recovery

[stephen.rooke]

how long should you leave between rides, i did 2 rides today,
i did a 10mile ride but had to return home due to my front tyre coming off the rim in 1 section. then an hour later i went back out and did my first ride over 30miles today,

i've read online that i should leave it for a couple of days so that my muscles have chance to grow stronger. any advice is apreciated.

http://app.strava.com/rides/7969273
http://app.strava.com/rides/7983423

 

[black'n'yellow]

no reason why you shouldn't ride the next day, if you feel up to it.

 

[stephen.rooke]

no reason why you shouldn't ride the next day, if you feel up to it.

i feel ok, just dont want to push things too far

 

[black'n'yellow]

your legs will tell you when they need to be rested....

 

[CopperCyclist]

If you feel like it, then do it! If you're literally bodily dragging your broken carcass out of your door and clambering onto your bike, fearful you are going to pass out at the top of your drive, then perhaps it's time to consider a rest day.

After, it might scratch the bike if you fell off it.

 

[monnet]

As above. If you're spent, don't bother. It's your body asking for a rest. As a way of preempting that, schedule in a rest day each week. If you're relatively new and the addictive nature of cycling has bitten, it might be better to factor in a couple of days to start with. It's hard to do, but sometimes go out without trying to get a new PB, relax and enjoy the scenery -it's as good as a rest!

If I do a really hard ride, I'll always ride the day after with the view to helping my legs recover. So, say I race on Sunday, on Monday I'll do a really gentle 10-15 miles - no effort, just enough to keep the legs ticking over. I find that it helps reduce the likelihood of stiffening up etc. and makes it easier the next time I get on the bike to make a big effort.

 

[Melonfish]

your legs will tell you when you need to rest for sure, otherwise feel free to go out every day, just do small rides if you're tired.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

If you're literally bodily dragging your broken carcass out of your door and clambering onto your bike, fearful you are going to pass out at the top of your drive...

Isn't that the daily commute TO work?

 

[swede54]

The problem may be that your legs decide not to tell you they've had enough until you are 10 miles from home. You do need time to recover particularly if you are riding further than before. I would recommend, from personal experience, that both your distance and frequency are built up gradually.

 

[Janeyb]

your legs will tell you when you need to rest for sure, otherwise feel free to go out every day, just do small rides if you're tired.

That's very true as my legs are now screaming at me saying 'if you dare to even think about exercise I'll make you pay!'. In the last 7 days had 3 days of hilly cycling in Peak District, 1 run, 1 very intense yoga session and then a 55 mile ride. Got on bike to commute today and my knees are creaking like a 90 year old arthritics. So apart from cycling 3 miles home again, no exercise for me today. Little do these legs know they're on the bike again for a speed session tomorrow though. Wish I had discovered cycling 20 years ago though when creaky knees weren't a problem.