I can't help but think think there is a correlation between this thread and the other one about how people enjoy their cycling. And it has to do with the aforementioned balance in life. And that trite but still descriptive term, burnout.

For the high achiever, I think there is a real risk that once they have reached their loftiest goals, there is nothing else and suddenly, they are left with no more reason to ride. Many just cannot see themselves dropping back to "smell-the-roses" kinds of rides.

For a few, however, those S-T-R rides become a revelation. They suddenly realise that there is more to riding a bicycle than trying to win events. Their revelation may not come immediately... it may be several years or longer before they take up cycling again.

And there is a third group, that regard bicycling as a utilitarian form of transport, which also combines a way to save money and maintain a level of fitness and weight, and to see other places as touring cyclists. They are the ones, in my mind, that are into cycling for the long-term.

And sometimes, people just get tired of life. That burnout factor. Their energy ebbs for one reason or another... a lot having to do with hormonal changes, but there are financial and relationship factors in there as well.

The decline can be slow enough for people not to notice. There also may be emotional reasons behind the lack of motivation to be physically active. And often that back-story is not going to be revealed in a phone call every 12 months.