Originally Posted by
Broctoon
Ah, good point! Mods, will you kindly move the thread?
Yeah, you'll get better feedback in the
Training and Nutrition subforum.
In the meantime: buy (or find online) a good training plan and try it. I use Joe Friel's
The Cyclist's Training Bible for 17 years and am happy with it.
If you want some general advice, here's mine: go hard a couple (2-3) times per week, and focus on recovery in-between those rides. Most people (including me) don't take recovery seriously enough -- you have to pedal less, pedal at lower cadence and intensity, and get good sleep and good nutrition. And I was about your age when I realized that I needed more recovery -- old bodies don't recover and adapt as quickly. That's when I started modifying the Friel plan: it recommends increasing intensity for three weeks followed by one week of R&R, and I now do two weeks of increasing intensity followed by a recovery week.