checoles

I can't get the enthusiasm to ride at all, I was riding a lot earlier in the year, and then after the July heatwave where I burned up bad, I stopped. But I can't even blame the weather at the moment, because here in the UK, it's not actually that bad.

What do you guys use for encouragement to get there?
I need something, and looking at myself in the mirror doesn't seem to be getting me to reach for the bike.

Cheers, Che

drewguy

Just go get on the bike - don't think about going further or faster than you'd been going. Just go for a light ride. Maybe take a new route to explore/scout for some good roads.

I hit this just this past week - I rode a lot (for me) this summer, and then had some work travel, personal travel, and illness, so went three weeks with only one short ride. Was kind of lacking in enthusiasm (because, hey, that first ride back is a bit painful). Went for a short ride and then a longer one - now I'm back at it checking when I can get out next.

ill.clyde

Right now ... my encouragement is the number on the scale and the way I feel when I'm on the bike, and how I feel stronger than when I resumed earlier this year.

I'll echo what drew said ... don't think, just go. Even when my head tells me I don't want to ride, or take the day off, if I kit up and go, within 10 minutes I know I made the right choice and I feel fantastic. Sure ... there will be days when I feel like I didn't make the right decision, but if I stick to it, I know after the ride I'll be happy that I went.

Make it part of your daily routine ... and you'll just do it when it comes time to do it

jeromeoneil

Just get on it. Get some spin in and you'll be fine.

copperfind

I have the same issue at times finding the motivation... but every single time I get on the bike I am so happy I did afterwards... I find that if when I get home if I dont sit down and relax, to just jump on the bike its much easier... If I sit down and relax it gets harder by the minute.

squirtdad

when ever i ride, I smile, so that is what drives it. I also try to build rides into my daily life so they are just something I do, not something special....commuting and running errands

checoles

Cheers guys.
I guess I've just fallen out of love with it, which isn't good
I forced myself out on the fixie last night and cruised the town. 4.5 miles over 30 mins. Nothing brilliant but I'm glad I went out. Hopefully I can keep it up this week and get myself back in the saddle.

Sometimes you just need to kick your own backside I guess

Cyclist0084

+1

I work the night shift and usually get home around 7:45am or thereabouts. I find it hard to do a ride if, when I get home, I sit down to breakfast and/or watch some TV before heading out for a ride. So nowadays, as soon as I get in the door, I'm changing into cycling gear and I'm back out that door usually within 10 to 15 minutes.

As for finding motivation when it's "lost," I'll just parrot what others have said...just get on the bike and go for a short ride or explore a new road or path. You'll be surprised at how that will make you feel and the enthusiasm will return on its own, usually quite quickly.

checoles

didn't think of that, I'll try it tonight when I get home! Cheers!

masi61

You might try joining a bike club & putting one of there rides one your schedule. If your town's club is like mine, you can select which ride (class D, C, B, A or A+) suits you best. Then tell yourself, your family, friends & co-workers that you have a fitness/social cycling activity that you fully intend to be at. You will most likely be welcomed & encouraged. You may possibly be given valuable feedback about your road manners, bike fit or any other deficiencies that may be apparent.
This sort of formalizes your ride & makes personal motivation more of a nonissue on those days. On non-club ride days you can do your solo thing. Explore new routes as others have said. Mechanical adventure is another trick I use by swapping in different bikes or new parts on my main bike. Even little parts changes are significant. I spent all summer putting down more miles just doing "road testing" of my Team Turbomatic carbon rail saddle that I got off eBay. It is amazing how many new adaptations the body creates with each successive ride. Aspire to silence mechanical noises on your bike, starting with the worst noises first. When you quiet one noise, your tactile & auditory senses will hone in to something else. That next something can be isolated, serviced (cleaned, greased, oiled, torqued or replaced) as needed. Improvements made whether huge or subtle will be reinforcing to you & your confidence. I had a ride last week where my tires, my gear shifting, my braking, my body positioning - all of it (!!) was more optimized than normal. It felt relaxing & I didn't worry about speed or distance or time until the end of the ride. One final motivational trick I like that works for me that you could adapt to your personal situation: pick an arbitrary task or errand that you normally streamline for your car & take the car out of the equation & envision how to do it by bike. For me it involves delivering bills to the post office & getting a haircut. I purposely tell myself I MUST deliver my mail @ the post office in a town 30 miles away! I don't know why but it works! I also go to the barbershop in the same town. My headsweats skull cap does get hair clippings in it but you know you're going to shower when you get home anyway.
Hope my wordiness was not too over the top! Motivation to ride can be formalized by applying these kinds of tricks making the tough times character builders. Good luck!

MRT2

Maybe just accept your lack of enthusiasm and take up something else until the biking bug bites again. Seriously.

checoles

Kind and inspiring words there, I suppose cycling to various places a little further out is a good idea... I like it

checoles

Problem is, I don't want to do that and then end up not going back to it and accepting something that I don't truly want to do. I get where you're coming from though.

ill.clyde

I'll share from this past year.

Earlier this year (you can go back to see the posts) I was in the same situation. Not only that, I was heavy again, I was uncomfortable, my body ached, I had a hard time bending over to put shoes on and my back was bothering me. I knew, I KNEW I needed to make a change. I've loved cycling in the past, but every time I looked at my bike in late winter/early spring, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't find the will to ride. But again, I KNEW I needed to make the change. (As an aside ... my father died of a mix of congestive heart failure and alzheimers two years ago ... his health issues are a concern for me and I know I need to take better care of myself if I want a chance to live longer than he did.)

