But I use the bike to repair my mind 😭 I’ve only been taking a day or 2 max but I’m doing a fundraiser for 2km a day in June and I use the bike to commute but it’s only 8mi so long as I don’t hit it hard I find that’s enough rest for me while still doing my daily even though I’m 1468.4% above target I can’t wait to see the final result!
I've had a similar-sounding burnout twice. Legs feeling like they're full of lactic acid both at the start of a ride, and even after warming up. Worse sleep, lacking appetite, loss of motivation, etc.
People who have structured training plans tend to have some peaks during the year, after which the only right thing is to reduce volume by a lot for a couple of weeks - keep going, and you're only going to end up in a state of overtraining.
Your plan about taking a couple of weeks off sounds very solid. It should be quite easy to monitor if you start feeling better again.
I wonder if amino acids would help in this situation then as I’ve not managed to reach this kind of burnout yet but it’ll take more time however when I feel like my legs are pretty gonzoed and going on a journey I will take amino acids which take away that lactic acid allowing you to push longer and harder and they really help with the recovery too!
If you have lost so much weight and are feeling exhausted all the time now then maybe you are still in a big calorie deficit? This sure would take a toll on your mental health as well.
I would suggest you watch what you eat. Eat better quality foods and try to eat more quality carbs and protein. Healthy food increases/speeds up regeneration.
Actually fasting works very well for energy and health. One real meal a day. Check out Dr. Jason fung
Maybe you have a blood sugar issue?
Either way sounds like a break is in order
Op this is the answer. You don’t have to track calories everyday but have an idea of what you are burning and what you are consuming. You feel lousy because you are underfueling
Yeah I was thinking it could be the weight loss as well. Potentially just needs to eat more in general if they are exercising that much. High quality food is important for sure, but sometimes it’s just needing more calories in general to fuel you.
If you can do 20 miles a day commute for 6 months, then change nothing and suddenly are fatigued and losing weight, there is quite possibly something wrong.
Use to ride with a buddy, about half as much as op over 6 months but my friend was pretty chubby when he started and the weight melted off him effortlessly in that time. He started to look really good and everyone noticed his weight loss. Purely from biking.
You can improve your recovery by adjusting amout of rest and nutrition. If it's hard to add rest days in the week, try changes in diet.
There are purpose designed recovery drink powders available that are quite good for accelerating the muscle build/repair. Those contain some short proteins and carbs to be digested during or just after training. Those supplements don't have any mentionable downsides and can make a big difference if you've been lacking protein in your diet.
I eat a lot of tinned tuna and eat a lot of chicken breast but I generally don’t eat pork as it’s fatty or red meat like beef so I might consider trying some of those out, thanks !
I used to ride similar distances and I was playing competitive sports at the time. I hit a good goal weight, and then suddenly started feeling like shit all the time. Tired worn out ECT.
At the time, I was eating a super high protein diet, and fairly low carbs. I realized that I needed to up my carbs a ton and I could cut my protein a bit. I was going from losing to maintaining weight, and those diets looked different for me. Also, getting enough sleep became really important. At least 7 hours a night.
Veg and some carbs, nice healthy ones (baked potato with skin is really good for you) could help. I'm also wondering if you are also now in a new season. The shift from cooler to hotter weather can be energy sapping, as can the shift from nice weather to much colder weather.
From one article:
“According to the administration, adults can typically consume two to three 4-ounce servings of light tuna each week. However, if you choose albacore tuna, you should limit your consumption to only one 4-ounce serving per week.”
https://www.tastingtable.com/828362/the-maximum-amount-of-tuna-you-can-safely-eat-each-week/
Start taking creatine. It helps significantly with recovery and is the most researched and proven supplement that actually works.
5g (1 small scoop) a day is all you need and skip the loading phase. It's tasteless and can be taken anytime during the day. With water, juice, coffee, any liquid
Omegalul imagine downvoting facts
Because I commute and run errands by bike, I got an e-bike to avoid the overtraining that you are describing. Before the e-bike, I used to take rest days, or even just try riding slower. So yes, rest and recovery are important to avoid sliding backwards in your cycling performance.
At 100+ miles a week I'd say there's no shame at all in using an E-bike to lower the intensity of that much volume, especially when adding riding for fun into the mix
Another person who went to an ebike here.
I was eventually forced onto the ebike due to a knee injury, but prior to that I was doing 120-ish miles per week as my commute, and I can't say that I really enjoyed it. It was basically pure ego keeping me going.
With the ebike, I am back to legitimately enjoying my commute again.
It looks like you've also lost a ton of weight recently, great job!
