Drumnagorrach

I live in north east Scotland,and the weather has been quite good for a couple of weeks now ,hardly any rain and temps of 4--12 deg C ( this is quite remarkable for this time of year ).
The weather forcast is good for tommorow,and I am tempted to set off on my bike again,but should I give my muscles time to repair ?. I was fairly shattered when I got in from my ride, I averaged 13mph for the 30 miles over hilly terrain,probably climbing and descending 2500 ft overall.I made the mistake of not stopping at Portsoy for coffee and a cake,and not long after at about 22 miles I was hungry and tired ( won't do that again )
I suppose at 58 I should have enough sence to pace myself,but if it's sunny again tommorow?
Lee

Barrettscv 

I would go. Just bring enough water or sports drink and a snack. Sleep well tonight, too.

alanknm

I'd be inclined to take it easy this early in the year especially if you've been out of the saddle for the winter. It all depends on how you feel tomorrow. Just remember to drink before you feel thirsty and to eat at least once an hour. You can keep going as long as you feel good but as my wife always says "God gave you a brain.. so use it."

30 miles at 13mph means that you were probably out for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours if you include the breaks so that's pretty decent for weather conditions that are pretty similar to Toronto at this time of the year.

Wait and see how you feel in the morning and decide then. If it were me, then I would just go. But I'm not you. Let your body decide and listen to what it tells you.

One thing to watch out for later on in the year is to actually remember to take rest days. Your body produces endorphins while you are exercising and because you feel good means that you think you should be out there when in fact you really should take a rest day.

kh6idf

If you eat well and get plenty of sleep tonight, and if you at least feel OK enough in the morning that you want to consider riding, I would ride only about half the distance you rode today. And plan your ride so you have a tailwind on the return trip.

10 Wheels

I would go for 45 miles easy relaxing miles. Have fun.

berner

I find myself in a similar situation. At the age of 72, I'm in what would probably be considered quite good physical condition. The fly in the ointment is that I will never be 17 again. What this ultimately means is that even physically fit for my age, I do not recover nearly as well and as quickly as, say, a lad of 50. This means that I must pay very careful attention to recovery nutrition. In our present age, quite a bit is known about this issue. I thought I was being careful the summer of '10 but, evidently, not careful enough. I reached a point toward autumn where I lost motivation to ride and my body felt tired even after numerous days of rest. My reading on training has revealed that a large part of the solution, a much larger part of the solution than originally thought, is based on proper recovery nutition. Read up on this issue and pay careful attention.

bsektzer

Please, no offense intended, but I had a good chuckle over that last bit. Kinda like Microsoft support... technically accurate, but mostly useless. If the winds in Northern Scotland are anything like the winds in the East S.F. bay area, "planning" on wind direction 24 hour out is an exercise in futility.

-Bert

10 Wheels

I live on The Texas Gulf Coast.

We ride most of our rides with a returning tail wind.

Drumnagorrach

Thanks chaps,
Stuffed myself with healthy food this evening,and if it feels right in the morning ,I'll just take my time and enjoy the ride.

BengeBoy 

Great plan!

I think your rides early in the season will depend partly on your schedule. If you have to go back to work on Monday, and you know you won't be riding on Monday anyway, then by all means do something to get some exercise Sunday, even if you've had a harder-than-normal ride on Saturday.

Just take it easy, don't push, have fun.

bsektzer

You're fortunate. Here in the inland valleys east of San Francisco, the wind can, and often does, shift by a full 180 degrees in a matter of hours, especially during winter and spring. Just one of the "joys" of the Left Coast...

-Bert

10 Wheels

All the roads are flat here. No hills, No mountains.

bobthib

Keep it short, keep it easy, and keep the cadence high.

StephenH

I'd just go ride as far as I felt like, no reason to lay off, no reason to press on if you're sore or something, either.

curbtender

If it feels good, do it...

StanSeven

It depends on how you feel and your prior training. Anything that really stresses your muscles involves minute tears in the fibers. Training involves rest and recovery (usually around 48 hours) for the fibers to repair and get stronger - that's why you do training. If you stress muscles before the repair happens, you don't get optimal building.

B. Carfree

I spent a couple of decades in the (L)east bay. Those shifting winds are usually fairly easy to predict. I often planned my rides for tailwinds the whole way. Pay attention to the weather reports and learn from your experiences. A shifting wind is your friend (until it isn't).

billydonn

By "plan" I kind of assumed he really meant decide at the beginning of the ride.

That sounds good to me... there are times when it does you good to ride when you're already a little tired, and times to rest when you are too tired or have a nagging pain that might progress to something worse.

Drumnagorrach

Took my time,used my MTB,the one on the left,as advised low gears (didnt have a lot of choice ). about 15 miles ,through the forest and up onto the Balloch. The Lucozade sport I used seemed to work well,wasn't tired feel great now,but I will rest tommorow ,at work!.

billydonn

Great scenery! Looks like it could get a bit windy in the area.

Drumnagorrach

Yup, Scotland is the windiest country in Europe,thats why we are getting covered with wind turbines,better that than glowing in the dark, I suppose.
Did anyone wonder about the concrete block on top of the hill ? Most hills in Britain have them,Can you guess their use?

10 Wheels

Yes, what is it?

Nice pics...thanks

Garilia

They're Hotine Pillars. Once used for mapping the countryside, now used for going to the bathroom on a long hike or bike trek.

Drumnagorrach

We call them triangulation stations ( trig points) Yes for mapping,initially by the royal ordinance survey( we still have maps issued by the OS ) it was to range guns if Napoleon managed to invade. Paah.

Pat

Well, it depends on how beaten up you are. I am your age. I can ride every day. But then again, I am in shape to. I can also do pretty long distances daily (when I have the time) and do it day after day. The trick is to just vary the intensity depending on how beaten up you are. I find that after a warm up, I am usually good to go. If your legs are pretty sore a few hours after riding, you might want to take the next day off. Or better, go out and do an easy ride. I find that warming up the legs and doing an easy work out greatly accelerates the recovery.