Yesterday was my first ride outside of 2026.

To be honest, I was a little nervous.

I’ve recently been ill with shingles and haven’t been able to train much over the past month.

So I had no idea how the legs were going to respond.

But despite the cold, the sun was out.

And it was too good of a day to miss.

Plus, it was a great excuse to get out and ride with my mates again.

From the very start, my legs felt heavy.

You know that feeling when the pedals just don’t want to turn the way they normally do?

That was me.

But as the ride went on, something interesting happened…

My legs slowly started to come around.

Not perfect.

Not flying.

But better.

We hit some of my favourite climbs in Kent — Cudham, Toys and Ide.

Normally I’d do them all without thinking.

But this time I made a different decision.

I skipped Ide.

Old me would probably have pushed through just to prove I could do it.

But after being ill, I knew the smarter move was to hold back slightly rather than dig a hole I’d struggle to get out of.

And it turned out to be the right call.

I finished the ride feeling good.

More importantly, I wasn’t wiped out for the rest of the day.

Now I’ve got about four weeks until my trip to Mallorca.

Which means there’s still plenty of time to build some conditioning miles and get the legs ready for what should be an amazing week of riding.

But this ride was a good reminder of something many cyclists over 40 forget…

Progress isn’t about smashing every ride.

Sometimes the smartest training decision is knowing when to hold back.

That’s how you stay consistent.

That’s how you avoid burnout.

And that’s how you actually arrive at your big riding goals feeling strong instead of exhausted.

If you’re a cyclist over 40 trying to balance training with work, recovery, and life…

Structured training — and knowing when to push vs when to ease off — makes a huge difference.

It’s exactly what I help riders figure out inside my coaching.

If you’d like to learn more about how I help cyclists over 40 lose weight, get stronger and climb faster…

Just click the link here to learn more.

Speak soon,

Neil