When your Legs are Tired
 

Some days I wake up and my legs, body, feel tired. Like, perhaps the day before I walked around an amusement park for 6-8 hours in the heat (yesterday LOL).

Question is what can you do before or during a ride to take away that feeling? I’m assuming nothing!?

Today my legs feel like 700C x 55mm Rene Herse Antelope Hills with a less supple standard casing.

You could inject some sealant and simulate a DVT.

My legs are so dry and scaly from being on tour that they feel like Gatorskinz. :D

I like where this is heading. Some times mis-spelling pays off!

Today mine felt like fat bike tires at 1 psi on Walmart rims

Ride at lower intensity for the first 10-20 minutes. There have been many days when starting out, I felt like I'd have to do a slow, gentle ride and/or shorter than planned, but after 20 minutes or so of riding the legs loosen up and I end up able to push hard. Well, hard for me, anyhow.

Before the ride, lie down with your legs propped up if possible. Massage the sore muscles if possible. Take a VERY easy and slow spin on the bike.

During the ride, use slightly lower gears and spin a slightly higher cadence.

Some days mine are like Panawalkers.

Therein lies the problem. Way too high tire pressure.

I've been in the fitness and endurance game for over 40 years and there's two things that have remained constant for me:

1) Pre-hydrate with straight water 2 to 3 hours before your ride. I usually drink a 20 oz water about three hours before my ride then around 8 ounces two hours before, then around 4 or 5 ounces just as I'm about to start the ride. And, unless you're going on a ride over 40 miles, I suggest just straight water in your water bottles.

2) A good slow warm-up as you start your ride for about a mile or two maybe, then hit it hard. Then a slow 1 mile cool-down at the end. Then re-hydrate with a lot of water right after your ride.

That might be difficult for me. My weekend rides start about 30 minutes to an hour after I wake up.

I'm riding a Tacx Bike Smart. I no longer have this problem.

As I posted on STRAVA for today's ride my legs were ---


My legs were like flat tires today.

Hard ride today. My legs are tires.

Fuel up before a ride. I know GCN told everyone, don't do this less than 2-3 hours before the ride. But some people can.....Just take it slow and easy the first 1-2 hours of the ride after taking a huge meal. Rice is your game changer unless you're allergic to it.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...Jq_AA&usqp=CAU

Take the day off, rehydrate like crazy and eat healthy. Get a good nights sleep. Next time, don’t his it so hard and follow the advice above regarding hydration.

My hamstrings are like an unstretched tubular being mounted on a rim for the first time.

Reminds me of something my dad said. His neighbor was cleaning out his garage on a hot day and carrying car tires, one on each shoulder, up a driveway. He yelled over the fence, "You look two tired".

It sounds like you weren't amused at all. Kind of like trying to ride your roadie bike with the 700x23 slicks through beach sand at high tide?

Hydration and nutrition were the suggestions I had in mind. I disagree, though, with drinking only straight water - unless you are also eating food with some salt then a 'sports drink' with electrolytes is advisable, especially in hot weather. Sweat has almost as much salt as it has water, and both must be replenished. I personally enjoy healthy-ish salty snacks like almonds to add protein and salt.

Stretching after a ride or workout is also advisable.

Not a fitness person, but since you walked in the heat and didn't ride, you might not be as bad off as if you cycled the same amount the day before. The biggest issue might be making sure you're hydrating enough before the ride.

Generally, I plan on an easier pace ride if I'm tired going into it. But there may be a point in the ride when you start to feel good and can push it some. Sometimes tired days turn out much better than I thought they would.

John

Take your cues from the Pros. If you don;t have a soigneur who can give a good massage, after a long day at the amusement park, then learn self-massage. Anyone who does long multi-day riding knows the post-ride period is key to allowing the legs to recovery as best possible.
In your case, amusement park time is among the toughest, cause your mostly on your feet, but not moving that much, a lot of standing around time where the muscles can;t move the blood vigorously. So getting 'wooden' legs is a direct result.
Vast majority of Pro races start with a 'neutral' start of quite some km. On purpose for getting all things racing (legs, lungs, heart, head) focused on the coming efforts.
WE, the great unwashed, don;t do 'neutral' - we just go ride. AS mentioned, go easy for as many miles/km as need to get the system online proper. Low gears, not high spin, not pushing a gear.
If you're cooked from some prior day, go as easy as possible.
I can;t over-emphasize the importance of massage, self-massage after some hard days. The physical movement of muscle forces the movement and flushing of cellular waste out of the muscle and brings fresh blood/nutrients in. Steady, strong hydration, 24/365 helps it all work at it's best.
I have plenty of days of riding which start out 'desperately flogged', but almost everyone ends way better than they started... Today looks like one of these... LOL!
Ride On
Yuri

+3 points for RH fanboi mention.

This techniques works really well for me too. I used to ride weekly time trials and then go for long rides the next day. When I got home from the TT, I would lay on the bed with my legs vertical along the wall. I could really feel the blood draining out and then I would sit up and let the blood flow back into my legs. Repeat a few times and it really helped.