Originally Posted by
DougG
Every year at this time, after my first few rides of the season, I start moaning about how I've "lost it all" until my wife reminds me about how often I've said it. But at 66 and counting, it does get harder to get it back. I rode my hybrid on some soft trails Friday, then took the road bike out on Saturday for some much faster riding, but with hills and a headwind. My legs felt it for sure! So I started analyzing why this is so hard every spring even though I stay in good shape overall.
Have you given any thought to cycling year round? During my first couple years of cycling (20+ years ago), I quit cycling for the winter and tried to keep active in other ways. When I got back on the bicycle again, it was like starting over.
Then I got a stationary bike and started riding it regularly ... and what a difference! I still lost some cycling fitness, but not nearly as much.
Then I started riding year round outside (as well as using a bicycle on a trainer in really nasty weather) ... and I stopped losing my cycling fitness in the winter. I also discovered that taking a good spinning class helped me work harder than I would on my bicycle on the trainer. 10 weeks of 2x per week spinning classes + riding outside as much as possible from mid-Jan to late March, and I was in shape to ride a 200K in early April.
So don't stop. And schedule a 200K in early April to motivate you.