I went out out last night.  It was cold, it was muddy, and my tyres were too hard, but by christ have I suffered in the fitness stakes after taking a bit of time out.

I’m far from the worlds best rider, I’m over-weight and out of shape, but I felt utterly ruined after just an hour, and having only covered about 8 miles of muddy bridleways and some roads to link them up.

Every hill was horrible, my face was freezing, my lungs felt like they wanted to exit from my backside.  I felt like I’d let the rest of the group down, it was horrible.

I know the only way I’ll get better at this is to get back on the bike and do it all again, regularly, but wow, that was terrible.

Anyone else have days like that?

I expect I’ll find out at some point. Haven’t turned a pedal in a couple of months.

8 miles? In an Hour? With hills?

You have just outperformed about 60% of the forum there.

Legend.

every 5 weeks i go through this.

got it sorted now that the first thing i do when i get home is go out on bike.

the first time is the worst. after the first time – every ride is easier if you keep on top of the regulartiy

Well, 1 Hr and 10 minutes, and they weren’t even proper hills.  barely 450ft elevation gain.

Seriously, it was a piss poor effort.

I got home and was utterly pissed off with myself.

Hardly ridden with the move back to the uk. On a 20km road loop in the hail yesterday my mate asked if the brakes were still sticking on

It’s always hard going in winter, your body is working harder just to keep your temp up, blood is moved away from limbs.

Your also fighting against all the extra drag of muddy trails, wheels and bike picking up extra weight .

Summer wouldn’t feel so great if you hadn’t slogged thru winter!

Added bonus is that sketchy turns and slick roots can turn a dull trail when dry into a proper challenge in wet, there’s joy to be had in seeing how far you can push your tyres on a loose sloppy turn.

Also eat less pies

Jeez no point in giving yourself grief (leave that to us 😉 )

Srsly as above, the slower you are now, the more quickly you’ll get fast again – max reward for minimum input.

Present going through the same and ignoring my own advice 😀

Seriously, it was a piss poor effort.

You were outside. On a bike.

You’ve just outperformed 50% of the forum there.

Legend.

Thanks.

I’m going to go out again on Tuesday I think, give myself some time to feel less beat to hell, probably a solo bimble on the single speed bike, or mix it up a bit with the gravel grinder and see if I can find some less sloppy bridleways. 🙂

Was this ride posted on Strava with the title “Half a ride. Need to get fitter”? The figures look surprisingly similar to something a friend posted……

Dave?

Yep, I’m definately Dave.  Same person.  *waves*

Seriously, it was a piss poor effort.

That would be an apt description of every ride I go on. You should come out on a Monday Night Pub Ride, you’d fit right in. Seriously…. do you really care? I don’t! I’m out on my bike so I’m happy.

Everyone who’s out knows that if you want to make rapid progress and cover some serious miles then don’t come out riding with me. They’ll all be stood at the top of Bull Hill tonight (hi guys!) waiting for me to wheeze my way up. It gives them a chance to have a bit of a breather. I’ve not ridden for weeks due to a chest infection so it’ll be even worse than usual

Aha, greetings sir – You’ve probably guessed but it’s Alan just in case you haven’t…..

Alright mate :).

Those HT Pedals still working out well for you?

Yes. Pedals are fine. They started making an odd noise one day and generally sounding like they were dry but they had recovered by the end of the ride and a strip down found them fine inside so no idea what happened there. Loving the fact they are so slim – makes a big difference on a bike with a low BB

That would be an apt description of every ride I go on. You should come out on a Monday Night Pub Ride, you’d fit right in. Seriously…. do you really care? I don’t! I’m out on my bike so I’m happy.

Everyone who’s out knows that if you want to make rapid progress and cover some serious miles then don’t come out riding with me. They’ll all be stood at the top of Bull Hill tonight (hi guys!) waiting for me to wheeze my way up. It gives them a chance to have a bit of a breather. I’ve not ridden for weeks due to a chest infection so it’ll be even worse than usual

I do care, when I’m out with a group I care yeah.  I also care because I know although I’m slow anyway, I’m not that slow, and I can do better.

