Ten years off the bike

I have had ten years away from riding/racing my bike seriously (1st Cat - in the UK) and low and behold I'm going to be 40 this year...so I have gone out and bougt a new bike and kitted myself out in 'lycra'. However, the mind is strong but the body is weak. The days of rolling along on 53x15 all day etc and attacking any gadient of hill seems such a distant memory. I am really, really struggling to get any level of fitness. I am about a stone over my racing weight, so I'm not desperately over weight, but even a slight gardient or cross wind makes my thighs and chest feel like they are about to explode. After a ride of only six miles I feel dreadful and it takes me an hour or so to feel 'human' and the next day my legs are very heavy and I feel like sh*t. Can anyone offer any sensible advice as to how I might plan a return to some reasonable fitness? Or have any of you 'guys' been through the same situation and come out the other end able to do 'vets' races - I'd like to attempt some towards the end of the season? Any sensible advice welcomed.

I returned to cycling after decade off.

The thing that surprised me most was pain from just sitting on the saddle - something I'd never experienced before, not a chaffing more like sitting on a bruise.
Another thing was how far down the bars seemed. It felt like an acrobatic feat for a while.

Weight is a problem that can only be solved by diet. I shed over 10kg.
Apart from that there are no miracles but if you take it steady and stick at it you might surprise yourself by feeling like racing again.

If you have a good "head" you might even find yourself back in the 1st cats/elites even though you might not get your "legs" back fully. I found the standard of tactics to be poor.

I've posted this detail elsewhere but again like both of you I used to cycle to a very competitive amateur leve until I was 21.
(study/career marriage, took over)
At 35, I decided to get back on my bike - 4 stone over and not
having cycled for 14 years.
It quickly became apparent that weight and lack of fitness kicked
in from mile 1.
Decided to try to improve fitness levels before trying to get on the bike as such.
Started running, swimming and general exercise for 3 months.
Weight slowly started to reduce.
Month three, got on the bike and found it easier (not easy !) and managed to start getting some miles in.
Cylced on the flat for three months - 3 sessions per week, minimum 2hours sessions each.
Managed to loss approx 22 lbs in this time period.
After three months of this, I started trying to climb - I was never the best climber anyway but I managed to lose an additional
16 lbs while doing hill sessions for three months (as well as flat sessions).
I'm now 38 and doing well - I'm cycling in events here in Ireland.
Have managed to complete the Wicklow 200 (200kms in less than 10 hour time limit over a very mountainous course) for the past couple of years and I did the L'Etape de Tour de France last year also.
Looking back, there is a lot of sacrfice involved but healthwise I
am fitter than I was at 30 and my vital signs (blood pressure,
heart rate etc) have really improved significantly too.
All I can say is that you've got to be disciplined in your approach and hopefully you can make time to put in the hours.
Even if you can't - the fact that you're trying is a great credit to you and any level of exercise at our age is always beneficial.
The fact that you raced at cat 1 in the UK (and I used to compete
in some races over there in my prime) suggests that you've got the discipline and the ability.
You just have to dig a little to rediscover it !
Good luck with the comeback.

I would add that it sounds like you are trying to run before you can walk (how long is it since you started riding again?) but look on your diminished powers of recuperation as a bonus - you can have more days off/easy days.

You won't recover like you used to. Having said that I do know vets of 50 who thrive on 500 miles a week.

Just following on from the last message : most vets out there never gave up the bike since they started cycling
During my training, I started going out with a master group each Sunday morning - these blokes looked like something out of the film 'Cocoon' !
They looked decrepid ! (no insult intended here)
How wrong I was to judge them.
85 miles later (!) when we finished the training spin - I quickly realised that their fitness levels put me to shame.
So make sure that you're fit before deciding to go with the vets !

Dave,

I have posted this elsewhere too, but I love reading these stories, and don't mind sharing mine either, so I will.

Two years ago, this month, I went to buy a suit. The tailor measured me up at 36" around the waist, and I asked him to cut it back to 34" because "I was committed to shedding a few pounds".

The tailor assured me that he had heard that before from a wide variety of clients and we could take it in later if necessary.

I had been off of the bike for 12 years (well, maybe 1000K in total during the 12 years), and I have since learned that my cardio and muscular system were basically trashed.

By March of 2002, I decided to buy a new bike, in May I joined my local randonneuring club, and rode my first 200K ride. It was a long hard affair with me struggling back alone, but it was exhilarating to do something like that again.

Leap ahead to April of 2003. I committed myself to completing Paris-Brest-Paris, and started to pile on the miles. I quit my job in July to ride (of course injured myself two weeks later, but that was another story).

I completed PBP this year in just under 78 hours, and was beginning to feel that I could do anything on a bike!! So I decided to try racing (my last road race was when I was 17 . . . I am now 36). I have hired a coach and am just putting the finishing touches on a trip to Spain to train next month.

Every day I hurt a little bit. I have lost much of my flexibility, I am just beginning to get strength back, and my cardio is still in shambles, but my coach has done more for me in the last 4 weeks than I did for myself in the last year (I think).

Modern metrics means that I know what I need to do to ride elite (I trained with a local racing club once a week all summer to improve my speed), and I will get there, but it will be hard.

