bfloyd

I'm curious to here what type of rides riders are doing for their recovery rides and how many per week are done. What is a good heart rate for them and at what intensities? Thanks.

JayhawKen

I'm beginning to think I can't do a recovery ride. My best strategy is to simply take the day off.

If I actually could stick to the plan, I'd keep HR around 70 to 75% of MHR. I forced myself to do that once on a club fun ride, and it was torture.

babydee

I do recovery rides, but I'm not sure I'm doing them exactly the right way. Anyway, I ride either a 17-miler or a 25-miler at a very easy pace. Tuesday I did about 15 miles worth of errands instead. I tend to do the hardest ride of the week, then do leg weight training, then do a recovery ride the next day. Sometimes I'll do another really hard ride later in the week and follow that with a recovery ride as well.

Probably doing me more good than harm, but I'd love to hear more knowledgable folks chime in.

kuan

40-50 minutes? I'm at the fitness level right now where my recovery rides really make a difference. 10-12 miles for me which is enough to warmup and warmdown.

Some days I'll pee acid after a recovery ride. Does that happen with other folks?

DanteB

Anywhere from 1/2 to 1 hour for me. I keep the HR between 80-102 bpm, my max is 166. Thats 48-60%.

NomadVW 

1 1/2 hrs, HR around 110-120ish, avg watts around 160 for my training zones.

once per week usually

ericgu

I don't tend to do them very often, but when I do, they tend to be 10-15 miles at a very light effort - for me that means HR below 110 for as much of the ride as I can manage.

The whole point of a recovery ride is to get the blood moving and the muscles warmed up. If you are getting out of breath, it's no longer a recovery ride.

ed073

2 hours, smooth roads, keep HR low.

coffee stops highly recommended.

bfloyd

Thanks everyone! I try to keep my recovery rides below 120 HR and no more that 40 minutes. I also be sure to plan a flat route but sometimes the wind plays against me. Moving into a headwind across a wide open area can be difficult at times to keep HR below 120.

ShuaMarc

I was going to go do some leg workouts, but I was just reading that the pros tend to leave the weights for the winter. Are you still doing weight training?

Enthalpic

You measure the pH of your urine? Does it burn when you pee? Discoloured?

RiPHRaPH

22-24 miles. the heart never goes above 120.
you can't learn to go fast til you learn to go slow.

kimmer99

I do mine on Mondays, 8 - 15 miles but I'm still learning to go slow. I try to keep it below 65%mhr but sometimes it goes above (if I'm heading into wind or up a small hill). It used to drive me crazy, it felt as if it were a waste, but now I enjoy them. I think of them as my Monday stroll, and usually stick to local neighborhoods.

babydee

Yes, but I'm a "different case", and not a competitive cyclist. I had an incredibly busy schedule during the last year, and could not make time to cycle or work out until April believe it or not. Luckily, I should not be in that position again in the near future. In any case, I'm doing everything I can to get back in shape and lose the weight I picked up.

I imagine that pro cyclists, or serious competitive cyclists want to save their legs for cycling, and minimize their body weight in season. Their was an interesting discussion about bone density in the roadie forum recently, however, and it seems that TDF riders tend to suffer from low bone density. I'm looking for overall health, not a competitive edge on hilly races, so I have no problem with doing resistance training for legs. In my current shape, it's helping me on climbs, especially powering over short ones, and the muscle will jack my metabolism up to help me shed the fat. Better leg muscles than fat for a cyclist!

As mentioned, I do legs after the hardest ride of the week, so while I'm letting my cardiovascular system recover from the ride, my legs can recover from the ride and the weights as well. I do lunges for hamstrings/glutes/quads, straight-leg deadlifts for hamstrings/glutes, toe raises for calves, and sometimes jump squats for power and muscle recruitment. Only one (hard) set of each, except for the calves which get two sets.