I’m bloody annoyed with myself for not riding more over winter when I’ve been able to.  I’ve managed to twist a knee and get a chest infection which were sort of like salt being rubbed into the wound.  It did give me a bit of time to get three of my bikes in half decent order though, and get the wife’s one into a good usable state so she can do a few small rides to aid with her own knee injury recovery.

You must learn to embrace the bimble……

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-bimble-thread/

I was out yesterday for the first time in about 9 months, checking out a potential commuting route of around 15 hilly (for me) miles to a new job that I recently started. Come to the conclusion that I’ll need to build upto to it, even only doing one way… rather than being pee’d off, though well only way to make it easier is to crack on.

Ride stats of 16 miles with an average speed of 7mph, mix of bridleways and muddy country lanes… shocking but better than sitting on the sofa.

I know the feeling, I was like that after a layoff through illness last year. First ride I could only manage half the usual distance then a few weeks of slow spinning at the back feeling I was holding everyone up. Just keep at it and get out regularly,  it’ll come back

I do care, when I’m out with a group I care yeah.

Hence I just go out on my own most of the time. Or with a couple of my mates who are also bimblers. The only group ride I tend to do is the MNPR because its all very social and leisurely, despite there being some seriously quick boys, which centres around relentless piss-taking and making sure we get back to the pub in time to squeeze a couple of pints in before last orders.

Theres no point beating yourself up over it. If you know that your fitness isn’t up to everyone else standard, and that clearly bothers you, then get yourself fitter before you go out riding with them again. Or just ride on your own, or with other slower riders on more social rides, and wear your rear gunner status with pride 😉

two of my riding buddies have e bikes and are 20 years younger than me, imagine how i feel!

I haven’t ridden my Swift for two years….. I think I’m only keeping it so I can access this forum 😂

That about sums up my every ride now. My poor friends waiting, cold at the top of any hill/incline/flat bit against the wind, and me worn out with no strength or stamina. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to getting out more regularly and getting more hill work in as the days brighten up. I’ll likely still be lagging but I’ll feel bettter about it. GNAR.

The ride last weekend was like that. Yesterday’s was more focused on trying fight sidewinds and dodging hail storms. Man snow and hail really make your face sting. As others have said you were out, and suffering now will make spring and summer much better. Keep riding.

if it makes you feel any better im the same.

Im really looking forward to getting out with a group again soon. Ive missed it. I suspect they arnt looking forward to me joining so much as they end up having to wear thick coats for all the waiting around they do.

mnpr are definatly the way forward. Looking forward to starting them again when it warms up.

Give yourself time OP

I’ve started riding again last week after breaking my foot.

I’m so out of shape, and it hurts my foot – need an operation in summer to break it again and reset with with screws and plates plus 6 months of rehab.

I’ve ridden a quick 8 miler.  Legs were wood the next day.

Hit 10 miles and another 10.

Tonight I’m going for a slow 31 miles.

Need to lose the lard I’ve put on resting my foot.

Switching to road pedals off-road to reduce a bit of pain and arch supports.

MTB is hard shocker.

<span style=”font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;”><span style=”font-size: 14px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);”>I got home and was utterly pissed off with myself.</span></span>

I suffer with this hatred of one’s lazy self everytime I go out but I try to enjoy and reflect on it as motivation to go out more frequently.

but find myself down maccy dees carpark gorging on grand macs until I have to walk the bike back home.

seriously though, the answer I found to be true but only theoretically is to get out everyday.

I’ve even had instances of going out and getting back 1hr later to find that that was over all  too quick and had found my second wind but end up crashing out drinking vintage cider with a marlboro red in hand.

things have to change as the new to me local biking has loads to offer and is killing me not being fit enough to enjoy it fully. First step is always the toughest mind but most rewarding there after.

chin up and take every opportunity as yolo. (You only live once). 😉

I rode for the first time in 43 days after damaging ankle ligaments running of all things. It was hard, it was muddy, it snowed a bit but it was also fab. I really, really missed it. My fitness was better than expected, but I was very tentative on the downhills and my mates just rode away from me.