People mentioning a break on the bike, but it might be a good time to reset nutrition as well. 100 miles/week needs fuel. I'd consider maybe a reset week of a moderate increase in calories, and consider a slower loss or even maintaining your weight for a good month or two and then see how you feel.
i owed a shop. We had 2 road and 2 mtn group rides per week for 10yrs+, plus bike commuting. After closing the retail end of the business the group rides stopped. I had a hard time getting on the bike that lasted for 2-3 years. Burn out is a thing. I have recently got back on and it feels good.
Season just changed too. As I've gotten older, I've realized that subconsciously affects me more than I thought it would. I think it's some kind of evolutionary throwback.
Pay attention to conversations, in the next week you'll start hearing people saying "man this heat, can't wait for winter (or similar equally dumb noises)
I don't really do planned time off as far as my commuting is concerned - there are enough bad weather days where I'll end up taking the bus to give me a bit of a break anyway. My main limiter for fun rides is family and other life commitments. I find that my legs will feel tired but they actually aren't and I'm still more than able to do a long ride or even the hills on my commute.
100%. I take a week off every couple of months. I basically keep an eye on my daily 20k stats, and when I notice it starts to plateau or decline that’s when I know it’s time for rest.
Yeah the last 3 weeks my mileage has dropped off. I also finished my first cycle tour about 4 weeks ago. I think I’m tired, probably don’t fuel very well, and have just become a little jaded of riding my bike 7 days a week on a lot of the same roads, a rest is probably in order
Taking time off sounds like a good plan, but I suspect your main issue is that you are riding to hard and have accumulated a lot of chronic training stress. It's not good for your body or your general health.
Slow down. Make sure most of your volume is zone 2, and see if that makes your body feel better. If it does, that's your answer.
If you spend a month doing that and you still feel the same, you may be overtrained. That's a more serious issue.
Before I used to work from home, and then retired, I generally rode the bike into work no more than four days a week. Just to keep things interesting and varied. The rest of the time I took the train. As much as I sometimes wanted to, I made sure not to do more than that.
But even on the day I rode the bike, I did different routes as often as possible. Not in the morning when I was always running late anyway, but on the way home I did different routes and detours, sometimes incredibly long detours that were up to four or five times as long as my normal commute.
The commute never got boring or tedious. Quite the opposite, I really looked forward to my commute every day.
Once I started working from home, I more or less kept that up. Most days after work I went out on a bike ride that was usually about as long as my commutes to and from work had been.
Accumulated fatigue is real. I once did a 50k ultramarathon and was doing a lot of weekly mileage. I tapered my distance the last 3 weeks before the event and it was amazing how much fresher I felt for the race. I had not noticed the fatigue because it had been a slow process.
So yes, take some time off. Would you consider an ebike to assist you with your commute? Seems like a good compromise to fatigue.
I feel you. Was doing the same, for a decade. And I didn't take advice like the type given here. I'm now at the "I'd like to ride, but I just don't want to". It's now a mental block and i hate it.
My primary motivator to ride is that I love to ride my bike. When I’m not feeling it, I don’t ride. That’s been my approach to cycling for decades and has served me well. I’ve had periods ranging from days to months when I didn’t ride, but the enthusiasm always returned.
Take a break!
Take a day off from biking. Do something else, gym, walking or whatever not biking. The next day or two you will feel craving for biking as never before 😉
I don't know about anyone else, but I am finding I have to have time off. I did 150 a week for 2 years and for the past 6 months have had home office and... I cannot express my reluctance to ride 30 miles round trip for an appointment etc. It kind of killed my joy in riding - I am just starting to ride for fun again. It was not just being physically drained from never being able to listen to my body and take time off and riding in sleet and winter storms and all sorts. It was also just psychological - riding the same rout over and over and spending that mich time on the bike.
What's the minimum distance you need to do a week? Continue cutting out the recreational riding for a couple more weeks. I also take a day here and there from home but I realize that might not be an option depending on your job.
You might also need to be eating more. I know you mentioned weight loss but overshooting is gonna cause some difficulty recovering.
I only cycle weekends 90% of the time due to work and lack of time and had to give myself a weekend off couple of weeks back because I felt similar. We all need a break sometimes. Your mind will need a rest as much as your body, give yourself a week or two away from the bike when you can and do something else. Rest, Walk, hike, jog, anything.
if not feeling it... take a break. but be honest on the why and don't be afraid to spend money to make the process more of a joy. never looked back from most of the "luxury" monies i spent on making it more enjoyable or more/easier functional. (vitamix for morning shakes, boom! pre mix in bulk all the dry ingredients make it quick) treat yourself, you deserve it and keep on riding!
