Mountain Biking - Dudes. I'm seeeeeriously lacking in the motivation dept right now.

Here's the dealio: Got me a kick-A bike, nice gear, weather's good. After completely not skiing enough this winter, I was looking forward to riding my scrawny white butt off as soon as spring hit, so in the eyes-too-big-for-my-stomach tradition, I picked a race in July and wrote up a pretty decent training plan.

And that is where it all came to a screeching halt. I have zero motivation, and I don't know how to get it back. Every time I'm on the bike, which isn't that much right now, maybe like 2ce a week, I start thinking about how much I have failed in my training plan. Maybe this post goes in the training section, I don't know. Anyway, if I take any more "time off" to like re-frikkin-coop, I might as well just quit riding altogether.

Help a bro out. How do you stay motivated?

It seems like you might be overthinking it.

Just ride and have fun. And lay off the weed for a while

When this happens the only thing that works for me is to get into a nice group ride with as many friends as possible. That always reminds me of why I love the sport so much. I spend quite a bit of time training so it's nice to get out and just ride and have fun on occasion.

Ya, maybe I am just overthinking it.

Go freeriding. Whenever I lose motivation to do intense road bike sessions, I take the mountain bike up to the hill and rip some stunts. It's such a totally different type of riding that I find it refreshes me on the idea of riding in general. You need to mix fun in with your serious training or riding your bike will start to seem like drudgery.

I know the feeling :(

It seems like you might be overthinking it.

Just ride and have fun. And lay off the weed for a whileDon't blame it on the Herb , some people are just lazy when it comes to training .

It seems that whenever I start to work on a goal like that, I get bored with it too. I was trying to boost my time climbing a certain section. I rode it every day and the results were minimal. I decided to lay off for a while and ride other trails. I came back several weeks later and I had boosted my performance a ton by enjoying other trails. I ended up riding harder 'cause I was having more fun.

I get that way with the weight weenie stuff now and then, too. I try to drop grams here and there and I get pissed 'cause it costs so much to make the bike light. So then I throw on my XT/Rhyno lite's that are pretty dang heavy, and ride a few times down some stairs or jumps. When I go back to my light wheels, riding the XC trail, I'm very happy with it.

It's great to have goals and all; racing is really fun. But doing stunts is where the real fun is at in my opinion. I started out this year with a detailed plan to have me peaking for midsummer races, but then I bought an STP. I don't regret it.

When it hits me like that I go back to having fun. If the racing starts to get me bogged down, I hit the trails and just take the pressure off to get back into the fun of it. Doing it with my friend makes all the difference.

some people are just lazy when it comes to training .
there's the problem. Don't see it as "training", just see it as riding and enjoying. "Training" always makes me hate riding.

When it hits me like that I go back to having fun. If the racing starts to get me bogged down, I hit the trails and just take the pressure off to get back into the fun of it. Doing it with my friend makes all the difference.

What he said. Get with some buds and just ride.

For real... dont fall into this traditional american hoopla.
Dont look at it as "training" or a "work-out-to-get-fatster"
Do it for the love man!
THE LOVE!

I was thinking about this after I got off work, and was riding home.

If your getting bored with riding, then mabye you need to switch up a bit. Set the mountian bike down for a while. Try out road biking, or something else. Perhaps a little more techinical like trials.
There isnt anything wrong with switching up your style of riding since your feeling drained with mountian. I had a phaze like this a few years back, where mountian just took a dive. So, I switched up and bought a entry level road bike that was on sale; a Specialized Allez. I out the mountian bike down for a while, and fell in love with road. I rode a roadie for a long time, then slowley got back into XC.
After riding road, when I jumped back on my XC bike, I found that I had gotten A LOT faster, more stamina, and was just an overall stronger rider with those distance rides.
Trials is a great style for any rider to learn. The time needed to put into this is mind blowing, and majority of people find they dont want to try anymore; which is why trials consists of such a small portion of people.

Now, if your a racer, and dont want to race, then dont race this year. I've been racing for a long time now, and I will always race. Just as long as I can get my leg over my bike, point it down a mountian, I will be riding. My training is year round. I dont take time off, and I havent for the last 5 years now. I ride all winter in Colorado, no matter what the weather is like. When there is a will, there is a way. I have done 30+ mile rides in blizzard conditions, so cold that my hydros are completly non functionial becasue the fluid in the cable is frozen. But I'm still out there pushing my limits.
I hit the gym 3-5 times a week, I'm an avid swimmer, and runner. When race season does roll around, I'm well up and ready to hit the hill.
So, perhaps its time to take a break, change it up, ditch the race circut for a year. Go find a roadie, find a dirt jumper, a trials bike... do somthing to get that love back in your system.

Thanks dude, you are right on.
I don't have the $$$ for a road bike, but I have a BMX that has been collecting dust in the garage for like over a year now. I am going to take it out and do a little jumping and forget about trying to train. Last time I was into BMX I had built up to a lot of decent tricks. Let's see if I still got it!

it may take a couple of seasons before you figure out how to write up a good training program for yourself. to avoid burnout take time off frequently and make sure you're well rested in between rides. nothing will kill your motivation faster than a long period of time of heavy riding and little rest.

there's the problem. Don't see it as "training", just see it as riding and enjoying. "Training" always makes me hate riding.Well said . When I go riding , I tend to ride pretty hard , but I'm still just riding for the sake of riding and having fun . Even when I did race(road,mountain,triathlon, even XC and DH skiing) I always tried not to look at training as a chore , or take it too seriously . It always pissed off my coaches when I played team sports in high school .