Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Starting Over

Have any of you been an active long distance cyclist and then gone through something where you completely lost your fitness and had to rebuild from scratch?


This is exactly what has happened and is happening to me now ... and I am experiencing an incredible amount of frustration and defeat.

Someone on a recent ride asked me what it was like to rebuild from scratch ... and prior to the past year I would have replied that it was easier than building up your distance as a newbie to cycling because you've got experience to draw from.

Prior to the past year I have had one incident where I was off the bicycle, and off exercise entirely, for 3 months. On 1 Nov 2001, I burnt my foot to the bone, and three months later I had to go to physio to learn to walk again, and gradually started building up my cycling. By July 2002, I rode the Rocky Mountain 1200. Back then, I lost my muscular strength and muscle tone, but for some reason I did not lose my endurance.

But this past year I have not only lost my muscular strength, I have also lost my endurance. I developed deep vein thrombosis a year ago on a flight to Australia, was diagnosed at the end of July when my symptoms increased from a sore leg to a sore and swollen leg that felt like I was dragging a tree stump around with me rather than a leg ... and difficulty breathing. I was admitted to hospital where I remained for the next two weeks ... and 25 abdominal injections to break up the clots. I was also put on Warfarin which apparently has the side effect of sapping energy.

I was off the bicycle from the beginning of June to the middle of September ... a little over 3 months, and when I started riding again, it was a huge effort.

I have done several long rides since then, but I feel like it is two steps forward and one step back. I do a successful 100K ... and then DNF the next one. I do a successful 300K ... and then DNF my next ride. I'm running about 50/50 on my successful vs. DNF rate now. I simply do not know if I'm going to successfully complete a ride or not anymore. Last weekend I successfully completed a 100K populaire (but was hoping to do a 200K brevet) on the Saturday, and then unsuccessfully completed a 100K populaire the next day ... I ran out of time.

Prior to the past year I would have thought that rebuilding from scratch was easier than building up your distance as a newbie to cycling because you've got experience to draw from. But not any more.

That past experience makes rebuilding from scratch so much more frustrating ... mentally defeating. When I was building up as a newbie, each longer distance was exciting and rewarding. Completing my first 50 km ride was great ... completing my first 100 km ride was an accomplishment ...

But now, even when I do complete a 100 km ride successfully, it's not rewarding or an accomplishment, and instead is often very disappointing because of how slow I was and how tired out I felt at the end. I used to be able to knock off 100 km rides with no difficulty whatsoever. At my peak they took me 4 hours ... even slightly past my peak they'd only take 5 hours. Now I'm lucky to complete them within the 6 hour 40 minute time limit for a 100 km populaire. I used to finish that distance feeling good ... now I'm exhausted at the end of a distance like that.

I was rediagnosed with a blood clot last week. I'm not sure if it is the same last remaining clot that was still there in December, the last time I had an ultrasound, or if it is a newly developed one. Nevertheless, we've discovered that I am genetically inclined to develop blood clots and that particular genetic mutation combined with a high homocystein level makes me prone to developing cardiac disease. We're working, relatively successfully, on lowering my homocystein levels ... and it appears I will be on Warfarin for the rest of my life to ward off the clots.

I have to say that with my health difficulties and having Machak stolen, I've come the closest I've ever been to packing it in and giving up cycling. But I don't really want to do that. I want my strength and enduance back!!!! I want to be able to comfortably ride the long distances again!!!!


Have you been here? After once being able to ride long distances, have you had to rebuild your strength and endurance?

I've done this to myself a couple of times. It takes a while to get everything back. I am working my way back right now, the after affects of a couple of crashes and a series of sinus infections has got my fitness down a lot.

I've had ups and downs, not with endurance cycling. When I was young, I was thin. I got out of college, went to work in an office, and gained weight. Then in 1993, we moved to Colorado, and I got started hiking and snowshoeing in the mountains. It was great exercise, and I built up my legs, lost a lot of weight. Then in 1998, we moved back to Texas, and I put that weight I'd lost back on. Now I'm trying to take it back off with bicycling, with reasonable success.

One moral is "You can't go home again." I can gain weight or lose it, get faster or slower, but I'm not going to be 33 again, either. So it's tempting to compare how I am now with how I was years ago, but that's not really a profitable comparison, either. So I will do what I reasonably can (considering I do have a job and all), but can't really worry about whether I'm as good as I used to be. Similarly, I can compare myself to other people my age, but that's also pointless, as I'm not other people. There's people my age that can ride circles around me and others that are just about immobilized, and comparing them to me doesn't really help me much.

I've heard the statement made several times about long-distance riding being largely mental. I think that is true in several respects. One is the willingness to get as fit as it takes to do the ride. One is putting up with discouragement when things don't go right. One is being willing to press on. It sounds like right now you're struggling with the mental aspect about as much as the physical.

On your "Weekend Ride" thread, I mentioned that I just did a 200k brevet. What I didn't say there was that that was the same route I had tried to do twice last summer, and hadn't finished either time. I was on a better bike this time, but it was still a long hard hot day for me. I started off riding and hit a headwind right off, and that immediately broght back a lot of memories of the previous two tries. That's where the mental aspect comes in, because that just made the trip harder for me.

I've read where randonneurs said they had never DNF'd a ride. That's great, but they're not me. If I was Lance Armstrong to begin with, it'd be different. But if I'm riding more or less at the limits of my capabilities, there's going to be rides I don't finish or don't finish on time, and the only way to avoid that is not to start those rides. So I've done 100 mile rides in the summer, then had to sag out of a 62 mile ride in the fall; done 200k brevets in the winter, but had to call off another winter ride after 20 miles. I figure to keep doing what I can. If I get better and ride 1200k routes, great. If not, and all I ever do is 200k, that's just going to have to do. But if I'm not doing what I used to, or not doing what somebody else does, I'm not going to let that stop me from doing what I can.

