I’m just sitting here still feeling slightly spaced out after finishing a non stop West Highland Way epic on Saturday night. Up until then the longest ride I’d done in a day was about 8 hours, so I’m in uncharted territory here. I’ve never really pushed myself that hard for that long either. I’m trying to eat well, sleep etc. and I don’t seem to have any injuries which is a bonus. So how long have others found it takes to get over this sort of thing?

Will gentle exercise help or hinder? Any other tips appreciated.

after a 12hr I don’t really feel normal until the Wednesday after, then usually go on little spins until the weekend. Rob Lee told me it takes upto 6 weeks to fully recovered from a 12hour race depending how hard you raced

keeping eating and moving are probably the only thought (not that I’ve gone that far before)

Try a massage maybe to ease things out

tomd, a bit off topic but how long did it take you to get from Crianlarich / Tyndrum to Fort William? I’m doing that section tomorrow and need to catch the 17.37 train back to Crianlarich. High winds are forecast which doesn’t bode well!!!

If it’s truly epic – around 3 months.

Looks like I’m not getting Tuesday’s 17.37 train then.

Gazza – it probably took me about 10 hours from Crianlarich. I had a favourable wind from Tyndrum to Glencoe. Then a head wind the rest of the way. The rain was bad turning to torrential during the day. No idea how well you know the route, the mwis.org.uk forecast is showing some mega strong winds for tomorrow (bordering on the dangerous). If you want any more info on the route drop me a message I’ve done it a few times (as sections, not all in a one-er!).

Cheers tomd. I think I’ll re-arrange due to the high winds forecast. As you say it’s bordering on dangerous, with gusts up to 75mph.

If It was me, I’d still give it a go despite the wind. Plenty of shortcut options should the conditions get too bad.

you’ll feel better after a few easy short spinny rides.

Would some gentle lower intensity Turbo sessions be an option, just keep the legs turning over?

Does compression stuff not help with this sort of thing too?

Don’t have a turbo at the moment, thinking of getting one for the winter.

I think I’ll go for a gentle ride tomorrow and see how I feel. I had to pick a bike up from the lbs earlier and riding it 500m home was only a bit painful!

just need to MTFU i think. I try a 1 – 2 hours the day after on the road, nothing serious, maybe 17-18mph to get rid of the lactic acid in the legs. Hot bath and eat/drink well should mean 2-3 days before back to normal