how to train - for commuting to work

[surgtech1956]

Need some help from all you veteran commuters. I don't want to make to too lengthy, but I'm finally going back to work after my knee surgery in January. I work about 18 miles away. I would eventually like to commute, but will need to start by driving part way and riding the rest. My question is how do I train? Should I be just putting in miles and/or trying for certain speed?? Thanks, Nancy

[solobiker]

Hi there, well I think your best option would be putting in base milage. I wouldn't do too much at once as the constent repititive motion may irritate your knee. ( granted I do not know what kind of surgery you had) I Think if you tried to train for speed you may push too hard and inure your knee. If I may ask, What kind of surgery did you have? Do you have scar tissue? Do have limitations in your range of motion at your knee?

[surgtech1956]

I had a knee scope - patella chondroplasty(patella femoral joint injury)- as a result of a work injury, fell onto my right knee. No problem with range of motion, just pain in the joint.

[solobiker]

Do you, or did you have a lot of swelling in the joint as well? I Think if you start out slowly with building up your milage you will do fine. The speed will come with time.

[surgtech1956]

Sometimes I have some swelling. So far my longest ride has been 1 1/2 hours - quite a bit of knee pain and some swelling with this ride.

[KnottedYet]

Step 1: Drive 17 miles. Ride 1.
Step 2: Drive 16 miles. Ride 2.
Step 3: Drive 15 miles. Ride 3.

and so on...

This gives you a chance to work out the logistics (how to move the bike on/off car, how the ride goes, where to park bike, how to get pretty after the ride, how your knee takes it, how tired you are after work, your ride tolerance after work, how much stuff and tools to bring, how to get everything on the bike, how traffic behaves) without ever risking being late to work or having to push a big ride with stress.

Like Queen said, "Get on your bike and ride!" Riding to work is great training for your commute. ;)

[Torrilin]

Need some help from all you veteran commuters. I don't want to make to too lengthy, but I'm finally going back to work after my knee surgery in January. I work about 18 miles away. I would eventually like to commute, but will need to start by driving part way and riding the rest. My question is how do I train? Should I be just putting in miles and/or trying for certain speed?? Thanks, Nancy

I'd start off by talking to your doctor and/or physical therapist. Ask them about what is appropriate for your particular knees. Ask them for the warning signs that you've reinjured it, or that you've overdone your exercise. Be specific and ask as many questions as you can, so you understand what is going on and can make good decisions for yourself. I've learned the hard way that bodies that *look* like they have identical problems don't (my dad and sister have the same foot problems I do, and each of our bodies has responded differently and has needed slightly different treatment).

Miles are probably more important than speed right now. Be gentle with yourself so that you can heal well. That doesn't mean don't push at all mind :). Just it sounds like you're the sort to push as hard as you can to heal, and your body needs balance.

[solobiker]

I think you should start out a little more slowly. Start with 15 min of riding, espec since you are getting swollen. let us know how you do.

[KnottedYet]

1 mile on the bike (per Step One) will probably take you 7 minutes. Pretty cool, huh?

[F8th637]

I have knee issues and one of my commutes is 17 miles one way. The way I trained for it was by building up some base miles. I stuck closer to home first. My first ever run was 8 miles. Then I started slowly building up from there. They say to increase your mileage by 10% at a time. Since you have knee issues like me I'd say go for easy-does-it. Use those low gears so you aren't pushing really hard on any hills. If you keep your legs moving at about 80 rpm you should be in good shape. Ice your knees after a long ride. That will help with the swelling. You can also work on speed while working up your base miles but since you aren't exactly racing that is flexible. ;)

[kfergos]

I've been commuting 7 miles each way to and from work for the last year or so, and that's worked out really well for me. But that involves riding to a train, waiting at the train station, and riding from the station to work. This makes my commute 1.5 hours each way, with only 30 of the minutes actually on-bike. Plus these trains are untrustworthy and extremely schedule-limiting. However, a direct ride to my work is 20 miles, significantly longer than my normal one-way ride.

I'd like to work up to riding directly to and from work, but the three times I've made the 20-mile ride, I've had significant knee pain that has now stuck with me since then (making even the previously harmless 7-mile rides iffy). I'm betting that the huge jump from 7 miles to 20 miles caused my knee problems, and I'd like to ease into the 20-mile ride a little more. Any suggestions?

PS - I don't have a car at my disposal.

[onimity]

Hi kfergos,

In terms of easing into longer daily rides maybe try keeping your commute as-is and adding on a couple of miles of errand running or recreational riding a day. I have a bad knee too and the biggest thing I'd recommend is to make sure that your bike fit is correct. If my seat is even a little too low I'll get knee pain, worse the longer I ride. Also, if my knee is bothering me when I get home I ice and elevate it for a while and take some ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation. It works pretty well to get me back on track for the next day as long as I don't totally overdo it.

Good luck!

Anne