Machka, you don't know me personally and I don't post here very often, but I have read your words here and on your blog for several years. Years that saw me more than triple my yearly and single ride mileages. I have been inspired and informed by your words. If only there was a way of reversing that energy, I'd send it back your way.

"Life is hard and then you die" kind of sums it up. The only way I've found to deal with it is to stay in the present. Am I having fun? If not, what do I do to change that? Not how do I achieve some goal. Geezer strategy, I suppose. I'm the king of De Nile, but in the back of my mind, I realize what's going on.

Last winter I decided it was time for my inner idiot to reassert himself and I started skiing again. 35 years ago I was a hotdog, so this time I took up backcountry skiing. First I hit a tree with my head. When I could sort of walk again I went back at it and because of the layoff, this time I did something horrible to my back. That was 6 months ago and I'm starting to walk without pain. I have been riding, though. I can balance better on the bike or skis than on my feet and the bike doesn't bother my back too much. Something about the position I suppose.

So I quit leading A rides and took up tandeming with my sweetie. Good tradeoff, I think. In another year I might be able to get myself back into shape for rando or A rides, but I'm not sure I want to. I'm happy doing what I can. Sweetie and I have been running in the AM before breakfast. That's nice. This morning we went to a killer spin class and neither of us came apart, so that was nice, too. After 37 years, I'm relaxing into the idea that a relationship can be a team sport.

Qualified for Medicare this month, thus fulfilling every American's dream. Safe at last.

After a crash a month ago I'm going through something similar but to a lesser degree. I haven't been able to ride since the crash and it's uncertain when I'll be back on the bike. My fitness is dropping but I know I'll get it back but it will take time.

Machka with all due respect your not as young as you used to be (me either) and it will take longer to get back to where you were fitness wise. Give yourself the time needed and don't judge or compare yourself to your past self. You'll be fine it will just take longer.

Machka,
I once heard a good expression, "frustration is a function of your expectations".
You might want to try to adjust your expectations. You have a health problem at the moment, and it seems pretty obvious that it's limiting you, yet you want to have the results that you had prior to the affliction. I know it's depressing. Once back in '01 I was hit by a car and couldn't walk for 2 years. I was in a deep depression, couldn't imagine cycling again, yet fortunately I made a complete recovery.
I recommend that you try to accept what your body is capable of, and continue if you can get some enjoyment out of it, or take a break from cycling until you're healthy again.

Not fully from scratch, but pretty darned close after a series of infections; influenza, bronchial, sinus, almost get better then go ride and make it worse again, now I'm building back up.

It's no fun, but it happens. I went from doing 9hr 200k's and back to back 300k weekends, to strugging with finishing a relatively flat 200k in under 13 hours.

On the mechanical side, you might try this:
Forget about rando for a year. You know they say that every setback is an opportunity. Make this an opportunity to rebuild yourself as a cyclist. Work on strength and speed. Forget goals, other than continuous improvement in strength and speed.

Try this:
Sunday, 40-80 mile ride, gradually increasing within those limits over a year. Make it a hard ride. You should have difficulty walking after.

Monday, 1-4 hour walk, preferably on trails. Zone 1.

Tuesday, bike on rollers or trainer. 15 minutes zone 1 warmup and cooldown. Between, 15-45 minutes of FastPedal, continuous pedalling at 115-120 cadence but only in zone 2, so small gears. Do that for 6 months, then switch to the same workout but substituting OLP for the FastPedal. 2 minutes one leg, two minutes the other, two minutes legs together. After that workout, weights at the gym.

Wednesday, 20 mile bike ride, zone 2.

Thursday, 20 mile bike ride, zone 2. After, weights at the gym.

Friday, 30 minutes to 1 hour, either zone 2 ride or stairmaster or elliptical trainer at the gym.

Saturday, off.

Over the course of the year, gradually increase the length of the midweek rides. Gradually include periodized intervals in the Thursday ride.

At the gym do sets of 30. Over the first couple of months, add sets or reps until you can do three sets of 30, circuit style. Then start increasing weights, but stay with the 3 sets of 30 for 6 months, then drop back to 1 set of 30 and increase weights some more. Use the same weight for all three sets of each exercise. Do in this order: leg sled, horizontal row, back machine, barbell squats, benches, one legged calf raises, crunches with hips and knees at 90°, lat pulldowns, then back to the sled. Between exercises, let your HR drop down to 100, no further.

This is a tough schedule. Be careful not to overdo it. Take a week off once in a while. It will make you a new rider. I guarantee it.

I took most of 2008 off randonneuring ... I only rode a 200K and a 300K brevet. And I took all of 2009 off randonneuring. In fact, in 2009 I rode a whopping 2 centuries ... way down from my usual annual totals. I thought that I would start building up in 2010 and get back into it ... and I have, sort of.

I don't do too well with structured programs. I don't mind including some of the elements you've mentioned in a week, but to feel like I "have to" ride a 20 mile ride on a certain day, or whatever, takes away any element of the joy of cycling ... the whole thing becomes a slog. I've done that before, back when I was racing, and hated it.

I had a bit of a chuckle reading about the 40-80 mile hard ride so I can hardly walk after ... right now a very, very slow 100 km ride (60 miles) renders me exhausted and struggling to do anything. It doesn't take much right now to make a ride hard. Poor Rowan is riding in Zone 1 all the time when he rides with me, while feel like I'm riding flat out and wheezing and struggling with legs burning to keep up anything over about 17 km/h. I had an idea while we were riding today which I might propose to him which might allow him to get a bit of a workout too. :D

I think the first thing I need to do is to build up my base mileage. I had a nice 42 km ride today which was a little bit of a struggle, but not unmanageable. Since the sun sets about 5 pm these days, I've been riding my trainer inside, and I plan to do that for an hour a day, 3 days this week. I walk to and from work just about every work day and have done for the three weeks since we moved into town. The first week I walked about 10 km, the second week about 12 km and last week (a short week because of the holiday last weekend), I only managed about 9 km.

