I’ve met quite people dropping hours drastically after years of consistency, some dont ride anymore. In you case kids are a good enough excuse, but in my case I have no excuse. I have a lot of time, but after 4 seasons of structure and a hard earned 4.35w/kg PB I’m dropping hours, riding very little and totally for fun and fully unstructured.
I’m afraid of loosing all this fitness but i fear more the sensation of putting +15h and barely having adaptations anymore, plus illness or random events that force me to skip workouts or getting mad due group ride intensity too high, or really bad weather, etc.
But I’d say the slowdown in performance gain was like loosing the main incentive. Knowing you’re close to your limits and exponentially harder to improve.
Apart from kids, what made you realize 15h are not worth for you? Do you think you’ll train hard again in a future? Will be old fitness easy to recover?
Non-racer here and have been a customer since 2015. I’m at 2.8 w/kg right now and I’m not sure if I’ve ever even broken the 3.0 w/kg barrier. This year I’ve been consistent at using Trainerroad for 2-4 midweek sessions and riding outside on weekends. This fitness level is where cycling really becomes enjoyable for me as I’m strong enough to push myself on rides in the 40-45 miles range with multiple hard efforts. Short climbs under a minute are fun to see how fast I can power up them at an all out pace. I do need to drop a few pounds and then over the next year I’ll see if I can improve on some climbing PRs set by the younger, lighter version of me.
Basically same gearing for me on my road bike. Running old school 11-21 or 11-23 for most of riding. If I am heading anywhere with hills I have a 12-26. I can shift into the 26 if careful. That is either the max range for the short cage derailleur. If memory serves. If I am riding hills these days it is MTB with a 50t Eagle.
Well I at the ripe old age of 33 have now been competitively racing for 20 years. I’ve been in and out of 4.x+ w/kg many times.
It’s hard for me to truthfully say if when I get older as I’m still relatively young the power will come back. I can say that the fitness or engine will come back though I believe.
Since toning down and riding however I’ve dropped 30+ftp points. I am doing whatever I want though, hard, easy, mtb, snow bike, ice cream ride haha. I am super happy, I enter races that makes sense for me or is different (just completed the NC BWR wafer) and just go to them when 3 goals.
Don’t crash
Have fun
Place top 10 in my age lol
My biggest issue has been the weight gain which I take full responsibility for because I am doing whatever I want/kids/wife wants.
The training part of the 15+hrs wasn’t the issue, it was all the side affects you’ve mentioned…… group ride not your pace, getting mad if you can’t fall asleep, skipping social events, food restrictions, not feeling right for your A race…… losing…. Your mind thinks in ways it shouldn’t, this is life and if you are good enough to be a pro, you would be with the right direction.
I mentioned in a post earlier that you can develop a sickness and a lot of people do in my opinion.
Do I think I’ll train hard again? Absolutely, when I have ample time and I am most likely gray, and that’s okay - this is a hobby and is for fun. I might try masters Track as I’ve never raced track.
Their is usually someone faster and they most likely have given everything they have for it.
My greatest story is that when I was a JR and was ranked and racing with the likes of Taylor Phinney, Lawson Craddock, Nate Brown that I would show up to international races such as Tour de l’Abitibi and just be mediocre.
I hope this helps some, there are a lot of overly respectable people in this thread that are parents, non-athletic, over weight, underweight, care givers, old, young and sick. Everyone has a journey, cycling can just help you travel a different set of roads if you let it.
If you’ve ever been involved in triathlon community there are plenty of examples of obsessed athletes. I met plenty in that sport and many would either burn out or get injured. But there were plenty who did have a good life balance and just enjoyed the sport and really did treat it as a fun hobby.
Want to talk about a reality check, I’ve done 3 full IM (Louisville, Placid, Wisconsin) and probably 12-15 half’s including 4 American triple T and that is an entire different breed of athletes. On 18hr weeks I had such bad running form I could only turn out 12.5hr IM’s. This was with a fantastic bike leg.
For me if i couldn’t train as much as “I needed” according the plan, I felt really frustated. I was investing so much time and effort to then throw it all. Finally a fitness drop due Covid and a series of events forced me to skip some weeks and finally cut the training because this lost sense and just ride for fun now
My niece is 29 and is really into her running. I don’t run but after a marathon event where she’d run around 3:15 she’d be running a half marathon a few days later. She has been exercising like anyone in their twenties often does. Frequently and not a day without a run.