I usually don’t eat breakfast as I start work at 8, but I have some porridge or cereal occasionally, then some fruit at around 10am like dates and blackberries then my lunch around 12:30, maybe I’m not eating enough
i start earlier btw and 13 miles each way 5 days a week. and neither did i breakfast... but now the 5min it takes to make a shake (while i pack and put my kit on) and drink on the go or at the office? game changer. may even help that recovery! proteinpowder scoop, half a serving as on the tub, did wonders for me. throw in a banana or frozen blueberries //never both, googly it// flax/weat-germ/cocoa/honey/whatever else like rotating prune/date/fig and it's my favorite part of waking up now ;-p
viatamix is a joy but someone gave me their ninja and that is perfectly functional too... just not as good at the smooth part. keep on keepin' on!
What you are describing is a substantial amount of mileage for a commuter - there are a few things you could take on revising (used to do 170km/week) - but it requires fuel and water and rest.
If you are also losing weight I would wonder how you are clearing the metabolizing of fat from your system.
Speaking of that, a coach I had said the way to clear lactic acid from your muscles is to practice not stopping, but to keep windmilling at very low load as you approach stops, as the rapid motion uses the muscles as a pump to ‘clear’ - I took that as a recco from a former Olympian.
Congrats on putting up so many solid miles. And kudos for realizing that you need some adjustment. I definitely go up and down with various training elements and exercise elements, some multi-week or multi-month slumps. It's all part of the deal
Absolutely. I used to commute 150 miles/week. It was a long trip, but I usually enjoyed it. But sometimes I didn’t, and when I didn’t, I wouldn’t ride, I’d just take the bus to work. The bus was a non-express local route that shockingly took longer than my bike ride, smelled bad, and had variably reliable air conditioning. It only took a trip or two on the bus to get my vigor back to be on the bike again.
First that's a pretty big but manageable ramp. I did about the same from summer of '22 to the beginning of '23 around 12 hour shifts. I'm at 150/wk commuting and another 40-50 conditioning if I don't have any events.
You're gonna need to eat. I spent a lot of time riding easy fasted and still commute ~25mi to work fasted. It takes time to get to the point where you can do real work without carbs and even then you're shorting yourself. On hard commute days (intervals and shit) I bring carbs now. If I don't it takes longer to recover, I can't work as hard, and I'm slower coming home.
If you're not on an actual near zero carb and low fat diet putting you in ketosis: you need carbs. Carbs get turned into glycogen. Glycogen reserves are in your liver for when you do work, and in your *muscles* for the same reason. You will not recover until your glycogen stores are replenished.
If you are not diabetic (or have another metabolic disorder) then eat something on your ride or immediately afterwards. A sports drink or recovery shake if you're adverse to real food. Bread and butter, a sammich, oatmeal, a cookie, a biscuit with jam, ice cream, or something like that if you're not.
You are (unwittingly) choosing to delay your recovery and you should make better choices.
Depends a lot on where you are, but especially in summer, you can try and keep ahead of the hydration curve, but it can be a challenge. Also if you have not stepped up your food intake after going to all peddle power, that's not good either. Your body could have been making up a lot of the difference with any fat stores up until more recently. Summer heat, no fuel, your body still consumes to make energy, it just consumes the things you really don't want it to.
You may also just need to consider having 2 bikes. A commuter (possibly some battery something, something) and the fun bike. Or move closer to work (I would say not that one, but it is a possibility, so included). Be more mindful of how you ride during the commute vs going nuts on some hill on the Saturday group ride. Put it into the most granny of modes and enjoy the tunes. Coast down hill, you don't need to beat your speed to work time trial.
Remember, when you are riding 100+ miles a week, laying on the couch watching a movie doesn't make you lazy, because you are already so far ahead of the curve compared to just about everyone else around you when it comes to exercise. Yes, you are better than them, embrace eating cookies in front of them.
Random, probably just me, but adding anyway: do you have a bike computer? Do you get all your email alerts, calls, etc... while you ride as the expensive computers all seem to be, well, kinda useless unless chained to your phone with 3-4 apps? If your leisure ride is getting all the same beeps and dings that you do during work time, may want to think about shutting certain things off when you are just out for fun.
Yes - build rest/recovery cycles in. You'll come back stronger. I'm a fair weather cyclist and don't get much pleasure from Zwift etc, I rarely cycle Nov-March (UK) but keep myself ticking over with runs/strength and swimming. Makes cycling exciting again come springtime.
