In other words … people in the middle of the bell curve are not necessarily well served by copying those on the far right of the bell curve aka genetic freaks.
Tangible benefit? Maybe not, although I would argue the daily low-intensity aerobic stimulus could add up over time to SOME long-term adaptations from frequency alone.
Intangible benefits of keeping consistency in routine, appetite regulation, and stress reduction? Without question.
Definitely this. Rory Porteous from @empiricalcycling says he’s one of those guys for whom a day off the bike easily turns into two, which turns into three …
I just meant to not plan ahead for scheduled days off - but to take them in those scenarios. meaning say I plan to ride 365 days a year…stuff comes up and I would take a day off as needed - rather than a preventative / restorative measure
so my initial wondering was if anyone rides every day. I’m sure even someone who plans to ride every day is “forced” off the bike due to life / family / work / falling down the steps and twisting an ankle / or whatever.
I feel like @dirt_cruzer asked good questions.
maybe if you train where you crush yourself and long hours, and say you’re more of a sprinter, maybe days off are more beneficial? vs someone who say puts in 12-15 hours at mostly Zone 2/3 with a few sprints here and there?
btw I’m not saying “you don’t need a day off”
just questioning it and looking to learn.
I’ve been taking 2 days off a week - following Join plan advice. I’m doing some light mobility those days and it’s been working for me, particularly during winter when too many indoor sucks.
I think it’s an excellent question. When I rode to work (45 miles daily) and rode on the weekends for fun, the guys I rode with used to ask me how I did it. I always said, well it’s easy, if you’re tired you ride slower.
I’m about to start a 3 month training block with zero scheduled time off. It’s intimidating for sure. I think part of why is that I’m not known for my restraint when it comes to things like a zwift race etc. Intellectually I’ve come to think of the larger blocks somewhat like a training session itself.
So imagine taking a training session and interpolating it into days. If it’s a vo2max session you might have 3 bouts (like days) of 13 30/30s. Within that session you need rest between the 3 bouts. Now imagine you are doing 1 x 45m at 85%. No rest needed. Both are ~ 1 hour. So if you smooth the stochastic nature of the training your need for rest breaks is reduced. Now take a 1x45m and throw in some 4 minute 120% intervals. The workout just became a lot harder.
This is I guess what GAR is about (green amber (aw I miss amber) red, but a fish theme, like swordfish!). What’s the point of programming if you just chuck it out the window? Well if people need permission to recognize how tired they are, then gar.
120tss @75% is ~a rest day. Meaning that I recover and adapt in under 24 hours. I can almost set my watch by my recovery, after my evening session I’m fatigued a bit, my legs are tired, but I’m not exhausted. the next morning I might be a little stiff, I cram carbs/protein in my craw, by 10 I’m feeling stronger. By noon (more piles of food) I’m wondering, can I do another day, by 3pm I’m ready to go.
If you buff out your volume, and have say 2 hard rides a week…(imagine) then you “recover” on your 75% days, and ride hard on your interval days. et voila, no days off. But the trick is planning. If you overreach more than you can recover while riding you’re going to dig a hole. The piper will be paid, you will revert to mean one way or the other. Whether it’s better to hard overreach and rest vs feathering the effort? If I knew the answer to that I wouldn’t be working for a living. Though, people do say consistency is king. 
Of course throw in any other stressor and the whole balance can be thrown off. Will I manage 3 months no days off? who knows, but I’m up for the experiment.
(Also, Amanda Coker called from 2017 and asked you to hold her beer.)
This thread definitely delivered on all the required levels 
I don’t think it was being stated in those terms. It’s just that what works for you, depends on much of what else is happening in your life. What works best for you in your 30s, may not work best for you in your 50s. Not because you’re older or anything to do with bell curves, just your time availability both for training and recovery. The older you are, the more time you might have for training as kids have flown the nest, you’re no longer working all hours chasing a career etc.
Reminder to please keep posts related to the OP’s original question (and to keep it specific to endurance training in humans).
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I think you missed my point: getting sick / injured could very well be signs that you need to build in days off so your body can recover / adapt.
To give you an idea how individual rest days are, I know a national and worlds masters champ that rides pretty low volume (< 500 hours a year). High volume and no days off isn’t a prerequisite for going fast or making a ton of power. It can actually be quite detrimental for some.
Quoting for emphasis.
Joe
I wonder what his FTP was ?
Exactly.
There is a guy near me in his late 30’s who trains 20-25+ hours a week and has a fulltime job and takes virtually no days off. He is hard stuck cat 3 and hasn’t won a race in years, no doubt because he is too fatigued to realize any gains. 20-25 hours a week, year in year out. No breaks. Ever.
I remember a couple years ago he had to travel for a work trip and was forced off the bike for about a week, his first group ride back (race pace) he set PR’s and he was very surprised by this. I really wanted to sit him down and be like bro, you’re old, you don’t recover properly, and you put in more volume then world tour cyclists YEAR ROUND NON STOP. Like fuck, if you want to improve take some fucking rest.
LOL, the guy is in his 30s, he’s not old, and recovery shouldn’t be an issue at that age unless they’ve always had issues recovering.
So I am another 30+ years older. How are you going to describe me??? lol
agreed.
I should have specified injured from some other activity (clumsiness / falling down the steps - ask me how I know) or injured from a fall or something non-repetitive / non-training related. like some weird one time event. These are obviously not signs of overtraining but might require time off depending on what got injured.
yeah if you’re coming off your bike and you’re hurting…or just randomly walking around and stuff hurts anywhere, something is off with the training load (or mechanics or something)
People get different things from cycling. Winning races and PRs may be the verbalized goal, but not the true goal. 20-25 hours of training is pretty cool in and of itself. Sounds like someone just likes to suffer. It IS important to be honest with oneself and get goals aligned. Otherwise disappointment, bewilderment, and frustration can ensue.