Muscle Rest Associated with Loss of Speed

DarCom

Hello Folks,

I am relatively new to cycling, I began recently(half a year ago) and I usually average around 27-30km/h(assuming weather/conditions are good) on my Merida Matts 40.

Due to the icy roads, I had to quit riding for a month and today I've decided to take up riding again but was slightly disappointed at the end.

The thing is, that I only managed to average out around 25-27km/h and I did feel my heart rate being at its usual. Just like any other of my trials, this one had average conditions, yet I've under-performed and I am wondering if one month can literally cut my power so much?

I am 19y/o 5'7 80kg at 12%BF, before cycling at my height I already had 65cm thigh circumference so my bet is that I have llb muscle fibers, the question is, I know that these aren't particularly good for stamina, but will I lose all the built up mitochondria for not riding for a month?

Whenever I train, I usually like to ride half endurance half sprint, in a sense that I ride as fast as I can for the longest I can, which is usually around 30km/h for an hour. Considering I am quite new to cycling and that I ride an mtb, I am joyful of my results, but today has made me wonder if I am training wrong and if I should start doing fast cadence/high gear (usually low gear and medium cadence).

Or may be this could just be due to my bike being very dirty and chain was greasy as hell? Any suggestion on how to train/improve my results would be welcomed.

Sorry for a long post, just wanted to make it thorough, thank you.

Jonesinamilion

Wow!

Several things impact my ride speeds and you've not touched any of them really....

Poor Fitness
Hangovers
Rest / drink / smoke / food breaks
Punctures
Views
Riding partners
Pedestrians

I think you can rule out a dirty chain, tyre pressures (& ground conditions though you state they were consistent ) may have a significant impact though.... dont worry about it too much, you're in good health & only 19 years old; happy days!

DarCom

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Wow!

Several things impact my ride speeds and you've not touched any of them really....

Poor Fitness
Hangovers
Rest / drink / smoke / food breaks
Punctures
Views
Riding partners
Pedestrians

I think you can rule out a dirty chain, tyre pressures (& ground conditions though you state they were consistent ) may have a significant impact though.... dont worry about it too much, you're in good health & only 19 years old; happy days!

I never drank nor smoked, but I didn't eat particularly well previous couple of days, I also started to use creatine and used 2 scoops of c4 preworkout which could have messed with my heart, yet I though I should only do better with it.

I can also add that I'm naturally better at sprinting by far as I am predominately burst-oriented in terms of body composition, hence I am wondering if riding for long @good speed isn't something I should do as I won't get good results from it?

I want to train until I can average 32-35km/h for a long time, if I do such speeds now, I can only last certain amount of time, so I wonder what would be the best training to undertake(do sprints a few times or do endurance riding)

Thanks for the input!

cooldad

If you are averaging that on MTB trails, you are already world class. If it's on the road you have the wrong bike.

FishFish

Glad that you are enjoying your new mountain biking and best wishes on it. My thought is that you might consider seeking advice from a specialist sports physiologist who would give you structured and considered recommendations to your questions. I know that a lot of people here can help but the aggregation of that assistance is not the same thing.

Good luck!

fat daddy

DarCom wrote:

Hello Folks,

I am relatively new to cycling, I began recently(half a year ago) .

ah that's your issue .... you need to ride more .... regular saddle time. You can eat all the chemicals you like, lift all the weights in the room, concentrate on sprinting, intervals, slow twitch slogs ... but at the end of the day, the more you cycle the better you will get.

The month off wont have helped, a Weekend of and I feel it on Monday morning as I try to keep up with the pack, my glycogen swollen legs sluggishly spinning around.

ride every day ..... log it on Strava and see your improvements

LimitedGarry

Higher cadence/lower gear not only is faster on average, but it also doesn't get lost as fast during resting periods. In off-road section, be it trails or straight up wild terrain, you want to have the lowest gear possible that allows you to accelerate quickly, but doesn't make you lose footing on your pedals on bumps - only shift higher if you can clearly see the terrain will be easy for a while. I've been through the low-cadence high gear stuff last year. You can get to pretty good speeds, as well as average speeds that way, but it's pretty demanding on your legs and pretty bad for longer than 30km rides. It's also a very good and reliable way of developing a chronic injury

Now to your question... Generally any rest, during which you haven't even touched a bike, longer than one week, will have you need some "getting it back" time. Sometimes it can be as simple as riding at low effort for 30-60 minutes. On longer rests, it may take a few days. Full month without riding is a pretty long rest.

