Ouch...

When I rode into work, I wasn't sure if I would ride home, just because the ride home is always really fatiguing... surprisingly so. Well, I was feeling pretty good in the afternoon, so I figured I'd give it a go. It took me 2:06 to get home, which isn't really all that bad of a time. I think the average speed was something like 15.6mph. Despite the decent average speed (which is slower on the return because there's more climbing) I was utterly wiped out when I got home. I got home, put the bike away, took off my shirt, shoes and socks (leaving them where they dropped in the kitchen), had three glasses of Gatorade (ran out of my bottle about halfway through the ride) and some leftovers, then went upstairs and just plain crashed. I even started this entry but didn't have the energy to finish it. Worse yet, I totally forgot to call my mother and wish her a Happy Birthday. OOPS!

I really don't know why the ride home always kills me so totally... it's certainly one of the biggest reasons I don't ride in more often. Is it because it's in the afternoon, when I'm tired? No, some of my best rides happen when I get home after work and want to fit in a quick ride. I did 21 miles at a 19mph average speed on Monday and felt great afterwards. Is it that the ride is predominantly uphill? I don't think so, because the climbing isn't THAT bad... there aren't any really brutal climbs, and I've done longer rides with far more climbing and felt fine.

I think the real problem might be dealing with the traffic. There are far more cars on the road on my ride home. It's still pretty quiet when I'm heading in, but on my way home, it's pretty busy. There's a light at the intersection of Route 152 and Route 463 which backs up quite a ways, and I'm able to ride right by most of it. It's an uphill, but yesterday I counted 50 cars that I passed before I got to the intersection. (that's always fun!) But dealing with the traffic might just add to the fatigue.

I just don't know why the ride home can wipe me out so completely... Maybe I just need to do it more, like it'll be easier if I'm in better shape.

It would be easier if I could take my bike home on the train... but SEPTA doesn't allow bikes on peak hour trains. If I got in early (which would mean getting up even earlier) I could take the 3:25, which is the last non-peak train in the early afternoon, or I could wait until the 6:55, the first non-peak train in the evening. Neither appeals to me much. If I could just bring my bike home on the normal train, I could ride in, then take the train home every day.