Rowan has ordered or is ordering a weight bench. We already have weights which I've been using occasionally. I did a 30 minute weights workout last week, and was actually tired by the time I finished. Maddening!!

I am getting more exercise since we moved to town and I'm hoping that's helping. I can walk to and from work, and really enjoy doing that (although I do need to wear compression stockings to do it), and we can cycle right out of our paved driveway onto a paved road rather than loading up the van with the bicycle and negotiating a mud track to get to a paved road where we can ride. We also have room to do things like ride my bicycle on the trainer, and do weights.

Oh, I also have a new heart rate monitor which I need to start using.

Many will pooh-pooh HRMs because the criteria may not be accurate (maxHR, LTHR, and hence the zone prescriptions), but if you just want to know what was the heartrate for a given ride or a given level of difficulty, it's enough. That at least lets you recognize when improvement is real, and cut through some of the confounding variables in training.

I know of bit of how you feel. Last fall I was riding my 10 mile commute with relative ease and doing 60 - 80 miles at least once each weekend. Then my last semester of grad school hit and I was reduced to riding maybe once every other week, if that. Now that I have graduated I am trying to get my endurance back. I knocked down a good 50 miles yesterday, and wasn't completely dead, but much longer would have left me hurting. I remember well that first attempt at my 10 mile commute after almost 3 months of almost complete inactivity. It took me 20 minutes longer than it used to and it was a few hours before I felt solid again. Granted I'm still young, but I'm still not enjoying the process of rebuilding my endurance. My goal is a 200K by the 4th of July.

when I stopped riding in '95, I was just too busy working on my Ph.D. and having kids. I had the bad luck to run into a lot of rednecks at the wrong time. I just couldn't stand the stress caused by the people that harassed me (or worse) on the road, and it was happening with alarming frequency. So 15 years later, I started riding again, and I have never been so out of shape in the last 35 years. It's pretty frustrating, because I remember what it's like to be able to ride fast and long without much effort, but I can't do it now, and at times it feels like I'll never be able to do it again. I actually have suffered motivation problems because of this. I feel like I faked my way through a SR series this year. The good news is that I came through it with less physical problems than last year. I actually felt very listless after the 600k I rode last year. This year it was just another ride. I've gotten to the point where it's fun to finish a ride, even if I'm pushing the time limits. In fact, pushing the time limits has its entertainment value.

I have no advice but only hope that you get yourself well again.

This story reminds me of when I started riding at the age of 66. If I did it, I think you can do it as well Machka. I wont get into everything I was fighting and still am, but it will come back. Good luck:thumb:

I hear you. I have trouble keeping with my program, too. I know I improve much faster when I do stick to it and I have fun doing it, but it's hard to be like that and have a life, too. That's the program I used to be a geezer with an average (or worse) VO2max and still ride with the fast boys. I just worked harder than everyone except the real LD racer boys.

What you're describing is exactly where Nancy and I were three years ago, except that her endurance was worse than yours is now. But stoking for some reason allows her to put out more watts for longer than she can on her single. We're not sure why that is. Her endurance is pretty good now. My guess is that I have enough power to smooth out the effort and take the peaks out of it for her, so she can apply her own effort more evenly. We both wear coded HRMs and keep our numbers about the same. It is pretty cool to ride a bike that can put out the watts of a Lance Armstrong, which doesn't mean we climb fast, duh, but it can be quite a sensation in the right terrain.

Other than those suggestions - take pieces and apply as it suits you - it sounds like you are doing great, even though it doesn't seem that way to you. It's going to take time.

It's hard to sort out what was more important and what less of the various exercises. I think I was at my most shocking when I was pretty religious about the 3 sets of 30. OLP helped my climbing more than any other exercise. But the weekend ride was by far the most important thing I did. I don't think midweek intervals ever did much for me. I was already at my training max, so they just robbed Peter to pay Paul.

Post your HRM data when you get some. Good luck and good riding to you.

On the mechanical side, you might try this:
Forget about rando for a year. You know they say that every setback is an opportunity. Make this an opportunity to rebuild yourself as a cyclist. Work on strength and speed. Forget goals, other than continuous improvement in strength and speed.

Try this:
Sunday, 40-80 mile ride, gradually increasing within those limits over a year. Make it a hard ride. You should have difficulty walking after.

Monday, 1-4 hour walk, preferably on trails. Zone 1.

Tuesday, bike on rollers or trainer. 15 minutes zone 1 warmup and cooldown. Between, 15-45 minutes of FastPedal, continuous pedalling at 115-120 cadence but only in zone 2, so small gears. Do that for 6 months, then switch to the same workout but substituting OLP for the FastPedal. 2 minutes one leg, two minutes the other, two minutes legs together. After that workout, weights at the gym.

Wednesday, 20 mile bike ride, zone 2.

Thursday, 20 mile bike ride, zone 2. After, weights at the gym.

Friday, 30 minutes to 1 hour, either zone 2 ride or stairmaster or elliptical trainer at the gym.

Saturday, off.

Over the course of the year, gradually increase the length of the midweek rides. Gradually include periodized intervals in the Thursday ride.

