What do you do or eat to recover from your rides?

I had no problems in my youth doing a hard 50 mile ride on Sunday morning, then playing tennis all afternoon. Now, 40 years later, I am wiped out after a measly 35 miles at moderate pace.

Sometimes I hit on a good food regimen, that revives me. But today I am wiped out. Legs hurt, no energy, barely functioning.

What's your recovery secret?

Sleep.

For me, it's important to get enough food on the bike. Everyone is different, but I've discovered my body needs a fair amount of carbohydrates on my rides. I aim to eat a gel every 45 min to an hour and if the ride is over a couple hours, I'll add in some cheese/PB crackers, a bar or something more substantial every couple hours. My body just needs a lot of sugar to keep going - some people can do very long rides on just water, but I'm not one of those.

Immediately after the ride, I'll drink a high carb sports drink or some juice mixed in with some protein powder. Then a solid meal shortly after. I've found this greatly helps the energy drop post ride if I keep the calories up during and immediately after.

Outside of nutrition, I try to keep the legs elevated and will do some stretching and foam rolling to keep the blood circulating in the legs.

^^good stuff^^

Thanks

Two words: Hot Tub

Stretch.

nonsense. ride more until you are conditioned.

Healthy food and rest after. Plenty of fluid and some carbs during for rides over 2 hrs. 2 hrs and under just ride. Food calories unnecessary.

I'm inclined to agree. Some days I might take 2 Vitamin-I.

After 4 or 5 hours in the saddle, on a hot day, nothing makes me "sprint for home" like the thought of an ice cold lager!

Last night after a ride I had 3 tacos, chips, birthday cake, and ice-cream...My stomach hurt, but my legs felt good.

Maltodextrin as soon as you are done works wonders, paired with protein works even better.

Buy a whey protein maltodextrin blend and make a shake.

thats the last thing you need, but to each his own.

Maltodextrin will replenish muscle glycogen the fastest. Best when paired with whey protein.

You should be taking fish oil as well. Creatine also helps but don't load.

I like a lot of carbs during a ride, some electrolytes, and either a protein shake or a bunch of beer after. I drink the shake after solo rides to repair my muscles. I drink the beer after bike team rides to ignore my muscles.

Recovery ride the next day.

45 minutes, very low heart rate - most people are not willing to ride this type of ride and go out hard regardless.

Immediately after the ride ...

-- hot shower
-- a decent dinner
-- keeping moving now and then throughout the evening to keep things from stiffening up
-- sleep

And going forward ...

-- ride more.

Someone once asked me for a tip to make a century (100 miles) feel easier.
I responded ... "Ride a double century".

You're finding 35 miles tough ... build up to ride 70 miles.

And ride/exercise regularly ... every day. Mix it up. Go for a walk one day (rest day), ride longer distances one or two days, do intervals or hill repeats one or two days, ride easy one day. Add some weights in there. Go for a long hike once in a while. Get out into a canoe or go snowshoeing. The more active you are, the easier it is to be more active.

Grab a cold one, put the feet up, and watch the sunset. Not a lager though, but I celebrate with higher gravity stuff after races... on just a regular day I'd probably have something a bit lighter.


More seriously though, I don't have an exact answer. I've never followed any trendy diets other than trying to eat healthier, with maybe a bit more simple sugars within 20 minutes of a hard workout sometimes.

And yes, those are my feet that pedal and run sans shoes.

Amino acid supplements can help muscle recovery and repair.

I stretch at least 15 min after each and every ride. Then it's something with high-glycemic-index carbs for 100-200 calories. Shower and then a full on meal.

No alcohol during any sort of training plan. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I read a while ago (in my body building years) that even one drink can reduce muscle growth by 90% because it lowers testosterone and protein synthesis.

Good thing I don't follow any sort of plan then.
However I do wonder if things would be any different with no alcohol.
I don't really expect they would though, plenty of examples of very successful athletes out there who consume alcohol, one of my ultra runner friends even uses diluted beer (usually diluted) during 100 milers and another uses diluted red wine often mixed with chia seeds among other things. In fact the only real training plan I have actually read up on, Maffetone's The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing, even suggests modest amounts of red wine with a meal.

I've been reading that chocolate milk is the ideal drink for after a ride but I haven't tried it because it doesn't feel right. It has a 4:1 carb protein ratio which sounds ideal. Replenishing protein is important for older riders. Any thoughts?

Surprised none have mentioned this yet, but if you are "wiped out" immediately after a ride - whether it's 35 miles or 135 miles - then the issue usually isn't recovery, it's hydration. It's summer. Did you finish off two bottles of water on your 35 mile ride?

it is very satisfying.

i go by the pee color "keep it clear". wiped out can be fried legs and that isn't water related.