Glass Cranks. Pro Slow. These are two terms that I frequently use to describe a recovery ride and how to do one. The topic of recovery came up recently with one of my athletes when I was looking at his data from a prescribed recovery spin and saw that his numbers were quite a bit north of what I would define as a proper recovery ride.

I have found over the years that a lot of riders, particularly newer ones or riders in the mid-categories, don’t really grasp the concept of how to properly do a recovery ride. Ego, peer pressure, inaccurate assessment of perceived effort, all contribute to going too hard on an active recovery ride. What happens next is that because their easy days weren’t easy enough their hard days aren’t going to be hard enough because they haven’t recovered. Soon enough, those riders find themselves on a plateau and the improvement grinds to a halt.

A proper recovery ride requires discipline. I would even go so far to say that it requires more discipline than a “hard” day. When you go for a recovery ride it should be really easy. Embarrassingly easy. So easy that the fully laden bike commuter on their city bike will drop you. It’s ok. Let go of the ego and remember that you have a bigger objective than beating the guy in the floppy neon jacket, helmet mirror and dining room chair upright position to the next intersection. Pretend that your cranks are made of glass and if you press down too hard on them they will shatter underneath you.

Active Recovery Rides (what we are talking about) are very important. They help to flush your system of built-up waste products, keep your body in the rhythm of riding and help your muscles be loose and supple. Even a brief 20 minute spin on rollers or a trainer followed by some stretching, foam roller, etc is, IMO, better than doing nothing. Just make sure that the effort is easy.

I’ll close with a few words of wisdom from my friends at Gym Jones : Training = Work + Rest. Don’t do the work if you don’t have the balls to rest.