Dang, Corsair, I missed this thread until today!

That must have come out of the blue for you - bonking on your commute home!!! My commute is six miles, too. and my head always says "this is a regular everyday ride for you, you don't need any extra anything! You ride this without extra fuel each day and today's no different, so quit your whining!" And the amazing thing is, our bodies ARE different on different days (speaking for women now).

You really are right - listen to your body. When I ride, it's a time to turn off the "don't take in calories that will make you fat" voice in my head.