Nutrition for the bike commuter

jtrickey

Hello everyone,

I just got back into riding my bike again after a very long hiatus... About 10 to 12 years, to be exact. I'm now in my mid 30's, am 6'2" in height and weigh about 218 lbs.

I've even taking to commuting to work every day on my bike - about 17 miles round trip, most of it fairly flat but usually a nice headwind the whole distance home in the afternoons. I ride a mountain bike, with panniers and a rack pack so I can carry a change of clothes, my computer, books, etc.

My goals are - to get rid of the fat and build muscle, and hopefully reduce the mild hypertension that I take medication for.

This is my third week of regular commuting, by the way. The previous couple of weeks I racked up about 200 miles of total bicycling (included a couple of side trips). On average I'm riding about 85 - 90 miles a week. I don't do any other exercise, as my schedule will not allow it.

My problem is this: I get progressively more tired as the work week goes on. Not only do my legs get tired, but I start to feel more exhausted as well. My diet isn't all that great, but I do take a multivitamin every day to help compensate for that... I drink at least one bottle of water each way on the way to work (and sometimes more than that in the afternoons, when temperatures get over 100 degrees here in Bakersfield, CA).

What I would like to know is - is this tiredness normal? What can I do to help myself recover quicker? Would some sort of nutritional suppliment help?

Thanks in advance for your advice, and sorry so long...

Jerry