Social ride
Social ride
With no specific training goals other than to enjoy the ride and not going too hard, a recovery ride is the perfect opportunity to head out with friends and family.
A recovery ride allows riders of different abilities to pedal together without anyone losing touch with the group or feeling like they are holding others back. Quite of few of the riders I coach have girlfriends/wives/husbands/friends etc that also enjoy cycling on a recreational basis, so it’s the perfect chance to get out an ride together with people that you wouldn’t normally be able to do a hard session with.
On the flip side, it may give you the chance to head out with a rider who may normally be stronger than you, which is a great opportunity to pick their brains for training tips.
A recovery ride is also the perfect opportunity to partake in the favourite pastime of most cyclists – drinking coffee! Instead of a slow, boring ride, a recovery ride can actually be an enjoyable and sociable ride with friends to your favourite café. This not only gives your body a break from the hard training sessions but also gives you a reward for all those intervals sessions on the turbo. Recovery rides can refresh you as much mentally as physically.