Road Cycling - It's all a mental state...

...and mine sucks right now.

When you are unemployed for quite a while, you have good days and bad days. Lately I've been in a tremendous funk and can't get myself to ride. Took my bike out this morning, with a persistent nagging thought of turning back. I hardly went 10 miles. This sucks.

...and mine sucks right now.

When you are unemployed for quite a while, you have good days and bad days. Lately I've been in a tremendous funk and can't get myself to ride. Took my bike out this morning, with a persistent nagging thought of turning back. I hardly went 10 miles. This sucks.

rent or buy some cycling videos. i watch old tour de frances' when i'm feeling like you are now. it usually helps - i throw one on while i'm cleaning the bike and it usually makes me want to ride.

Same here, I can just watch the Nike Lance ad online and my motivation picks right up.

Same here, I can just watch the Nike Lance ad online and my motivation picks right up.

yes - i can say that that ad has made a big difference in how i've been riding this past week.

usually coming here and reading about everyone else cycling stokes me out
definitely watching cycling does it too
working on my bike makes me wanna ride as well

I'm wondering if you have a route that's a real treat?
like one with a great downhill, something that gets ya hot?
when I'm feeling down, I take my favorite route. usually once I'm out, it all feels better.
go out again tomorrow and the 10 miles will turn into more for sure.

Wow, I thought there was nothing a good ride couldn't fix. You must be feeling real bad.

Thanks for all the support. I went to REI and picked up a couple of cycling tapes. I'll be sure to watch them tomorrow morning. I'll go out again tomorrow and see how that'll turn out.

...and mine sucks right now.

When you are unemployed for quite a while, you have good days and bad days. Lately I've been in a tremendous funk and can't get myself to ride. Took my bike out this morning, with a persistent nagging thought of turning back. I hardly went 10 miles. This sucks.

Man, I love having extended time off -- I'm a part-time student and I get 4 months off during summer.
During this time I spend 2 or 3 hours riding, at least another hour mucking around with my bikes, at LEAST 2 hours a day on the net, another hour at the local coffee reading the paper.....anyway, you get the picture.

Your problem seems to be motivation. What's the weather like?

On the rare days when I don't feel like riding, I just remind myself that I'll feel much better that night if I've done my ride that day than if I have not. :)

So, I just keep sayin' to myself, "you feel better after, you feel better after......", and then I sometimes say "you can still lay around and do nothing later, the couch and TV will still be there -- doing nothing will even be more fun if you have the satisfaction of having dragged your a$$ out on a ride."

Anyway I'm rambling.....again

There's nothing like finding somebody to chase to improve your motivation. There's been many times when I've felt like turning home after 20 miles, but then seen someone in the distance that I can chase. Heaps of times this has totally revived my ride around as far as distance and intensity goes.

So, I often go to roads that have heaps of riders, just to find someone to chase.
There ain't nothin' like some competiton to motivate you. :)

If you're still viewing the lance ad online, download it here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=53291

This one I saw recently, the look on the guy's face and all that funky rocking back and forth going up the hill inspires me to go faster.
http://www.mashermovies.com/movies/2004/kingofjester.mpg

As everyone else said, try to see if you can find someone riding at your pace, when you two start taking turns pulling, that's when the motivation kicks in in the clutch.

I find sometimes that my motivation becomes stale if I'm not making progress in getting faster, fitter, healthier. If I take a week or two off because of work travel or sickness, I sometimes have a tough time getting back on the bike knowing I'm going to be slow. It's a mental flaw I have that I think I have to be competitive or else I can't justify riding (or I don't get as much pleasure out of it). It's stupid, I know.

-mark

Sometimes it takes a lot of patience.
My body is often really out of it, and I'll be in a sour mood. I'll ride, and I might get 10 miles in 50 minutes or so.
I usually don't feel my best until at least halfway through the ride (My rides are between 15 and 35 miles).
Be patient, and just ride, and as the ride passes, your body and mind might come to form.

I was really happy with myself after my last ride. It was a bad ride, actually. Physically and mentally... really weak. But I was happy with how I fought through it, and felt halfway decent at the end (a little proud of myself, riding through really bad conditions, because I needed the exercise).

My problem is all in motivation. (Well it's all techniques too, but that's another thread :-))

I think Zotma is right on. I should stick with my favorite routes when not in a riding mood, to get the comfort and familiarity of the ride to help my motivation... I took on one of my nemesis this morning and was no doubt further discouraged. These days will pass, and 1 of these months I'll land a great job and then I'll wonder how to find time to ride :-)

Thanks to all again.

i'm sort of unemployed all the time - a freelance multimedia developer in a recession - and my favorite thing about it has to be freedom in the middle of the day for a springtime bikeride.

so many other things seem weighty beyond my influence - right down to my overuse injuries and stuff. but when the day is sunny and not too windy and not too hot - hell, even when it is a bit too hot - i'm just thinking '**** all those dayjobs out there trying to give me carpal tunnel, this is _bikeridin' weather!'

and this is stream-of-consciousness chatter from me now, but i hate stopping in to an LBS and seeing the healthy and way faster than me techs and such who work there and all this daylight is going on outside and they're stuck fixing flats for flabby suburban parents and selling $300 mtb's. between that and the tuckers standing at the stoplights on their way back from their morning latte as i ride out of the city i've got plenty of reason not to get too funked out about being jobless and broke.

the time when i mind least being me is when i have good look at what most other folks are up to.

I think it's also easier to be motivated if you have a group to ride with. Knowing that the group is riding and wanting to be part of that is easier than riding 2-3 hrs by yourself.