Is high cadence efficient? Research doesn't agree!

[Pale Rider]

Absolute improvements to heart, lungs and muscles take years to improve, but once achieved, take decades to fade away as long as you keep using them.

It's scary how fast muscles waste from lack of use, as anyone who has been laid up in hospital for a week or more will tell you.

I left in a wheelchair last time, and it took me several months of basic physio to finally rid myself of it.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

It's scary how fast muscles waste from lack of use, as anyone who has been laid up in hospital for a week or more will tell you.

Agreed, but normal everyday weight-bearing activity just being on your feet and doing stuff at work will maintain your base strength even if you don't ride that frequently.
What I find goes a bit if I don't ride so often is the cardiovascular capacity. If I have a few weeks off riding because the weather has been really shite, the first gradient I hit will get me more out of breath than normal, which is really noticeable. It then takes a few more rides to get back to my normal level of fitness.

 

[Lovacott]

Agreed, but normal everyday weight-bearing activity just being on your feet and doing stuff at work will maintain your base strength even if you don't ride that frequently.
What I find goes a bit if I don't ride so often is the cardiovascular capacity.

I had the week before last off due to the daily minus temperatures. Last Monday, I did the commute in my fastest ever time and when I arrived at work, I didn't have a bead of sweat on me.

It's like the nine days off made me fitter (or something)?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Were you on the MTB both times, or the MTB last time and the Carbon this time? What was the wind strength and direction? I've had some weird rides recently that were easy in the normally harder direction, and harder coming back the opposite way. When the weather was cold, the wind was mostly not coming from the South West like it usually does.

 

[ColinJ]

It's scary how fast muscles waste from lack of use, as anyone who has been laid up in hospital for a week or more will tell you.

I left in a wheelchair last time, and it took me several months of basic physio to finally rid myself of it.

That is very true. When I was ill in 2012 I lost over 20 kg (3 stone) in a month and a significant amount of it must have been muscle. My legs ended up the size that my arms had been and my arms looked like broom handles with loose skin round them!

 

[Twilkes]

I had the week before last off due to the daily minus temperatures. Last Monday, I did the commute in my fastest ever time and when I arrived at work, I didn't have a bead of sweat on me.

It's like the nine days off made me fitter (or something)?

More likely just full recovery over that week, especially if you commute five days a week.

Or a tailwind.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I had the week before last off due to the daily minus temperatures. Last Monday, I did the commute in my fastest ever time and when I arrived at work, I didn't have a bead of sweat on me.

It's like the nine days off made me fitter (or something)?

it posible you had been over doing it and had become a little run down, the week off gave you a chance to recover.