Road Cycling - Performance drop off

After a 3 week layoff with no other form of exercise other than typical vacation activities (i.e drinking and eating), how much fitness would you expect to lose and how quick would you expect it to come back ? As I was shocked last night on my first ride out after a vacation to be 1.5 mph slower on my usual 20 mile loop !!

After a 3 week layoff with no other form of exercise other than typical vacation activities (i.e drinking and eating), how much fitness would you expect to lose and how quick would you expect it to come back ? As I was shocked last night on my first ride out after a vacation to be 1.5 mph slower on my usual 20 mile loop !!

Well, I have not ridden for a whole week except for yesterday. And I was 2kmh slower.

Well, I guess it was partly because of the rain, but I felt so much weaker than I was 2 weeks ago when I could go out everyday.

I typically ride metrics every Saturday. (And sometimes Sunday.) After taking 24 days off the bike to go to Australia in September, I came back and literally bonked the first Saturday back.

I normally came in with an average around 19 mph on a metric. First week back, I only did 40 and came in with an average of 17.2 mph.

Now the good news, after about a week of training again, I was (and am now still) coming in around 20 mph average. It looks like the time off the bike really was something I needed for mental and physical recovery.

Just my 3 cents worth.

Not sure how best to describe this...

depending on your fitness level before stopping the riding, you can lose about 10% a week..in other words, whatever levels you had (lactate, heartrate levels for certain activities), you can expect to lose about 10% of that...expect your body to work that much harder and to reach your limit that much faster.

After the first 7-10 days, it increases.

If you are really fit, like a CAT 1 or 2 rider, it is less.

This is why the riders in the Tour or Vuelta ride for 3-4 hours on rest days. Your body acclimates to the work...when the work's not done, it atrophies quickly.

If you run or do something like that when not able to ride, it will stem the decline.

I went to Florida a few weeks ago. I SAT in the car for the 8 hour drive the first day. The next 2 days I SAT in my friend's SUV while he showed me the sights. I also SAT to eat at some of his favorite seafood places. Then I SAT for the 8 hour drive home. No walking (other than walking to the car or walking from the car to the restuarant) or any type of exercise during the 4 days.

I went out for my usual ride the day after I got home. I usually do a 37 mile loop that includes 3 laps around Stone Mountain. I was so "out of shape" that I could barely do 2 laps and struggled on the way home. :crash:
It took me about a week to work back to my previous riding level :( but at least I'm back. :)

whenever i get back from a week layoff (vacation, etc) it seems as if i am cycling for the first time. i am all out of sync and it takes me many miles to get back into a rhythm. i know i need 40-50 miles of pedaling before it feels right again.
others i know are naturals and notice no lingering effects of a layoff.

i notice this decline even if i did other activities during the vacation. maybe its mental.

speed is the first thing to go when you take time off.

and no, it's not just mental. it is physically taxing for your body to have to support extra muscle that is not being used... your body consumes more calories in a given amount of time, and you also need to eat more to fuel it. so your muscles atrophy as a means of energy conservation.