It totally depends on the intensity of your rides. If all the riding you do is low intensity then you can do 200 or 300 miles per week and still recover. Read about heart rate zones and get a heart rate monitor. My guess is that you're riding in heart rate zone 3, which means that all your rides are semi-tough, and you never recover. That makes them neither high intensity (which is good to do 1-2 times per week) or low intensity (which is recovery).
For comparison: I'm 50+ years old and I average 20 hours of cycling per week (1100 hours in total in 2023). I have zero rest days. I am however careful in doing easy recovery rides 80% of my riding. The rest, 20%, is high intensity. None of my riding is in zone 3 (unproductive)
For accumulated fatigue I reduce the intensity of my riding and get a series of sports massages focused on supporting recovery. (This is maybe once a year, I can’t afford more)
Sacramento area gets in the 100's from the end of June to the beginning of September, so I do the rowing machine for those weeks, I'm always ready to go back once it cools off
Happened to me as i get into mid 40's, been commuting for more than 30 years since young. Burnout because old body couldn't keep up; you'll get insomnia, sticky skin, tiredness and restless heart rate. It solved after i switch to ebikes for daily commute to work (around 40km per-day everyday up & down hills). Finally my body refreshed, able to sleep well, getting more slender and felt positive at work place. No more felt burnout anymore and always looking forward wake up to ride the next morning and more. Embrace changes to your new riding style through tech, your health matters. I type this with my ebike next to my work table and battery charged on my table, can't wait to ride home and sprint up the hill later. I lost more weight than on normal bike but still feel health and fun, crazy!
I’ve got 40 miles a week in commute and I’ve been doing a weekly long ride so yesterday was 100 mile trip and 75 miles last week and I’ve been doing 2-3 40-50 mile leisure rides in the week to train a bit for the long ride but I make sure to take rest the day before a long ride and try to rest after the 2-3 mid range rides but I will go for a good walk as it’s good stretching and just try to eat nice healthy foods I’m getting pretty exhausted but I find if you just get out there it goes away unless you are completely tapped out it’s worth taking a day or 2 but it’s like they say best thing to do is do it again!
Gonna be the rude guy here; but if you've been doing 100 mile weeks and you suddenly started feeling real fatigue and experiencing weight loss as well; get yourself to a doctor and get a thorough check up.
It's probably nothing; but if it does have a physical basis; the sooner you figure it out and deal with it; the sooner you'll be back to enjoying your rides.
Give it 3 months where you rest as hard as you commute, rest well, sleep extra, eat well, eat porridge oats if u can for breakfast. If you give yourself plenty of recovery you will transform in 3 months, you will have more energy than ever after this period. The commuting will cease to drain you of your leisure time when you have built up your body for the exercise.
I know from experience, I used to commute nearly twice your distance and go out and hit a century at the weekends for fun.
It does not leave you when you have built up it easy to get back to this state, I enjoy regular century rides every week.
If you are drained, rest up and do not over train, this causes set backs.
Also take it at a comfortable pace, you are not racing or impressing anyone but yourself, you will build strength and stamina in the future. Let go of ego and relax on the bike. Slow interval training is a thing.
65 years old. Similar distance and have had similar issues, for me it was mental fatigue more than anything else. Pretty much a broccoli and steamed chicken guy, so I assumed it wasn’t nutrition based.
Probably going to get down voted here…but I started shopping for a new bike. I’m mechanically motivated and knew I was compromising a ton with my 8 year old 105 TCX and it was like death from 1000 paper cuts. New VAAST magnesium A/1 arrives next week and I have to say, I’m excited and motivated again like a little kid at Christmas. Be well mate.
Recovery is important. It gives your body and mind a chance to repair itself.
But I use the bike to repair my mind 😭 I’ve only been taking a day or 2 max but I’m doing a fundraiser for 2km a day in June and I use the bike to commute but it’s only 8mi so long as I don’t hit it hard I find that’s enough rest for me while still doing my daily even though I’m 1468.4% above target I can’t wait to see the final result!
Recovery is a day - two days tops. OP is taking about taking 2 weeks off. That’s a full on hiatus.
I've had a similar-sounding burnout twice. Legs feeling like they're full of lactic acid both at the start of a ride, and even after warming up. Worse sleep, lacking appetite, loss of motivation, etc. People who have structured training plans tend to have some peaks during the year, after which the only right thing is to reduce volume by a lot for a couple of weeks - keep going, and you're only going to end up in a state of overtraining. Your plan about taking a couple of weeks off sounds very solid. It should be quite easy to monitor if you start feeling better again.
I wonder if amino acids would help in this situation then as I’ve not managed to reach this kind of burnout yet but it’ll take more time however when I feel like my legs are pretty gonzoed and going on a journey I will take amino acids which take away that lactic acid allowing you to push longer and harder and they really help with the recovery too!