In recent years my niece has been getting injured , shin splints, hip issues, ankles, knees. She’s finally beginning to understand that’s she is mortal. She beginning to understand why I train in the ways I do. She trains to be competitive , I train so I’m fit enough to enjoy my hobbies.
In my 20s I was into long distance backpacking, mountain marathons, and Alpine and Himalayan ascents. In my 30s I dropped the Himalayas as it took up too much un paid leave each year and all my paid holiday. Sticking to alpine ascents and climbing closer to home. During all this time cycling was just something I did to keep fit for mountaineering and for commuting to work. In my mid 40s I discovered ultra endurance cycling events. Mountaineering is now on the back burner as you can not do everything. Though I still get out to the European Alps or Dolomites for a week or two most years.
I’m now in my mid 50s and have never been injured through training. My training has always been about being “fit enough” for the activities I enjoy. It hasn’t been about being better than everyone else. I suppose I’m lucky in that respect.
What I’ve observed about those who burn twice as bright is that they burn half as long. Those of us who are just average seem to just keep going at our hobbies year in year out without any appreciable decline or periods of injury or illness.
“Fit enough” is my mantra, once you are in the realm of diminishing returns, unless you race, it’s time to say “That’ll do, I’ll try and maintain this level”
I am happy being average, fit enough to enjoy my hobby, having longevity doing what I enjoy, whilst remaining healthy and injury free as I age.
My goal is and has been, for 6 years, to make it to 3w/kg. I have not come close. I lose weight and gain it back, I train consistently and then have injuries/life/crashes and go back to square one. I also, like you, often wonder what on earth I’m doing here. It’s hard. We’ll make it there, I sure of it, I feel your frustration though, I often feel it myself.
I have started regular cycling again 3 years ago and only during Summer time. I had no clue about my FTP. Last winter i bought an Indoor Trainer and trained around 3,5 hours a week. I increased my FTP from 180 to 230 until April. I weight 83 Kilos at the Moment. So i’m still a bit away. But what’s most Important for me ist my improvement in cadence and technique. The first outdoor ride this yeare was not the usual Fight. It was really fun. So whenever someone asks me now what’s the best addon for cycling, i tell them a indoor trainer.
I’m a total mortal… FTP just at 2/Kg. I mostly e-bike commute in San Francisco and use a Kickr at home for training. Started with a FTP at 150something and now I’m 170something. I love TR because I can safely, confidently and efficiently workout and see progress. Maybe someday I’ll even buy a “real” bike. (I don’t have a car and exclusively commute and run errands on the bike…)
I’ve gone from 2.3 to a whopping 2.7 and back down to 2.3 (after breaking an ankle mountain biking and recently having COVID) in the span of two years of using TR. But I also have young children with a ton of activities, a career that has irregular scheduling, and actively manage several rental properties. Riding for me is purely fun and recreation. I enjoy having nice bikes and going for long rides on them. I’m slower than most of my riding buddies, but couldn’t care less. #partypace
I enjoy the training to be the best I can be. FTP is just a litmus into everything else I’m doing in my life. Stress, eating poorly, sleeping poorly, alcohol, not lifting weights, vitamin deficiencies, have all been points of focus for me in the quest to improve FTP, but in reality my total health.
So yes, FTP has improved. Weight has reduced. But these are side effects of a healthier lifestyle!
Big advice: Really check if your power meter is accurate. Since I got my Favero Assioma Uno by 30th of May I got a really big jump from 2.76w/kg to 3.12w/Kg, since I realized that my Elite Suito was giving me around 12% less watts than reality.
Since then I’ve been mainly doing 8 week Polarized Build Plan. Wasn’t much watts increase since then. Actually lost one, but who’s counting right?!
Always interesting and a good lesson generally speaking. More relevant to a degree when looking at things like virtual racing (Zwift, RGT, etc.) or keyboard racing via FTP/WKG flexing
But despite large changes in the “tape measure” you used before and after, your fitness is essentially unchanged. Your IRL ability to ride at speed or in groups remains the same no matter how you measure power.
This also gives another opportunity to stress the use of Seasons in TR (or similar in other apps?) when people swap power measurement methods. Your new data device may have you in a different league so it’s potentially worthwhile to set seasons based upon that recent change.
Ive not looked at my Suito power in ages but IIRC whilst it was reasonable at lower cadences, at higher cadences it lagged big time against my Favero Be Pro S.
