Medical surprise: no cycling for 2 weeks

Had mohs surgery yesterday on forehead and getting a second one next week on my scalp. Sutures involved, so doctor says no strenuous activity until it heals (not even supposed to bend over).

I just completed week 4 of SSB mid I. I felt like I was making good progress. I.e., I went all out on my ramp test week 1 with a solid FTP result, yet when I did Palisade on Saturday, it was pretty tough - but also definitely doable.

I’m wondering if others have been in a similar situation: unexpectedly offline for 2 weeks. I’m thinking of restarting at SSB mid 1 week 3 once I’m cleared to ride again. Also wondering if, after 2 weeks off bike, picking up with week 4 or even week 5 might be feasible. I understand it will depend on my specific facts and circumstances, but I’m really curious about what others have experienced. Mostly this is to help me get over the disappointment of being sidetracked.

I’m also planning to focus on keeping my diet extra clean, so that will give me something to focus on, too.

Many thanks for your input.

I don’t think two weeks off is likely to cause to much damage to your progress. The first thing to go is top-end work like VO2max & since your in base you haven’t really done much VO2max work anyhow. Threshold gains like you would expect to get from base will persist a little bit longer.

Hey, maybe this is an opportunity to really focus on cleaning up your diet! Or, if you have some bike upgrades you’ve been thinking about…now is the time, bro! You’ve got some extra time to futz around with the bike & not worry about having it ready for tomorrow’s workout.

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Additional info from TR on residual training effects:

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