At the gym do sets of 30. Over the first couple of months, add sets or reps until you can do three sets of 30, circuit style. Then start increasing weights, but stay with the 3 sets of 30 for 6 months, then drop back to 1 set of 30 and increase weights some more. Use the same weight for all three sets of each exercise. Do in this order: leg sled, horizontal row, back machine, barbell squats, benches, one legged calf raises, crunches with hips and knees at 90°, lat pulldowns, then back to the sled. Between exercises, let your HR drop down to 100, no further.

This is a tough schedule. Be careful not to overdo it. Take a week off once in a while. It will make you a new rider. I guarantee it.


That type of regimented program is just what someone who is seeing their motivation dropping needs????

Sounds like a Carmichael program and those are tough to take even when you're paying!!

Just have fun again. Take some pressure off and ride for enjoyment. Go out in the rain and remember why you got hooked in the first place. Take off road rides. Then set a goal a year from now and give yourself time to enjoy riding again before your start ramping up again.

When you talk about the mental aspects, particularly the setting and meeting of goals that you previously had mastered, I hear a lot of frustration in your tone. Perhaps what you need is to build your fitness with a new and different sport, cycling only for pleasure and utility purposes. Maybe give volleyball or surfing a try? Once you are feeling fit and healthy, it's a lot easier to start pushing yourself to meet your targets again. Just my 2 cents.

When you talk about the mental aspects, particularly the setting and meeting of goals that you previously had mastered, I hear a lot of frustration in your tone. Perhaps what you need is to build your fitness with a new and different sport, cycling only for pleasure and utility purposes. Maybe give volleyball or surfing a try? Once you are feeling fit and healthy, it's a lot easier to start pushing yourself to meet your targets again. Just my 2 cents.

Yes, there is a great deal of frustration going on!! My head keeps telling me what I should be able to do, and my body can't do it right now.

As far as other activity goes ...

Rowan and I bought a canoe shortly after Machak was stolen and we've gone out in it twice on the large dam on the property where we lived. I really enjoyed that, and we've talked about doing a canoe tour ... similar to a bicycle tour but with a canoe instead. :D We've moved now and we've got quite a large lake nearby, but we're working out a way to transport the canoe safely and legally to the lake.

Also, since we've moved, I've been walking to and from work which I really enjoy ... I like a nice brisk walk.

It's winter here and snow is falling on the mountains. The snowpack isn't very good yet, but we've also been talking about doing a bit of snowshoeing and/or cross-country skiing a little later in the season. Not only do we live quite near a fairly large lake, but we're also in the bottom end of the Great Dividing Range, and there are a couple popular downhill ski resorts nearby which also have cross-country ski trails and snowshoe areas, and which rent the necessary equipment.


However, as far as cycling goes, here's my week so far ...

Sunday - 42 km ride outside on a variety of terrain

Monday - 1 hour ride on trainer (slow riding HR = 110; fast riding HR = 125) + about 1 km walk + light upper body workout including abs

Tuesday - 1 hour ride on trainer (slow riding HR = 115; fast riding HR = 125) + 2.4 km walk + light upper body workout including abs

Wednesday - 1 hour ride on the trainer + 3 km walk + light upper body workout including abs

Thursday- 1 hour ride on the trainer + 3.2 km walk + light upper body workout including abs

Friday - 3 km walk

Saturday - 15 minutes on the trainer to test raised saddle + some walking

Sunday - 106 km populaire completed in 6 hours 45 minutes.


Weird as it may sound, I don't mind riding my trainer ... especially when it's dark and cold outside. Yesterday had the shortest amount of daylight of the year, with the sun setting at 5:08 pm, and when the sun goes down it gets quite chilly out there.

I'm not a doctor, nor am I an exercise physiologist, but I think that looking into cross-training (which it sounds you've made a start at) would be beneficial. When I took up riding in 2004, after a 20+ year layoff, I had been running a fair amount (playing soccer and refereeing). Six years on, my riding gains have slowed to a crawl, and in the mean-time, I've neglected running so much that it's a challenge to make 2 miles without taking walking breaks. There's more to the body than riding muscles, and neglecting them can have consequences. One of my goals is to be able to finish 10 km (running) by the end of summer. I expect this will compliment my cycling.

It doesn't have to be about "starting over." Your current cycling efforts can be about just a "new start."

Unfortunately, each year, each season we bring along all of life's breaks, bumps and bruises along whether or not we notice if they are completely healed or not. For most of us, our good memories stick and the work and stress of getting to the physical level to create those "good memories" is forgotten.

In your case, you've had experience with really bad breaks and still successfully used cycling to move past those limitations and back a considerable level of health. Now is the time to remember the positive aspects about your past successful cycling comeback and realize your goal now is not to recreate your cycling abiliity, but recreate your zest for life and good health in general.

You effort now is to focus on the little steps, not the "big picture." Realize and enjoy your past accomplishments and frame your new found situation in a way that can make sense to your current ability.

Its no longer about "how far you can ride" - now its all about "how you can ride far at all."

Ask yourself - how did Lance do it? You wanna talk comebacks? And remember just riding at all puts you ahead of most of the crowd.

Unfortunately, each year, each season we bring along all of life's breaks, bumps and bruises along whether or not we notice if they are completely healed or not. For most of us, our good memories stick and the work and stress of getting to the physical level to create those "good memories" is forgotten.

In your case, you've had experience with really bad breaks and still successfully used cycling to move past those limitations and back a considerable level of health. Now is the time to remember the positive aspects about your past successful cycling comeback and realize your goal now is not to recreate your cycling abiliity, but recreate your zest for life and good health in general.




most thoughtful and sensitive thing i've heard in a long time...
and its coming from Mr. C.
thanks for making my morning... :)

It doesn't have to be about "starting over." Your current cycling efforts can be about just a "new start."

