Update

Stu Fleming said:

I'm riding again. It's been nearly 3 years (and 16kg extra).

I've been itching to start again for a while, but the final spur was
seeing our son turning the pedals on his first bike. He's 16 months,
14kg and 86cm tall. I figure if I start training now, I'll still have a
chance of beating him in a sprint when he's 5.

Some observations
- muscle memory stays around long time
- stamina doesn't
- staying seated while climbing really hurts on 10%+ grade
- traffic awareness is heightened
- it still takes 20 minutes to ride to work!
- first race back November 24th

Here's wishing you good luck Stu. I would suggest a child seat for
your son on the back of a training bike. Then a lot of hills.,

Stu Fleming said:

I'm riding again. It's been nearly 3 years (and 16kg extra).

I've been itching to start again for a while, but the final spur was
seeing our son turning the pedals on his first bike. He's 16 months, 14kg
and 86cm tall. I figure if I start training now, I'll still have a chance
of beating him in a sprint when he's 5.

Some observations
- muscle memory stays around long time
- stamina doesn't
- staying seated while climbing really hurts on 10%+ grade
- traffic awareness is heightened
- it still takes 20 minutes to ride to work!

Congratulations.

I've done the same thing a few times now (starting up riding and racing
after multi-year breaks and kids) and your observations completely agree
with my own. I'd add a couple things, and would be curious if you experience
the same as your fitness comes back.

First, I found that I have way less capacity for repeated hard efforts that
require significant anaerobic contribution, say, 30 - 90 seconds duration.
Even after a few years training again, it still isn't coming close to what
it was before. It's a bummer because, as you know, a lot of races come down
to a few crunch-time efforts of that duration.

On the positive side, I've still been able to get my aerobic top-end back
pretty close to what it was previously. It seems the 1%-loss-per-year
rule-of-thumb hasn't applied.

I've also found it's easier to suffer now and I know several other "older"
racers who experience the same thing. What I mean is, you're better at
handling (or ignoring) that acute fatigue and pain at, say, the three-hour
point in a hot and windy road race. Maybe we've just lost too many brain
cells and pain receptors! Whatever the reason, it's been a real plus for me:
this year I upgraded to category 1 at 46 years old predominantly by out
suffering many of the guys in their 20's and 30's.

Also, I don't know how fearless you were previously in field sprints and
technical descents, but I'll bet you don't want to take the same risks you
did pre-kid. The thing is, when in the heat of the moment, you'll probably
find your instincts kick in and you'll take many of the same risks. It'll
make you shudder afterward.

Quoted message said:

- first race back November 24th

Good luck! Report back on how it goes.

Mark
http://marcofanelli.blogspot.com

Stu Fleming said:

Some observations
- muscle memory stays around long time
- stamina doesn't
- staying seated while climbing really hurts on 10%+ grade
- traffic awareness is heightened
- it still takes 20 minutes to ride to work!
- first race back November 24th

Good luck. I took off several years after my eldest was born. In my
case, threshold power came all the way back after the long hiatus, and
it really didn't take all that long. Maybe a year. Can't say anything
about my so-called "sprint": it sucked before, it sucked afterward,
and it sucks now. Hard to measure relative suckitude. My back and neck
weren't as flexible so I couldn't get as low: I remember looking at my
old bike and thinking "did someone play with the bars? That seems
awful low." And, confirming Fennelli's observation about losing your
nerve, I just shook my head when I saw some of the descents that I
used to bomb down brake-free. Now I'm even worse: I used to check out
tire reviews for rolling resistance; now I look at wet slip angle.

Quoted message said:

Stu Fleming said:

Some observations
- muscle memory stays around long time
- stamina doesn't
- staying seated while climbing really hurts on 10%+ grade
- traffic awareness is heightened
- it still takes 20 minutes to ride to work!
- first race back November 24th

Good luck. I took off several years after my eldest was born. In my
case, threshold power came all the way back after the long hiatus, and
it really didn't take all that long. Maybe a year. Can't say anything
about my so-called "sprint": it sucked before, it sucked afterward,
and it sucks now. Hard to measure relative suckitude. My back and neck
weren't as flexible so I couldn't get as low: I remember looking at my
old bike and thinking "did someone play with the bars? That seems
awful low." And, confirming Fennelli's observation about losing your
nerve, I just shook my head when I saw some of the descents that I
used to bomb down brake-free. Now I'm even worse: I used to check out
tire reviews for rolling resistance; now I look at wet slip angle.

