antokelly

ah at this moment in time im fed up, not depressed just feeling down.the weather has changed starting to get cold seem's like there's a lot more rain around than there usually is.i can't get out on my bike dont like wet weather cycling ,im becomming more and more lazy started back eating biscuits (cookies) and cake so there an extra few pounds after going on the old belly,yeah im becomming an armchair cyclist.
if i don't get my act together soon im afraid my bikes will just start gathering dust .
im wondering do any of you folk ever get this fed up cycling feeling,coulden't care less if you never sat on a saddle ever again..my god you would think im some kind of manic depressive im not far from it (don't mean to insult any depression suffer's) SO folk's what do you think am i looseing it or what.
oh and btw please don't tell me i need grammer and punctuation lesson's i already know that.

10 Wheels

You done lost it.
Move down here.
it is 87* right now.

antokelly

no thank's 10 wheels i could never handle those temp,guess that's why lance armstrong is so so good.

Two-Wheel Hick

I usually start to get burned out in late August. Happens every year. About a week ago I dang near got run over by some nitwit on one of the back roads around here. That just about finished me off, psychologically speaking, for the remainder of the year. Then I decided to start doing a little trail & off-road riding, checking out places I've never been. My interest seems to be re-kindled for now.

Maybe try changing out your routine a little bit?

staehpj1

Just one option, but...

I have gone longish periods without riding in the last few years. I just run or trail run instead. Changing up activities keeps it fresh and I remain in pretty good shape even when I am not riding. I did an 800 mile Spring tour starting out with only 200 miles in for the year at the start and did fine on the tour, averaging 80 miles per day.

So my advice is if you don't feel like riding, then don't, but do something else to stay in shape while you take a break from riding so you are still in shape when you get back to it.

Sixty Fiver

It must be close 90 here today and you would need sunblock 2000... and I am in Canada.

antokelly

yeah you guy's do have extream weather conditions in your part of the world,over here (ireland )it rains a lot not all the time but this time of year can be bad enough. i think what put me off cycling this past month ,i was going out with the sun day groop who are training hard for there spanish trip (im giving it a miss this year no bucks) but the pace is way up, i can stick with them ok but at a cost ,i come home knackered.so i dont go out with them anymore. honestly at my time of life i really dont need to be a boy racer again.but since i stopped training with them im findind it even harder to get back cycling,ah i think at the end of the day it's the weather thats cracking me up ,rain is rain no matter if it's lashing down or not.thank's lads im going to have to change my way of thinking wrigh enough but now im off to my bed.

NoReg

Tough time of the year. Been sailing my trimaran, and now we have heavy weather from huricane season, though just the tail ends up here. Makes for all kinds of unpleasant situations. What makes it worse is the weather service for this areas publishes all kinds of forcasts from hourly to 14 day. But they are canned. So they are doing the hourly predictions on the basis of info that is days out of date. So you can't even plan that well, it shows great weather for 5 days, but you end up skin diving at night to beef up your mooring in heavy waves and cold winds from the big storms that don't get reflected in the weather forcasts, because they are too general.

I tour mostly in the fall and the weather is often wonderful or terrible, rarely stays any one thing. If it feels like it isn't any fun, and you aren't trying to prove something, then you might as well pack it in until the mood strikes. No point in trying to make yourself into something you aren't. Read Around Ireland in Low Gear for an example on how to will yourself into doing something guaranteed to be equal parts miserable and stupid.

On the other hand, I used to live in Ireland, and my main thing was rock climbing at the time. If one didn't climb in the rain one didn't climb often enough. It really isn't that bad being in the rain if you can get out of feeling that the world is out to get you. A lot of it is just pathetic why me stuff. But at some point it just isn't fun, and you have to pack it in. A few years back I was on a tour, and it was really windy, hilly and increasingly cold. So the bottom line was I was slowed down, I would tend to have to stay in motels, and I was blowing up my knee with the winds. Overall I probably didn't quit early enough. It just became a mater of spending more money and knee than I could afford.

axolotl

Sounds like you need a pint of Guinness

sstorkel

I, too, used to hate wet weather cycling... until I bought the right gear. Turns out I actually don't mind riding in rain, as long as I'm not freezing and wet when I'm doing it. I find that it's a little harder to get motivated if the weather isn't great, but once I'm rolling I love it!