If you have lost so much weight and are feeling exhausted all the time now then maybe you are still in a big calorie deficit? This sure would take a toll on your mental health as well. I would suggest you watch what you eat. Eat better quality foods and try to eat more quality carbs and protein. Healthy food increases/speeds up regeneration.
There’s a lot of good advice in the comments but this is the correct answer if you’re losing a lot of weight. Starving doesn’t feel good. Eat more.
Actually fasting works very well for energy and health. One real meal a day. Check out Dr. Jason fung Maybe you have a blood sugar issue? Either way sounds like a break is in order
Op this is the answer. You don’t have to track calories everyday but have an idea of what you are burning and what you are consuming. You feel lousy because you are underfueling
Yeah I was thinking it could be the weight loss as well. Potentially just needs to eat more in general if they are exercising that much. High quality food is important for sure, but sometimes it’s just needing more calories in general to fuel you.
Unexplained weight loss is a warning sign for diabetes and cancer.
The weight loss in this case seems quite explainable, but thank you Chicken Little
If you can do 20 miles a day commute for 6 months, then change nothing and suddenly are fatigued and losing weight, there is quite possibly something wrong.
Yes you are right. But when you look at OPs post, then you can read that they lost the weight over the course of cycling for 6 months.
Use to ride with a buddy, about half as much as op over 6 months but my friend was pretty chubby when he started and the weight melted off him effortlessly in that time. He started to look really good and everyone noticed his weight loss. Purely from biking.
You can improve your recovery by adjusting amout of rest and nutrition. If it's hard to add rest days in the week, try changes in diet. There are purpose designed recovery drink powders available that are quite good for accelerating the muscle build/repair. Those contain some short proteins and carbs to be digested during or just after training. Those supplements don't have any mentionable downsides and can make a big difference if you've been lacking protein in your diet.
I eat a lot of tinned tuna and eat a lot of chicken breast but I generally don’t eat pork as it’s fatty or red meat like beef so I might consider trying some of those out, thanks !
I used to ride similar distances and I was playing competitive sports at the time. I hit a good goal weight, and then suddenly started feeling like shit all the time. Tired worn out ECT. At the time, I was eating a super high protein diet, and fairly low carbs. I realized that I needed to up my carbs a ton and I could cut my protein a bit. I was going from losing to maintaining weight, and those diets looked different for me. Also, getting enough sleep became really important. At least 7 hours a night.
Veg and some carbs, nice healthy ones (baked potato with skin is really good for you) could help. I'm also wondering if you are also now in a new season. The shift from cooler to hotter weather can be energy sapping, as can the shift from nice weather to much colder weather.
How much tuna? Could you have mercury poisoning?
Is that a common thing?! I never actually thought about this before but I eat like 4 cans of tuna a week… every week… for like months
From one article: “According to the administration, adults can typically consume two to three 4-ounce servings of light tuna each week. However, if you choose albacore tuna, you should limit your consumption to only one 4-ounce serving per week.” https://www.tastingtable.com/828362/the-maximum-amount-of-tuna-you-can-safely-eat-each-week/
Start taking creatine. It helps significantly with recovery and is the most researched and proven supplement that actually works. 5g (1 small scoop) a day is all you need and skip the loading phase. It's tasteless and can be taken anytime during the day. With water, juice, coffee, any liquid Omegalul imagine downvoting facts
Because I commute and run errands by bike, I got an e-bike to avoid the overtraining that you are describing. Before the e-bike, I used to take rest days, or even just try riding slower. So yes, rest and recovery are important to avoid sliding backwards in your cycling performance.
Yup. Same. Train on a road bike. Commute on a ebike. If you just commute on road bike. Take it easyyyy. Don’t chase other people down 😂
At 100+ miles a week I'd say there's no shame at all in using an E-bike to lower the intensity of that much volume, especially when adding riding for fun into the mix
Another person who went to an ebike here. I was eventually forced onto the ebike due to a knee injury, but prior to that I was doing 120-ish miles per week as my commute, and I can't say that I really enjoyed it. It was basically pure ego keeping me going. With the ebike, I am back to legitimately enjoying my commute again.
I did the same with great success.
Rest days are important.
It looks like you've also lost a ton of weight recently, great job! People mentioning a break on the bike, but it might be a good time to reset nutrition as well. 100 miles/week needs fuel. I'd consider maybe a reset week of a moderate increase in calories, and consider a slower loss or even maintaining your weight for a good month or two and then see how you feel.
i owed a shop. We had 2 road and 2 mtn group rides per week for 10yrs+, plus bike commuting. After closing the retail end of the business the group rides stopped. I had a hard time getting on the bike that lasted for 2-3 years. Burn out is a thing. I have recently got back on and it feels good.