I'd advise you to not measure your performance by speed alone. Rather try to focus on the effort you're putting into the ride. Get a feel for it. If you're new to MTB, you're probably mostly taking on hardpack and light terrain, like most people. Once that doesn't do it for you and you start to feel like getting into more demanding stuff, you won't be able to keep those speeds. But, you will find there's much more to MTB fitness than what you have explored so far.
Your current speeds aren't really far from the reasonable MTB limits. There's not much space for further progress in that direction. So start hitting climbs and extending your rides. Do exploration rides - look for some technical climbs, and try to find some trails. Head into the woods and fields, there's always something that will be demanding and fun to ride.

DarCom

LimitedGarry wrote:

Higher cadence/lower gear not only is faster on average, but it also doesn't get lost as fast during resting periods. In off-road section, be it trails or straight up wild terrain, you want to have the lowest gear possible that allows you to accelerate quickly, but doesn't make you lose footing on your pedals on bumps - only shift higher if you can clearly see the terrain will be easy for a while. I've been through the low-cadence high gear stuff last year. You can get to pretty good speeds, as well as average speeds that way, but it's pretty demanding on your legs and pretty bad for longer than 30km rides. It's also a very good and reliable way of developing a chronic injury

Now to your question... Generally any rest, during which you haven't even touched a bike, longer than one week, will have you need some "getting it back" time. Sometimes it can be as simple as riding at low effort for 30-60 minutes. On longer rests, it may take a few days. Full month without riding is a pretty long rest.

I'd advise you to not measure your performance by speed alone. Rather try to focus on the effort you're putting into the ride. Get a feel for it. If you're new to MTB, you're probably mostly taking on hardpack and light terrain, like most people. Once that doesn't do it for you and you start to feel like getting into more demanding stuff, you won't be able to keep those speeds. But, you will find there's much more to MTB fitness than what you have explored so far.
Your current speeds aren't really far from the reasonable MTB limits. There's not much space for further progress in that direction. So start hitting climbs and extending your rides. Do exploration rides - look for some technical climbs, and try to find some trails. Head into the woods and fields, there's always something that will be demanding and fun to ride.

Thanks for a thorough reply!

my bike was also very greases as I didn't clean it prior to leaving it to rust. I've ridden bicycle today and I was way better, managed to average 29km/h for an hour with some bursts up to 45km/h.

In regards to the further progress, I want to average out 35km/h for an extended period of time. Right now, 35km/h, unless tail wind, would only be managable or 10min, until going painful red. I lso

I really like the speed, I always wondered how much faster I would be on road bike. I am pretty much the fastest guy on my road, only the guys who look like auschwitz stickmen on their road bikes overtake me, they seem to be able to ride at my speed and higher, but they don't even fatigue!

I wonder if I can get the same results, it's only my first half'o'year so I am happy with my results so far. I also wondering how daily cycling would allow my muscles to recuperate since whenever i go cycling i do it until it hurts very bad.

Thanks for the input!

fenix

Where do you cycle ? What country ?

Briggo

21mph average on a MTB. :roll:

So -

1. You're obviously riding purely on road, so why have you got a MTB?
2. See above
3. See point 1
4. Double check answer to point 1
5. Get out of the MTB section

DarCom

Fenix wrote:

Where do you cycle ? What country ?

I live in Latvia, provincial town called Liepaja.

DarCom

Briggo wrote:

21mph average on a MTB. :roll:

So -

1. You're obviously riding purely on road, so why have you got a MTB?
2. See above
3. See point 1
4. Double check answer to point 1
5. Get out of the MTB section

What makes you think so? I can achieve such speed while riding on the beach(which I do), the terrain is full of bumps and road bike is just not practical, unless I get special tyres. I got MTB because it's a good all-way-around, road bikes can be only ridden on road, but I ride everywhere.

Briggo

DarCom wrote:

Briggo wrote:

21mph average on a MTB. :roll:

So -

1. You're obviously riding purely on road, so why have you got a MTB?
2. See above
3. See point 1
4. Double check answer to point 1
5. Get out of the MTB section

What makes you think so? I can achieve such speed while riding on the beach(which I do), the terrain is full of bumps and road bike is just not practical, unless I get special tyres. I got MTB because it's a good all-way-around, road bikes can be only ridden on road, but I ride everywhere.

You're being very unrealistic in your average speed target, which is more orientated to road riding averages at a very good level (also taking into account the amount of climbing, distance and if its solo or pack riding). 21mph achieved "everywhere" as you put it would be an achievement and a half, step aside Nino.

