One day I am strong...
 

The next day I am not? What's up? One day I ride and feel good and strong, the next day I feel week and out of breath. Is it what I eat? Not enough rest? Not enough hydration? All of the above? Of is it just part of the game? Do you guys feel strong every time you ride?

No, I don't feel strong every time I ride. Some days are better than others. I don't tend to feel "out of breath", though.

Difficult to make suggestions without some specifics. How much do you ride? Every day? How intensely? What do you do to recover? That sort of stuff...

Are you riding the same course/route every time or varying the route? Regardless, lots of things can impact how strong you feel during a ride, including amount of rest you got, what you ate, etc. Try keeping a journal of these things for a while to chart how you do over time. It might provide some useful information.

Paging Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Start a diary of what you eat, what you do, how you sleep and how you feel. Hopefully you will see some patterns emerge.

What are you eating that you're questioning? Are you drinking enough? How old are you? Ever read Joe Friel's Cycling Past 50?

Biorythms: Biorhythm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yeah, recovery is a strange thing because I don't think it's consistent. I blame my bike and and say that it needs more recovery time. That makes me feel better.

Do I feel strong all the time? Absolutely not.

I have no idea why, but some days, I just don't feel like pushing it, and others, I turn my commute into a 10 mile time trial, and feel strong the whole time.

I don't ask why ... I just go for it. Or don't, as the case may be.

Any heart issues? Irregular heart beat?

At the risk of sounding like an idiot I have no clue what this means. I am interested in this topic because some rides I feel like I'm really strong( even though I'm not) and others I feel very weak. Does this response add something to this topic or is it just BS?

I have actually worked on this problem for a long time. I have a standard sixty mile route that I ride at least once a week, so it's been good for experimentation. Here are the factors that I find important, in order:

1. Coffee (it may be a placebo effect, but one strong cup at the start and one strong cup halfway through seem to help).
2. Riding at just the right pace (not too fast or too slow. I call it "optimal cruise")
3. Keep breaks short. I think this is a biggie. I get it over faster with short breaks.
4. Electrolytes (I've found a good correlation with how I feel and whether I"ve taken electrolyte pills. I forgot last week, and was especially tired at the end. Today I took plenty, and I felt great on the whole ride. It's not hot here, so I'm surprised at this. It may be that they just cause me to drink more water.).
5. Sunshine and warm weather.
6. Riding alone (I do better alone, probably because I choose the pace and I take shorter breaks).
7. Random chance.
8. Good mood/attitude. "I'm having fun" beats "I need the exercise."

Less important:
1. What I eat. Note that I am fat-adapted. I don't need carbs. I can eat nothing and feel fine at the end. I eat much less than I have in the past.
2. A good night's sleep. I'm not sure about this one, but I did a century on two-hour's sleep once, and it was fine. The last two nights I haven't slept well, but today's ride was great.

There are probably other factors I forgot.

HTH.

I'll second keeping a cyclist log, I use the Joe Friel, "The Cyclist's Training Diary" for logging my rides and fitness information. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'm currently on my 3rd year of using one. This allows me to have notes on my vitals as well as how a particular day's ride went. I take it with me to regular doctor's appointments so that the blood pressure trends and the weight fluctuations are easily examined. Its not for show or bragging rights, it helps me see how things are doing as well as what is going on with my body. I've seen some riders set up spread sheets to log their information on their laptops or tablets, if that is your thing. Seeing things in a graph form of some type can help out in figuring out any trends or when something is effecting your riding.

With the Parkinson's Disease diagnosis having daily data so both the physicians and I can look for trends. That one helps me keep things on an even keel and lets the doctors know what is happening with my health. I won't try and "diagnose" whether your bad days are normal or something to be concerned with, you and a medical professional are the best to answer that series of questions.

Best of luck on getting the fitness and desire synced up, hopefully you'll keep riding and enjoying it.

Bill

It's important to rehydrate and refuel a bit ASAP after a ride.... assuming your rides are real workouts. The "out of breath" statement bothers me. Even when worn-out and a bit beat-up.... I don't get anymore "out of breath" (and I was a smoker for 35 years).

This is a key point. The OP may want to consider having a physical from his doctor, as a complete one usually includes a cursory lung capacity check, as well as an EKG and other things that may at least point to the need for further testing in the event something out of the ordinary is identified.

I agree. This IS an "over 50" thread. Logically..... I could assume the OP has recently had a full check-up.... lungs, heart, blood-work and so on. If he hasn't.... he should.

Not to get political or anything, but I bet you'd be surprised how many never got into that habit. Either their insurance didn't cover an annual well visit or it was just never made habit. Now, well visits have to be covered, so this shouldn't be an issue. I didn't get into the habit until after I turned 40.

Dudel oftimes casts a wide net; undoubtedly here in reference to the wonderful hit "The Bug", chorus of which goes:

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're just a fool in love
Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger
Sometimes you're the ball
Sometimes it all comes together
Sometimes you're gonna lose it all

Which can be taken in translation to mean that he too has off days.

I do too. I wish it weren't so.

Your right. And some people (for many reasons) avoid doctors. I hate to just post "see your doctor". If a poster is using a forum to avoid actual doctors anyway... how effective would my post be anyway.

I feel that way occasionally- sometimes I'm strong and sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I feel like I have to push hard for the entire ride and I'm still dragging, sometimes it feels almost effortless.

I think my muscles are basically lazy and don't want to work (ride). Sometimes I have to force them to go and then eventually they catch on and will go, other times they don't. I think I am usually pushing my training aggressively and so I'm always in recovery mode. I think it is a recovery thing for me. My muscles don't want to work because they are still recovering from the last ride, even though at most I only ride every other day.

As you said, not to get political or anything, but speaking as someone who has worked in healthcare most of his life, the habit of going to a doctor "just in case" is largely a waste of resources. Yes, it's worth keeping tabs on your blood pressure. Yes, screening programs sometimes pickup disease in its very early stages. However, the impact of screening on survival rates is less clear-cut: unscreened populations, who wait to seek treatment until they are symptomatic, often do just as well as those who get regular check-ups. They worry less, too. The obsession with health checks is largely commercially-driven, not public health-driven.

I think its the age thing . When I was in my 30 and 40 everyone ride was a good ride . Now I just don't know how the ride is going to turn out till 10 km warm up . I just have to accept the fact my body is breaking down as I age . :cry:

See CrankyFranky's note.

We have good days and bad days. Maybe the OP can detect some overarching reason for it. Maybe not.

Something is going on with your lungs....get them checked out Soon.

I believe you're likely correct... as if my opinion on health issue carries any weight.

Something we (as part of the general population) need to teach ourselves, is what a symptom is.

Is that mild chest discomfort from the garlic bread and onion soup.... or is it a symptom of something worse? Is that bit of blood in the toilet a normal thing.... or maybe it's a symptom. I know tripping and falling is normal right? Is falling three times in a month normal too.... or is it a symptom?

The OP didn't give a lot of info. I don't know if he is 50 or 75, a new cyclists or former pro, fit as a fiddle or tubby clyde. Is shortness of breath a symptom? Here... let me Google that for you.