Unfortunately, each year, each season we bring along all of life's breaks, bumps and bruises along whether or not we notice if they are completely healed or not. For most of us, our good memories stick and the work and stress of getting to the physical level to create those "good memories" is forgotten.

In your case, you've had experience with really bad breaks and still successfully used cycling to move past those limitations and back a considerable level of health. Now is the time to remember the positive aspects about your past successful cycling comeback and realize your goal now is not to recreate your cycling abiliity, but recreate your zest for life and good health in general.

You effort now is to focus on the little steps, not the "big picture." Realize and enjoy your past accomplishments and frame your new found situation in a way that can make sense to your current ability.

Its no longer about "how far you can ride" - now its all about "how you can ride far at all."

Ask yourself - how did Lance do it? You wanna talk comebacks? And remember just riding at all puts you ahead of most of the crowd.


Thanks for that RC ... I appreciate it. :)

I did another 100 km populaire today. I did it with the attitude that the time didn't matter ... I finished within the time limit, great ... if I didn't, that would be fine too. My goal was to ride 100 km as comfortably as possible.

It was a lovely winter day - the temperature started out at 3C and topped at 11.5 C. There was bright sunshine most of the day, and very little wind. We cycled through a very pretty area and I took a few photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/sets/72157622681266839/detail/?page=9

I made a point to ride at a pace that was comfortable for me, to eat and drink regularly, and just to enjoy the ride ... and it turned out to be a good ride! 100 km is about all I can do at this point ... I'm sore (muscles) and tired ... but it was a much better ride than I've had lately. And we finished the ride in time!!

Three things that caught my attention on the ride ...

1) The lamb walking along the side of the road. I thought for a moment it was a big wooly dog, and then it turned and looked at me. It was probably a "two-tooth" (about a year old) but cute as can be. :)

2) The eagle with a massive wingspan that was flying quite low over me. They are incredible birds ... and incredibly big!!

3) The rider who was riding a little bit ahead of Rowan and me. He was at the 50 km control, just getting ready to leave when we arrived. After he left, the person manning the control told us that rider is 81 years old. 81!!! He didn't look it and he was strong enough to be riding faster than me! We were told that he rode his first Ironman at the age of 70. When he completed it, he was asked why he would do something like an Ironman at that age, and his response was, "Because I can."

If he can still be riding at 81, there are, potentially, a lot of years left!!

Machka, I had missed this thread until now. You've been getting some good advice, I think. Most especially, I think you should avoid tormenting yourself with how good you used to be, and how pathetic you think your current efforts are, and just ride for the fun of it. You can have a pretty good time on a bike just pottering along and admiring the eagles, and the more you're enjoying it the more you'll feel like doing, and so on. Maybe one day you'll be back to 24-hour TTs, maybe you won't. But I'll bet you make more progress just riding for the pleasure of it than you will if you beat yourself up over what, for the present, is beyond you.

The week you posted looks great. Just right if you can recover well, which you must be doing. That's what I always did: go hard on the weekend and just build endurance during the week. Stoker and I have been on vacation and missed 3 weeks of biking. We did get up and run for 20 minutes every morning, had one weights session and one spin class. We did a metric century yesterday, our first outing and not too bad, 4:10 saddle time. About 3000' of climbing. We rode with a couple other tandems and a strong single, who gave us a nice 21 mph pull on an 8 mile flat. We were TTing it just to stay on! I find endurance fades more slowly than strength. Stoker's legs are sore today, but we'll go for a hike. Should help.

My back seems to be getting better and Medicare paid for the MRI that my private insurance refused, so I'll finally find out what's wrong and what to do about it other than complain.

When he completed it, he was asked why he would do something like an Ironman at that age, and his response was, "Because I can."

A bit of a tangent, but a bit not...

I have MS. One of my previous exacerbations left me with semi-paralyzed leg muscles. Those muscles seem to have come back (best guess: all the bike riding), but I expect them to be involved next time I have an exacerbation. I also think it's not unlikely that my next exacerbation will mark my transition from relapsing/remitting MS (you have symptoms, they get better) to secondary-progressive (you have symptoms, they don't get completely better, the cascade failure begins).

"Because I can" applies to anything you wish you were doing. Because at some point, you won't be able to. You'll be dead.

Just completed my first 600K this weekend.

You can do it.

Just completed my first 600K this weekend.



Fantastic, good for you. Chapeau!

Machka: lots of good advice given to this point.

I second the advice to see this as a new cycling adventure. Also realize that this is 2010 and not 2002: age changes things. Priorities in life change. Locations change (and with you, boy did they ever!). The things that drive you from day to day change.

I love that you went out on the 100K populaire just to have fun - and had fun! That's the way to build back into a new rhythm: bit by bit, enjoying things, and pulling back when things seem to be a boring chore.

I heartily concur with those who suggest cross-training and finding another sport to pique your interest. The idea of XC skiing and snowshoeing is perfect: it dovetails winter-centric sports with the warm-weather friendly sport of cycling. In may case, my first sporting love is alpine skiing (a bit more difficult to do in a quality setting where I live these days), and cycling was the off-season sport to keep the fires burning. These days, it's more the opposite, and that's OK. I also do a bit of yoga, swimming and work in the weight room to keep things mixed up.

As an aside: your notes about riding centuries were of great help to me when I started concentrating on road riding back in 2002. I still refer friends to your posts here, as well as on your website. And those posts all stemmed from sharing your passion for the sport with others. They also grew out of your own experience in making the transition from racing cyclist to randonneur. Now you're in another transition - even if it's from randonneur to.... randonneur!

Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead! Chin up! And enjoy the winter (says the guy who lives in a city where we've had 6 straight days of 90+°F weather and misses the snow)!

