Thank you for being so honest with this video. I've been struggling to get back into a grove since a bereavement last year (2022), and this is the most inspiring and useful advice I've seen about getting back to fitness. Here's to more miles (and kilometres) and smiles in 2024.
Glad you’re back Chris. As always, love the video. Your openness and honesty always makes the advice you give so much more relevant and relatable than some content providers.
100%. I use my e-mtb to get into the hills without the intensity (I think of it as a mental reset ride and make it fun). When I am carrying good form and hit the hills on the roadie i find when i get back on the flats my legs seem to have more torque and i can keep on top of the bigger gears ( I find hitting the gym gives similar results). You're not alone, this winter i hit a trifecta with injuries that put a stop to riding in any form and no gym, mental health suffered a bit. 1.5 of the problems now resolved and I'm back on the bike 🎉. What I'm basically saying is you're not alone and WELCOME BACK 👊 Great news on the booze, it's a tough nut to crack 👏
Thank you! And thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences too. Hope you manage to solve the remaining problems and things are back to normal for you. Good to hear you're back on the bike!! 🚴
insightful talk Chris, smashing the MTB along the coast trails can't be beat for sorting out the headspace! good luck with the gravity focused stuff, a nice chilled vibe rather than super competitive road racing - fingers crossed for those 1000W efforts- good to see you back
Good to hear your thoughts on recovering. I dislocated my left shoulder in a gravel race in April and two weeks later, broke my right clavicle in a road race. Those injuries, along with an impending move to another country, sapped my fitness and my morale. Now that I'm healed up and settled in, I'm making major strides in getting back to where I was. It's actually coming back quicker than I expected. Also, 1000 watts for a minute? Sounds like a good sprinter goal.
Hope your collar bone has recovered well and the move has gone well too. That's enough to have going on!!... Good luck with your continued progress back to fitness. Haha, yes it's a good goal. Will be interesting to see if it's achievable.
Hi from perth Australia. Great to see you back. Im not a competitive cyclist but still trying to get motivated to ride more. Watching your vids always inspires me, so thank you for that. And definitely it’s about the love of riding. My favourite thing is riding with my 8 year old daughter. I just love watching her skills develop. As always keep up the great work 👍🏼👍🏼
Great video...just finished the Rebellion way in Norfolk UK...not too difficult but with the cold and wet weather it really was a challenge at times....sometimes you just need a good rest...at 58 years old I do need that extra recovery..😎
CHRIS…always enjoy your well considered content. Often soul seeking and very honest reflections and analysis…One thing though-first thing ANYONE needs to address is their diet. Whilst all the things covered in this video are important,first thing really needs to be how we fuel our tank. If we are slowly poisoning ourselves with foods our body is not evolved to deal with,then no amount of training,rest or recovery will ,over time as we get older especially( when young most body’s can get by on anything) bring us to better health. Don’t know if you remember I suggested looking at the work of Dr Sarah Myhill..but the simple fact does seem from much research and study that the single most harm we are doing to ourselves is ingesting sugar and carbohydrates,mostly in an addictive way! For myself,after over 40 years being vegetarian am moving towards very low carb carnivore😮
You're absolutely right about diet! I think only seeing life through my perspective and not pausing to consider others may not eat in the same way I have missed this insight. But it's well worth remembering!! Thank you.
One thing I remind myself when I struggle to get motivated to go out on the bike is that I never regret it. Sometimes it's type 2 fun but I never regret it.
A well times video Chris.I've been contemplating where to go next after a few illnesses and would prefer to avoid my tendency to push forward without enough rest Good luck for the next few months :)
This is me right now. I trained for an endurance race last year, aiming for a race this summer. It's not the Trans Pyrenees (great video! ), but something similar. I did lots of training and felt good. I completed the event and was happy with my performance. Afterwards, I never felt the urge to go back into heavy training mode. About two weeks after my race, I did a 300km Audax with a friend who was training for the Trans Pyrenees and went hard. It was the first time I really did not want to do a ride, and I mean I really did not want to, but I had agreed to help him train. He was on the rise, while I was in the post-race blues phase. I spent 7 hours at threshold! Then, I got COVID! It completely floored me; I think my body had nothing left to fight with. Now after 2 months of nothing I have started to do CrossFit and re-evaluate what I want my fitness to look like. Today, I went on Zwift for the first time in months, and yeah, I'm no longer in my hard-fought cat B - but that's fine, I'll take it slow. It's good to hear that it's not just me and it's not just old age (mid-40s). I think I need to start enjoying riding a bike again, without constantly looking at power numbers and data. I do have a race in mind for 2024 but not sure if I can actually physically do it. Time will tell. Have watched you for years and really enjoy your content.
Sorry to hear if your struggles after the event. I think it is perfectly normal when there isn't another large event on the horizon. Good luck with your journey back to fitness and exploring new paths to what fitness is.