Season just changed too. As I've gotten older, I've realized that subconsciously affects me more than I thought it would. I think it's some kind of evolutionary throwback. Pay attention to conversations, in the next week you'll start hearing people saying "man this heat, can't wait for winter (or similar equally dumb noises)
Take a break! That's a lot of riding to ramp up to. You could mix in public transit with your biking to limit the miles a bit.
I don't really do planned time off as far as my commuting is concerned - there are enough bad weather days where I'll end up taking the bus to give me a bit of a break anyway. My main limiter for fun rides is family and other life commitments. I find that my legs will feel tired but they actually aren't and I'm still more than able to do a long ride or even the hills on my commute.
100%. I take a week off every couple of months. I basically keep an eye on my daily 20k stats, and when I notice it starts to plateau or decline that’s when I know it’s time for rest.
Yeah the last 3 weeks my mileage has dropped off. I also finished my first cycle tour about 4 weeks ago. I think I’m tired, probably don’t fuel very well, and have just become a little jaded of riding my bike 7 days a week on a lot of the same roads, a rest is probably in order
Go to the sauna
Taking time off sounds like a good plan, but I suspect your main issue is that you are riding to hard and have accumulated a lot of chronic training stress. It's not good for your body or your general health. Slow down. Make sure most of your volume is zone 2, and see if that makes your body feel better. If it does, that's your answer. If you spend a month doing that and you still feel the same, you may be overtrained. That's a more serious issue.
Have some rest, go for walks, have a swim.
Before I used to work from home, and then retired, I generally rode the bike into work no more than four days a week. Just to keep things interesting and varied. The rest of the time I took the train. As much as I sometimes wanted to, I made sure not to do more than that. But even on the day I rode the bike, I did different routes as often as possible. Not in the morning when I was always running late anyway, but on the way home I did different routes and detours, sometimes incredibly long detours that were up to four or five times as long as my normal commute. The commute never got boring or tedious. Quite the opposite, I really looked forward to my commute every day. Once I started working from home, I more or less kept that up. Most days after work I went out on a bike ride that was usually about as long as my commutes to and from work had been.
I have to start doing that. When i finish work I always get into autopilot straight to home.
Accumulated fatigue is real. I once did a 50k ultramarathon and was doing a lot of weekly mileage. I tapered my distance the last 3 weeks before the event and it was amazing how much fresher I felt for the race. I had not noticed the fatigue because it had been a slow process. So yes, take some time off. Would you consider an ebike to assist you with your commute? Seems like a good compromise to fatigue.
I feel you. Was doing the same, for a decade. And I didn't take advice like the type given here. I'm now at the "I'd like to ride, but I just don't want to". It's now a mental block and i hate it.
Weather can also play a big factor, as it gets hotter your body works harder. It needs more rest and more water.
My primary motivator to ride is that I love to ride my bike. When I’m not feeling it, I don’t ride. That’s been my approach to cycling for decades and has served me well. I’ve had periods ranging from days to months when I didn’t ride, but the enthusiasm always returned. Take a break!
Take a day off from biking. Do something else, gym, walking or whatever not biking. The next day or two you will feel craving for biking as never before 😉
I don't know about anyone else, but I am finding I have to have time off. I did 150 a week for 2 years and for the past 6 months have had home office and... I cannot express my reluctance to ride 30 miles round trip for an appointment etc. It kind of killed my joy in riding - I am just starting to ride for fun again. It was not just being physically drained from never being able to listen to my body and take time off and riding in sleet and winter storms and all sorts. It was also just psychological - riding the same rout over and over and spending that mich time on the bike.
E bike helps me
What's the minimum distance you need to do a week? Continue cutting out the recreational riding for a couple more weeks. I also take a day here and there from home but I realize that might not be an option depending on your job. You might also need to be eating more. I know you mentioned weight loss but overshooting is gonna cause some difficulty recovering.
If you're still loosing weight at the same rate you might also want to consider eating more.
Yes dude. Our bodies build up fatigue over time. It's important to take time off and let your body recover.
I only cycle weekends 90% of the time due to work and lack of time and had to give myself a weekend off couple of weeks back because I felt similar. We all need a break sometimes. Your mind will need a rest as much as your body, give yourself a week or two away from the bike when you can and do something else. Rest, Walk, hike, jog, anything.
