ride in in ordinary clothes and arrive each morning not in a sweaty mess. On the way home sometimes I do put in a big effort. Sometimes just piss about taking my time pulling sweet mannys for the laydees.
I still ride mtb on my days off and in the evenings. Much as I love it my road bike is ridden pretty rarely now though.

I think it’s pretty normal tbh.

I commute pretty much every day on a deeply unfashionable Toughroad, about an hour each way – maybe more if I’m dropping off the kids on their bikes at school on the way in/home.

I try to get a ride in every Saturday with my son, normally at a trail centre – Kielder red, Hamsterley, Glentress or local. I’ll also try to do one night a week at Hamsterley or Chopwell woods with a mate and then a road ride or longer mountain bike ride on Sunday morning.

I’m 44, two youngish kids and was generally feeling knackered all the time – half jokingly told my wife I thought I had Chronic Fatigue. The answer for me was (whisper it) an ebike. I bought a Decoy and now (a bit like geex, above) when I can’t be bothered, or if I’m feeling knackered, I take that on the commute (off road mostly) or on one of the rides through the week or weekend. Sometimes I push pretty hard on it, sometimes I just enjoy the ride, sometimes I don’t use it at all for a couple of weeks.

I look forward to the days I’m knackered and get the take the Decoy… ;)

Might be an iron deficiency. I used to suffer something similar. My commute is about 8 miles but quite intense and hilly. I’d do three days of commute and then feel shit on my rest days. My sister suggested iron. Started taking a supplement and it really worked. I know it’s not the best way for the body to absorb iron, but worth a shot

I reckon you are not eating enough. I had a similar issue, went and saw the doctor and he did some tests. Basically turned out I was shy about 1500 calories a day. Started eating more and the issue went away. Decent brekkie (overnight oats or similar) second breakfast at my desk (pastry…) and then decent dinner. Right as rain. Only issue is that now I’m not doing so much I’ve found it hard to kick the second breakfast

Get your b12 checked, sounds like you could be low. I cannot process b12 so have to get injections to boost. Lethargy is a symptom of low b12.

I have a similar length commute (26miles each way) and it leaves me wrecked if I do it a couple of days on the trot, not just tired but my legs are fubar!

I put it down to being split with an 8hr break in the middle to eat and recover a bit. A 52 mile ride might be a fairly sedate pace, a 26mile can be fairly brisk, 2x 26 mile rides is still fairly brisk so is doing twice as much damage to your legs (with no real recovery). Weight loss, saving £££ and fun are all reasons to do it. But I dont think it helps fitness.

Actually eating ~2500 extra calories a day is surprisingly hard with normal healthy food. I’ve started taking on-the-bike snacks with me to stave off the biscuit cravings later. Usually a banana, jam sandwich and some sweeties. I’m still trying to lose weight, but keep the daily deficit at <1000 calories.

How much sleep are you getting and how stressful are your days? Sleep, or lack of it, has a massive impact on your recovery and it’s not just about how much time you’re spending in bed.