First thing I did was come back to this forum and "confess my sins" to the group (LOL ... and kudos to you for doing that as well). They encouraged me. But the work was up to me.

Second, I put the bike on the trainer and I started to ride. We had a crazy spate of 80 degree temps in February and I rode outside, and holy CRAP I was out of shape still. And worse, I'd moved from the flat lands to the hills of southern Wisconsin (the driftless area). When it got cold again, the bike went back on the trainer and I rode. I made it part of my routine. When spring finally arrived I went back outside and did the work. I fought through the cold and wind, hills that, at the time, I couldn't ride up and would end up walking them.

And as I got stronger, I found that I was smiling more when I rode ... and I went from riding three days a week, to four, then five and now I ride basically six days a week. And now riding is just second nature. I'm up, I get the kid off to school, the wife out the door for work and I go ride before I start my day (I work from home, and yes, that's incredibly helpful in terms of finding time to ride).

I guess what I'm saying is, and what it boiled down to for me, was I had to force myself to ride in order to find my joy again. Maybe that's not the best way to do it. I don't know. I just know it worked for me. I had to overcome my mental apathy first ... and I had to understand that there was going to be pain.

I'm over 1,200 miles for the year, and I'm learning to enjoy climbing and my legs are getting stronger with each hill. I'm also down 22 pounds (mainly through diet modification) and medically my blood work is very good. I'm not done, I have many miles and pounds to go, but I'm getting there. And I'm loving it. If I can do it, you can also. Good luck and happy riding!

checoles

Very inspirational ill.clyde!
I feel like I should be forcing myself to do it, but I didnt know if it was the right thing to do. Clearly, it has worked well for you!
I'm gonna try for getting out at least 3 times a week, start exploring and see where I end up with it...
Thank you for your story!

ill.clyde

Honestly ... and this may seem counter-intuitive ... coming to this forum every day helps too

Go ride!

checoles

Yeah, I've been a member for 5 years, and hardly contributed, so figured it was about time I got back on here after I started to feel a bit distant from cycling. It's helping, thats for sure!

Milton Keynes

Yesterday morning I definitely needed some encouragement. I woke up at my usual time (4:45 AM) to go ride my usual 15 miles, but I was so tired I just sat there in bed with my eyes half open for a few minutes before deciding to set my alarm for an hour later and went back to sleep. Even waking up an hour later I was still tired. Some mornings that happens, and I think is just a reminder that some times sleep is more important than riding a bike.

However, this morning I woke up a few minutes before the alarm, got on my bike and did my 15 no problem.

I think what's driving me to ride every morning is trying to reach my goal of 2,000 miles for the year. Since I just passed 1500 I'm getting closer and closer, and I know if I slack off and take too many mornings off I won't reach 2,000.

cyclist2000

Put your goal in the "September 2017 100+ mile/kilometer club", put in 50 miles, then start riding. If you are like me, once I have a goal, its going to get done. Make the goal realistic and if you complete it, see how much more you can do.

jimincalif

I ride with a couple of clubs on weekends. It's a powerful motivator to have said to someone "see you Saturday" - after that I don't want to not show up.

Plus I enjoy the camaraderie, trash talking, etc. I usually ride solo a couple times during the week for workout purposes and enjoy this too. And the mid-week rides are essential if I want to keep up with my buddies on the weekend rides!

FlamsteadHill

I get home too late to sit down and relax first, but I can well imagine it would put a real damper on things.

My preferred time to ride is first thing in the morning, for several reasons:

• I'm fresh.
• The new day is emotionally uplifting.
• If I don't ride more then 80-100 miles it's the coolest part of the daylight hours.

But on most weekdays I have to wait until after work (I start at 7), so it's straight home at 4:30 and on the bike, especially at this time of year!

deaninkl

I'm in a similar situation, earlier in the year I started hiking almost daily, then got back on my bike for the first time in many years... did my first 100km day about 2 months after starting on the bike again...

then due to traveling I stopped riding and hiking in July, and since then I just can't seem to get back on the bike, let alone hike.... I tell myself every day "tomorrow I start again.." I'm very disappointed with myself for this lapse, the weight I lost has come back....

I know, I just have to start again... and its real easy to tell myself that... but I always seem to find an excuse when the time comes....

Tomorrow I start again....

cyclist2000

I normally ride after work, try to get out by 5 and get back to cook at 7. But on weekends, I get out by noon. I like to wind up for the ride. The only time I ride early on weekends if the heat of the day will be too high and that has passed for this year it appears.

Andrey

You can also get new gear and then test it riding. It works for me, it could be a new saddle or a new handlebar, GPS, bib/jersey, shifters, fenders or even a new bike. I bought a very expensive rain jacket a few years ago and it made me ride in the rain to test it.

What also worked for me is racing against myself. After work 3 times a week I would leave my driveway and go to the nearest town(6 miles away) turn around and go back as fast as I can, trying to beat my previous best time. Same route, same distance. In two month I saved almost 15 minutes and many pounds.

Also signing up for a challenging epic ride in the future will make you ride more, especially if you do it with friends.

cyclist2000

On that note, get a leather Brooks saddle and ride it until it is broken in.