Riding Rut Syndrome: Make it stop!

In cycling, as in life in general, there are ruts (not so good) and there are grooves (very good). Cycling ruts happen when we ride the same route too often.

Grooves, on the other hand, happen when we are clicking along with a nice mix of routes, with different, interesting conditions. When we’re cruising on a riding roll, some of the rides are short, some long, some have a lot of climbing, some with a lot of flats, some have both.

I definitely fall victim to rut riding on occasion, and if I’m not mixing it up as well as I should, I think about what I can do to make it stop! But sometimes it’s unavoidable. Our schedule may be too full to allow the extra time it takes to drive to and from different rides. Cold weather can be another rut inducer. But when it really can’t be helped, a good thing to do is work within the framework of the rides we are able do. Even if they’ve become too much of the same, and are in danger of getting, uh, boring and too predictable, there are cures.

I have a phenomenal bike path near my home that goes for many miles. It offers a convenient opportunity to get time in the saddle when the cold or wet weather in higher elevations or closer to the coast keeps me off routes in those areas. But when I need to break out of the bike trail habit, I look to go on different routes, if at all possible.

I just got a chance to do just that on a 25-mile ride in the Sierra foothills around Placerville. It has about 3,000 feet of climbing and some great descents. I’ve done the ride many times in good weather, and it’s a fun one. But this time, I knew it would be icy and cold with snow on the side. Plus I was pushed for time. I would have to drive about 50 minutes to get there, do the ride, then hurry up to drive back to get to my next scheduled thing to do. But I always have a good time riding with my buddies, cracking wise and trying out my latest jokes.  So I was torn. Should I stay, or should I go?

I decided the crush for time, the driving required and the sure to be icy cold ride, trumped the camaraderie. So I passed. One buddy who did the ride later confirmed that, no, it wasn’t a fun ride. It was really cold, he said. There was slush on the road, black ice in spots, and enough traffic to make it really not so fun. So, OK, I was glad I passed on it.

So it turned out to be good that I sized up the pros and cons of the ride. Sometimes, the best thing to do is not to ride, even though a voice inside says, “Just go.” 
But even though I felt the self-induced pressure to break out of my route rut, I begged off. The ride just didn’t look like it would be much fun. After adding everything up, saying no was a no brainer.

Meanwhile, I’ve still been left to figure out how to keep from the quicksand feeling of riding rut syndrome. And I’ve come up with something that works pretty well on my 51 and 33-mile keep-in-shape rides, which are mainly flat with some rollers and minimal climbing.

I do regular Yoga and Pilates classes to keep flexibility and a strong core, and my instructor Cindy always tells us that we come to each class with a differently functioning body. Very true, but easy to not really notice. For some classes I feel more flexible and energetic than usual. Other times I feel stiff and low energy. Or I'll feel somewhere in the middle.

Same on the bike. Every ride the body performs a little differently, depending how much sleep we’ve had, how well we’ve eaten, or not, if we’re dehydrated, or not, etc. We can have fresh legs, and lots of energy. Or the legs can feel heavy, while we have varying levels of energy. We can feel stiff in the back and neck. Or not. So to keep out of riding rut syndrome, I take inventory of how the body feels on each ride, then adjust my riding to make the most of it.

If I feel strong, I ride hard. If I don’t, I just ride to the upper limit of my energy for that day. Either way is OK since it’s time in the saddle that maintains riding strength. So if I’m dragging and my speed is below average, I don’t worry about it. I slog it out, and just pedal to push my energy level without burning out. Just like fast rides, slow rides do build overall stamina. We just tend to notice it more when we’re flying along with high energy and having a great time.

So even on rides where our legs are heavy, or headwinds are slowing us more than we’d like, just think of it as the heavy lifting that pays off with a strong base of riding power.

Hopefully, this can keep riding rut syndrome at bay and cultivate a riding groove while we weave around weather, work schedules or other obstacles. Give it a shot, see if it works for you!

Til next time, remember to always put on a helmet before you get on the bike. And after that? Do everything possible to keep the rubber side down.

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelfHis blog of personal essays is at: http://marksmuzings.blogspot.com/