I guess I am fortunate in that there is no real off season for cycling where I live. We may have a rain out now and then but in a day or two we can be back out doing another 30 or 40 mile ride. However there are times when I go on vacation and my riding drops significantly. When I get home it takes a few weeks to keep from falling off of the back of the group. Talking to my doctor he put it in perspective. When we are in our teens and twenties if we have to spend a day or two in the hospital normally we can go back to work of school a day or two after we get home. When we are past 50 that recovery rate may be weeks. I may not have liked hearing that but on the bright side if we are active past 50 then our recovery rate is at least faster than those who are couch potatoes.