I got back on my bike at the beginning of March, when the weather finally started to warm up. My first ride was 12 miles (20km) at an easy pace, with nice and slow warmup period. I did two more identical rides during the first week. I might have tried riding farther, but I was breaking in a new Brooks saddle, as well as getting my backside broken in again.
The second week I did two 12 mile rides, and at the end of the week I added an 18 mile ride. I kept the pace smooth and steady, neither fast nor slow. I usually take it rather easy for the first 6 or so weeks of riding as I want to get my joints and tendons time to strengthen up a little. For hard training, I give myself 8 weeks to acquire base fitness.
After a month, I was doing one or two 25 mile rides in a week, and adding some short intervals to pick up my pulse, and work my leg muscles. My recovery times quicken once I begin getting into shape, I may feel worn out after a ride, but the next day I usually feel perfectly fine to go for another ride.
For the past 3 weeks I have done a few rides of 70 to 100 km (42 to 62 miles) on flat terrain, and adding intervals, that is, increasing my speed by 2 or 3 mph until I can’t do it anymore, then slowing down until I catch my breath, then repeating.
I always start my rides at a slow pace with a long warmup period, and on longer rides I take it easier in the first half of the ride so I don’t feel worn out during the second half. When working on improving my speed, I usually do that on shorter rides of 25 to 30 miles. I find that even though I am older, my body still responds well to exercise, and still adapts fairly quickly.
Last week I spent the morning riding the Yoyogi cycling path, and according to the Strava leaderboard, my 5 lap time was the fastest of 2024, and the 14th fastest of all time, for all age groups. This made me quite happy.
When I am on the cycling course or paths, I look for “rabbits,” that is, other riders who are faster than I am. As an old racer, I still feel a little competitive when I am riding with or around other riders, and this inspires me to ride harder and faster than I otherwise might.
As I do longer and more intense rides, I find that I have to be careful that I eat enough to maintain my endurance. Since I started riding, I’ve been on a high fat, low carb diet. While this diet has helped me lose a significant amount of weight, as my mileage increases, I find I have to add more carbs, or I run out of energy. When I have a long ride planned, I eat carefully the day before, eating a large amount of food broken into several small meals. This is something I did back when I was racing, and learned that the proper food eaten at the proper time could make a huge difference in performance. Eating 5 or 6 small meals rather than 2 or 3 large meals more evenly distributes food in the digestive tract, and allows your body to more easily extract energy and nutrients.
Today I did a 50km (30 mile) ride at a fair pace without even breaking a sweat, and had plenty of energy after my ride to get in a full day of work, dog walking, and an evening playing with my 9-year-old. I am planning a 120km ride for next week, weather permitting, and two or three smaller rides during the week. I’m getting myself into shape for some bikepacking trips later in the year. A couple of these will be quite challenging, but I should be in good enough shape to enjoy them.