Four-Week Bike Plan
October 5 to November 1, 2026 · Goal: walk farther without the walker and stop wall surfing
Where you are starting
Averages from your seven rides since surgery (September 27 to October 3). Surgery was August 12. Distance is what you actually pedalled, which is about half the route distance iFit shows.
Series order and dates
Ride each series in order, five rides a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday). The blocks alternate between distance and resistance.
| # | Series | Rides | Length | Start | Finish | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arches National Park Bike Series Hannah Eden, Paulo Barreto | 4 left of 6 | Under 1 week | Mon Oct 5 | Fri Oct 9 | Finish what you started |
| 2 | Biking Basics: New Zealand Tommy Rivs | 20 | 4 weeks | Sat Oct 10 | Fri Nov 6 | Distance |
| 3 | Washington National Parks Power & Incline Ashley Paulson | 12 | 2.5 weeks | Sat Nov 7 | Mon Nov 23 | Resistance |
| 4 | Couch to 40K, Part 1: Arizona Yuri Hauswald · 40K is about 25 miles | 12 | 2.5 weeks | Tue Nov 24 | Thu Dec 10 | Distance |
| 5 | Progressive Power Series Jen Hudak | 12 | 2.5 weeks | Fri Dec 11 | Sat Dec 26 | Resistance |
| 6 | Couch to 40K, Part 2: Utah Yuri Hauswald | 12 | 2.5 weeks | Mon Dec 28 | Tue Jan 12 | Distance |
| 7 | Tahoe Endurance Cycle Series Chris Davenport | 12 | 2.5 weeks | Thu Jan 14 | Fri Jan 29 | Distance + Resistance |
| 8 | Couch to 40K, Part 3: Iceland Yuri Hauswald | 12 | 2.5 weeks | Sat Jan 30 | Mon Feb 15 | Distance |
- Total: 96 rides, finishing February 15, 2027 if no days are missed. A missed day pushes every later date back by one riding day.
- The day's rule still applies. Whatever ride comes next in the series, Monday and Thursday are distance days, Tuesday and Friday are resistance days, and Saturday is easy.
- If a ride is shorter than the target time: keep pedaling in manual mode after it ends, or start the next ride in the series.
- Tabata or HIIT rides in Progressive Power: ride them at a steady effort instead of sprinting, or swap in an easy ride.
Ride counts come from iFit's own announcements. iFit does not publish the minutes per ride outside the app, so lengths here are in rides and weeks. Aerobic Base Builder and Switzerland Mountain are left out because their ride counts are not published.
The week
| Day | Ride | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Distance | Leave resistance where the trainer sets it. Ride to the week's target time. |
| Tue | Resistance | About 30 minutes. Bump the hard segments to the week's target level. |
| Wed | Off the bike | Physical therapy exercises only. |
| Thu | Distance | Same as Monday. |
| Fri | Resistance | Same as Tuesday. |
| Sat | Easy | 20 to 25 minutes, low resistance, pedaling faster than usual (aim for 45 rpm or more). |
| Sun | Off the bike | Physical therapy exercises only. |
Four-week progression
| Week | Dates | Distance rides | Resistance rides (hard segments) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 5–11 | 33 min | Your usual 11 to 13 |
| 2 | Oct 12–18 | 36 min | One level higher: 12 to 14 |
| 3 | Oct 19–25 | 40 min | Hold at 12 to 14 |
| 4 | Oct 26–Nov 1 | 45 min | One more level if week 3 felt manageable: 13 to 15 |
Ride checklist
Rules
- Change one thing per ride. Distance days go longer at the trainer's resistance. Resistance days stay near 30 minutes and go heavier.
- The "tolerable" rule. If the hip hurts during a ride, or is worse than normal the next morning, repeat that week instead of moving up.
- Take the two off days. Harder rides with rest between them do more than seven similar rides.
- Soreness is not the measure. Longer rides and higher resistance at the same effort are.
- Saddle comfort. Padded shorts or a gel seat cover, and shift position every 10 minutes. Two shorter rides in one day count the same as one long ride.
- Ride in the morning after baclofen when you can. Your morning rides since surgery have been your longest and fastest.
Ask your physical therapist
Your current exercises (straight leg raises, sit-to-stands, knee fallouts, marches, weighted knee extensions) are mostly front-of-thigh strength. The bike adds endurance. Neither trains standing balance or the side-of-hip muscles, which are what replace the wall when you cross a room.
Tell them the goal is to stop wall surfing, and ask whether it is time to add standing balance work.
After week 4
Around November 1, export your iFit rides again. Compare against the starting numbers at the top: the targets are 45-minute distance rides and hard segments one to two resistance levels higher.
From November 2 on, keep the same weekly pattern through the rest of the series. Hold distance rides at 45 minutes, and add one resistance level every two weeks as long as it stays tolerable.