Why am I low on energy?

I've been riding for a good 15 years now and I've never felt drained on any ride, no matter the distance. But recently I've been suffering heavy legs particularly on mountainous rides. Now admittedly I'm not as young as I used to be (32), and my metabolism is starting to slow down which means I'm gaining some weight around my waist (I'm about 85kg now - used to be 75kg). When I was younger I would ride 40km a day, everyday, a lot of it hill climbing, because it was the way I got around (no car). Now I have a car, and all my riding is by choice, and that choice is limited due to the usual time pressures of an busy adult life. In short, I don't ride as far or as much as I used to (about 3-4 2hr rides a week). Still, I don't think I should feel this bad solely due to less training, and it's puzzling me.

I'm a long distance hill climber - I used to be able to ride all day with no problems. I'm 6ft and thinnish.

I have a regime of exercises I perform before each ride consisting of push ups, situps, touch toes and back stretching.

My diet, I believe, is not too bad. I eat two basic main meals, a hawain spagetti bol, and a mashed potatoes and chicken snitzel with veg dish. I have a basic salad ham and egg sandwich for lunch, cereal with sliced bananas for breakfast most days. Very little fat apart from a lot of full cream milk - 4L a week. I drink about 1.5L of bottled spring water every day also. The only "bad" thing I eat is one packet of Tim-Tams (choc biscuit) a week. I also take a basic dietary suppliment pill daily.

When I ride I take water and half a bottle of energy drink and some muesli bars.

I can't see anything bad in my daily routine. What can I do to get back to feeling consistantly good on the bike again without having to rely on temporary energy boosts from power drinks or bars? More time on the bike? Different food? Recovery shakes? Please give me some suggestions.

Are you sleeping OK. I found as I get older sleeping 8hr a night is more important. I'm 37.
Do you check you heart rate in the morning? An elevanted resting heart rate can indicate the body needs more recovery time or you are getting a cold.

Try a wide variety of foods? Only two types of main meals is a bit selective try eating as many different vegs and fruits throughout the week sounds like hard work but its worth it!

May/June 2003 Bicycling Australia - "Stretch your abilities"

suggest that you only do positional stretches before a ride and the "power generator" stretches after the ride.

Try gradually warming up on the bike for 10-15 minutes without any stretching and do the stretching afterwards.

Hope you are drinkng other liquids than the 1.5 liters of spring water a day!

Good luck
davef

Might be related more with the power levels yopu can produce than nutritional issues. So read some articles from the Power and General training Forums, and maybe you get some ideas how you can increase your wattage.