Wow am I glad you started this post. I have been going through the same grap. I won't bore you with the sorted details but suffice it to say I too was off the bike for over 3 months. After surgery that did not cure the problem, then they finally found the problem and I am back on the bike again. I have one good day and two lousy days, and for the life of me I can't figure it out. Frustration in the max. I am going to re-read some of these post and try to apply them to my life. I have another two centuries signed up for in October, and if I am able I will do them. If not, life goes on and I will enjoy cycling with what ever strength I have. After all I can't expect to keep up the same pace forever. Good luck and God's speed

Sorry to hear about your woes, Machka. Very discouraging, but at the same time, perhaps the randonneuring experience of overcoming the mental "down times" can help you to overcome this obstacle.

There's a lot of good advice in this thread. My main suggestion would be to consider riding a tandem with Rowan. You can both work "as hard as you can" and you'll be going the same speed together, be able to chat, and, if you're the stoker then you can spend even more time looking at lambs, eagles, etc. My wife started riding her bike to work about two years ago, and we trained to ride a century together on the tandem that fall. We rode a 200Km together in November and have ridden an SR series since then, and at least a 200Km every month. She's been gradually getting stronger and faster. I never feel like she isn't "doing her share" because I know that she's working hard and I'm working hard, and that's all that matters. Since you haven't been riding the tandem before, you won't be comparing how you do now with how you did before, because you weren't on the tandem before.

Best,

Nick

Rowan and I have been talking about a tandem ... I've ridden tandems before with my father (he and I each had one), but he and I never really meshed on tandem rides. He and my mother were a great partnership on the tandem, but my father and I have quite different riding styles. That said, we did complete a century on one.

I would like to rent one and try it on some very quiet, relatively flat roads with Rowan before we commit to buying one. I'm quite an independent rider and am not sure how well I would take to being stoker.

Rowan and I have been talking about a tandem ... I've ridden tandems before with my father (he and I each had one), but he and I never really meshed on tandem rides. He and my mother were a great partnership on the tandem, but my father and I have quite different riding styles. That said, we did complete a century on one.

I would like to rent one and try it on some very quiet, relatively flat roads with Rowan before we commit to buying one. I'm quite an independent rider and am not sure how well I would take to being stoker.

Tandems where the shorter person sits up front are far less common, but do exist. Not trying to say it's the right thing for you, just putting it out there as a possibility to consider.

Tandems where the shorter person sits up front are far less common, but do exist. Not trying to say it's the right thing for you, just putting it out there as a possibility to consider.

I don't know of one where it is designed with the intention of the shorter person controlling the bike. The Bilenky Viewpoint (formerly Opus Counterpoint) tandem puts the "stoker" up front on a recumbent seat, but the person controlling the bike is the "captain" on a regular diamond frame. And in the "old days" they had "courting tandems" where the woman rode in front and the man in back, and he controlled the steering and braking from the back.

That said, if the weight variation between the smaller and larger person is close enough that the smaller is strong enough to handle the bike, there is no reason that on any tandem the smaller person can't be up front. The strength required to handle a tandem is definitely larger than a single, but not by as much as a person might think. Basically, the only time you'd ever need really significant strength is if you make a mistake as captain and get the bike tilted over with the stoker still on it. I've had a few occasions where I've stopped abruptly and had the bike get off balance and had to be quick and strong to recover. Also, there can't be too much of a height discrepancy, or a bike that is sized for a shorter captain will be hard to fit to a taller stoker.

Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead! Chin up!

That's gong to be my training mantra. I'm trying to get back on the bike after being off for five weeks due to an appendectomy. Man it's not easy. Especially when I found one of my caches of wine in the front closet! The nasty summer weather is here too, so that doesn't help. Still, I got on the bike a few days ago. Still got it, just missing the stamina a bit. The 300k I've committed to in 3 weeks will be my motivation.

No idea what'll work for you but I have had to rebuild after medical problems and it totally changed how I looked at cycling and my life in general.

I fell in love with riding at 13, starting with road, then XC, then freeride and DH. The only other sport I've done since then has been snowboarding.

When I was 24 I broke 2 vertebrae on the BMX track when my forks broke landing the start ramp double. I was in bed for 3.5 months, with active recovery for a further 9 months. At that point I started riding again, but it was different. I couldn't do anything extreme or even rough off-road, the trauma was just too fresh; I had to ride by myself for a while as sometimes I would just become so traumatized that I would have to stop and sob by the side of the trail. I just wasn't able to enjoy riding off-road yet.

So I rode the road bike. This freed me from the trauma issues as was easier on the body. I was able to recapture the joy of riding, and appreciate what I had been missing since I moved away from XC and road and into freeride and DH. I also started swimming again, which was something I did while quite young. This was excellent recovery, and very motivational as I could go "full bore" without hurting myself or worrying about crashing - something I just couldn't do on the bike yet and was missing severely. I also discovered a love for XC skiing during my down time.

The important thing for me was to be patient, and to accept that I wasn't necessarily going back to where I was before I broke those bones. I was going somewhere new. Accepting this was difficult, but made easier by the knowledge that there are so many aspects of riding that I enjoy, some of which I had done in the past and could now return to. Instead of becoming stuck on what I couldn't do I was able to focus on new and ignored activities that I now had the time and energy to do. Your canoe tour idea sounds perfect - instead of focusing on how you might not be able to finish a brevet you can marvel at all that's involved in an epic canoe trip. It can be hard to maintain motivation while sucking at something you were once very good at, so it's possible that you would benefit from a cycling fitness builder that's not brevet riding or training. Cyclocross is pretty different, welcoming, and even thought it's intervals it'll serve you well when it comes to building rando fitness. Triathlons, even though they're super lame in many ways, are also very welcoming and excellent confidence builders. I felt like I was on the top of the world when I did a sprint 18 months post-injury, and knew I was "back" when I banged out a half iron last year.

