legs like lead

[gavroche]

Did 27 miles ride on sunday ( which is a long ride for me) and my legs have been feeling like leads since then. Went for a short ride last night, only 4 miles, but struggled to go up hills that I usually swallow up.
Should I rest for a day or two in order to give my legs a chance to get back into shape?

 

[HLaB]

If 27milers are infrequent, yes you'll just need time to recover.

 

[Rouge Penguin]

Try a recovery drink, litre of milk or protein bar to aid muscle repair. I always find it best get out as quick as possible after a bigger ride than normal, just keep keep the legs loose.

 

[515mm]

Try a recovery drink, litre of milk or protein bar to aid muscle repair. I always find it best get out as quick as possible after a bigger ride than normal, just keep keep the legs loose.

+1


go for a twenty minute spin in a silly easy gear - gradually work up to a twenty second bursts at a fast cadence - but in a really low gear. This is to push the waste products you have in your legs out and get a bit of warmth into them so you can..............

.....then go home and stretch those quads, hams, glutes, calves and back muscles out.

Drink plenty of water too.

 

[Peter91]

It's called DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness. After exercise the muscles will have a lot of lactic acid in and that's what makes them sore, to prevent the soreness two of the best methods are either give your legs a massage for a few minutes, or the more effective, get into a freezing cold bath of water, the cold will make blood pump around the area more fast and flush out the acid.
Other things to note - stretching before hasn't any effect and having a high protein diet (1.2-1.6g per Kg of body weight) will help repair of muscle fibers.

 

[bigsi]

I am the same tonight, did 23 mile on Sunday (again a lot for me) in the wind too, been out tonight and only managed 8miles feel dead

 

[Holdsworth]

Had the same problem today, I did an 85 miler from Crewe to Llangollen and back. Once I was past Wrexham and going up the hill through Minera I was beat. The moorland on the other side, though slightly downhill, had a nasty headwind/crosswind which knackered me out even more. The Horseshoe Pass was quite bad but I got up with only a short bout of walking, going down the other side was a blast but the computer was knackered and wouldn't record the speed, I did catch a glimpse of 41mph in the one second it was working!

I then lost all momentum in my legs and the small inclines out of Llangollen defeated me, I had to get off and push for most of them as even in the granny ring my thigh muscles hurt like hell. And again between Ruabon and Penley my legs just wouldn't turn the cranks without pain and my speed was below 10 for a lot of the time. I did manage to get back home in 7 hours but looking much worse for wear as I had been pushing myself hard with my lead legs.

I am going to feel this tomorrow on my commute