rsbob 

Flew out of state for a week and left the bike behind. Today I went out for my usual, I don’t know where to ride, so will do the usual. So I did 30+ miles with 2K’ climbing and felt fine. Did the hills as usual and only really went for one PR which got me a first for my age range - decrepit.

After returning home and showering, was walking DOWN stairs and my legs protested. Never had this before. If my legs are tired, they protest on the way up toward the top of the staircase. Maybe be its my age - 66 - taking its toll. Doing self massage and stretching but doesn’t do much. Talking to a buddy, he told me I should have eased back into it and really taken it easy getting back into it. But after only a week?

Anyone one else had this happen?

holytrousers

Can you elaborate a bit further on the pain you are having ?

shelbyfv

You may have DVT from flying, better see a doc.

cyclezen

... you're gettin OOOOLLLLLLDDDDD !!! LOL!
like your buddy said...
and i'm findiing DOMS sets in sooner on us old pharts.... - I've been riding every day for the past 60 days... some hard, some easier, some v-hard... Then... I went on a hike on Wed - haven't hiked since the National Forests were closed in end AUG. did 6 hrs, 3k gain and loss... After dinner my legs screamed at me whenever I went down some stairs...
.self-massage, Ibuprofen, lots of hydration, don;t have a tub, so no warm epsom salts bath for me... another massage before bed...
went for a 'recovery ride' next day, small ring, not high cadence (70 ish), no real climbing, easy steady pace, lots of hydration, took about 12 miles before legs no longer felt like oak... rest of ride, another 12 mi, just up'd the cadence to 80ish and kept the pedal pressure moderate...
For me, I learned to do longer warmups, more hydration (don;t think I drank enough on hike...) bring circulation and heart rate up a bit slower...
anything you've ever done for warmup and recovery - just do more of it.
when it happens, it's still always a surprise - until I remember, I'm no longer 30, or 40, 50, 60, yeah and 70...
but Hell, still gotta - Ride On!
Yuri
EDIT: oh, and took combo of Mg, Ca, K supplements hour after dinner, and again in morning, 1st thing, before even my pot of coffee... LOL!
and also take Calcium Lactate (this one) , after a hard session; and also 1/2 hour before an expected hard ride/hammerfest (pre-ride combined with 1 tab of 'Sports Legs') - really works for me.

rsbob 

Both quads, are super sore. Calves and hams are ok.

Appreciate the warning about DVTs. My wife gets those on rare occasion and she is just about crippled when they occur. She is on blood thinners for life since she has had multiple occurrences, and this homey don’t have no time for that.

May do a Very easy flat ride tomorrow and see if I can work it out.

ColonelSanders

When you say a "week", do you mean exactly 7 days or was it a bit longer?

And just to clarify, how many days since your last 30+ mile ride?

rsbob 

Hello Colonel. Glad to see your arteries are still open and you offering consult.

A week refers to 6 calendar days - I was playing fast and loose with the term.

Consulting Strava, October 3rd, 54; 4th,40, followed by a 24, 26, 21, on the 10th a 20. Your analysis good Colonel?

Legs felt pretty good going down stairs this morning. Not perfect.

Epilogue. Star date 10182021.1. Before bed had a mild leg cramp, resolved with pickle juice and a magnesium pill. Since I only drank 3/4 of a tall water bottle part of the issue was dehydration, even though I tried to make up the difference when home by drinking 3 large glasses of water and a merlot. BUT I still never had issues walking DOWN stairs.

ColonelSanders

Strange you had the problems you experienced.

It will be interesting to see if you have any similar recovery problems in the weeks ahead or if you bounce back to normal.

I wonder if you have a virus or something that helped knock you around?

Greg R

I've had all the same symptoms. A hard 8 hrs of work brings it out as well as cycling. All good advice. When I worked at a university a sports medicine student worker told me that past 40, it takes twice the effort to keep muscle tone as when you were 18. Ha! diminishing returns?

kahn

You should have definitely reversed the ratio!

rsbob 

How do I unlike the comment about twice the effort to keep it?! . I do believe that is unfortunately true - pewp. Just have to keep at it.

Update: Did a flat high cadence 32 today at low to medium effort with no ill effects. Looks like I may have bounced back.

canklecat

I've been off the bike for three weeks, waiting for some pesky sinus and ear congestion to clear up so I'm not so dizzy while riding. I've continued jogging and walking, 3-10 miles per session a few times a week. Pretty comparable aerobically to easy to moderate effort riding. But it still works different muscles. I'm gonna try a ride tomorrow. I'm expecting some sore quads and calves.

rsbob 

After my experience - take it easy and dial back the mileage

rumrunn6

my last bike ride was in August. I'm doomed. come on, it's a bicycle ... maybe I'm just not so tied to performance stats. don't want riding to add to my stress

bike eagle

To the OP:

What did you do while you were out of town? Any hiking? Walking? Running?
Are you on any new medications or dietary changes?
How old are you?
Any recent illnesses?
Any changes to the bike since your last long ride prior to experiencing soreness?

I'm just asking because I have a hard time believing that your new soreness was the result of only one week off the bike. Of course, you may not want to answer some of these questions in an open forum and I get that. I'm just trying to help expand your thinking in case there is another problem.

Reflector Guy

Speaking just for myself, I also just got back from a trip and am hoping I didn't atrophy any muscles by not riding. So I am watching this thread with great interest,

But fortunately I did do a lot of walking (although I admit I ate too much).

wolfchild

This could of been easily prevented by exercising while away from the bike...A simple 20 minute full body workout without any equipment would be enough.

rsbob 

I believe it is a function of age combined going from daily workouts to nothing and the muscles tightening up - I worked out the soreness by going on two gentle spin days of 15 and 20 miles. On the third day, my legs were completely back and could hammer the hills with no residual soreness.