Road Cycling - how much rest during the off season

hey!
I do road racing, how much time is good to rest during off season?

I stopped September 25 if I'm going to start racing in the spring & summer , when should I get back on to start training?

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Sir,

No other way to put this, but - Please no ads on the newsgroup.

To answer your question - It is very hard to say w/o knowing you. What category? Waht distances have you raced? What level in other words?

For top Elite/Pro riders you should not take more than a complete week off in my opinion. In the off season it is a time to do other activities. Mainly as a change of pace but still keep a work out regime.

If you want to be fast by March you will need to get back on the bike slowly with low miles. again depends on your level. I will be very basic and brief with an Elite/Pro schedule. Again this is very very basic and programs are all persoanlly planned towards each individual

Go aout about 5 days a week on casual rides all the way to January. January if you want stat using a fixed gear if you are Elite/Pro (not reccomened for others) Put around 2000 kilometers or more in that month with rolling terrain. February is the nasty work. Increase distance slowly so you can be up to 120 kilometers on at least 2 days a week. By March we want to be at 150 kilometers and then you can have some structured work outs here. Meaning intervals and so on. Also start climbing in March.

If you're serious, don't take much time off, for each day you take off after your recovery period you'll need a week of training to get back to the same level.
It may be wise to find a way alternative way to train so you won't get stale- nordic skiing, skating etc. You should definitely weight train to strengthen your upper body. You should also work on your hamstrings,(leg curls), and inner quad heads,(concentrate on the last 10 degrees of leg extentions). Your hamstring strength to quadricep strength ratio should be at least 2 to 3. Riding heavily tends to over-develop the outer quadrecep muscle, which will eventually pull the kneecap off track and cause quandramalasia, spelling?, it is very painful and when you notice it, it is too late. The doctors like to cut your outer quad attachment at the knee to fix it. Plyometric exercises are good to develop your sprint and snap. Perhaps most important, work on your flexiblity, you'll spin faster and have less injuries, a martial art or modern dance class really helps.

[Edited by pat5319 on Jan 5th at 12:58 AM]

Very tru on the other activities and I pointed that out for the winter. One has to do other things to wok out other muscle groups and more important take a break for the bike itself.

Weights I highly reccomend as well as a many other activities. Like cross country skiing, running, swimming, etc...

I am not one of those to recommend the instant training programs many are seeking. Hard work and long miles to me are the only way to improve.