I’ve been off the bike for 4 months, have done a little running/mountaineering in between, first ride out this week and biking fitness has long since gone, hoping with a little stimulus fitness will return fairly quickly, or to excuse the pun have i got a mountain to climb. I know it sounds like a dumb question, but being relatively new to biking 4yrs, it’s the longest spell i have had off and worked hard to get where i was previously at, hoping it is not going to be months of toil…i live in a hilly area.

What’s the question?

with regular riding 3 times a week (a long low intensity ride, plus some shorter higher intensity stuff), you should have noticeable fitness gains in about 6 weeks….probably

Thanks for that, six weeks i can handle!

Well I was off the bike for really 2-3 years, just lost all interest in it, in fact stopped exercising really, put a bit of weight on, but was still no porker.

Got back on the bike about 1 year ago and it was incredibly painful, but started to feel some fitness come back but it took months, and I never thought I would get truly fit again.

I then got Pneumonia and was off the bike for about 7 months. I’ve been back biking about 1 1/2 months now and I’m surprised how much my fitness has bounced back to where it was before Pneumonia, in fact in the 1 1/2 months I think I have now become fitter than I was before.

To be honest though I think the reason I struggled before when I had been off the bike for 2-3 years was because of the weight gain. Post pneumonia I am already 3kg’s lighter which is making a huge difference.

I find Sufferest vids on a Turbo Trainer a great way of training back to fitness.

Turbo training?

You must have been poorly to consider that as great. Just get out riding, the fitness will come.

My experience is that you will get back to and proabably beyond where you were fairly quickly if you work hard. Exactly how long is impossible to say. Depends on age, how unfit you have become, weight gain and how much (& hard) you can now train.

My mate packs his bike away from around Nov to March every year. He does some stuff to keep fit and healthy and generally gains around 0.5 to 1 stone (12 up to 12.5 – 13 ). He started this around 6 years ago and every year he is stronger than the previous for his key events in July / August. He is 42, takes the first few weeks steady and builds from there.

Good luck

Just get out riding, the fitness will come.

This.

Taz music to my ears! I have Kept myself reasonably fit, no sickness, just decided to hang the bike up for winter, just like the places that get snow and do something else.

Bit of a rude awakening the first time out on the bike, looking forward to the coming season, wide eyed and willing to suffer.