Fuel for faster rides home?

[Mile195]

As well as refuelling during the day and after your evening run, you should make sure you don't work too hard, especially on the way in to work in the morning. You've stepped your mileage up by a significant amount and your body is probably still adjusting. There will be times when your reserves are depleted more than you can recover during the day, so if you are tired, accept it and take it easy until you are feeling stronger.

Take it easy? I laugh in the face of tiredness! (or giggle quietly at it... until I get to Eltham Hill which usually wipes any smile from my face...)

Seriously though, you do make a good point.

 

[BrumJim]

Being controversial, I'd suggest that it is psychological.
Work up a target, or a frustration. Really take it out on the pedals. Run to empty and then push beyond, and show your body that it can't rest until it gets home.
Alternatively, you are fighting the wind going home, and with it on the way, so home will mostly be a bit more of a struggle.
And last sill piece of advice is the much discredited insulin rebound. Always avoid any sweets between 2:00 and 4:30. These will ensure that your blood sugar is at its lowest just as you leave. Either have some high GI stuff in this time, or add sugar 20mins before you leave.

 

[Matthew_T]

When I have to commute home at 8pm from a 9am start, I always have a nice warm meal in the college cafe at about 5.30pm. It fills me up and gives me plenty of energy. It is normally of the beans and chips kind of thing (a nice big plateful).
When I get home, I normally have waiting either family leftovers for me or my own small meal.

 

[HLaB]

I've got to have my breakfast before my commute, its maybe just routine but it works for me a bowl of cereal (usually Wheetabix) my commutes vary of late, they've been 11.5 miles in, 5 miles out and maybey a lunchtime 5-10mile spin if the weather is nice. I like to have a cereal bar/ cake bar with coffee a few hours before lunch then sandwiches, crisps youghurt and a chocolate bar after and a banana in the late afternoon; a couple of weeks ago however I got up earlier two days in a row and made it 28 & 30 miles in and still fueled up the same way. Although some days are bacon & eg baps for brunch or cake fests

 

[BlackPanther]

I'm always up and straight out of the house at 06.30 for the 12 mile commute. I tend to have a sarnie when I get in the lorry, and 3 or 4 pieces of fruit. Sarnies for lunch, then that's it until I get home at around 17.45. I do tend to have a large meal when I get in though....and usually end up finishing off the kids as well. The only time I've ever really felt weak from riding is when I did 110 miles in one day. After 50 miles or so I felt really weak, but a couple of 'Boost' bars did the trick.

You're supposed to "Drink before you're thirsty, eat before you're hungry". I can manage my 45 min commute o.k but there's a big difference between 12 and 20 miles.

Bananas seem to do the trick for tennis players, so how about a couple an hour or so before you set off home?

 

[subaqua]

bananas are great. I take one with my lunch but don't eat it till about an hour before i start riding home. sorts me out nicely till tea at about 7.30- 8.00 ish

ride in in morning is fuelled by bran flakes n raisins or special flakes n raisins, or if its a fast day a banana !

 

[Leaway2]

bananas are great. I take one with my lunch but don't eat it till about an hour before i start riding home. sorts me out nicely till tea at about 7.30- 8.00 ish

ride in in morning is fuelled by bran flakes n raisins or special flakes n raisins, or if its a fast day a banana !

I love bananas but if I eat one 1 hour before my ride home, I get terrible indigestion half way.

 

[subaqua]

I found that 45 minutes before and it didn't feel good so i tried different times before starting and different sized bananas. but thats the OCD engineer in me

 

[jonny jeez]

So having recently moved house, I've been commuting 20 miles each way for the last month, as opposed to 13 miles each way previously.

Energy level-wise, the rides into work are generally ok. However, some of the rides home are incredibly hard, even when I feel like I've eaten enough during the afternoon. My speed can be terrible, some of which is down to traffic and not being able to pick up a good pace, but I'm sure some of it is down to what I'm eating and just not having the energy to give it any welly.

I usually have my lunch about 1pm, then tend to snack somewhere in the afternoon around 4pm, before getting on the bike about 5:45pm. If I haven't snacked, then I usually find myself stuffing a Mars Bar or something before I leave if I feel like it's otherwise going to be a bad ride.

This was generally fine for my 13 mile trip, but for 20 miles, it's simply not cutting the mustard anymore.

Interested to hear anyone elses daytime eating regimes for a good ride home?

is it worth asking about your elevation. My 20 mile ride in to work is a breeze and for a while I put it down to being alert at the beginning of the day. Until I mapped the route on bike hike and realised that there was a significant drop/climb that was spread, imperceptibly, over a long distance...and that favoured the ride in.

It helped me come to terms with the ride home and accept that it was simply more of a challenge and that i wasn't just some knackered old git.

 

[HLaB]

Just nipped out to the local supermarket by bananas one of them will be fuel for tonight's commute.

 

[The Horse's Mouth]

A few pints of real ale at lunch is the perfect fuel for me. Hic!

 

[Mile195]

So I've changed my lunch - less stodgy white stuff yesterday and today. I have avoided very refined sugar over the afternoon, and had pre-cooked turkey breast and rice about 4pm. Set my watch to remind me to drink water every half hour, and avoided tea and coffee in the afternoon.

Yesterday's ride home was an improvement, but perhaps it was just a good day. I shall see if the trend continues this afternoon.

If not, somebody mentioned porridge in the afternoon. It does me well for breakfast so I may try that tomorrow... watch this space...

 

[Kins]

You can make your own flapjacks pretty easily and stuff them with fruit and berries then you can eat one when you get up and one before you ride in the afternoon. I love flapjacks!

My commute isn't far enough to warrant fuelling up, but I still eat a flapjack or two just in case!

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I once had 6 doughnuts one afternoon at work, blimey I flew home like I had never known.

 

[Twilkes]

Monitoring this week’s intake, I’ve realised that what I eat directly after a ride is far more important than what I eat before a ride #GoldengrahamsDoritosSteakandonionsChocolateflapjack #notallatthesametime