Time off bike = Greatly Improved Performance?

[Sam Kennedy]

I've been ill over the past few days, so have missed about 4 days off the bike.
Today I found my bike a lot more responsive and easier to accelerate and maintain speed, even with my back pack full of school stuff.

I even stopped my bike and checked QR's and stuff because the bike just didn't feel right.. it was too easy to cycle!

How is this? I haven't really done any intensive training, so haven't really needed recovery!

I will definitely use this 'not going on bike' nonsense before a race!

 

[Bill Gates]

I've been ill over the past few days, so have missed about 4 days off the bike.
Today I found my bike a lot more responsive and easier to accelerate and maintain speed, even with my back pack full of school stuff.

I even stopped my bike and checked QR's and stuff because the bike just didn't feel right.. it was too easy to cycle!

How is this? I haven't really done any intensive training, so haven't really needed recovery!

I will definitely use this 'not going on bike' nonsense before a race!

Tail wind probably

 

[gbb]

Ive always noticed this as well Sam...up to a week, maybe two off the bike and i always fear its going to be hard work....but you seem to fly
Or is it psychological ? You just think you're flying because you've lost the 'drudgery' feeling you get sometimes when you're cycling day after day.

 

[PK99]

I've been ill over the past few days, so have missed about 4 days off the bike.
Today I found my bike a lot more responsive and easier to accelerate and maintain speed, even with my back pack full of school stuff.

I even stopped my bike and checked QR's and stuff because the bike just didn't feel right.. it was too easy to cycle!

How is this? I haven't really done any intensive training, so haven't really needed recovery!

I will definitely use this 'not going on bike' nonsense before a race!

Time off bike = Greatly Improved Performance? = Extreme form of pre event tapering?

 

[GrasB]

Not true that non-intensive exercise doesn't require rest. If you're doing medium level exercise you still need some rest to get the most benefit, if you're stressing the muscles they still need to repair & recover at some point just the gaps between these rests can be bigger.

 

[iLB]

after four weeks of packing in the miles all i did last week was 30 easy miles and 1 hour on the turbo as a full recovery week, yesterday I did my fastest ride of the year, letting the body rest and recover is one of the most important parts of any training plan

 

[Aperitif]

Thank goodness. Mine has been in recovery from 2009 for the first two months of 2010!

 

[Bill Gates]

after four weeks of packing in the miles all i did last week was 30 easy miles and 1 hour on the turbo as a full recovery week, yesterday I did my fastest ride of the year, letting the body rest and recover is one of the most important parts of any training plan

................falling on deaf ears. They just won't listen.

 

[gaz]

6 days off the bike for me last week, i was flying at the start, but past 35miles my legs felt dead.

 

[Fiona N]

I've never had that easeful experience on the bike so much as when I used to run - the first run after a break and I'd feel like I was flying. The second run was something else again: legs of lead, lungs of a life-long smoker, pain

 

[Tynan]

every Monday morning

 

[monnet]

After riding pretty hard all last summer, I had an easy-ish October. Started riding properly in November only to be undone by a virus, the Xmas season, food poisoning and then the cold snap. So having done the short end of not a lot (just a bit of commuting when I could) I was a bit apprehensive about getting back out, particularly with the club. Turned out the rest had done me the world of good and I was flying. Of course, for various reasons I've missed the last two weeks so Sunday's ride could prove to be very painful indeed.

Anyway, rest = good and I usually try to get a day off the bike a week and a couple of days going very easy.