My best suggestion to you is to go slow, and condition the cardio. The muscles are easy to build, but getting them tuned into the bike is only valuable if they can get and use oxygen. For best results, get a coach, and most importantly, ride the bike.

One thing I found interesting was that my first year the saddle sores were frequent and bad (keeping in mind I was doing ultra-marathon rides), last year, I had only one bad saddle sore after doing a 600K ride in the rain. Your butt will adapt just like everything else, if you grin and bear it for a while.

Anyway, keep up the riding, if you were Cat 1, before, you know what the pain is like, and if you simply remember that it goes away, you are likely to get through it just as before.

Take care.

This is very similar to my experience. I'm about 8 months back after ~14 years off.

If you were Cat 1, then you already know the answers to all your questions. Seek a coach, or at least buy a reputable text like Charmichael's "Ultimate Ride."

Best of luck!

You've got it exactly right ! I am trying to run before I can walk... as I said the mind still thinks I can roll the big gears and spin up those hills. A long term sensible approach is now required.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks for your reply - I am very interested to know what changes you saw inyour blood pressure (before and after)... I was diagnosed with high BP, had all the tests that showed I had essential hypertension with no underlying causes and have been on Lisinopril for some time...

So let me know what changes you saw.

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,

I did have my BP checked about two years ago, but have not noted the results before or since (my doctor does have it). I also have never been at risk with high BP, so it is not a number I care about per se.

My resting HR was over 60 bpm though a couple of years ago, and this morning I was at 48. If I have 2-3 days off the bike I can register a RHR of 38.

Keys for me are my weight and RHR. I do intend to start tracking my VO2max as well this spring and am now actively tracking my power output as this is the new gold standard apparently. When I head to Spain next month, I am hoping to dramatically improve my ability in hill work.

I hope that helps.

Guru.

Dave,
The reason why I got back on the bike was because I went for a medical in my job - and my blood pressure reading was 150/100.
(normal pressure should be 120/80)
This is far too high for a 35 year old (as I was at the time).
I was severely depressed over this figure and my doctor told me that it was due to carrying too much weight.
Went away and thought about life.
I quickly realised that money, career were taking over my life.
OK I have done well in my career but what was the point of doing well but have a stroke ! (with high blood pressure the chance of getting a stroke is far greater).
I thought about how fit I was when I was younger.
My doctor was pestering me to start a course of medication.
I basically had to negotiate with him because I didn't want to have to take a tablet for the rest of my life.
He told me that there would be a good chance of rectifying my blood pressure if I lost weight.
We struck a bargain - lose 4 stone - if the BP was still high, I'd go on medication.
If it lowered after I lost 4 stone - he agreed to stop pestering me.

Managed to get fit and lost the weight.
I take my BP readings three times per day (you can get a digital
measurement kit for approx euro 150.00).
My BP reading today have been
9.15am : 124/72
6.30pm : 121/75
Both normal readings.
My resting heart rate is 66 BPM.

Blood pressure can be caused by too much weight and chloestrol.
Im my case my BP is normal - and I don't have to go on medication.
I hope that this is of help !

We are all at it, 10 years off then... " I've got an idea!!"
I'm following Charmichael's 7 week performance program, you need a heart rate monitor but it is worth it. With the HRM and the program you stop pushing youself too hard and I am amaised how quickly I am improving.
I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

I'm following Charmichael's 7 week performance program

Where can I get a copy of this performance programme???

I too have been off the bike for a long time. My rear was sore for about three weeks but I kept at it. I am 44 this year and although I never raced I belonged to a local club and did rides with them. My goal at present is too bring my fitness back to that level. It has been almost 2 months of slow hard work and I am seeing results. One piece of advice I try to follow is to rest as hard as I train. I also read that one should never stand when they can sit, and never sit when one can lie. My biggest problem is that my attitude goes a bit off after a hard ride. i.e. I get cranky. I'm trying to get in at least 50 miles a week, and do intervals at least twice a week. Not sure if I'm over doing it I hope not at only 50 miles a week. I also watch my heart rate and try to schedule work outs accordingly. i.e. hard work out then easy work out.

__________________
If you haven't tried these things, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.
-Dr.Suess

I was about 4 years off, and now back on for about a month.
I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. My entire body remembers what to do, but I'll be damned if I can make it do what it's supposed to. Had all kinds of trouble from elbows to feet! I'm doing long slow miles for now. My neck, shoulders, back, abs, and let's not even get started on the rear end, all hurt for the first couple of weeks. I've just started picking up the pace a little. Working on lungs and heart now. The body feels comfortable, and with stretching a couple times a day, I feel pretty darn good. I've picked up my speed and time now but keep it light on the legs. Which means a lot of bloody spinning!! (yeah yeah, I know spinning is your friend and all that, but I'm a masher and I wanna grind it out!! )

I can say after a month I've probably halfed my recovery time. I'm even doing some light intervals. Not totally all out, but close. and after a minute or so can actually see where I'm going without all those little black spots swimming across my vision! Maybe it's just my pain threshold going up !

Like someone else said, you know what to do, and how to do it, just pretty hard to admit it to yourself. After a month I'm just now realizing it! Careful not to hurt yourself....I got tendonitis in my hamstring and elbow, because I did to much to fast. Worked all through it now though, and actually look forward to my rides!

Good luck!!
Christopher