New commute - tell me it gets easier?

[hotfuzzrj]

I have recently moved from Birmingham to Surrey. My commute and role have slightly changed.

Old commute - 3.5 miles each way. Lovely. Normal Early start time 0800 Normal Late finish time 2200
New commute - 13.5 each way. Hilly. Normal Early start time 0700 Normal Late finish time 0000 or 0100

I have done the commute on the bike three times now, it's a lot longer than I'm used to but enjoyable, the scenery is beautiful and the motorists give plenty of room.
But I'm blinking knackered!!
Will I get used to it or should I just resign myself to being knackered forever??
(Oo oo also I'm on a hybrid, should I bite the bullet and get a road bike?)

 

[RWright]

I have a similiar problem. I can ride 20 miles without much problem..except my 12 mile route to work (two river valleys and climb out of them both with another even steeper hill right before work with each climb about a mile long). All the hills are near the work end of the route and I am still too worn out from the ride to do a good job at work when it is a busy day. I guess a road bike MAY help you some, I have one but it is a compact. I hope with more saddle time it will get easier.

I think a lot of the commuters on the forum would be able to handle it with no problem but I am only back riding since late July. I probably will just keep my normal after work riding routine. I think I am going to tackle some after work winter riding and try the commute again in the spring.

 

[G2EWS]

Judging by the times you have given, I would hazard a guess and say you are not getting enough sleep!

Your body needs to get to REM sleep at least once each night and preferably 2 or more times related of course to your sleep pattern. Depending on whose theory or studies you read, your body gets to REM sleep between 90 and 105 minutes.

Should you not make it to REM sleep your body will store up the lack of it and it then needs to either catch up or your body will suffer!

Please understand that this is just a basic resume of sleep.

A simple and fairly low cost method of assessing how well you sleep is to use a 'fitbit'. This is a small USB sized device that you wear all day and on a wrist strap at night.

http://www.fitbit.com/uk

Here is a screen capture of one of my sleeps:

As you can see an appalling nights sleep and I knew it the following day.

This one shows a that I got one REM sleep. Better, but not perfect.

By monitoring your sleep pattern you will be able to determine what helps you sleep and what doesn't. So for example I have determined that some whisky's help me and others don't!

This is obviously only one aspect of what might be causing you to be tired. It will also depend a lot on your body and how it copes with the extra mileage you are doing every day.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Chris

 

[summerdays]

I've had a similar up in commute and I'm struggling a little. I'm trying not to do it every day at the moment and build up to it. And once your legs are tired then even a little slope feels like a hill. It is getting a little better and I'm starting to get to know the route and where the problems are, but it will take a little while to build up to more than doubling my mileage and different type of route. Also changing my clothing slightly, haven't changed the bike yet (though given how often I've grabbed a lift a folding bike would make more sense but I'm hoping that will change over time).

 

[GrumpyGregry]

you'll get used to it, eventually. Honestly you will, if you stick at it and then you'll find yourself thinking 'long way home tonight"; once the summer evenings return, and "what did I ever fuss over that hill for?"

Took me about three months to be able to take 5 days of 40km round trippery in my stride. Ramp up to it, you're taking a big step up from what you've done before.

 

[Andrew_P]

Yep it will get easier, just stick at it. Do it all through the winter and by March you will be looking for Cat rated hills

Any commute is good for base fitness but 10+ miles each way really build a good fitness. I personally would leave the N+1 until the Spring. New road bike 6 months of fitness and spring mornings = heaven

 

[Stevie Mcluskey]

Keep with it Hotfuzzrj. My experience is it will get easier tho i'm not doing the same amount of miles as you. I returned to cycling after a long absence in May. Doing about 13 mile round trip. Going home all uphill and really struggled first couple of months and then during the summer got a bit fitter (and shed a bit of weight) and started wanting to add miles on the way home.

I found going out and doing a longer distance run at weekends helped me with fitness and made my shorter commute journey seem a bit easier.
Keeping motivated during the dark winter months (already upon us up here in Glasgow area) is going to be my issue.

 

[Graham]

Don't worry, it will get better - I used to shudder at the thought of 5 miles each way, but have got better. Try some skinnier tyres for your hybrid if necessary, but make sure they are properly inflated to reduced rolling resistance. Few other thoughts:

Have a think about the 'fit' of your bike. I spent a couple of years with a stem which was too long and my back and hands would hurt - You'll never stick at it if you're not comfortable on the bike. There are loads of threads on here about the right fit.

