The Weak Link

As some of you may know, I went an entire month without so much as touching a bike during my trip to Ukraine (I never could track down Vino). I rode for the first time this weekend, and, much to my surprise, my legs felt good and I turned in one of the quicker training rides I've done in a while. The fact that I was spurred on by my son-in-law, and that we had the glorious experience of stumbling onto a community Huffyfest, thusly making us feel like rockets in a field of tanks, probably didn't hurt either.

So, if I showed that much improvement after taking one month off, wouldn't it be better if I rode just once every three or four months? Or even better, ride just once a year, saving my effort for the Old Kentucky Home Tour, one of the harder centuries around?

I was just wondering.

cranky old dude

I've tried it. After several years off I was a virtual rocket....for about
fifty yards!!!

Digital Gee

I wonder if that strategy would work with regard to posting?

Kurt Erlenbach

I've not taken a month off, but after about two weeks due to vacation and a bad cold, I seemed to about as fast but not in the same aerobic shape (although maybe that had to do with the cold).

Camilo

You might have experienced the feeling of having recovered from chronic over training.

On a normal cycling day, you should ride easy enough so that you're not fatigued the next day, so that whenever you want to ride hard, you're fresh enough to do it. This is like you felt after your layoff. If you feel fatigued or flat, it probably means you're pushing too hard in general; chronic over training (slight as it may be, still there). The vast majority of your training (if you are thinking of it as training rather than just riding), should be in the aerobic zone (e.g. zone 2) which requires quite a bit of discipline to go that slow. It can really feel lazy to those who feel they must always go hard for it to be beneficial.

What many/most of us think of as a good workout is likely too hard for the majority of your riding - again assuming you're trying to ride for training goals as opposed to just for the fun of it.

But this is exactly what is the "funnest" type of ride (or xc ski) for me. Often known as "Zone 3" or junk zone. It's fast enough to be fun and you think you're working hard. But it is too fast for good base work and doesn't leave you fresh for a good quality hard ride. At the same time, it's not hard enough for goal oriented speed or interval work. No purpose other than fun (which is why I do so much of it - I ride for fun and general fitness, not trainig goals).

I think road cyclists, are some of the worst at thinking they have to hammer and compete on every ride. "Dropping" and hammering are a couple of the most common words heard on these forums. I'm not orienting that statement at you, OP, just a musing on my part.

"Fitness through rest" is more true than you think!

freeranger

I've ridden little this season, and went for a short ride today on the road bike. Wish I had the same results as you. I was checking to see if the hub bearings were binding! Gotta find a new job so I have more opportunities to ride!

Jet Travis

As some philosopher may have said, "A field that rests produces a bountiful crop." Or maybe he said something about taking more EPO.

skiffrun

The rest of your post after this first sentence was cute, and I don't really want to deliver smack; however,

You went to the Ukraine, and couldn't find the rider who lives in Khazakstan?

Are you related to that 16 year-old "beauty" contestant from South Carolina?

maddmaxx 

This will require a recovery..............

George

I think a few days wouldn't hurt, but a month, I think I would forget how to ride.