Machka 

I've ridden a grand total of about 2 km since June 1st. Yes, you read that right.

In early June I was frantically getting ready to come to Australia, and the weather was pretty bad in my part of Canada just then.

I flew to Australia and arrived on June 12th with what I thought was a horrible calf cramp.

Winter in Australia goes from June 21 to September 21. Where we live, winter is quite cool, sometimes frosty, occasionally snowy, but definitely overcast, rainy, and windy. And where we live the nearest paved road is about 3 km away ... it's a mud track to get to that road.

On a couple of the nicer days I set my mtn bike up and tested it on the track. That's where I got the 2 km in.

And then, on July 29th I was hospitalized for 2 weeks with DVT. Turns out it was a good thing I wasn't cycling after all! Cycling could have killed me.

Since I've been discharged, I've been on Warfarin. The combination of the clots in my leg and the Warfarin wears me right out. I'm getting better ... I can now walk several blocks on flat ground at a slowish pace without feeling too bad, but increase the pace or send me up a hill, and I can barely do it. I'm puffing like a steam engine.

I desperately want to ride my bicycle!! But there's the fear that I could possible have an accident and bleed to death (Warfarin reduces my blood's ability to clot), and even if I did get on my bicycle, I couldn't go far or fast or anything.

One day soon I will get out there and start to ride ... back to starting from scratch with short slow rides.



So with all that in mind .......... if you can ride, go ride!! You never know when it might be taken away from you.

Nigeyy

I also hate cycling in the rain, or when there is the possibility of ice on the road or trail (I chicken out). When it's raining outside, I just don't cycle unless I have to -I mean, why do something you don't enjoy? That's a good way to squeeze all the pleasure out of a hobby -so don't feel bad! Since I grew up in England (second only to Ireland for the rain, eh?) I think my basic dislike of rain comes from this.

Things that have kept me going have been:

-varying cycling activities e.g. I go road riding, and soon I'll be going off roading since it's getting a little chillier. I overheat doing off road stuff in the summer!
-varying exercise. Find something else to do other than cycling. I run (and this is the strange bit, I don't mind running in the rain! I just don't know why). Or find an activity you can do indoors (rock climbing). What about canoeing, hiking, orienteering, etc? As staehpj1 says, it helps keep you fresh.
-find a road or trail you've never been on, or do a well known ride backwards (sounds silly but it works, though the downside to this is that usually my rides are all clockwise to avoid having to take more dangerous left turns). Of course, this option doesn't negate the issue of RAIN!

I'd also add, if you don't cycle, so what? Everyone needs a break now and again. If you are worried about fitness though -and even if you are not -I'd definitely recommend trying to find another activity. Sadly, your financial resources can come into play for this one oftentimes.

While I can't say rain has made me feel really blue when it comes to cycling, familiarity has. It's pretty much at the stage for me where I live that I've been on every reasonable cycling road in about a 10-15 mile radius, and most of the roads in a 30 mile radius. It's sometimes very hard for me to go cycling when I'm faced with the same old same old roads.....

edit: one other thing, not so much to get you cycling now, but for something to look forward to -plan a tour now. Check out all your options. Buy a map. Plan a route. If you can afford it, upgrade your equipment with a little something so you look forward to using it.

tarwheel 

Just do it. If you think about riding too much it's easy to talk yourself out of riding. Go for a ride and you'll be glad you did.

antokelly

thank's everybady great advice as per usual ,looking out the window just now it's not to bad outside ,i have my carradice camper s/bag loaded up so im going to hit the road ,no pint sitting here doing nothing.thanks again looks like you guys got my head around things.

yeamac 

Yesterday was the only day of the month of August that wasn't in the 90's or 100's here in the Houston area. I went for a ride from 4:30-5:50 pm on the tandem with the daughter, and it sure felt cool. (It's all relative, people.)