In my experience E-Bikes are brilliant for keeping you riding and even you getting back to riding "normal" bikes. When I first got rheumatoid arthritis I'd all but given up trying to ride, untill my wife persuaded me to get an e-bike. After about a year I was able to get back to riding non e-bikes. I still have the RA but I'm now still riding un-assisted 5 years later. The E-bike made that possible.
This is such a great supporting argument for ebikes. They really are so good at getting people out when it perhaps wasn't possible. Hope you continue to enjoy the bikes and manage your RA
Hi Chris hope you are doing well now :) IMHO this is also the unfortunate thing of getting "older". Im 52 now, but there is a notable decline in how my body reacts vs when i was younger. My muscles takes longer to heat up and i cant push as hard as i did before or my Garmin will scream at me "Too hard..slow down!!" My mind wants to, but my body cant keep up :( damn...sucks getting older...
@@chrisopie87 thx Chris :) I try to be more focused on the enjoyment of the ride/work out session like today i did almost 27 km cross country skiing in beautiful weather and lots of snow :)
I’ll be 1 year alcohol free in a couple of weeks, well done on reaching the second!
Congratulations!! Keep going, it only gets better.
Thank you for being so honest with this video. I've been struggling to get back into a grove since a bereavement last year (2022), and this is the most inspiring and useful advice I've seen about getting back to fitness.
Here's to more miles (and kilometres) and smiles in 2024.
Glad you’re back Chris. As always, love the video. Your openness and honesty always makes the advice you give so much more relevant and relatable than some content providers.
Thank you. I very much appreciate this!
100%. I use my e-mtb to get into the hills without the intensity (I think of it as a mental reset ride and make it fun).
When I am carrying good form and hit the hills on the roadie i find when i get back on the flats my legs seem to have more torque and i can keep on top of the bigger gears ( I find hitting the gym gives similar results).
You're not alone, this winter i hit a trifecta with injuries that put a stop to riding in any form and no gym, mental health suffered a bit. 1.5 of the problems now resolved and I'm back on the bike 🎉.
What I'm basically saying is you're not alone and WELCOME BACK 👊
Great news on the booze, it's a tough nut to crack 👏
Thank you! And thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences too.
Hope you manage to solve the remaining problems and things are back to normal for you. Good to hear you're back on the bike!! 🚴
insightful talk Chris, smashing the MTB along the coast trails can't be beat for sorting out the headspace! good luck with the gravity focused stuff, a nice chilled vibe rather than super competitive road racing - fingers crossed for those 1000W efforts- good to see you back
Thank you!! Very much enjoying the coastal rides, need to do a few more!!
Really insightful Chris. Love hearing about and learning from your experiences. Lessons for us all here. ❤
Thank you for the video! Broke my clavicle one month ago from a gravel race and now on the road to recovery so this is definitely helpful!
Wishing you a quick and full recovery!! Hope it's not long until you're back out.
Good to hear your thoughts on recovering. I dislocated my left shoulder in a gravel race in April and two weeks later, broke my right clavicle in a road race. Those injuries, along with an impending move to another country, sapped my fitness and my morale. Now that I'm healed up and settled in, I'm making major strides in getting back to where I was. It's actually coming back quicker than I expected. Also, 1000 watts for a minute? Sounds like a good sprinter goal.
Hope your collar bone has recovered well and the move has gone well too. That's enough to have going on!!... Good luck with your continued progress back to fitness.
Haha, yes it's a good goal. Will be interesting to see if it's achievable.
Hi from perth Australia. Great to see you back. Im not a competitive cyclist but still trying to get motivated to ride more. Watching your vids always inspires me, so thank you for that.
And definitely it’s about the love of riding. My favourite thing is riding with my 8 year old daughter. I just love watching her skills develop.
As always keep up the great work 👍🏼👍🏼
Thank you!! Hope the better weather is soon going to help and your daughter enjoys the rides too. It's a great age to discover bikes!
Great video...just finished the Rebellion way in Norfolk UK...not too difficult but with the cold and wet weather it really was a challenge at times....sometimes you just need a good rest...at 58 years old I do need that extra recovery..😎
Thank you! That looks like a brilliant ride, even in this weather 😅
Good to see you back, that was an interesting vid 👍
Thank you!!
Welcome back Chris! Was wondering why you haven't posted in awhile. Glad to hear about your recovery. Ride safe!
Thank you!! Good to be back😅 looking forward to a little more regular uploads again.
CHRIS…always enjoy your well considered content. Often soul seeking and very honest reflections and analysis…One thing though-first thing ANYONE needs to address is their diet. Whilst all the things covered in this video are important,first thing really needs to be how we fuel our tank. If we are slowly poisoning ourselves with foods our body is not evolved to deal with,then no amount of training,rest or recovery will ,over time as we get older especially( when young most body’s can get by on anything) bring us to better health. Don’t know if you remember I suggested looking at the work of Dr Sarah Myhill..but the simple fact does seem from much research and study that the single most harm we are doing to ourselves is ingesting sugar and carbohydrates,mostly in an addictive way! For myself,after over 40 years being vegetarian am moving towards very low carb carnivore😮
You're absolutely right about diet! I think only seeing life through my perspective and not pausing to consider others may not eat in the same way I have missed this insight. But it's well worth remembering!! Thank you.
