BikeArkansas

This winter has seen a spike in the flu, per a news station I was watching while sick and laying on the couch moaning. With winter weather, travel for business and two bouts of being sick I finally got back on the bike yesterday after four full weeks without turning over a pedal.
The ride actually went failry well. It was a moderate paced 40 mile ride wth a fair amount of climbing. I was quite happy that I was not left on some hillside gasping for air and wondering why I was there. In fact, I was so happy with that ride I decided to go again today, which was a ride with my Sunday group for about 35 miles.
This is where it all caught up with me. At 14 miles into the ride we normally kick it in for a little over a mile until we reach a park where we gather together for the return trip. I usually lead part of that mile and end the sprint at or near the front. Today was a different story. The sickness and four weeks of inactivity made that sprint painful at best. After a rest at the park I took a solo shortcut ride back to the car to end the day at only 20 miles.
Have any of the other riders on this forum gone through this, and how long did it take to recover from the flu and inactivity that results from being sick.