RJMang

I have a somewhat intense 7-day event this May: 375+ miles with 35,000+ feet of climbing. I’m 68, ride over 5,000 miles per year with more than 400,000 feet of annual gain (I’ve been at this level for several decades). So, this upcoming event would not normally be a concern. But it's is in Europe, and I’ll be completely off the bike for 12 days traveling around before the event. 12 days of zero riding, which has me a bit concerned about my level of “detraining”, which seems to happen more quickly after 60 years old.

Any ideas on how I can keep my training level up with 12 days off the bike?

Robert

burnthesheep

12 days isn't long enough to really be concerned about it IMO. If it bothers you that much, ramp a little volume into the last three days before leaving.

The way CTL works, you could in theory get to maybe -15 or so the day before you leave, then you won't be to +15 for days and days. Which is usually great form to perform.

So, nothingburger IMO.

tempocyclist

Are you able to hire a bike at any time while you're over there travelling around? Even if it's just a regular tourist rental hybrid bike.

Go out and hammer it around a park for an hour or so, or simply keep the legs spinning.

GhostRider62

Yes, detraining is much quicker as we age.

Plasma volume starts to decrease after 2 days (days). Combatting hematological changes is your best bet. Worst case you do nothing and lose maybe 2-5% of aerobic capacity. If you can do anything aerobically at an intense level for a short period, it will help. Up and down the hotel emergency exit stairs for 20 minutes hard several times over the 12 days might be enough. If the hotel has a hot air sauna, use it to help maintain plasma level. Otherwise, don't worry. You will notice a drop in performance but it won't be earth shattering.

MinnMan

I agree that older people lose fitness faster. I think others have already posted some good advice. All that I'd add is that 12 days of tourism in Europe will also involve many temptations of food and drink. Be careful - that can make a difference.

Carbonfiberboy 

I think you mean TSB. I'm interested in this because we're about to take 5 days off at our cabin. My TSB will be -11 the day before we leave, and would be +19 if we didn't do anything athletic out there. However we'll run for about 30' or so on 3 of those days, which should give me a +12 TSB instead. That's just 5 days! So if you can run most days during your trip, that'll help some. It's not the same as riding, but it really helps. Get up early, have a run, eat breakfast. At 76, my rule is 3 days off in a row, max. Every day over that will take me 3 days to gat back that loss. One month off, three months to get it back.

In my 5-day case, I'd lose 7 points of CTL in those days. My usual practice is to try to increase my CTL by 3 points/week which is sustainable for me. So that would be 2 weeks to get back to where I was. Running out there 3 out of 5 days, I'll only lose 5 points, so a week and a half to get it back, plus cross-training is extra benefit. I might also do some one-legged knee bends on a chair, recommended. It's one of those things were life interferes with training. Oh well.

DaveLeeNC

If it were me I would be doing whatever I could to maintain general fitness over those 12 days. I don't know your accommodations but hotel or maybe local gym workouts on a stationary bike would be hugely helpful. If that doesn't work then probably running (or maybe stairs) is the next best alternative. And I would be sure that you are physically prepared for whatever alternative you come up with. Cycling is pretty muscle specific and a couple of hard stair workouts that you are not used to doing could be really counter-productive (and worse than nothing).

Good luck - sounds like fun.

dave

ps, I would be focused on the first 7 of those 12 days. Complete rest the last 5 or so days is not something that would concern me.