There's a Lot More Benefit From Cycle Commuting Than Just Losing a Couple Of Kilos.

[al78]

I used to cycle the 19 mile round trip to work which fourtunately was almost entirely on country lanes. It has the advantage of saving money on fuel and it definitely improved my cardiovascular fitness (although with the side effect of increased general fatigue). It wasn't without its downsides though. It took two and a half times longer than driving and it got increasingly difficult to get from work to the bridge club in time for the evening duplicate game. Cycling during late autumn to early spring was more of a chore than a pleasure, the UK weather (even in SE England) is crap for at least seven months of the year, and commuting on winter nights was never great with the idiots who can't be bothered to dip their headlights.

 

[Lovacott]

It has the advantage of saving money on fuel and it definitely improved my cardiovascular fitness (although with the side effect of increased general fatigue).

My missus has always said that when I cycle to work, I'm physically in better shape but I'm always knackered and not much fun.

I'm addressing this with diet and it seems to be working.

I scoff a banana a few minutes before I get on my bike and I have a protein hit as soon as I stop riding (chicken or hard boiled egg sandwich). The ride will have used up your glucose stores and if you don't have much fat on you, your body will start to cannibalise muscle to create fuel (unless you have something to eat).

A lot of the fatigue you get from cycling is caused by the loss of minerals which happens when you sweat. When I cycle to work in 0c temperatures, I don't sweat and I don't feel tired. When it's warmer, I down a "Berocca" just before I leave. It does make a real difference.

Fact is though, my brain works ten times better since I started cycle commuting and I feel very much better about myself in general.

 

[simongt]

I scoff a banana a few minutes before I get on my bike and I have a protein hit as soon as I stop riding (chicken or hard boiled egg sandwich). The ride will have used up your glucose stores and if you don't have much fat on you, your body will start to cannibalise muscle to create fuel (unless you have something to eat).

Must admit that I don't eat any 'techno' like that. I simply eat 'normal' food at the usual times, brekky, dinner & teatime, also with no unnecessary additives, salt, sugar, other junk ( proper grub - ! ) and cycle away not feeling any the worse for it. And also with my job being physically active, I don't ever feel nutritlonally drained.

 

[BrumJim]

...
I look forward to the challenges of the 25mph westerly on the way home and the missus keeps grabbing me on the bum saying how it feels like concrete.

I've seen sights you can't see from a car in rush hour traffic. Barn owls, foxes, hares, roe deer and bloody pheasants.
...

My wife no longer grabs my bum as it hurts her hands! Your thighs will be like concrete too.

Sometimes its not just the things that car drivers won't see, its the things that they can't see as they are concentrating on the road too much. Such as the first signs of spring, snowdrops, daffodils, crocuses, as well as the smells too.

 

[Lovacott]

My wife no longer grabs my bum as it hurts her hands! Your thighs will be like concrete too.

Sometimes its not just the things that car drivers won't see, its the things that they can't see as they are concentrating on the road too much. Such as the first signs of spring, snowdrops, daffodils, crocuses, as well as the smells too.

This is a head cam still from the commute this morning.

 

[MontyVeda]

I miss my cycle commute immensely. It only lasted 7 or 8 minutes, the same time as my current walk to work, but I arrived more awake and more alert and raring to go... then after spending 6 or 7 hours on my feet, and having walked a good 7 or 10 miles, sitting on the saddle for a mere 7 or 8 minutes to get back home was bliss. Currently the short walk home knackers me even more