?s about recovery rides and training

[TrekTheKaty]

What Oakleaf and tcttrek said........

I road 42 miles on Saturday. I was sore on Sunday, so I went on a leisurely coffee run, just to get the circulation going (recovery ride).

I used to run, and there are a lot more running books--and they are applicable--than cycling books. You also might try thinking of it in terms of heart rate--there are several books that describe all sports in terms of heart rate. (ie. recover ride, less than 70% max HR? interval 80%, then recover to 70%?)

If you are a new rider, just getting out there and getting the seat time and mileage in is sufficient. After a couple years of riding (and my first spinning class), I added a "hill" day. I follow my husband up the biggest, baddest hills he can find. It's a short ride, maybe only thirty minutes with a focus on getting up the hill (shifting) and not on speed (recovery on the descent). This is an option to intervals (which in spinning class is a sprint).

Will you get better? Yes. Just by consistently getting out there. However I've found that riding longer distances and doing hillier routes, have improved my overall fitness. We do a century at the end of the summer, so we consistently increase our distance by 5 miles per weekend. Long rides are slower (just like running), but increase my endurance and make me faster on shorter rides. Hills improve my strength and also make me faster on normal, flatter rides.

Just get out there!