Road Cycling - How do you get fired up when motivation sucks

Any good remedies for getting back in saddle. Have not riddin in a week and it seems like if I dont fire myself up somehow this slack streak will continue.

I know I'll be so pissed with myself for slacking, once I get going again.

i hear you. i'm going though a bit of it myself. the thing that works best for me is to sign up for an event and train towards that. i find if i'm not working toward something then riding takes a back seat to the many other things competing for my time.

Do it for the chicks. :p

watch the tour de france

I allways carry a CD player when I ride . Music gives strenth
jar:)

I take a peek at my love handles, and I'm ready to go!

For me the best thing to do is to plan on going for an easy 10 mile ride. At about mile 8 I usually start to feel my legs and stopping doesn't become an option anymore. At about mile 50 I question why it was I didn't feel like riding anymore. Some of my best hammers are on rides like this, it's like make-up sex... :rolleyes:

I'm with Yak. I look at my big fat belly in the mirror and i really get motivated.

I'm with Yak. I look at my big fat belly in the mirror and i really get motivated.

Me Too. I lost 25lbs. pretty quickly but I've been stuck at 210lbs. now. Need to change my diet. Definitely motivates me though, trying to get down to 200lbs. for the first time in 4 years.

Buy something new. Nothing like bike bling to get you moving.

Pop in the Braveheart DVD and watch the speech William Wallace gives to the Scotts before they retaliate against the Brits.

ARE YOU READY FOR A WAR?

I allways carry a CD player when I ride . Music gives strenth
jar:)

i agree. if you can do it safely, ride with some good music. it'll get ya goin!

Pop in the Braveheart DVD and watch the speech William Wallace gives to the Scotts before they retaliate against the Brits.

ARE YOU READY FOR A WAR?

You can down load the rant for free and burn it at some of the sites that offer this service, even free :)
jar

I was super burnt out for about a month, i took two weeks off the bike completely, and slowly got back into it.

Get a job that you work so many hours you don't have time to ride, then ya miss it. Been a long week at work.

find people to chase. It's amazing how your motivation can do an about face when someone flys past you.

don't do it. may be it's your body's way of saying to give it a break. if you are an advid cyclist, and you'd know if you are or not, very soon you'll feel the urge!

Then, and only then... curse yourslef and set some lofty goals. :-)

I ride to uni most days: awesome way to start the day (and end the day) and you can really get into the routine. Lke ewitz said get some new equipment - I have a bad case of bike bling at the moment :)

Pop in the Braveheart DVD and watch the speech William Wallace gives to the Scotts before they retaliate against the Brits.

ARE YOU READY FOR A WAR?

I think you mean the English; the Scottish are Brits too.
As for motivation, I think the main problem for me is worrying that every ride needs to be achieving something - so if I can just make myself go out for a gentle spin then when I'm actually out and enjoying it I can go a bit harder if I want to.

Its all so true.

You people are great.

Pedl'nfool

For me the best thing to do is to plan on going for an easy 10 mile ride. At about mile 8 I usually start to feel my legs and stopping doesn't become an option anymore. At about mile 50 I question why it was I didn't feel like riding anymore. Some of my best hammers are on rides like this, it's like make-up sex... :rolleyes:

That's works when I actually get up and can't think about a long ride.
Some mornings if I don't pop up out of bed at 0500hrs ready to ride and sleep until 7, which is unusual, then I take it as my body and mind telling me to rest that day.
Otherwise, I make it a point that unless something REAL important comes up, my schedule is a long morning ride on Saturday and Sunday at the very least (home by 0830hrs), sometimes a mountain ride on Sunday. With a serious attempt of a Tuesday and Thursday pre-work ride, usually a little shorter. That has been a routine for over a year now and I mostly look forward to it because of the physical/health and mental impact it has on me. Yeah, I'm addicted.

i just love the feeling of pushing oneself.... and even more the feeling of accomplishment afterwards...

thats what makes me want to go ride

Have 3 kids under the age of three. That will get you out and peddlin in no time. I know.....I have a 3 year old and twins that are 2 months old. All boys! :)

I agree that planning on a short ride, to appease your lack of motivation, is a great way to get rolling. I'll tell myself I'm just going to run up to the store, or I'm only going to do 10-12 miles. That gets me out the door and on the bike.

And I can't live without music.

I'm with coolcamden, don't do it. Do something else for a few days - run, swim, climb a mountain! You'll come back fired up and refreshed (or at least you'll remember why you threw out your sneakers and bought a bike!).

Always sign uo for rides (one a month is a good idea) and also join some kind of group (maybe the BikeForums team at Activebody.org) so have the competitive side to help. But mainly signing up for a metric century every month works... :)

Oh yeah! KEEP your bike where you can see it. Out of sight, out of mind... You might dig up the receipt to remind yourself how much you paid for it too :D