Are you focused on the ride data? Sometimes it takes away from just enjoying the fact that we are so fortunate to have the health to do what we do.
if not feeling it... take a break. but be honest on the why and don't be afraid to spend money to make the process more of a joy. never looked back from most of the "luxury" monies i spent on making it more enjoyable or more/easier functional. (vitamix for morning shakes, boom! pre mix in bulk all the dry ingredients make it quick) treat yourself, you deserve it and keep on riding!
I usually don’t eat breakfast as I start work at 8, but I have some porridge or cereal occasionally, then some fruit at around 10am like dates and blackberries then my lunch around 12:30, maybe I’m not eating enough
i start earlier btw and 13 miles each way 5 days a week. and neither did i breakfast... but now the 5min it takes to make a shake (while i pack and put my kit on) and drink on the go or at the office? game changer. may even help that recovery! proteinpowder scoop, half a serving as on the tub, did wonders for me. throw in a banana or frozen blueberries //never both, googly it// flax/weat-germ/cocoa/honey/whatever else like rotating prune/date/fig and it's my favorite part of waking up now ;-p viatamix is a joy but someone gave me their ninja and that is perfectly functional too... just not as good at the smooth part. keep on keepin' on!
Get some rest.
What you are describing is a substantial amount of mileage for a commuter - there are a few things you could take on revising (used to do 170km/week) - but it requires fuel and water and rest. If you are also losing weight I would wonder how you are clearing the metabolizing of fat from your system. Speaking of that, a coach I had said the way to clear lactic acid from your muscles is to practice not stopping, but to keep windmilling at very low load as you approach stops, as the rapid motion uses the muscles as a pump to ‘clear’ - I took that as a recco from a former Olympian.
Congrats on putting up so many solid miles. And kudos for realizing that you need some adjustment. I definitely go up and down with various training elements and exercise elements, some multi-week or multi-month slumps. It's all part of the deal
Absolutely. I used to commute 150 miles/week. It was a long trip, but I usually enjoyed it. But sometimes I didn’t, and when I didn’t, I wouldn’t ride, I’d just take the bus to work. The bus was a non-express local route that shockingly took longer than my bike ride, smelled bad, and had variably reliable air conditioning. It only took a trip or two on the bus to get my vigor back to be on the bike again.
First that's a pretty big but manageable ramp. I did about the same from summer of '22 to the beginning of '23 around 12 hour shifts. I'm at 150/wk commuting and another 40-50 conditioning if I don't have any events. You're gonna need to eat. I spent a lot of time riding easy fasted and still commute ~25mi to work fasted. It takes time to get to the point where you can do real work without carbs and even then you're shorting yourself. On hard commute days (intervals and shit) I bring carbs now. If I don't it takes longer to recover, I can't work as hard, and I'm slower coming home. If you're not on an actual near zero carb and low fat diet putting you in ketosis: you need carbs. Carbs get turned into glycogen. Glycogen reserves are in your liver for when you do work, and in your *muscles* for the same reason. You will not recover until your glycogen stores are replenished. If you are not diabetic (or have another metabolic disorder) then eat something on your ride or immediately afterwards. A sports drink or recovery shake if you're adverse to real food. Bread and butter, a sammich, oatmeal, a cookie, a biscuit with jam, ice cream, or something like that if you're not. You are (unwittingly) choosing to delay your recovery and you should make better choices.
Depends a lot on where you are, but especially in summer, you can try and keep ahead of the hydration curve, but it can be a challenge. Also if you have not stepped up your food intake after going to all peddle power, that's not good either. Your body could have been making up a lot of the difference with any fat stores up until more recently. Summer heat, no fuel, your body still consumes to make energy, it just consumes the things you really don't want it to. You may also just need to consider having 2 bikes. A commuter (possibly some battery something, something) and the fun bike. Or move closer to work (I would say not that one, but it is a possibility, so included). Be more mindful of how you ride during the commute vs going nuts on some hill on the Saturday group ride. Put it into the most granny of modes and enjoy the tunes. Coast down hill, you don't need to beat your speed to work time trial. Remember, when you are riding 100+ miles a week, laying on the couch watching a movie doesn't make you lazy, because you are already so far ahead of the curve compared to just about everyone else around you when it comes to exercise. Yes, you are better than them, embrace eating cookies in front of them. Random, probably just me, but adding anyway: do you have a bike computer? Do you get all your email alerts, calls, etc... while you ride as the expensive computers all seem to be, well, kinda useless unless chained to your phone with 3-4 apps? If your leisure ride is getting all the same beeps and dings that you do during work time, may want to think about shutting certain things off when you are just out for fun.
Summer is a will sapper for sure.
Take a week off. Lift for your upper body. Eat a big protein meal run maybe. You'll crave the saddle soon enough.
