Originally Posted by
RoyIII
Yes, a new bike will help, IMHO. Get exactly the one you want. Maybe you burned out on the regimen. Cut out all the training, etc and just ride for the fun of it. If I may suggest, too, do not use a cycling computer so you will not get mixed up in quantifying your ride. Just ride it. I found I enjoyed riding more without looking at a cycling computer constantly. Next, just ride out your driveway.
Wisdom has been imparted here.
Whether it's the bike, the schedule, the goals, whatever -- you need a change of pace.
I went through this in '05; obsessing with numbers, gears, elapsed times -- lost all the fun. A buddy took me to a trail network about 40 miles NW of here, something I'd wanted to experience; we started out -- he took off. Left me pedaling along.
I was on a strange trail, didn't even know which way was which (not well marked), and just wanted to 'get to know' the trail; he was time-trialing! I cursed him, the trail, and the bike -- found my way back to the parking lot, parked the bike, and waited for him. We didn't speak the whole way home.
Three weeks later, I had a little 'encounter' with the hood of a Corvette; wound up cracking the right wrist. (VA put a CAST on it!) My riding was severely impaired for seven weeks (no choice, car-free), but when that hateful thing came off my arm, I pedaled away with such JOY! The weight of performance was GONE -- I was simply RIDING!
In all the time since then, I've had a computer on my bike once, for about three months, tracking mileage on different routes for commutes, utility rides, etc. Never took the numbers seriously, and what I rode was what I rode.
Now, my speed/cadence/gear choice is determined by how I feel on any given day. If I'm not feeling the joy, I change what I'm doing on the bike until I DO feel it.