Fifty Plus (50+) - Taking a day off of Riding

Do any of you find that if you skip a day of riding it is hard to get back on the bike again?
Yesterday I was not feeling too well and did not ride to work this A.M. I looked at the bike and said not today. I find this odd as I feel better when I ride.

Joe

I ride most weeks but there are some days when I do not feel like riding. I learnt many years ago that within 20 minutes of getting on the bike, I wonder how many miles I'll do today, or how many hills. Same at the gym- Tuesdays and thursdays thats where I am, May not feel like it so take it steady just to get the legs working and keep the blood pumping, but hold on- Why have I got the HR up to somewhere near maximum? and Is it that time already? just another 20 minutes on the weights and I'll go. 1 hour later and it is time to take a shower as they are trying to lock me in.

ifyou live in Canada,you would alway want to ride your bike because of our weather here, given a chance to ride my bike I will take the bike riding any time

In Cycling Past 50 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0880117370/qid=1119008198/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5290264-7420663?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), Joe Friel says to listen to your body. If you feel tired it's time for a rest day.

I ride hard on the weekends and I ride hard on my daily commute to and from work, and today my body says it's rest day -- so I'll be driving. :( :crash:

Do any of you find that if you skip a day of riding it is hard to get back on the bike again?
Yesterday I was not feeling too well and did not ride to work this A.M. I looked at the bike and said not today. I find this odd as I feel better when I ride.

Joe

I usually ride 6-7 days a week, and I find that active rest (easy spinning) is vastly superior to sitting on my butt (like on a couch) to recover. I think the legs do better when supplied blood but not lactic acid. Having said that, my most diffiuclt endeavor is actually riding at a moderate pace. If I am in a group, I am competing with the group. If I am by myself, I am competing with myself. It is the curse of being highly competitive and driven.

I agree with SkyDive...

If I'm not competing with the guy/guys I'm riding with, I'm doing so with myself. So easy spinning days do not work for me.

There ARE days however, that I don't ride (usually one per week) and I've noticed that on the following day (after the rest) I sometimes find myself not wanting to go. The thing that gets me out there is that typically after a rest, I most always emerge with a very strong ride the first time out.

As I get older though, I am careful to give myself a good 10 minutes of warm-up spinning before putting the hammer down...

If it's hard for me to get back on the bike after a day off, I take another day off! I must need it.

Eventually, I reach a point where I can't wait to get back on the bike.

I agree with SkyDive...

If I'm not competing with the guy/guys I'm riding with, I'm doing so with myself. So easy spinning days do not work for me.

There ARE days however, that I don't ride (usually one per week) and I've noticed that on the following day (after the rest) I sometimes find myself not wanting to go. The thing that gets me out there is that typically after a rest, I most always emerge with a very strong ride the first time out.

As I get older though, I am careful to give myself a good 10 minutes of warm-up spinning before putting the hammer down...

We seem to have about the same schedule (maybe one day a week off). Our club rides tend to be real hammerfests, and I do a 71/2 warm-up before showing up at the meeting place, and usually another 7 1/2 mile warm down. I decided to go to the gym today for a weight session, and I stopped by the coffee shop that many of our members frequent after the club ride. I served notice on them that with my day off today, that I was going to put some hurt on anyone who wants to ride with me tomorrow! :D

Our Saturday rides are particularly fun, because there is a monster turnout, and we have the following rides>:

Training ride (many forays over 30 mph), 26, 24, 22, 20, 18 mph, and then a couple of very slow rides for the recreational riders. My bike is cleaned and oiled, I'm rested, and I plan to kick some serious butt tomorrow! :)

Skydive....

At Masters Nats next year(time trial)........I take it that you are going to be gunning to set the best time for all age groups(given your competitive nature). I take it you will be less than satisfied by merely winning your own age group. There have been years when some of the best times came from the more senior age groups. Then there are years when Bostick shows up! I hope he is there next year. He is my cycling hero...and it will be inspiring to compete against him(and you!!!)

Can't wait!

Skydive....