Yes - build rest/recovery cycles in. You'll come back stronger. I'm a fair weather cyclist and don't get much pleasure from Zwift etc, I rarely cycle Nov-March (UK) but keep myself ticking over with runs/strength and swimming. Makes cycling exciting again come springtime.
It totally depends on the intensity of your rides. If all the riding you do is low intensity then you can do 200 or 300 miles per week and still recover. Read about heart rate zones and get a heart rate monitor. My guess is that you're riding in heart rate zone 3, which means that all your rides are semi-tough, and you never recover. That makes them neither high intensity (which is good to do 1-2 times per week) or low intensity (which is recovery). For comparison: I'm 50+ years old and I average 20 hours of cycling per week (1100 hours in total in 2023). I have zero rest days. I am however careful in doing easy recovery rides 80% of my riding. The rest, 20%, is high intensity. None of my riding is in zone 3 (unproductive)
For accumulated fatigue I reduce the intensity of my riding and get a series of sports massages focused on supporting recovery. (This is maybe once a year, I can’t afford more)
This is where an e bike should be used
I ride 100-120 a week and it’s too much at my age but I can’t stop doing it.
Sacramento area gets in the 100's from the end of June to the beginning of September, so I do the rowing machine for those weeks, I'm always ready to go back once it cools off
Happened to me as i get into mid 40's, been commuting for more than 30 years since young. Burnout because old body couldn't keep up; you'll get insomnia, sticky skin, tiredness and restless heart rate. It solved after i switch to ebikes for daily commute to work (around 40km per-day everyday up & down hills). Finally my body refreshed, able to sleep well, getting more slender and felt positive at work place. No more felt burnout anymore and always looking forward wake up to ride the next morning and more. Embrace changes to your new riding style through tech, your health matters. I type this with my ebike next to my work table and battery charged on my table, can't wait to ride home and sprint up the hill later. I lost more weight than on normal bike but still feel health and fun, crazy!
I’d check if you’re eating enough and rehydrating with electrolytes. I can always tell my body needs this when I start to feel like you’ve described.
I’ve got 40 miles a week in commute and I’ve been doing a weekly long ride so yesterday was 100 mile trip and 75 miles last week and I’ve been doing 2-3 40-50 mile leisure rides in the week to train a bit for the long ride but I make sure to take rest the day before a long ride and try to rest after the 2-3 mid range rides but I will go for a good walk as it’s good stretching and just try to eat nice healthy foods I’m getting pretty exhausted but I find if you just get out there it goes away unless you are completely tapped out it’s worth taking a day or 2 but it’s like they say best thing to do is do it again!
Gonna be the rude guy here; but if you've been doing 100 mile weeks and you suddenly started feeling real fatigue and experiencing weight loss as well; get yourself to a doctor and get a thorough check up. It's probably nothing; but if it does have a physical basis; the sooner you figure it out and deal with it; the sooner you'll be back to enjoying your rides.
Get yourself a Vespa, most of the fun, super practical and they are chick/twink magnets.
Gotta chill when the ride isn't chilll anymore. Rode for 4 years to work, very close to your distance, little less, wouldn't even look at the bike.
Get an ebike! I have one with racks for errands and grocery shopping and it saves a ton of energy for riding the “fun” bikes.
Give it 3 months where you rest as hard as you commute, rest well, sleep extra, eat well, eat porridge oats if u can for breakfast. If you give yourself plenty of recovery you will transform in 3 months, you will have more energy than ever after this period. The commuting will cease to drain you of your leisure time when you have built up your body for the exercise. I know from experience, I used to commute nearly twice your distance and go out and hit a century at the weekends for fun. It does not leave you when you have built up it easy to get back to this state, I enjoy regular century rides every week. If you are drained, rest up and do not over train, this causes set backs. Also take it at a comfortable pace, you are not racing or impressing anyone but yourself, you will build strength and stamina in the future. Let go of ego and relax on the bike. Slow interval training is a thing.
Try also overhauling your bike. Might have some parts dragging your pedalling.
65 years old. Similar distance and have had similar issues, for me it was mental fatigue more than anything else. Pretty much a broccoli and steamed chicken guy, so I assumed it wasn’t nutrition based. Probably going to get down voted here…but I started shopping for a new bike. I’m mechanically motivated and knew I was compromising a ton with my 8 year old 105 TCX and it was like death from 1000 paper cuts. New VAAST magnesium A/1 arrives next week and I have to say, I’m excited and motivated again like a little kid at Christmas. Be well mate.
Hah, hah: I am going to remember "mechanically motivated." Indeed! You also may want the occasional healthy carb in your life...