First ride on the road bike since last fall. Been on leisurely cruiser rides of 3 to 10 miles for the past 6 months. Did 30 miles and felt like a turd on wheels. Very sad day indeed. Have a long, long way to go to gain some fitness back from the winter break.

Good news is the repaired frame rides just like it did before hitting it with the car. Once up to speed it is rock steady, and descents are a wonderful experience. Was all 531 tubing, now the rear end it True Temper RC2. Really, really like this bike! Just not super thrilled with myself right now.

hope springs eternal

CREDIT: from the Alexander Pope poem An Essay on Man

Wait, if you died shouldn't this be posted in Pills & Ill's?

embrace the challenge which I'm sure you will. it will come back soon

Give it a few weeks, and you'll be back in the swing of things.

Ya scared me ... this is the 50+ group and you never know when someone's SO is gonna log in to announce somebody's gone.

It doesn't come back as fast as it did when we were younger, but it can come back! I thought I was in shape and recently purchased my gravel bike. Man, I was not in the shape I thought I was. Now each ride gets easier. Those first few rides were tough. I laid off for about ten years. Glad to be back.

I have friends that only go riding every few weeks and always look fresh...no chance here. I feel your pain.

Time and money fixed the bike. NOW, time and effort will get you going too - just like in the olden days. Oh, while money can fix things, your body needs effort and persistance, not money.
BUT, you know that. Carry on as if normal May God bless you in your efforts....

I apologize for the scare!

30 miles is wayyy too long a ride after a significant layoff. I suspect you're like one of those heroin addicts (sorry for the comparison, but bear with me) who return to the drug years later, and try to take the same amount of the drug as they used to take, and overdose accidentally because they don't realize their tolerance is much lower than it used to be when they were using every day.

I would only do a couple miles if I were you, just try to get your balance and stuff back for now, maybe do some figure 8's in the driveway, and practice quick stops and getting in and out of pedals. Your strength will take a while to return, but return it will.

I've been on the trainer since November. I typically ride harder on the trainer, did the Tour of Sufferlandria, etc. First road ride felt easier than the trainer. Did ~2 hours and felt good. First group ride in a week, that will be the real test.

With me, it's not the difficulty of speed\distance in the first few rides of the season. It's the loss of skills. My bike handling is sloppy. Getting on and off the bike takes thinking. i have to look down to clip in. And I'm always in the wrong gear.
I feel like I'm trying to ride a half folder lawn chair.

Lets just keep on keeping on.

I bet it wasn't as bad as my first Spring ride. My gf left me like I was chained to a post. After 11 mi. of a 13 mi. ride I realized my rear brake was dragging. DOH!

I feel your pain. Still, even at an "advanced aged", I'm always impressed with how fast fitness can return. Our bodies love the challenge I guess.

I've been off the bike, except for occasional 15-milers, for about six years. Coming back is tough, but I'm determined to resume. The goal for now is endurance over speed.

I took the winter off from training once, many years ago. Trying to recover fitness was so horrible that I took a vow never to do that again. So far, so good.. It took me until the end of summer before I could ride well again. Missed the whole summer, really. We're doing 60 mile 3000' rides on the tandem this April, which bodes well for this summer. And yeah, my legs hurt most days.

I did about 30 miles for my first "real" ride of the season as was pretty tired too. I was going to shove conditioning down my throat starting tomorrow by taking a three-day tour, starting with 2 miles from my house to the train then 54 miles from the train to a campground, abut 30 miles without gear on Saturday and then a reverse of Friday. But alas, there are supposed to be spotty rain during the day an the potential for storms late afternoon, with rain ultimately lasting into Saturday morning.

Hoping things will improve next weekend as I will be heading to Missoula in under two months for two weeks of touring in MT and ID.

I'm in the same boat. Just could not get motivated for winter riding this year. Was hitting the gym two or three times most weeks, but my fitness has really declined. Was out for a couple of short rides last week and realized it's going to be a longer, harder road back this time.

Accompanied a friend on his dog walking route , up on the hilly part of the town,, used to non weight bearing nature of Cycling..

and having a dog to walk daily (plastic pickup bag in the pocket) does make you maintain some fitness.. weight bearing..

Sometimes I get down on myself for not getting more fit and being able to ride a lot longer. But...then sometimes I see people younger and presumably fitter than me who have to walk their bike up a hill that I just climbed up on my bike. That gives me a little smile...