Good luck, take it easy on yourself, focus on the things you can enjoy and you'll be a new and improved Machka in no time, brevet monster or no!

Machka, your past long distance experience is both a blessing and a curse. Folks taking up cycling (or any aerobic activity) for the first time don't have expectations and seem to set modest goals. They get tired, they stop. They feel pain, they stop. This is probably not a bad recipe for restarting after a long layoff, but those with an athletic background and high expectations are used to pushing themselves. I haven't run a marathon since age 40 (24 years ago), but the mentality to push until you drop still lingers after more than two decades of declining athletic activity. Fortunately, my schedule and that of my wife provides some limits (we ride a tandem). We will never at our age be able to climb with singles, but we can ride 100K and 100mi. with a reasonable amount of climb, and we can ride it together.

You ought to give a tandem a try. By all indications you and Rowan have a wonderful relationship and if you're comfortable in the stoker position (on a "normal" tandem) you will each be able to work in whatever zone suits you on a given day. Swing by the tandem forum and you'll get plenty of advice, mostly all good. Lots of psychology to sharing a tandem, but when it works it's a great experience.

When I was 24 I broke 2 vertebrae on the BMX track when my forks broke landing the start ramp double. I was in bed for 3.5 months, with active recovery for a further 9 months. At that point I started riding again, but it was different. I couldn't do anything extreme or even rough off-road, the trauma was just too fresh; I had to ride by myself for a while as sometimes I would just become so traumatized that I would have to stop and sob by the side of the trail. I just wasn't able to enjoy riding off-road yet.


I know how that feels ... I crashed badly in April 2007 on a wet, curvy descent ... bruised from hip to toe, concussion, and a separated shoulder which has not healed properly and dislocates all the time.

About 6 weeks after the crash, I was on a 3-day cycling tour, and was doing really well until the end of the first day. That day ended with a long, curvy descent ... and a huge rain storm. A long wet, curvy descent. I stopped about a km down the descent, pulled over and stood there shaking violently and sobbing. Several other riders pulled up and asked me if I was OK. I rode with one for a while, but he pulled away from me, and finally with 2 km to go ... I got off and walked the rest of the way. I couldn't deal with it anymore.

I did the same thing on a longish, dark, wet, curvy descent early on the PBP about 4 months after the crash. I had thought I'd be OK, but apparently not.

I have improved from that point, but it took a long time.

I think this happens to all of us as we age. I find as I age (56yo) I MUST ride at my pace. I have always ridden centuries(up to 300K) with lots of energy after completing the ride IF I ride alone. Nowadays if I ride beyond my typical pace I wear out much sooner. When I ride with faster cyclist, I cannot last as long. Check out your riding history, have you ridden better alone? Pace is crucial to distance. Ride at a comfortable speed and you'll be able to ride long distances again. Also forget all the miles/speedometers/odometers etc. Listen to your body when you ride.

Tandem, Hase Pino(very expensive) allows for the stroker(recumbent position) to coast while the captain(drop bar) continues to pedal. I have thought about this bike for my wife and myself as we pedal at different speeds and distances. Too pricey for me at this time.

We've got a tandem!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/sets/72157602327322020/detail/?page=4

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4912358535_a7b2d53559_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/4912358535/in/set-72157602327322020/)

It's only borrowed ... a fellow Audax Australia member has loaned it to us for a month or so to give us a chance to try it out. We've been talking about renting one for some time. Then a couple weeks ago we were in at Abbotsford Cycles, chatting to the owner (the fellow Audax Australia member) about my challenges and difficulties with cycling these days ...... when all of a sudden he offered us the tandem!! We took him up on it and picked it up today. :)


After a little surge of activity in the middle of June (see Page 1 of this thread), I almost entirely quit cycling. I did a bit on some weekends, but that was all. Then 10 days ago, I started again ... on my trainer inside because of the weather and darkness here. It's been a chilly and very wet winter. In 10 days I've logged 10 hours on the trainer ... I've walked about 20 km ... and I've lifted weights on 8 of those days.

Woo-woo! Looks right. That's what led to our downfall. A friend and his stoker went to France on vacation (no biking) and loaned us their Cannondale tandem. In retrospect, I can't believe they did that. We would have a very hard time loaning someone our CoMo. I guess they really like us! In any case, we rode that bike quite a bit while they were gone and found tandeming to be our thing. When they came back, they sold the C'dale and bought a new CoMo Speedster, and we found a used one in Texas. We now tandem with them every weekend.

Weather doesn't look that bad there. You actually have a lawn! And it's green! We have a "natural yard." Who wants to mow when they could be cycling! Saw a bunny in it yesterday as we left on the bike.

Next: photo of you both on the bike.

Got the MRI on my back. Sort of bad news. Just plain age-related degenerative issues. Doc says he sees patients with MRIs like mine who can hardly walk, but because of my high level of activity, I'm maintaining. It's getting better for some reason, though. Probably as it gets better, my activity level goes up and that makes it get better. The usual positive feedback loop. High altitude mountaineering however is definitely out, though I plan on climbing Rainier every few years until I can't anymore.

Envious. I wish I had somebody to ride a tandem with!

Weather doesn't look that bad there. You actually have a lawn! And it's green! We have a "natural yard." Who wants to mow when they could be cycling! Saw a bunny in it yesterday as we left on the bike.

About 20 minutes after I took that photo, that dark cloud over Rowan's shoulder opened up and bucketed down rain for the next few hours. That's the thing ... winter in this part of the world is very cool and wet, and so the grass is green. Yes we do have a lawn (a very soggy lawn), but fortunately, part of our rental agreement is that our landlord hires someone to take care of it. Someone comes by and mows now and then. :)


Next: photo of you both on the bike.

