The Good, the Bad and the Obvious
 

The Good
After nearly a 9 month hiatus, I chose a drop-dead gorgeous day to get back on my road bike and completed a ride of ~10 miles (I had been out on my new mountain bike several times during that period, but all were of limited length)! :)

The Bad
Man, has my endurance gone to heck & a hand-basket! On a circular loop, I made the mistake of heading out in the direction of the short, but intense, uphill climb first and man, did I suck wind. In previous years I often completed three to four loops along with an optional 30 mile MUP loop. Yesterday, one 10 mile loop was all I could handle. :cry:

The Obvious
Well....as we say around here...get out and ride! So, as I've signed up for another Seagull Century in October, I guess I have nothing left but to follow that oh-so-wise advice. :rolleyes:

Hope to see you out on the road!

BillK

The Free Advice
Enjoy!

I know your pain - I restart every spring. It will come back quickly.
I did the seagull for the first time last year - good ride. My brother wants me to do it again this year but have not committed.

It's so hard to restart something you used to be good at.
Hang in. Life will get better. Riding is always better than not riding.

If you live by the T-shirt I saw a while back everything will be OK very soon. "Shut up and pedal" It actually works quickly.

Starting sucks. Hang in there, it will get better, pretty quickly if you ride much.

+1...there is nothing like seeing the progression of strength and stamina come back each year........

Ya gotta HTFU. Just sayin.........

If it doesn't kill ya, it only makes you stronger. So, keep them wheel spinning.

Why off for 9 months?
I gotta get that T-shirt!

yeah... I just slap on some studs, pull on a face cover and keep riding to work all winter. It ain't road work, but it ain't stoppin'

welcome back to the pack!

Well...last September my youngest brother suddenly (& very unexpectedly) passed away at the not so ripe age of 41. Then I volunteered to serve as his administrator, being both the eldest brother as well as the only other sibling on the East Coast (he lived up in Boston).

I'm still dealing the estate & the loss, but felt I needed to get back on the bike.

BillK

Sorry for your loss. Only time and distraction will help you get past this. I find cycling and the related maintenance to be a great way to forget through distraction. May God bless you and your family.

I'm very sorry to read that. Best wishes and sympathy to you and your family

Bike riding - in the moment, eh? Form will return very fast, and if it takes longer, well, it's your new improving form

I feel your pain. I resumed riding in mid March due to the nice weather we had here. I had zero problems getting back up to distance turning 30 miles in a couple of weeks. But speed was terrible. I struggled to reach 14MPH. After 2 1/2 months, I finally turned in some decent speeds, high 17's low 18s riding a B level pace line for short 20 mile rides. I've decided to ride three to four times a week to see if that helps build some speed. I'll find out this Saturday.