It takes a few months to build up the 'deep' strength in your legs - Only cycling gets you strong enough to go cycling (or something like that!)

Get some decent clothes for the winter months - Especially gloves, headband and overshoes to keep the extremeties warm - Especially with those hideous working hours of yours!

Eat something for breakfast, even if its just a banana.

If you have an iphone or whatever, get on www.strava.com - It's bl88dy addictive if you have even a hit of competition in you!

 

[hotfuzzrj]

Cheers everyone, some very helpful and positive comments.
G2EWS - Re sleep and REM, I'm confident I'm sleeping very well, the shift times are never such that I go from a Late into an Early so after a Late I tend to sleep until I need it, today from 0200 to about 1030. This is ample sleep for me.
I suppose I meant more physically knackered, than mentally knackered, I get to work and I'm wide awake and feeling great, it's just tiring me out a bit.

What hasn't helped is that two out of the three times I've done it (not consecutively, by the way, I've been trying to introduce it slowly) it's been peeing down and although I've got some good clothing it's still a bit demoralising to be sopping wet. (I do need to get some waterproof overtrousers.)

LOCO - You have confused me with your cycling lingo! What is cat rated hills? And what is N+1?!

Graham - it's a Boardman hybrid so the tyres are already pretty slim. I'm comfy on the bike so I don't think there is a positional problem. I have done the London to Brighton and London to Paris on it this summer so I feel at home with the bike...

I think the main problems are I went from cycling every day (even just short rides) to nothing for a month due to the move, and logistical problems, and now I'm trying the longer commute in the rain BooHoo.. I should have known when we moved to the 'Surrey Hills' but when my boyfriend and I were driving through the villages be made a comment like Its really hilly round here, are you sure you'll be abe to cycle to work?! Well, red rag to a bull!

I'm just being a big wussy girl and need to MTFU!

Thanks everyone!

 

[gaz]

Judging by the times you have given, I would hazard a guess and say you are not getting enough sleep!

Depends on the person. I regularly go to sleep after 1am, get up at 7am and cycle to work 15 miles. I don't drink caffeine (apart from the odd can of diet coke at lunch) and manage to function just fine.

 

[G2EWS]

Depends on the person. I regularly go to sleep after 1am, get up at 7am and cycle to work 15 miles. I don't drink caffeine (apart from the odd can of diet coke at lunch) and manage to function just fine.

Hi Gaz,

You can sleep for very little time. As a young man, running two businesses and being in the RAF I used to go to bed at 02:00 and get up at 04:00. The critical thing is how good your sleep is. As mentioned you have to get to REM sleep and I have mentioned above how long this takes for the average person.

But it is always a starting point if you are exhausted. Often we have no understanding of what happens when we lay our head on the pillow and just wake up either refreshed or still shattered. Monitoring your sleep is the only way to be sure.

For me, I got fed up going out in the morning and within an hour I wanted to sleep! So I set about finding out more about sleep and how important it is to our lives.

Having said all that, it is irrelevant in this case as hotfuzzrj has confirmed his is a physical exhaustion.

Best regards

Chris

 

[byegad]

I stepped up from a fairly level 12 mile each way commute to a 16 mile down hill there and 16 miles up hill back one. It took a little while to adjust but getting there took me just over the hour and the return more like 1h 20m+ Eventually I treated the '16' back as a leisure ride, sometimes making it 20 or even 30 miles. I worked mornings only so had all afternoon to get home. As a straight 16+16 commute it was doable with relative ease.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm just being a big wussy girl and need to MTFU!

If you really want to MTFU and have an n+1 itch may I suggest getting a fixed gear bike for winter commutes. You'll be pumped by the spring, and your legs will be ripped.

 

[benb]

It will get easier. Mine is only 7 miles each way, but when I started I could only do it 3 times a week. It probably took me 6 months to get up to every day (although I was probably ready earlier but didn't realise it) and now it's a breeze.

Obviously yours is nearly twice that distance, but as your body gets fitter it will get easier.

Whereabouts in Surrey are you?

 

[hotfuzzrj]

G2EWS I'm a girl I'll have you know!!

Benb - I'm living in Dorking