The benefit of rest

[Alan O]

I've always been aware of the benefit of resting between rides, as that's when tired and strained muscles rebuild their damage and become stronger, but I was struck by what is probably a sign of age recently.

I've been doing rides of 40-70 miles, ish, most weekends, with the occasional short midweek ride for the past couple of months. The rest in between rides has made a big difference, and my fitness and strength are slowly improving.

But I've recently been off the bike for a couple of weeks due to a minor elbow injury, and then last Saturday I rode one of my regular workout routes along the Liverpool Loop Line. I felt a lot stronger, like a step-up in fitness, and I was more than 2mph faster than I'd previously done it. The next day I did a 35-mile city circuit, and again felt a good bit stronger than before.

I know this is only one sample and not statistically meaningful, but I can't help suspecting that at my age (60 next month) having the occasional longer rest is beneficial.

Anyone else had similar experiences?

 

[Slick]

Pretty much the opposite for me. I haven't been on the bike for almost a week now for a few different reasons and my legs feel stiff and sore. I know Mondays ride in to work will be slow.

 

[gavroche]

Definitively agree with you. If I ride every day ( which I don't anymore), I get tired quicker. I will be 68 in October and it is important to give your body a chance to recover as you get older.

 

[midliferider]

Even TDF has rest days...

 

[pawl]

Definitively agree with you. If I ride every day ( which I don't anymore), I get tired quicker. I will be 68 in October and it is important to give your body a chance to recover as you get older.

Agree.I am 77 If I ride between 30 to 40 miles I have two days off . I ride what I call my mini circuit of15 miles I have a day off before riding again.

 

[Kajjal]

It depends a lot on your body and lifestyle. I cannot take it easy cycling and even with the best of intentions soon start pushing hard. Due to this if I go out every day after a while I get run down and pick up colds. To get round this I just don’t go out on a few days a week.

 

[gavroche]

Agree.I am 77 If I ride between 30 to 40 miles I have two days off . I ride what I call my mini circuit of15 miles I have a day off before riding again.

Sounds just like me.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Stress + Recovery = Fitness

If either is missing or not in the right quantities then your fitness stays static or drops. Joe Friel's Fast after Fifty is a good read of getting / staying fit and fast as you get older.

 

[Alan O]

Thanks for the thoughts, folks.

What surprised me is not that I need rest days - I've been generally having anything between a couple of days and a week between rides all summer - but that a two-week rest appeared to make such a big difference.

 

[Globalti]

Spot on, in fact you could have copied my post! I'm 62 and have learned that rest is very beneficial; in fact I reckon that most older cyclists are in a state of permanent low-level fatigue in summer. I go away on 2 week business trips where I eat and drink too much and take zero exercise and apart from a small reduction in cardio-vascular fitness I find that I feel stronger on the bike on my return.

GTi Junior has been off his bike for a couple of months with glandular fever and yesterday evening he felt ready for a short hooligan ride. He was surprised and happy at how good he felt and he even put in a sneaky little sprint though I managed to stay with him, I'm pleased to report.

This is why, this summer, I've been doing shortish, quite hard rides. I feel in great shape and have lost about 3 kgs. Long trips are tiring in the long-term and no fun when you are knackered and climbing the long hill back to home. I posted about car-assisted rides a couple of weeks ago because I've found it much more enjoyable to drive somewhere, ride with fresh legs, then drive back home along the familiar traffic-choked local roads.

 

[midliferider]

Thanks for the thoughts, folks.

What surprised me is not that I need rest days - I've been generally having anything between a couple of days and a week between rides all summer - but that a two-week rest appeared to make such a big difference.

Spot on, in fact you could have copied my post! I'm 62 and have learned that rest is very beneficial; in fact I reckon that most older cyclists are in a state of permanent low-level fatigue in summer. I go away on 2 week business trips where I eat and drink too much and take zero exercise and apart from a small reduction in cardio-vascular fitness I find that I feel stronger on the bike on my return.

GTi Junior has been off his bike for a couple of months with glandular fever and yesterday evening he felt ready for a short hooligan ride. He was surprised and happy at how good he felt and he even put in a sneaky little sprint though I managed to stay with him, I'm pleased to report.

This is why, this summer, I've been doing shortish, quite hard rides. I feel in great shape and have lost about 3 kgs. Long trips are tiring in the long-term and no fun when you are knackered and climbing the long hill back to home. I posted about car-assisted rides a couple of weeks ago because I've found it much more enjoyable to drive somewhere, ride with fresh legs, then drive back home along the familiar traffic-choked local roads.

How do you do any touring then?
When touring, usually, one need to cycle 80 a day for few days before taking a rest.

 

[Globalti]

I've done the C2C, which is the nearest I've done to bike touring though I've also done multi-day walking trips and skiing trips. You generally tour at a more leisurely pace than when you go out for a few hours with friends. Multi-day trips also involve psychological elements and logistical issues such as kit, sleep and food, which can eclipse physical fatigue.

 

[Alan O]

How do you do any touring then?
When touring, usually, one need to cycle 80 a day for few days before taking a rest.

It's a good few years since I did any touring, but I used to do it relatively gently back then at around 40/50 miles a day - at a sustainable multi-day pace, way slower than a workout ride and a lot less demanding than a stretching single-day ride.

 

[mikeymustard]

I've had similar experience, having a niggling baddy foot I've been riding shorter distances (max 25 miles) about once a week rather than last year's avg of 30-50 two or three times a week. After a holiday in wales at the beginning of july where we rode at least 20 miles nearly every day for a fortnight, I had about 10 days off, did one of my shorter routes of 12 miles and equalled two pb's while smashing one mile-long segment near home by 20 seconds! It wasn't that quick by some people's standards but still...
I'm 58 but since I only started riding seriously a few years ago after 15 years lay off (and only sort of town riding before that) I don't have any previous experience to go by

 

[GuyBoden]

I did try cycling 100km everyday, but I gave up quickly, because it was too much for an old man, I need my rest..........