I think someones been getting average speeds on road and thinking they can achieve this "everywhere".

kajjal

Averaging over 20mph on a long mtb ride off or on road is very fast unless it is mostly downhill. The reason road bikes are faster is thinner tyres, more aerodynamic position and lighter weight. All these mean you have no chance keeping up with a road bike on a mountain bike unless you are much fitter than they are.

Main thing is enjoy the riding and eating healthily makes a noticeable difference as you get fitter.

LimitedGarry

As long as you're on a MTB, I would really suggest you start aiming for harder terrain, rather than speed alone. Besides, once you're on a wild trail, where you have to dodge tree stumps, slabs of rocks and the ground surface is constantly trying to slow you down, you'll get a whole different idea about speed

That aside, mountain bikes are not good for this kind of riding. A chain on a MTB should be changed after roughly 1000km (mileage varies). On a road bike, the chain will last at least 3 times more. Plus some touring tires may last for well over 6000km, which is something you're not going to get with a MTB tire.

When in "exploration mode", I do over 1000km a month during summer, but I like to go through all kinds of terrain where a road bike would come to life, kick me in the butt and ride home on it's own without me. So yes, when I decide to ride like that, I need to buy a new chain every month, sometimes twice. But I can't be helped. A road bike wouldn't cut it for me.
So if you're really thinking about a road bike, don't be shy to start seriously considering one. Maybe try renting one, or ask around if anyone would be willing to lend you theirs for a ride or two. Definitely keep the MTB though. You may want to visit the woodcutters and bears every once in a while

To go a bit more in-depth about speed on flat... I can go at 27-30 Km/h for about an hour on tarmac and hardpack, even when there are some lose rocks and bumps (I'm on a 29er though, it clears most small rocks as if they weren't there). I'm hesitant to say gravel, because that's a pretty unspecific term. When I try to go for speeds above that, let's say 33-36, I'm usually not able to keep that effort for more than 10-15 minutes without really pushing my legs beyond what they can recover from overnight. When going to 40, that's typically about a 1-2 minute effort and speeds around 45km/h and above is something I can keep up for maybe 30-40 seconds. The thing is, at speeds between 20-26 km/h, I can go for pretty much the whole day. It's just the way the bike is. 30km/h is the reasonable limit under which you're still riding with good efficiency.

The whole scale changes drastically when you hit more technical terrain. And of course, climbs (especially technical ones) will absolutely decimate any ambitions of high average speeds. Which is why I'm mostly measuring my own effort, rather than the speed. When I ride for 10 minutes through ruined tracks near fields and woods at 23km/h top, and feel I need to stop for a while to catch my breath, rest my legs and wipe some mud off of my face, I know it was good enough. And those 10 minutes give more joy than any number of hours of plain road or hardpack. It's less monotonous, more thrilling and at the same time, even more relaxing. That said, 50+km long rides is still something I can't do without either, so I mix it all up together.

Just my piece.
tl;dr: Get a road bike or change your riding habits to keep improving your fitness in a meaningful way.

cooldad

Averaging 21mph on a beach, unless it is one of those concrete beaches, or a vertical cliff beach, is impossible. On any bicycle.

Jonesinamilion

cooldad wrote:

Averaging 21mph on a beach, unless it is one of those concrete beaches, or a vertical cliff beach, is impossible. On any bicycle.

LimitedGarry

cooldad wrote:

Averaging 21mph on a beach, unless it is one of those concrete beaches, or a vertical cliff beach, is impossible. On any bicycle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hupIMwp2bPg

If it's that kind of a beach, it's essentially hardpack.

cooldad

So a concrete beach then. Looks inviting.

DarCom

LimitedGarry wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Averaging 21mph on a beach, unless it is one of those concrete beaches, or a vertical cliff beach, is impossible. On any bicycle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hupIMwp2bPg

If it's that kind of a beach, it's essentially hardpack.

You have posted beach in Jurmala, which is near capital of my country! Beach in Liepaja is pretty much the same, so it is a "hardpack", I would bury my wheels in sand before I could accelerate to such speed if I was to try it on the smoother/sandy area.

In regards to the riding in the terrain, I've just realized that we actually have many pathways to go about, have a look at this, this is literally next to where I usually ride on pavement. The first one our beach.



That's an example of our common wood trails




We have plenty of places to ride in

cooldad

Perhaps you should try having some fun in the forest instead of obsessing over muscle fibres.

FishFish

...do a google search on the images....