Good to see you, Chris, and thanks for sharing some sound thoughtful advice
Thank you!!
One thing I remind myself when I struggle to get motivated to go out on the bike is that I never regret it. Sometimes it's type 2 fun but I never regret it.
This is so true!! 😊🚴
Great to see you back Chris..hope you are back to full fitness 👍🏻
Thank you! Getting there 😅
Looking fresh so what you have done is working for you.
Haha, thank you. Good lighting 🤣🤣
I needed this video been in a bit of a depression pit and got a chest infection... Looking forward to the commute to work on the bike
Hope you're doing ok and recovering well.
Yeah I'm back to normal now thank you
Great video Chris. I have a few big goals next year and just started planning out a schedule 👍
Thank you! Wishing you all the best with your goals!! 🦾
A well times video Chris.I've been contemplating where to go next after a few illnesses and would prefer to avoid my tendency to push forward without enough rest Good luck for the next few months :)
Thank you. Rest definitely helps!! Good luck with your recovery.
+1 for ebikes. Use mine for 60 mile round trip commute - can keep HR in Zone 1 the whole way. Avoids commute junk miles.
This is me right now. I trained for an endurance race last year, aiming for a race this summer. It's not the Trans Pyrenees (great video! ), but something similar. I did lots of training and felt good. I completed the event and was happy with my performance. Afterwards, I never felt the urge to go back into heavy training mode. About two weeks after my race, I did a 300km Audax with a friend who was training for the Trans Pyrenees and went hard. It was the first time I really did not want to do a ride, and I mean I really did not want to, but I had agreed to help him train. He was on the rise, while I was in the post-race blues phase. I spent 7 hours at threshold! Then, I got COVID! It completely floored me; I think my body had nothing left to fight with. Now after 2 months of nothing I have started to do CrossFit and re-evaluate what I want my fitness to look like. Today, I went on Zwift for the first time in months, and yeah, I'm no longer in my hard-fought cat B - but that's fine, I'll take it slow.
It's good to hear that it's not just me and it's not just old age (mid-40s). I think I need to start enjoying riding a bike again, without constantly looking at power numbers and data. I do have a race in mind for 2024 but not sure if I can actually physically do it. Time will tell.
Have watched you for years and really enjoy your content.
Sorry to hear if your struggles after the event. I think it is perfectly normal when there isn't another large event on the horizon.
Good luck with your journey back to fitness and exploring new paths to what fitness is.
The GOAT!
Welcome back Chris. You have a message on Messenger waiting for you. 😊
Thank you. Facebook messenger?
@@chrisopie87 Yes 👍
In my experience E-Bikes are brilliant for keeping you riding and even you getting back to riding "normal" bikes. When I first got rheumatoid arthritis I'd all but given up trying to ride, untill my wife persuaded me to get an e-bike. After about a year I was able to get back to riding non e-bikes. I still have the RA but I'm now still riding un-assisted 5 years later. The E-bike made that possible.
This is such a great supporting argument for ebikes. They really are so good at getting people out when it perhaps wasn't possible.
Hope you continue to enjoy the bikes and manage your RA
Hi Chris hope you are doing well now :)
IMHO this is also the unfortunate thing of getting "older". Im 52 now, but there is a notable decline in how my body reacts vs when i was younger. My muscles takes longer to heat up and i cant push as hard as i did before or my Garmin will scream at me "Too hard..slow down!!"
My mind wants to, but my body cant keep up :(
damn...sucks getting older...
Thank you Bob! This is something I've been told as well 😅. It will catch us all at differing rates . Hope you are keeping well!
@@chrisopie87 thx Chris :)
I try to be more focused on the enjoyment of the ride/work out session like today i did almost 27 km cross country skiing in beautiful weather and lots of snow :)
Oh wow!! That sounds stunning. I'd love to try that one day.
@@chrisopie87 😀
As you get older you will take longer to get back to normal, this shoulder surgery is a year because I didn’t do what I should’ve a few years back
Hope the shoulder is recovered now. I'm not ready for ageing 😅
It felt a long 76 days ;-)
😅🤣too kind!
Im a hater #savechicg #yourpollutibg #notfinny #etcancellwd #mroopiw😊
My bikes are my weights, because I can't carry more than that 😎
😅hard to argue with this reasoning
Congrats on the 2 years buddy, premature I know but its as good as done anyway.
Next: zwift racing!!!!! It's the way to get your kw minute 😅.
Thank you Carl!! Haha, yes. It's still an option 😅you can keep working on this one!