One suggestion. Since you are a tourist, how does reading crazyguyonabike.com journals affect you? When I read other people's journals it makes me want to get on the bike and go, even if I've kind of been in a funk.

Another suggestion, any organized charity type rides in your area? Perhaps paying a small fee and making a commitment like that for something new where you will meet a lot of other cyclists can help to change your feelings and your motivation.

Oh, and one more thing. Check out some of the youtube videos on cycling. I was in a weird mood yesterday evening due to my day at work, and to unwind last night I spend some time looking at youtube videos on cycling. One guy posted a video of himself descending a mountain. He took a corner too fast and wiped out. It was hilarious because he replayed it in slow motion and added in text that had me rolling on the floor.

pubb

antokelly,

Go for a ride. Those times when biking sucks is when you most need to stay on the saddle. In the words of many others on these forums: HTFU. Man up (oddly, this is something women do well...) and get riding.

antokelly

well i went for a nice 20 miles this afternoon my legs are a bit sore ,but that's what i get for not rideing.hopefully if the rain stayes away i'll get out tomarrow as well.yeah i love reading crazyguy and utube is excellent some crazy stuff on there.i done a couple charity rides this year always a good cause. ah when you let your fitness go on the bike it can be very hard to enjoy a ride,in 07 i was training hard for the camino trip man i was flying then i had a lot of miles in my legs that year but it paid off big time super trip.as nijeyy said maybe i should plan a nice tour for next year start training now .

BLUMEANIE

I ride year round. Less in the winter but unless its single digits I ride. When it gets that cold I usually only do group rides or late night bar hops.

antokelly

bluemeanie i also ride year round always have done ,but recently i just coulden't be bothered basically i've gotten lazy and fed up with the whole darn lot of cycling. looking back im thinking i dont have a goal,my france trip was a bit of a disaster to say the least i also done a couple days up north while the cycling was good we got ripped off at our campsite 30 pounds sterling for a small pitch ,but all these things add up i reckon to put you off our chosen hobby.but i'll battle on there's worse things happening at sea,im just having a moan.

BLUMEANIE

Ah, gotcha. I get bored with riding every once in a while. When I do my wallet usually takes a hit with a new bike or new gear or an old heap ripe for a restoration.

I also mix it up with some volunteering at the local non-profit bike shop. Nothing more inspiring than kicking back a few beers with other cyclists while turning a wrench.

enfilade

ive got to say i love riding in the rain.. the other day i did a thirty mile one in thick fog and heavy rain, without waterproof clothes.. i was drenched from the start! but thats part of the fun, right? get out there next time it's pouring it down, put your head down and ride, you'll see what i mean

im from England too (the Northwest - where the Atlantic clouds empty as they hit the Pennines (the eastern part's a lot drier in comparison)) and used to get a bit peed off when i was out on a ride and the weather turned sour, now i just accept it and go along with it.. this makes it so fun.

plus, tating a hot bath when you get back in, dripping wet and freezing cold, really is great.

you probably think im crazy, but i'd hate it if the weather was the same for each ride... clear skies and bright sun for every ride from now 'till the day you die?

i'd find that depressing

antokelly

ah well as the man said each to there own give me sun any day.if im out on a ride and the heaven's open well there aint much you can do about that, but to go out in lashing rain is not my idea of fun.mind you when your going well your legs are strong there's nothing better than to ride hard into driving rain and yes a hot shower or bath and a steaming hot cup tea and a big slice of bread and jam emm Heaven..yes i think im comming round.

enfilade

oh yeahh

Mark S

Winter in Australia is actually June 1st to 31st August. Spring has just commenced.

Regards, Mark.

Camel

Ooh-Machka, take care! Maybe ask your doc's if you can set up your bike on an indoor trainer?