{"id":202638,"date":"2025-09-24T10:42:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T10:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=202638"},"modified":"2025-09-24T11:21:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:21:04","slug":"the-five-stages-of-realizing-summer-legs-are-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/09\/24\/the-five-stages-of-realizing-summer-legs-are-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five Stages of Realizing Summer Legs Are Gone"},"content":{"rendered":"

You clip in on a crisp September morning, still high on memories of July watts and suntanned smugness. You tell yourself the legs are still there. They\u2019re just a little \u201crested.\u201d A little \u201crecalibrated.\u201d You roll out. And by kilometre 12, you know.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They\u2019re gone.<\/p>\n

Here begins the emotional journey every rider must face: the five stages of realising your glorious, sun-fuelled summer legs have packed up, moved out, and left you with early-autumn mediocrity.<\/p>\n

Stage one: Denial<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not the legs. It\u2019s the wind. Or your tyre pressure.<\/a> Or the weird hummus you had yesterday.
\nYou tell yourself it\u2019s just a one-off bad day.<\/p>\n

You glance at your average speed and laugh nervously.
\nYou convince yourself you\u2019re \u201csaving energy for later\u201d as you get dropped by the group\u2019s least-threatening member \u2014 the one who usually brings banana bread.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re fine. Everything\u2019s fine.
\nIt\u2019s not<\/em> your legs. They just need five more minutes.<\/p>\n

They will not bounce back.<\/p>\n

\n
\"how-to-convince-yourself-that-base-training-is-fun-again\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Explore & Travel<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

How to Convince Yourself That Base Training Is Fun (Again)<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

Stage two: Anger<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You hit the first hill and your quads respond like overcooked spaghetti.
\nYou\u2019re seated. Then you\u2019re standing. Then you\u2019re spiralling.<\/p>\n

Why am I like this?
\nWhere did it all go? I was flying last month! I was KOM-ing things!<\/p>\n

You start cursing your summer self for being so smug. You blame the weather, your job, your friends, sleep, pollen levels, Mercury in retrograde, and whoever invented September. You chew a gel aggressively and get zero results.<\/p>\n

Stage three: Bargaining<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You tell yourself: one good week of training and it\u2019ll all come back.
\nMaybe a few intervals. A couple of hill reps. A juice cleanse. A new recovery supplement.
\nMaybe new socks? New socks might fix this.<\/p>\n

You Google \u201chow long does it take to regain fitness\u201d while eating half a packet of ginger biscuits in your kit.<\/p>\n

You promise to take your training seriously this time.
\nYou download five new apps. You write a plan.
\nYou ride once and immediately need a nap.<\/p>\n

Stage four: Despair<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is who you are now.<\/p>\n

You are a middle-of-the-pack, barely-hitting-zone-three, bottom-of-the-leaderboard husk of the rider you were in July. Your tan lines are fading. Your bibs feel a little tighter. Your legs are silent, your lungs are loud, and your bike is judging you.<\/p>\n

You get passed on a climb by someone smiling. Smiling. You go home. You lie on the floor. You stare at the ceiling and wonder if Zwift<\/a> is the answer. Or maybe badminton.<\/p>\n

Stage five: Acceptance<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Eventually, you accept it.<\/p>\n

The summer legs were beautiful. Glorious. But temporary. They were born of long days, short sleeves, iced coffee and a reckless disregard for structured training. They gave you speed and joy and unjustified confidence.<\/p>\n

But now it\u2019s September. Now it\u2019s layers and drizzle and slow cadence soul work. Now it\u2019s base miles. It\u2019s rebuilding. It\u2019s humbling.<\/p>\n

You nod. You zip up your jacket. You pack an extra snack. And you ride. Slower, maybe. But still riding.<\/p>\n

Because the legs will come back.
\nJust in time for next summer. Or at least June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You clip in on a crisp September morning, still high on memories of July watts and suntanned smugness. You tell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":190801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[332,334],"tags":[2356,3305,8687],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-202638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-training","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-autumn-cycling","tag-cycling-training","tag-summer-legs","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Five Stages of Realizing Summer Legs Are Gone - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You clip in on a crisp September morning, still high on memories of July watts and suntanned smugness. You tell yourself the legs are still there. 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