I bought one :D

retrobike007

I am 34 and have started mountain biking again after a 10 year gap, and was woefully slow. Have got gradually fitter and faster, and managed to drop 2 stone, anyway, I went for a ride with a friend who is a roadie, me on my MTB with slicks, really enjoyed it so have bought a road bike.

I went out for the first time about 4 weeks ago and struggled.

I am doing 2 rides a week a the moment 1 on road and one off road.

I have just started doing a Tuesday night at Castle Combe. I did 10 laps on Tue at and average speed on 19 mph, that included the ride to and from the circuit, about 26 miles in all. I then did 20 miles on Wed on the MTB.

Legs are very stiff on a thursday morning, anything I can do about it?

Any way I am quite pleased with my progress and my £150 second hand bike, but I need some tips on how to strengthen/stretch my legs. (still aching now)

Kingtut87

Stretch after riding, make sure you aid recovery by refuelling. Aim to drink a recovery drink (eg pint of milk with banana, my favourite) within 20 mins of finishing the ride. Then a square meal with in a couple of hours.

You could also try compression tights. I have a set of Canterbury ones and they do seem to make a difference, a small difference but a difference none the less. Being probably a good thing though, shows your working your legs hard to the point where they'll heal and rebuild them selves stronger.

One last thing to try might be to have an easy session during the week. Just lightly spin the legs to aid recovery. Not sure how well recovery rides work but its worth a go.

retrobike007

I have been doing some stretching but maybe not enough. I have a article to read on compression clothing so I will have a look at that tonight.

Milk and a banana I will try after my ride on sunday.

I am doing 2 rides back to back tue and wed, so thins wont help I am sure.

Monty Dog

Rather than stopping dead at the end of a hard ride, try and allow 10 minutes of gentle riding to allow the muscles to cool down and permit the blood flow to flush-out your muscles - I often take a bimble around the block

juankerr

A recovery drink does the trick for me, plus the advice of a ten cool down bimble is good too.

desweller

I spend about 20 to 30 minutes doing various static stretches after a long ride. Makes a big difference and also helps you to keep some range of movement - cycling tends to reduce suppleness.

retrobike007

I have tried the longer session of stretching, and got the wife to show me some yoga stretches she does for glutes and hamstrings, that alone made a huge difference after tuesday nights ride and made the MTB ride on wed much more enjoyable.

I have read a few bits on recovery drinks etc, and have found that a pint of orange squash with a pinch of salt seems to be the budget version.

Added a fun ride on a friday too 10k off road in the mud as an easy ride. Thsi seems to keep my legs loose over the weekend.

retrobike007

.....have also added a couple of shorter rides in between my 2 back to back rides, 6 miles off road on a friday and a 15 mile 17 mph average on suday, legs seem to be a lot lass stiff today.

Phate

Complete newbie to cycling but in all other sports I have found that protein drinks really help with recovery, I know there is a perception that protein shakes are for body building etc but they really do help your muscles recover and rebuild!