That's going to be a challenge ... given that we will both be on the bicycle and not taking photos.



Got the MRI on my back. Sort of bad news. Just plain age-related degenerative issues. Doc says he sees patients with MRIs like mine who can hardly walk, but because of my high level of activity, I'm maintaining. It's getting better for some reason, though. Probably as it gets better, my activity level goes up and that makes it get better. The usual positive feedback loop. High altitude mountaineering however is definitely out, though I plan on climbing Rainier every few years until I can't anymore.

Being active is a good thing! I've been told that my heart is compensating for the damaged valves because I'm keeping in shape (trying, anyway), and the specialist I saw regarding my DVT strongly encouraged me to keep active and cycle lots to help prevent future DVTs.


Rowan and I did a 30.8 km ride on the tandem we're trying. It went really well ... better than expected. We took about 3 tries to sort out the starting technique but then got something that works, and kept practicing that. We seem quite compatable and comfortable with each other on the tandem ... and the ride was a lot of fun! :)

Machka - I think that when we met I had finished a year where I had ridden 16,000 km... could handle any distance and knock down a sub hour 40 TT without feeling like it was much of anything.

And then I fragged my back and got the worst rehabilitation you can imagine which left me unable to swing a leg over or even sit on a bike due to the pain I was in... I wasn't sure I would ever ride a bicycle again for more than a few blocks before the pain forced me to quit.

All that conditioning vanished but my drive to get back in the saddle only increased and to that end I built up a little folder that I could step over and fitted it with a Brooks saddle I could sit on and started riding around the block... on the sidewalk.

A few km a day turned into 10 km a day and then that turned into 20km and I have had setbacks in the past couple of years when my health has not allowed me to ride for extended periods and I have had to re-start all over again.

This actually started to relive the pain I was in and continue to suffer on a daily basis... walking is still difficult, I cannot stand for too long and can't lift much weight.... I need a cane for any walks over about 5 blocks as my balance degrades wit ever step.

But I can ride... even when that is only with one leg... and sometimes it is almost hard enough to make one want to quit... but there is no quit in this body or this mind.

In the past couple of weeks since I installed the odometer on my little folder I have ridden nearly 700 km and completed a century, multiple metrics, and for some time have been able to ride my other bikes.

But that little folder and I have a bond that will probably never be broken as this was the bike that got me back into riding... this might not last and I might find myself up on blocks again.

But my bikes are patient and they will be waiting for whenever I am ready to ride... the road bikes have gathered some dust as I my focus has been to ride farther and farther and not faster and faster.

But when I am feeling really good I will break out the fixed gear or the Cooper and go and tear it up as much as I can... and it might hurt like hell afterwards.

It's a good hurt.

I expect to have to deal with pain every day for the rest of my life... but it will not let it rule me.

Have been in a lot of pain the past few days and only rode a few km today... and celebrated every one of them... because I was riding.

Our first try, we wobbled 20' and fell over. Bike unscratched. Next try immediately after went better and by 100 meters I had it figured. IMHO if you're good together, you can't help being good together on the tandem, too. It's all the same thing. Kinda intimate, having your pedals connected, isn't it? We upgraded our CoMo to belt drive to get even more of that feeling. It's a rolling party.

...
But that little folder and I have a bond that will probably never be broken as this was the bike that got me back into riding... this might not last and I might find myself up on blocks again.
...


It's amazing the bond that forms with the recovery bike, eh? I have a DeKerf mountain bike that doesn't fit, is totally sh*t-kicked and dented, but I'll never sell it because it got me back on the trails. Hopefully one day I'll be able to give it a full restore complete with Toxic Herald paint - I feel like it just deserves it now.

I'll be going through the whole "starting over" game in about 4 - 5 weeks.
If anyone followed my "What it takes to be Super" blog series over in the Clyde forum, you're familiar with the pain I was experiencing on the 300 and 400k rides, and that after the 400k it put an end to my series. Well, it turns out that it's not related to saddle position or choice of shorts as I thought (directly), but those things may have been contributory. Mostly, riding for 18 - 25 hours at a time on a chronic fissure was what caused my pain and problems; and my surgeon said it's more than likely that I'd had this problem for 6 months of longer! How I managed to not know, I'll never know. He was astonished that I rode more than around the block. But I've been off my bike for the past month because of it, and I go in for surgery on Friday. After that it's a 4 - 5 week recovery period before I can start riding again.

2010 S-R attempt; down the tubes... Although just riding the 300 and 400 was some memorable time.
2nd go at an R-12; once more foiled at 5 months... 3rd time's a charm, right?
Between sudden inactivity and corticosteroids, in just a month I put on a lot of the weight I had lost (even though I've damned near quit eating). It's going to be a rough road back if I want to ride the spring series with SIR next year.

Reading people's comeback stories give me hope that it's going to go well. So many people have come back from far worse; I can do this.

"chronic fissure" I had no idea what that was! I had to look it up, not pretty! Glad you got to the Doc and will be good as new before too long. Do you have to worry about a occurrence? These are the kinds of things that tell you what you're made of.

Lots of wisdom on this thread. I'm an old guy of 71, and know wisdom when I see it. I took up cycling this past Spring. I'm not riding as fast or as far as I'd like to but I'm riding as fast and as far as I'm able to and everyone else here seems do be doing the same. Well done.

An on the job accident and two back surgeries has changed my perspective.
I've had to learn to walk again three times in the last two years and I've gone
from being able to do 30km/h solo centuries to 20km/hr 40k's. Still LOVE to get out on the
bike even though I've essentially succombed to the plain fact that I'm naturally slower
now....so no expectations other than having a smile on my face.

TM