I went on my first bike ride of the year on Saturday, my fitness was so low it felt like starting all over again, but I’ll enjoy the journey

Adam Becket

News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com - should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.

I went on my first bike ride of the year on Saturday. It wasn’t particularly exciting, an hour-long attempt to see where my fitness is at, and to start some kind of recovery back to the cyclist I was before the flu hit me over Christmas. I rode almost 5000km last year, and saw myself as a proper cyclist. Only in December I completed my first Audax, and thought I was about to enter a whole new era of long distance riding.

However, my 2024 ended with some unplanned time off the bike, followed by more of the same due to the flu, which I wouldn’t recommend. The worst of it is over, and I am basically getting there, but my lungs still have some way to go, and any sort of heart rate elevation still feels like an assult.

The worst bit about it all though, beyond feeling rubbish for three weeks, has been that it has felt like my cycling ability is back to zero. This might not be strictly true, as I’m sure I have a base of fitness somewhere, but it feels like it, especially in my head. Getting kitted out in all my gear felt like a start, as did pedalling slowly - by my standards - for an hour, but it also depressed me, made me feel like I have a big mountain to climb.

However, I can take some joy in the small moments. The return to the saddle felt like a big achievement, as did just enjoying the pedals turning again. It might have been cold, and it is a bleak January, but I felt a huge sense of accomplishment from just getting out, even for that short while. I should try and be proud that I’ve done anything at all, instead, I find myself overthinking the high heart rate from not a lot of effort, and being too critical of how little cycling I’ve done so far this year. I should stop that, now: we all have to start somewhere, and this is where it happens to be for me.

I also really appreciated just being outside, and experiencing the things we love about cycling - the speed, the adventure, the thrill of being free under your own steam - and this is what I need to focus on more as I slowly get back into riding.

I’ve run more than cycled this year, which seems rather insane, but that’s the reality of a cold January, and the ease of running over cycling, especially in the dark. Again, I shouldn’t be too critical of this, and instead see it as me getting back to fitness. It all counts, even if it’s more the general cardio I’m working on.

It is over two months until I ride the Tour of Flanders sportive - 144km is looking very optimistic right now - but that’s more than enough time to get into some sort of shape and to feel like myself on the bike again. There’s little pressure on speed or being the best, and I would like to just enjoy myself. If this all feels like I’m trying to talk myself into a positive mindset, that’s probably because I am. 2025 will be the year of being kind to myself, and of positive reinforcement. Hey, that 23km ride I did? That was impressive. Here’s to the next one, and the next one. Before I know it, everything will be good again.

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If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com, or comment below.