alright, you’ve answered this one thousand times before.
(but throw me a bone and answer it again 
what is the best way to get back on the horse? (and by horse, i mean bike, and by “get back on” i mean get back into cycling shape)
flats with long slow distance?
hills/flats/combo?
hills only?
it doesn’t matter, just ride?
WTF, just ride your ass off. Simple
Last Thanksgiving weekend, as you know, was near perfect conditions for you to have been on your bike. You also ride a Bianchi equipped with Campagnolo components. If that’s not enough to make you feel guilty for not being on your bike then shame on you.
dang. punchy are we?
so, flats, hills, combo, keep HR low or what?
i could go out my door and suffocate on some bastard hills, but i don’t know if that’s going to be the best for getting back at it.
Last Thanksgiving weekend, as you know, was near perfect conditions for you to have been on your bike. You also ride a Bianchi equipped with Campagnolo components. If that’s not enough to make you feel guilty for not being on your bike then shame on you.
jesus. i don’t feel guilty, i have been running, and also working my ass off! 
Sorry, didn’t mean to sound like an ass.
I forget you guys live in the mountains compared to me
Yeah, Yeah, we’re all busy, but come on, we all get 24 hours in the day. You just need to decide what you’ll do with your time. Make the time to get back on your bike.
The way I see it is anything aerobic is worth something in the bank. So, when ever you can, get out and ride or get on the trainer and ride or jump in a spin class and ride. It will hurt for a while depending on how much time you have had off, but knowing that things will start to come around should keep you motivated. Once your mind and body are back in a routine things will start to come back to you. Or at least that has been my experience. Best of luck!
Yeah, Yeah, we’re all busy, but come on, we all get 24 hours in the day. You just need to decide what you’ll do with your time. Make the time to get back on your bike.
it’s not about the time! i’m not struggling with time management, and i’m getting back on my bike. i have nothing to feel guilty about. lol.
my question is how to get back on the bike and max out my time and get the most fitness.
Just get out there. Don’t seek out any hills just yet. Go out and have a few good fun rides first to get the joy back. Then, go out and hammer.
Sorry, didn’t mean to sound like an ass.
I forget you guys live in the mountains compared to me
hey, i went out Saturday, nearly barfed the first mile going all uphill. how does one get to this state after a month of doing other stuff? god it was mortifying.
so, i don’t know how to approach it. and i’m delerious from moving office furniture all day.
Just get out there. Don’t seek out any hills just yet. Go out and have a few good fun rides first to get the joy back. Then, go out and hammer.
ok, this is what i was looking for. it will be hard to avoid hills, but i can do it. or at least not get on any huge ones. maybe this will get my legs going again and then i’ll be good to go in no time.
Yeah, hard to avoid the hills near you. Maybe, just drive down Galbraith to the bike trail (I know, yuk, but dead flat) by the horse stables. If you feel spunky at the end, you could always bike up Galbraith/Shawnee run (just over 4 miles of a constant grade, but nothing over 12%). Of course, Cunningham is just around the corner as well …
hate to admit it, but im a pro at this. i spend most of my training time getting back into “just barely able to finish by the cutoff” fitness start easy - with minimum lt efforts maybe one in every 20mins and do for about an hour - then work up from there. before you know it youll be doing lt efforts all day
Sorry, I re-read your post so I’ll drop the “make you feel guilty stuff.” 
This time of the year, I’m just riding easy to get ready for IMLP next year, although a few of us took a day trip to ride the old Pineman course in the Mohican State Park area last Friday and even when you ride that course easy it kicks your ass! Since you’re lucky enough to have hills in your back yard I would just ride your favorite routes any chance you have but just go easy this time of the year. If the weather is bad or you can’t get out during the day then you got to tough it out and get on the trainer.
Yeah, hard to avoid the hills near you. Maybe, just drive down Galbraith to the bike trail (I know, yuk, but dead flat) by the horse stables. If you feel spunky at the end, you could always bike up Galbraith/Shawnee run (just over 4 miles of a constant grade, but nothing over 12%). Of course, Cunningham is just around the corner as well …
what is it with you and this wretched cunningham? you know, something ill happend to me over the past summer, i climbed the thing about 20 times. (apparently i have no residual effect from it though, rats.)
this sounds good, i’ll do it. thanks. that will get my legs going at least.
another option is route 8, which i really like. that is a 15 mile out and back (no turns are perfect for the “direction impared” cyclists like me). 30 miles or so total, plus more if desired. there are some hills and false flats, but that is a good route to get back into shape with.
i can’t go out with the gang in the condition i’m in now, that’s all i know. need a few good weeks under the radar. (just pretend you know what it’s like, ok? lol…
thanks everybody. i won’t over think it, just get out there and ride at a moderate pace and go from there. it seems that once the weekly mileage hits 100+, and especially 150+ the fitness really starts to breakthrough. hard to do this time of year with daylight. but then again it was 65 today. so, we’ll see!
Start easy and increase your distance 10% a week. Mix up your rides so you’re not looking at the same scenery every ride. And, for hell’s sake, use your trainer and spin classes in extreme moderation. There is nothing that will burn you out faster than riding indoors.
Start easy and increase your distance 10% a week. Mix up your rides so you’re not looking at the same scenery every ride. And, for hell’s sake, use your trainer and spin classes in extreme moderation. There is nothing that will burn you out faster than riding indoors.
with you on that. i can’t hardly make myself do it, the indoor “cycling” that some of these ST’ers have a hard on for. spin class makes me want to hang myself. don’t know how people can stand it, honestly.
my rollers are folded up in the basement, content to just stand there. i kind of like them better that way actually.
if it’s not icey or snowing, i’ll ride. cincinnati isn’t alaska.
change up the routes, that’s something i probably don’t do enough of. thanks for saying that.
to most, it would seem obvious, but i like to ride the same course when i’m trying to improve fitness… i can tell how i am doing relative to previous rides. you don’t have to ride the same ride every time, but it helps to repeat the same ride once in a while to compare previous results.
Buy a powermeter (if you don’t already have one) and go to BikeTechReview.com and study up on “20MP” training. It’s supposed to be a way to maximize performance and training benefit with minimum time investment.
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