It’s a funny feeling the day after a long hard bike ride, (e.g Nat 50). When I was young, the height of excitement was visiting Alton Towers and going on all the roller-coasters. The day after going on the big dipper, I would still have a residual feeling of going up and down the roller coaster. Part of you was still moving – even though it all happened yesterday. It’s similar with cycling, the day after cycling, you still partly feel the sensation of the cycle ride. It’s like part of you is still moving. Part of you is really tired thinking why did I put myself through that? The other part of you can’t wait to do the next 50 mile or 100 mile TT. It’s addictive this cycling lark, in a strange kind of way.
After the ride
After the ride, there is that feeling of real exhaustion. It’s hard to put your finger on whether this is a good or bad feeling. But, I think overall, you kind of bask in that strange afterglow of a satisfying hard ride. This is the attraction of longer distances, you really stretch your body and you can get into a different space. Everything works at a different pace, mental arithmetic or even turning on a computer feels hard work. You have a strong desire to vegetate.
See: Post-race slump
After the race, I had to drive home 2 hours. That’s pretty difficult when your body is tired. If it ever gets too bad, I would pull over and have 40 winks or so. The important thing is to keep eating and drinking so you don’t have crazy blood sugar levels or anything like that. When I got home I went to bed, but after 5 minutes decided I didn’t feel tired any more so had some food, and mentally felt pretty good for the rest of the day.
I’m reading Rob Hayles autobiography at the moment. In one part he talks about a game they played at the Olympics – try to identify the sport of the athlete by their physique and the way they moved. He said cyclists were the easiest to sport because of the way they walked – the ‘cyclist shuffle’. Cycling just knocks your ability to walk properly. It’s an effort to lift your feet off the ground. That’s how your legs feel after a 50.
The day after
One thing which is undeniable about the day after a long bike ride – It’s harder to get up in the morning. When you wake up, the leg muscles are stiff, and you need some pretty drastic stretching to even get out of bed. There’s some kind of fatigue that makes you want to just go back to sleep.
How does a 50 compare to shorter distances?
I’m mostly used to doing shorter rides – a 10 or 25. A 50 is twice as long and it leaves a much bigger imprint on your mind and body. It takes just a bit longer to recover.
The other thing about the day after a cycle ride is you start thinking what you could do next time. Whatever time you do, you start thinking, there’s no reason I can’t go faster next time. For example, there was a time when Matt Botrril and Jeff Jones were doing 1.50 for 50 miles, so if they can go 6 or 8 minutes quicker, there’s no reason why you can’t
(advanced recovery position)
Related
The day after a long ride is bliss. There’s no guilt that you should be training or anything and you’re invariably comfortable in pretty much any position.