Bike rides possibly resuming from May 11: what if it was time to take a break?

As paradoxical as it may seem, and as the gradual lifting of lockdown approaches, it may be time to take a short break from training. Explanations.

By Guillaume Judas – Photo: Pxhere.com

Yes, you’re not dreaming. After advising you on indoor trainer sessions as a substitute for lack of training at the beginning of this very particular period, after extolling the merits of home workouts to maintain physical condition or even to improve certain weaknesses, but also after alerting you to the precautions to take regarding the intensity of sessions during this pandemic period, we are going to discuss the idea of taking a break from training just before that famous May 11th, the day we should be able to ride on the road again.

There are several reasons for this, starting with the mental and physical energy required to string together indoor trainer sessions, especially for those – many, we know! – who haven’t been reasonable. Initially, Zwift sessions, multi-person meetups, virtual competitions, or workouts (with the goal of developing FTP or MAP) motivated you. But maintaining or trying to improve your condition when you have no visibility on a probable return date or a calendar of events or competitions quickly becomes demoralizing. Especially since the energy left in the dining room or garage is not inexhaustible. Indoor training conditions are never the same as outdoors, especially in terms of sweating. Excessive efforts in a confined environment cause dehydration, loss of mineral salts, and consequently strong cardiac demands that are not without risk, at least concerning accumulated fatigue.

The same applies to those who managed to ride a little outdoors, either by respecting government guidelines (1 hour maximum within a 1 km radius of home) or by defying prohibitions. But in any case, we can neither speak of truly beneficial training, nor of the well-being and escape that we all seek when practicing an outdoor endurance sport.

The hardest part is yet to come

However, beyond this famous May 11th, which should signal a certain form of liberation for all caged athletes, you shouldn’t imagine that on the one hand you will necessarily immediately benefit from these two months of indoor labor, and on the other hand that this is the end of your difficulties. Since this gradual lifting of lockdown requires individual practice, you will have to be doubly strong: first to accept to go out and ride alone when you see cycling as a social interest (seeing, chatting with friends on the bike, sprinting to town signs or battling it out on climbs, that’s not for right now…), and secondly because you will have to (re)learn to ride in the wind, without shelter and without relays. No more rides at 35 km/h average in the imaginary world of Zwift!

Moreover, it is still far too early to have any visibility on the rest of the calendar. Competitors have no restart date, except for the – still provisional – one for the Tour de France, starting on August 29th. But until then, authorities have banned all sporting events before mid-summer, and especially those that could gather more than 5000 people. All this while awaiting the evolution of the pandemic, of course. Many events are canceled or postponed to unknown dates, which leaves uncertainty about the possible resumption of classic competitions, whether we are talking about cycling or triathlon. And in the event of a late resumption, the FFC has evoked the idea of a calendar that could focus on the last months of the year, with road competitions until November.

Other uncertainties weigh on amateur athletes, especially those planning to spend their holidays climbing passes in the Alps or Pyrenees. The travel restrictions currently in place for the lifting of lockdown prohibit long journeys.

So, what’s the point? Resuming on May 11th with a possible return to normal activity in August is a bit like being at the beginning of December to prepare for a new season. This time with the absence of temptation to abuse counterproductive sessions like some group sessions.

The work done this winter and during this lockdown period is not lost. But if the sports season is to extend until the end of autumn, if you plan to take advantage of the Indian summer to escape on routes usually accessible in summer, you will need desire and energy. A short break of a few days now, just before resuming a good base on the road from May 11th, is far from superfluous. Release the pressure and prepare to experience a season that will inevitably be exceptional given the very particular situation we are experiencing.

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