But the option would be to stop riding. I can’t imagine that at all. For me it’s the other way round, riding on my own holds no interest whatsoever. What I miss is riding with my mates and having a laugh.

The cold can have a massive effect on muscle efficiency, giving you the impression of having considerably worse exercise tolerance than you actually have, so consider an extra layer on the legs (ie knee warmers, long trousers etc)

If you have lost performance due to a extended lay off then you can expect a two to three week period before you experience significant gains again, so

a) don’t be too hard on yourself and

b) find comfort in knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel! 2-3 weeks isn’t that long in the grander scheme of things, right? 🙂

going out now will make big gains come summer – think of all the guys waiting until it;s sunny.

I actually feel more sore today than I did yesterday, but I’m determined to go for a ride, even if it’s just a little one

Thanks all for telling me not to be so hard on myself, and thanks for the not so helpful comments that MTBing is difficult :), I’m aware of that, but I can have a grumble.

heres a question. If i have an hour spare once a week should i use it to go for a quick ride, a go on the exercise bike or something else (if so what?)

time is limited.

IMO It’s all about what intensity and duration a ride is compared to what has been your recent norm.

About this time last year, I had been cycling to try and get fit ~5 weeks and was ~9Kg heavier. https://www.strava.com/activities/862709405

Rides like that were destroying my lungs and my legs (quads were feeling constantly sore), months later I discovered on Stravistix’s Multisports Fitness Trend that my “form” went to approx -60, I was massively overtraining for my very low level of fitness at the time.

After a year of usually training 4/5 times a week (albeit I’ve done a lot less the last fortnight) https://www.strava.com/activities/1402422502

My lungs and legs were far less bothered post-ride, ironically it was the next day’s delivery on a round with silly amounts of steps that forced me to make yesterday’s extended commute home a recovery ride in low gears, to not further upset my knees.

@cogwomble Sounds like “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness,” something I’ve experience many times over the last year or so, par for the course when pushing your current fitness boundaries. Often worse for me too ~48 hours after the big ride.

@andybrad If I’m time limited, I try to get outdoors, but then I’m lucky to have an almost perfect training ground for me on my doorstep. But since buying the turbo at Xmas, it’s far too easy to look out the window at the carp weather and simply climb the cat 2/3/4 hills in Zwift instead for 60-90 minutes.

Two rides today.  Still not stellar but better than last week.

Ride one was just to get me out the house.  5.3 miles, 233ft elevation 35 mins moving.  Road riding the charge just to make sure the tubeless is all good.  It is all good.  Happy with that.

Evening ride was a mix of on and off road on the Orange AirO.  19 miles mixed terrain.  Slow going but I didn’t feel battered after like last week’s effort.  2.17 moving, 387ft elevation

Baby steps perhaps but I feel a ton better for getting out the house not once but twice

16 miles, 2hrs 10 minutes rid8ng time and 1200ft gained today. Freezing cold, had to stop for a pint and warm up and my legs were well knackered. Even with a 2x 10.

Bit overweight but after a good summer of biking with the family last yr I got pneumonia last autumn and hadn’t been out on the bike since last sept! I’ve been swimming 2 or 3 times a week doing a km in the pool and my breathing was good but I lacked power in my legs.

Need to keep at it I guess. Just keep getting g the miles in, wherever and whatever. That’s my plan.

Thinking of doing a bit of swimming myself.Might help with my knee and shoulder niggles/tightness.Any advice for the older gent getting back into swimming burko?Food,recovery and what to do in the pool to help build strength/stamina for mtbing.Cheers.

I’m no expert. Just start slowly and work up to some sort of distance. Trying to juggle work, kids and either not being starv8ng or not having jus5 eaten is an art. First th8ng is always good.

Yep feel your pain! It’s hard going to get out in the cold and wet on stodgy trails and just be crap!! Still…it will be worth it in the summer….( I tell myself…) 🤔