help!

bambino

hey

started biking last year but ended up having a knee op in may (this year) and am only just getting back in to biking.

trouble is im struggling to get going again.
i guess i was being naive and thought i wouldnt be too far off where i was...but i am.
a 20mile route i did last year in 55 mins with ease, killed me today and took me over 80mins. i found my legs had nothing in them.

this has completely demoralised me. tonight i feel completely gutted and wondering if i will ever get back to the level i was at before.

any tips or words of motivation welcome...

solsurf

maybe for the time being try and enjoy the cycling and stop timing your rides. Take it easy and just enjoy the ride. The fitness will come quicker than you think. But if you push yourself too hard too quickly you it may put you off or worse cause more knee problems.

Well done for getting out on the bike just keep smilin

dmch2

You've had 6 months off with no exercise? You're bound to be way off where you were.

I'd suggest doing a few shorter runs each week so you don't knacker yourself and can just enjoy being out whilst building up your fitness.

Then tackle the 20 miler every week or so. You'll probably knock 5 minutes off it each time you try which will soon get you motivated again

thel33ter

Just get out somewhere really nice, somewhere that sells bacon rolls on top of a mountain and enjoy the ride, ignore the speed.

Of course you will be slower after a few months of presumably no real exercise.

gregster10217

Keep going!!!

I had not seriously been on a bike for years and felt exactly the same when I first went back out, struggled to get up hills I thought I'd sail up, and even 10 miles seemed like 100. Like you, I had that 'Why bother?' feeling.

Kept at it though and it only took a little while (weeks) of regular riding to get up those hills more easily, and now 10 miles doesn't even feature in my training!!!

Your muscles will have become 'untrained' and your stamina will have dropped. It is purely a question of getting out there and building it up slowly and not putting your body under too much pressure/strain to perform as before - likely to lead to injury.

Just enjoy being back in the saddle, not racing against the clock, build up the miles and you'll soon be back to where you were.

Good luck.

Stone Glider

I had a knee op in June this year and have today, ridden 80K of fields, tracks and trails plus a few roads. All gently and slowly, it took five and a half hours of cycling. The point I am trying to make is that you should not begin with a 20mile ride but with a twenty minute ride at a gentle pace. Steadily building on that whilst observing th 10% rule.

Too great an urgency to recover previous form may hinder rather than help. As others have said, relax, enjoy.

bambino

yeah i guess it was stupid to think i would be somewhere near where i was.
think the idea of not timing might be the best option. maybe leave my bike computer at home??

thanks for the advice!

will see how it goes!

(ps, how long does it normally take to build back up??)

Mettan

bambino wrote:

yeah i guess it was stupid to think i would be somewhere near where i was.
think the idea of not timing might be the best option. maybe leave my bike computer at home??

thanks for the advice!

will see how it goes!

(ps, how long does it normally take to build back up??)

With 3 or 4 months regular riding your fitness should be coming along quite nicely.

Wheelspinner

Tips:
1. Definitely leave the computer at home occasionally.
2. Ride with friends if possible. Make it sociable. Stop for coffee or whatever.
3. Ride different routes as much as possible. Also, ride a different way, meaning chuck in some short sprints, then loaf along for recovery. Make it FUN.
4. Pick some hills and ride hard up one till you stop. Turn round and coast back down, then next time see if you can get further up the hill before you die.. that kind of thing.
5. If all is good with your knee, then the best thing you can do to start is MILES. Don't worry about speed averages, or times, just log as many miles as you can stand.
6. Leave the next timed run on your 20 mile course for at least 6 weeks, and in the meantime just get out and ride...

You will then be delighted with the huge improvement in your time, rather than miffed at only slight gains made every other day..