TiHabanero

Been feeling like crap all spring. Went for a few rides and had nothing in the legs. Adjusted the diet a bit and found my legs yesterday. Felt really, really good. Just amazing how as I age diet affects my energy level and ability to work.

freeranger

Does seem to happen with age. Some hills I used to cruise right up on a regular basis have become hills I cruise up on a not-as-regular basis. Some days are just better than others. But glad to still be riding, and I'm not walking them (yet & hopefully not for a long time!) Guess I'll start making note of what I've eaten, haven't paid much attention in the past.

OldTryGuy

Glad to read that a small modification in your eating habits have resulted in new life in those legs.

Unless one maintains a certain level of focus on what's truly important, taking life for granted is common place when things are "copacetic." The daily passage of time on cruise control and not paying attention to the small things will in the long term bite us in the butt as we age. A proper diet is critical in keeping the engine running at optimum efficiency even when not required so a little tweaking can make a noticeable difference in performance output when time comes to exert greater effort on the pedals to eclipse the once not too challenging climb that has now seemingly become a mountain. Keep on crank'n to the max.

Wildwood 

Shave 'em for the cycling season. They deserve a reward.

pdlamb

Legs arrived yesterday? Where did you order them from?

Classtime 

Well?....What adjustments were made? Can you keep those legs? Or do you have to return them because the adjustments to your diet wont hold up?

Jeff

rm -rf

Heh, get the extended warranty on those new legs...

I had that feeling a couple of years ago. Weak, just no power in the spring, even though I got some miles in during the winter. "Is this it? Am I just too old to ride like this?" Then I slowly got back to a normal pace and climbing ability, and the summer was fine.

It didn't happen this year, I've kept going okay. Good! Why that year and not this one?

TiHabanero

The legs were given to me as a gift from my mother many years ago, sometimes they worked, other times they did not. Not sure where she got them from, but I suspect it was our creator that provided the original design. Got lost over the winter, but fortunately were returned. If I could have return them when new, I would have got Nelson Vails style legs in exchange. Beautiful legs, and lots of horsepower! As it is, I am glad to have them back.

Digger Goreman

Being as organic-vegan as possible has kept me riding strong since 2014... and I'll be 59 in a few weeks!
Organic bananas for the legs!!!

OldTryGuy

Eric Heiden's weren't too shabby either. Speed skater to road riding warrior.

Notso_fastLane

Care to share the changes in your diet? (Both the before and after.) I'd like to get some new legs too.

I've done fairly well, since my riding barely changed over the winter (finally got a great winter ride), but the hills are still a bear. Just trying to find ways to improve.

I have my 'all day pace' that I can literally maintain for 5-6 hours, but it's pretty slow. Trying to improve that baseline seems to be proving the most difficult. I have improved my short term power a little, which I notice when I go looking for hills, but I really want to increase my general pace.

TiHabanero

The single most biggest change (can I say it like that?) is eliminating sugar outside of fruits. I even cut out the main staple in my diet, chocolate! Only eat chicken, fish, vegies and fruit. Bread comes from bread store and is very different from what is in the grocery store. Have pasta one day of the week, if that. Seems my diet is more Atkins than anything.

Vegan diets don't work for my body, tried it in my 20's and it just didn't work for me. Left me lethargic and tired for 1.5 years. As soon as I added meat into the diet, the game changed.

OldsCOOL

Try “base miles”, good ole saddle time. Somewhere along the longer weekly rides you will encounter your hills, face demoralizing energy soaking headwinds and the almighty “wall”. When you spend a season on pressing through the barriers out there on the open road riding solo you will find the slow but welcomed increase of the average overall speeds on the flats.

Hondo Gravel

Meat and potatoes and vegetables. Protein for the sore legs then potatoes for glycogen restoration and a good vegetable for vitamins.

rumrunn6

it’s a wonderful thing when all conditions, circumstances & preparedness, come together. reminds me sometimes, when I was running a little, some days, I felt like I had someone else’s legs, cuz I was flying like I didn’t normally

Notso_fastLane

I've been riding pretty continuously since 1989. While my endurance has increased (I can ride 5-6 hours without much problem, and longer with a little preparation), my speed, while faster than the average non-biker, always seems slower than the dedicated roadies and riders who 'train'. It's obviously more than just distance and time, there is some (many?) thing about how to ride to actually get better that I seem to be missing.
I've tried some interval training, and maybe I just need to be more consistent about it, but after a couple months where it felt like work to ride, and no noticeable improvement, I stopped trying so hard. And maybe part of it is the 'noticeable'. Maybe I need some better equipment than the seat of my bike shorts. I may have been slightly increasing my power, but not enough to notice with nothing more than an average speed and time to compare it to?

OldsCOOL

The one thing I didn’t mention above as a training dynamic (due to our present distancing stuff) is signing up with a group or a partner that is a faster rider than you. I ride solo and have found my weaker inner self is the problem, but also my greatest asset being I am constantly riding into my own personal headwind. I am guessing your body “soma-type” is ecto? Given more toward athletic endurance? If so, then your challenge (as all of us) is working what is not a strong side of you. I’m meso, my challenge is endurance stuff but have found base miles benefit my 20 mile TT rides greatly. I wish you well, ride on.

TiHabanero

"Meat and potatoes and vegetables. Protein for the sore legs then potatoes for glycogen restoration and a good vegetable for vitamins. "

I have been trying this for about a week now and it is very agreeable with my body. Don't really know the science behind it, but it seems there is something here. My daughter friend is from Poland and lives on potatoes. She says they are good for every ailment (tongue in cheek comment). She just may be right without knowing it.