Weak at the start of a ride?

[bighit8]

Anybody have this problem and how do you overcome it? I am fine after about 6-10 miles but always feel weak at the start.What gives?

[dudevf1]

When I feel this way it's usually due to not eating enough and/or not having warm legs when I start. It helps if I drink a bottle of gatorade before the ride, eat more, and do 10 minutes either on a stationary bike before I leave the house or riding around before the real ride.

[sdyeti]

Exactly how fast are you riding at the start of your ride? You need to give yourself some time to warm up. Going all out or even going pretty hard without letting your heart rate come up could be part of the problem.

How often are you riding?

[tkblazer]

i'm the same way.... i seriously take a good 1 hr or 1 1/2 hrs. to warm up... it sucks, but thats just how my body works i guess

[Roadstar_Rider]

The Marines make me run a lot and I have a similar problem at the start of a run. After about 5 or 10 minutes i warm up and I can go for a long time. Stretching before physical exertion helps, also do a warm up. When you show up for a ride, ride your bike around for 5 or 10 minutes, or jog around a parking lot or something. Many people dont know but jump ropes are excelent cardio. 5 or 10 minutes of this before a ride might help.

Also be aware of what you eat the day before. Stay away from the greasy stuff, dont go overboard on the carbs and make sure you drink plenty of water.

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by bighit8

Anybody have this problem and how do you overcome it? I am fine after about 6-10 miles but always feel weak at the start.What gives?

I used to feel weak at the start of the ride as well. Now I am consistent right from the start to the finish. Consistently weak that is!

Seriously for me eating like crap the day before usually causes weak start for the first 20 minutes or so, or downright slacking on my riding. For me riding twice a week results in a flat to gradual decline in fitness. Riding 3 times a week will allow me to maintain or very gradually improve.

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by bighit8

Anybody have this problem and how do you overcome it? I am fine after about 6-10 miles but always feel weak at the start.What gives?

Think you are a slow starter now, wait until you get in your fiftys.

[bighit8]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Exactly how fast are you riding at the start of your ride? You need to give yourself some time to warm up. Going all out or even going pretty hard without letting your heart rate come up could be part of the problem.

How often are you riding?

It really varies with kids, work ect... usually two days a week.I start pretty slow for the most part but get frustrated when I cant push.Thanks for you're input. I will try the suggested things.

Originally Posted by Roadstar_Rider

The Marines make me run a lot and I have a similar problem at the start of a run. After about 5 or 10 minutes i warm up and I can go for a long time. Stretching before physical exertion helps, also do a warm up. When you show up for a ride, ride your bike around for 5 or 10 minutes, or jog around a parking lot or something. Many people dont know but jump ropes are excelent cardio. 5 or 10 minutes of this before a ride might help.

Also be aware of what you eat the day before. Stay away from the greasy stuff, dont go overboard on the carbs and make sure you drink plenty of water.

I was in the Marines 1/5 and it was never a problem.Fast forward 14 years and it is now a problem.

[Rockinthecasbah]

other then the obvious warm up stuff some good tunes can really help with getting started,I often only use my Ipod for the start of a ride just to get me pumped up a lil

[Mudman]

haha Im weak throughout an entire ride. then at the end I all of the sudden get a burst of energy to go ride again, but hunger always wins the fight. I wish I could build the worlds best DH course in my back yard and then have 40mph escalator to get you back up quick.

It does take me a long time to warm up though...

[MTBMaven]

The best way to overcome this is to ride more. I know I know sounds cliche but it's true. Getting a road bike and putting in some long miles on the weekend and a few night rides will help a lot. You just need to build up those cycling muscles. I used to suffer from the exact same problem. I found the lack of gear range on a road bike helped me push much larger gears on an MTB. My last few rides have been 1x9 (32 front / 34 rear).

I disagree with the suggestion to eat more. When I do my road centuries I don't eat any breakfast. I start eating fig newtons about 30 minutes into the ride and one every 30 minutes. After the first hour I start drinking Hammer Perpetuem. Over the course of 6-7 hours and 100 mile I go through 6 scoops of the stuff.

I remember once eating 2 Cliff Power Builders before an OTB ride from JPL up to Inspiration Point and back. I felt like crap for the first hour until I burned off some of that food. You should have enough stored energy in your liver from your last meal to last 30 minutes.

[Waldo]

It usually takes me about 3 hours to really get up to speed. Unfortunately most of my rides are around 2-1/2 hours long.


I was feeling that dead legs feeling before my last ride. I really just wanted to go back home and crawl back in bed. So when I got to the designated meeting spot and realized that my bike actually had the cable lock attached to it and the keys were back home (long story)....well, the humiliation, self-loathing, and general sense of dorkiness as I drove home and back, knowing that my friends would be mocking me while they waited, was plenty to get me fired up to roll. No more dead legs, though a few people's ears may have died after the string of expletives I was spewing on my return!

[sdyeti]

Now you guys know the secret to women

Originally Posted by Mudman

It does take me a long time to warm up though...

[Jordansrealm]

Do you ever stretch before you ride? It helps...

[bighit8]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Now you guys know the secret to women

Ok Viagra might work!

[MTBMaven]

Originally Posted by Jordansrealm

Do you ever stretch before you ride? It helps...

I've actually read that stretching before exercise can actually be detrimental but stretching after is very important. My sports doctor confirmed the same thing. The idea is that your muscles are cold and excessive stretching can actually tear muscles. So if you're going to stretch do it lightly. If you need a deep stretch do it after you have warmed up a bit.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by dstepper

Think you are a slow starter now, wait until you get in your fiftys.

Agree, I usually warm up by Tuesday.


Seriously, most of the weakness at the start is mental. You have to adjust your mind to make the effort. Ride around to warm up and then attack a steep hill in a gear you can't make. Give 100%. Repeat if you're holding back. Now ride stronger.

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by tkblazer

i'm the same way.... i seriously take a good 1 hr or 1 1/2 hrs. to warm up... it sucks, but thats just how my body works i guess

I'm also exactly the same way. Unfortunately, by the time I'm warmed up, I'm already tired.

[CalEpic]

It's interesting to see how different people react to eating pre-ride. I need to have a big breakfast before a ride. (it helps to have at least 30 min's before). Others can't eat a lot without puking.

I know it takes me a while to get going if I don't have some caffeine in my system. Try a cup of coffee or an energy drink before your ride.

C

[queenwilhelmina]

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