My 3rd ride in 2 weeks since completing the Strava climbing challenge and it felt good! I think my body is in a little shock, riding very little in the last 2 weeks, after riding consistently for 33 days to complete the climbing challenge.
Enjoying the Extra Sleep
Until today, since completing the challenge, I have been sleeping in until at least 7:30am each morning, giving me an extra couple of hours each day. I have felt rested and have not missed the early rides at all. Last week I went for a short ride, to Brighton and back, while waiting for the tow-bar to be fitted to the Lancer. On Anzac day, yesterday, I joined in a group ride from Port Noarlunga to Willunga and back taking the position of Tail End Charlie. It is worth the time to read the official ride report.In this position, I had a relatively slow ride and did not join the bulk of the riders in climbing Old Willunga Hill as I gladly guided a participant to a meeting point after they decided not to attempt the climb.
Tired Legs
I was surprised at how tired my legs felt after the ride considering its nature. It was an easy speed, low cadence and had a lengthy rest period half way through while waiting for a regroup with those who did climb Old Willunga Hill.
Solid 4 hours Sleep
After a solid 4 hours sleep I got out of bed at 4am to go for another ride to see if I could have a better result. My legs felt fine before leaving home although I was feeling a little tired. I was planning to ride to Aldinga and back before my wife, Lynn, arrived home from a night shift at 7:30am.
I opened the rolladoor to find it was drizzling so I put on my lightweight rain jacket and headed out. It didin’t help when the drizzle turned into rain only 1km from home. I really must get some RainX for my glasses as it became very difficult to see with the constant rain on them. I changed my light to use its brightest constant on setting as I need extra help in seeing.
Legs Feeling Good
In the first 5 km my legs were feeling good, they were strong and capable of a good cadence, sitting at around 80 rpm, far better than the 60 rpm average from yesterday. The rain continued as did my legs. By the time I reached Seaford road, some 14km into the ride, my legs had shown a return of strength that I had not felt since before I started the climbing challenge. I think I had punished my legs to much during the challenge with the lack of rest days. My legs had little time to recover between each days climbing building a fatigue that is going to take some time to overcome. The last couple of weeks are just the start to that recovery but overall I think they will improve from now on. With the rain continuing to fall I decided to halt the ride and return home from Seaford road. I had done what I needed to and felt further riding in the rain would not be of any benefit so I hit the Coast to Vines bike track to return. The return trip was a little slower as visibility was restrictive with rain on my glasses with them starting to fog, debris on the track and lack of any street lights. I was still happy with my overall performance.
Ride Details:
- Ride Distance: 29.5 km
- Riding Time: 1h13m59s
- Av Speed: 24 kph
- Av Pace: 2m31s/km
- Av/Max HR: 117/141 bpm
- Av Cadence: 73 rpm
Do you find your performance drops of when you string a lot of rides together without a break? How do you cope with fatigue? Do you have a special diet to help? Do you have early morning rides to reduce impact on your family from your riding? What is your secret to combining lots of riding with a good family life? Please tell me what you do in the reply form at the end of this post!
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