At Masters Nats next year(time trial)........I take it that you are going to be gunning to set the best time for all age groups(given your competitive nature). I take it you will be less than satisfied by merely winning your own age group. There have been years when some of the best times came from the more senior age groups. Then there are years when Bostick shows up! I hope he is there next year. He is my cycling hero...and it will be inspiring to compete against him(and you!!!)

Can't wait!

I can't either! They just finished the Senior Nationals in Pittsburg, and I was pleased to see that Leon Burk, the winner of both time trials is regularly beaten by the guy I beat at the Florida games last month. I was also pleased to see that the times I ran last month were 20 seconds better than the winning time in the 5K TT and considerably faster than the 10K TT results. Unfortunately, they hold the Senior Nationals only every two years, so I am going to have to key on the USCF nationals for next summer. I am so motivated, that I literally dreamed about the nationals last night, and am so pumped up this morning, I intend to put some serious hurt on my riding partners on our Saturday morning hammerfest! :D

Oh and yes, regarding the best time thing. In the senior games last month, I did run the best time of all age groups, but that will be a real challenge for the nationals, but with two more years of hard training, who knows? I love goals like that! Like I have always said, if you take silver, you lost! :)

"many forays over 30 mph" - what's the average velocity? what's the vertical lift?
I am beginning to feel like a slow tourist when i read your achievements.
today for example 47 miles, about 2000 ft vertical lift, 19 mph, in a breakway group of 3.

"many forays over 30 mph" - what's the average velocity? what's the vertical lift?
I am beginning to feel like a slow tourist when i read your achievements.
today for example 47 miles, about 2000 ft vertical lift, 19 mph, in a breakway group of 3.

Berts - that is a damn fast ride! I'm the one that feels like a slow tourist. We have zero vertical lift around here. I about did myself in on the ride today. I did lots of reasonably long, fast pulls. Our maxium speed was 30.6, and we averaged only 21.6 which includes our rather slow warmup. I really put out, and I was really a veggie at the end of the ride. My average heart rate was 160, and my max was 180. I felt dizzy at the end (I guess the intense heat and humidity). It gives me pause, and makes me wonder what an old fart like me is doing out there trying to punish the young studs, but I wind up sometimes putting more hurt on myself. I love every second of it though!

skydive thanks for the encouragement. i dont have a hr monitor (getting a cateye astrale was a quantum jump for me) - old school (cant teach an old dog new tricks), but i give it my all. i figure better to drop dead going out in style than to linger.
we have some pretty hilly terrain around here and i make it a point to seek out the hills.

skydive thanks for the encouragement. i dont have a hr monitor (getting a cateye astrale was a quantum jump for me) - old school (cant teach an old dog new tricks), but i give it my all. i figure better to drop dead going out in style than to linger.
we have some pretty hilly terrain around here and i make it a point to seek out the hills.

berts, you have to beware of those heart rate monitors - they can be scary. I have looked down more than I like to remember to find my HR clicking along at 100%. :eek:

Has anyone tried cross-training for recovery days? Sometimes my legs feel tired so I rent a rowboat and row on a beautiful nearby lake for an hour. I feel like I'm resting cycling muscles, but still giving my cardiovascular system a good workout and burning calories. Rowing also gives my senses and brain a rest from dealing with traffic.

Actually, I have to cycle every day because the bike is my primary transportation (I even ride to the lake to row), but I can keep it way down on active rest days.

I usually ride 6-7 days a week, and I find that active rest (easy spinning) is vastly superior to sitting on my butt (like on a couch) to recover. I think the legs do better when supplied blood but not lactic acid. Having said that, my most diffiuclt endeavor is actually riding at a moderate pace. If I am in a group, I am competing with the group. If I am by myself, I am competing with myself. It is the curse of being highly competitive and driven.
Rat on.
I have the same problem. A "rest" ride seems to me like a contradiction in terms. I either have to see how fast I can go, how I can improve my technique, how I can kill this hill, how....damn.
Can't rest. I don't think the best ones ever do..