Aching some days only

[2wd]

Quick summary...

48 years old,not ridden bike for 30 years,bought a Felt Hybrid 6 weeks ago,then changed to a Spesh Allez 27 Road bike a few weeks ago,both for keeping fit.

I have found a nice route of 8 miles with a good mixture of flats and hills that I do 3 times a week,purely to keep fit (and enjoying the ride)

Why is it that sometimes I feel I can ride this route twice on the same night (which I did last week) and other times I struggle to get round once and my legs ache for days.

I thought once I got into a regular routine I would overcome the aches

 

[vickster]

Do you stretch properly after the ride? Calves, quads, hammies, glutes?

 

[2wd]

Do you stretch properly after the ride? Calves, quads, hammies, glutes?

No,

I collapse in the back garden and get my wife to throw a bucket of water over me

 

[vickster]

That's ok as long as the water is warm

Suggest you do try some basic stretches - Google is your friend - will help with flex too

 

[Willo]

It's early days and sometimes the cumulative effect on your body means it can get tougher before it gets easier, if that makes sense. If you're stepping up exercise/cycling after a good few years of not doing much, it's gonna be a shock to the system. Stick at it and judge your progression over a year rather than a few weeks.

As Vickster says, do a few stretches after as that does make a big difference to me (I didn't stretch properly after a recent 10k running race what with chatting to friends at the end and really suffered for 4/5 days after, whereas I regularly run the same route on my own with no problems when I take the time to stretch after).

Saying that, I went out this morning on a regular 20 mile route that has some short but sharp hills. My legs felt much heavier than usual and are still a bit achey now, so much so that I feel as though I've done 50 miles rather than 20! I haven't a clue why; maybe I've just done a bit too much in the gym this week, am going down with something, or was just tired after a long week. Some days are just like that.

Stick at it and enjoy the bike(s) (also ride an Allez and have had miles of fun on it).