My riding mostly ended when my daughter was born in '96, but I still go
out for one stinkin' hour on Sunday for laps in the park, so at least
I've had contact with the bike. I assume you mean anaerobic threshold,
and if you do it's good news, since this is supposed to decline with age
whether you stay in shape or not. I'm actually lighter now than when I
rode, but what I lost was not fat, so I can't climb. And I never could
sprint at all. And after my racing accident I was even worse descending
than before, and that's saying something. So it should be interesting
to see how much power I can get back if I ever get to ride more.
By the way, my spell check has a problem with the word "suckitude".
Usually I hear people verbifying nouns, not nounifying (is it a verb or
an adjective?)

Steve

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

On Nov 1, 1:29 pm, Steven Bornfeld <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My riding mostly ended when my daughter was born in '96, but I still go
out for one stinkin' hour on Sunday for laps in the park, so at least
I've had contact with the bike. I assume you mean anaerobic threshold,
and if you do it's good news, since this is supposed to decline with age
whether you stay in shape or not.

Well, I was off the bike from about age 30 to about 36 or 37, so
perhaps the age thing wasn't quite so much of a factor. I didn't have
a power meter back then but I did know my time up Mt. Diablo and it
took me about a year to get back to matching it. That means my watts/
kg was roughly the same, even though my kg had grown.

Quoted message said:

By the way, my spell check has a problem with the word "suckitude".

Sounds like you have a suckeriffic spell checker.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

On Nov 1, 1:29 pm, Steven Bornfeld <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My riding mostly ended when my daughter was born in '96, but I
still go
out for one stinkin' hour on Sunday for laps in the park, so at least
I've had contact with the bike. I assume you mean anaerobic threshold,
and if you do it's good news, since this is supposed to decline with age
whether you stay in shape or not.

Well, I was off the bike from about age 30 to about 36 or 37, so
perhaps the age thing wasn't quite so much of a factor. I didn't have
a power meter back then but I did know my time up Mt. Diablo and it
took me about a year to get back to matching it.

From the south or the north?

--
tanx,
Howard

Faberge eggs are elegant but I prefer Faberge bacon.

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?

Howard Kveck said:

From the south or the north?

I've alway had an easier time focusing from the south. Those rollers
on the north side mess with my concentration.

Quoted message said:

Howard Kveck said:

From the south or the north?

I've alway had an easier time focusing from the south. Those rollers
on the north side mess with my concentration.

Hey Robert, next time you're going to be in the area let me know and
I'll book us a ride somewhere. Also I know some pretty good
restaurants in the area and my brother can pick wine better than a
French wine steward.

Quoted message said:

Howard Kveck said:

From the south or the north?

I've alway had an easier time focusing from the south. Those rollers
on the north side mess with my concentration.

Hey Robert, next time you're going to be in the area let me know and
I'll book us a ride somewhere. Also I know some pretty good
restaurants in the area and my brother can pick wine better than a
French wine steward.

Quoted message said:

Howard Kveck said:

From the south or the north?

I've alway had an easier time focusing from the south. Those rollers
on the north side mess with my concentration.

Hey Robert, next time you're going to be in the area let me know and
I'll book us a ride somewhere. Also I know some pretty good
restaurants in the area and my brother can pick wine better than a
French wine steward.

Quoted message said:

Howard Kveck said:

From the south or the north?

I've alway had an easier time focusing from the south. Those rollers
on the north side mess with my concentration.

Hey Robert, next time you're going to be in the area let me know and
I'll book us a ride somewhere. Also I know some pretty good
restaurants in the area and my brother can pick wine better than a
French wine steward.