Vary intensity/speed of your rides,
if you are tired, take an hour not 45 mins
Heart rate monitors are very good for this,
I know if I keep below 150 (Zone 2) I can keep going a long time and not get too tired, but it can be hard to stay this low going up hills.
150-168 (Zone 3) will start to require recovery, especially if I do 45 mins twice a day at that intensity.
168-180 (Zone 4) It is hard to keep this intensity up for 45 mins, but any time in this zone will significantly add to recovery time
180-193 will slow me down for the rest of the ride and takes days to recover from. It is reserved for Strava segments.
Heart rates are personal, so you would need to work yours out.
chocolate milk does help, if you don’t like milk try Peanut butter on toast! or anything with carbs and protein.
The little one/s will sleep better soon – says the man lying on the floor waiting for the over tired 3yr old to go to sleep 🙂