Anyone take 3 or 4 weeks off?

[dogrange]

I had a relatively big year (for me) ~6500 miles. Now I am thinking of taking off riding until January 1, just to recharge and stuff. I'm not feeling totally burned out or anything, but I thought I might try it just to top up my motivation and get really going in january with a base period until March-ish (a la Maffetone and/or Lydiard). Comments?

[Matthew Strongin]

Outside of forced time off due to injury, I don't usually take off more than a couple weeks at a time. Any more than that and I find myself climbing the walls and wanting to ride. I also figure that life throws enough curveballs that I'll end up needing to take time off from time to time anyway so I always try to ride when I can. That's just me, though.

[hmai18]

According to Strava, my last serious ride was a race on November 20. Aside from running errands or riding down to the rock climbing gym, I'm pretty much sticking to the same plan you are; enjoy life and other fine pursuits until January. If I get the itch, I may jump on the rollers for a short session, but probably not. I'm not targeting road season, so I'm in no rush to get into base mode.

[DCT]

According to Strava, my last serious ride was a race on November 20. Aside from running errands or riding down to the rock climbing gym, I'm pretty much sticking to the same plan you are; enjoy life and other fine pursuits until January. If I get the itch, I may jump on the rollers for a short session, but probably not. I'm not targeting road season, so I'm in no rush to get into base mode.

you should cross country ski in whistler IMHO.

[mjbabcock]

Screw Whistler...there are a number of spots up above Vancouver with XC ski areas. I think some are lit at night as well...

[edoz]

Yeah, I do it every 2 or 3 weeks. You learn to say your goodbyes before the ride gets started.

[hmai18]

Screw Whistler...there are a number of spots up above Vancouver with XC ski areas. I think some are lit at night as well...

Yeah, CypressMountain is lit for night skiing, but honestly, I'm enjoying the different challenge that getting back into climbing is providing.

[DCT]

Yeah, CypressMountain is lit for night skiing, but honestly, I'm enjoying the different challenge that getting back into climbing is providing.

Downhill not XCountry right?

[UnfilteredDregs]

I've been in a funk this month. Life shit...took some time away, will probably clock in 5500/5600 by the end of the year.

[mjbabcock]

I think Cypress is lit at night, and Seymour has a nordic area as well...not sure about Grouse.

[Bewheels]

That was a good thread drift ...anyone take 3 or 4 weeks off => lighted CX ski areas in Vancouver...

I think the answer is full of "it depends". Assuming you are not running, or doing some other sport regularly, taking that length of time completely off will certainly impact your fitness. Especially because you are in not in your 20's (right there with you buddy).
If you were trying to upgrade from a cat 3 to a cat 2 next year, taking that time off isn't going to help.
If you are not racing, have a couple of young-ish kids at home and it is the holiday season, why not. You fitness will take a hit but you will enjoy the time and be full of holiday cheer.

[Todd Mosley]

I took three weeks off in January and and came back fitter. Usually I stop racing around November but I did CX nats in January since it was where I live. I took three weeks off after it and after one week back on the bike my power had improved over CX nats. So, it probably depends how fatigued you are.

[BSUdude]

Life's an experiment. You'll never know if it works for you or not until you do it. Now til Jan 1 isn't that much time off. If you go back in Jan1 - March with consistent base training, I doubt you'd see a difference in fitness at the end of that period whether or not you ride these next 3 weeks-ish. The downside is pretty big regarding motivation/burnout, the fitness upside is relatively small. 6-6500 miles is pretty good year for most of us in the 8-5 world. Don't under estimate the work you've put in. Also the mental anxiety of feeling like you need to train when you can't in the holiday period when life is pretty demanding can make you feel like you're behind...not desirable. For me I take 3-4 weeks off during this period and just do cross training as desired. By cross training I mean hiking, walking, yoga, core. Easy stuff. And as desired could be 0-3 times per week. I don't sweat it.

If you're asking the question there's likely something behind it.

[LarryA]

When I was running 2000 miles a year and racing 5K-marathon distances I used to take a month at the end of the season. Still improved year over year. I don't find riding beats me up as much and feel less need for the break. As others have said YMMV.

[mzilliox]

3-4 weeks, only during hand surgery. 10days to 2 weeks, sure, its helps both the mind and body from time to time.

[rec head]

I lose motivation at the end of each year. Between the weather and just getting fed up with the same old rides I just don't go out as often. I still ride to work (20 minutes) and run errands on my bike. My 2 cents: you should ride when you want and who cares about the rest... unless you have a goal for next year and it will suffer from the time off.

[fastupslowdown]

if anything getting in a ride on a cold day exhilarates me, as long as its the roads and weather are otherwise good. fewer cyclists out, makes me feel as if I'm rising to a challenge.

[dogrange]

That was a good thread drift ...anyone take 3 or 4 weeks off => lighted CX ski areas in Vancouver...

I think the answer is full of "it depends". Assuming you are not running, or doing some other sport regularly, taking that length of time completely off will certainly impact your fitness. Especially because you are in not in your 20's (right there with you buddy).
If you were trying to upgrade from a cat 3 to a cat 2 next year, taking that time off isn't going to help.
If you are not racing, have a couple of young-ish kids at home and it is the holiday season, why not. You fitness will take a hit but you will enjoy the time and be full of holiday cheer.

You saying I'm old?!!?? Truth hurts, ha ha! Not trying to upgrade from nothing to nothing +1, so I should be fine. I'll not be doing any "endurance" sports beyond walking, but I'll continue my gym antics in the meantime (mostly strength calisthenics stuff).

One thing behind this is that I spent May-October on what I think is a pretty typical ass-buster endurance plan (i.e., lots of zone 2-4, supposedly with adequate rest, ramp up from 6 to about 14 hours per week), and I have an intuition (fed by dangerous internet reading) that even the easy workouts on that plan were too hard to allow real recovery. I have this feeling that the main benefit I saw was just riding progressively more hours (from ~6 up to about 14 at peak weeks). I'll take my 2-3 weeks off and see if I can stand hours/weeks of keeping it easy, mentally-speaking.

[Tamu8104]

I normally take 1-2 week breaks about twice a year. I also run and ride so I will take longer breaks from each during the year but not both at the same time. For example I took last January off from running and did very low bike mileage at another point of the year with more running. Helps to keep things fresh mentally and physically. Like others have said, unless I'm on vacation, I'm typically climbing the walls if I don't do something for more than 7-10 days.

[robin3mj]

Not being a racer (anymore, for now) I don't have any seasonal need to be at peak versus taking breaks, so I just usually rely on the vagaries of real life dictating when I am off the bike for a material period of time. Kids' births, crazy periods at work, a vacation on which cycling isn't really feasible etc.

These usually add up to a few 2+ week periods off the bike each year.