jppe

Yen-sounds like some more gardening might be in the mix? Don't be afraid to step away from riding for a bit. You'll know when it's time to ramp back up as your motivation returns and the urge to ride more increases.

I do recall getting in that same funk a while back-might have been a couple summers ago. But I would agree that the warmer weather probably contributed to lack of interest in riding. I know it helps to slow down in hotter weather as well.

How did I get the flame rekindled? I quit riding for a purpose and diverted my focus and energy towards other hobbies I really enjoyed. My performance dropped but hey, the mental state improved.

To help keep my interest in riding going, I'm trying to add different rides in different areas each year-going to GWS certainly helped me! I don't recommend it but I also bought a couple new bikes and two different sets of wheels and that has helped put a little different perspective on the riding as well.

Best of luck with the situation. Don't rush the "comeback" when its time. Just let it evolve. I suspect when it's all said and done you're renewed interest will be as strong as ever, plus you'll be more eager to ride.

cyclinfool

Yen - I feel your pain. I too suffer from depression from time to time. Work sometimes throughs me into a funk. I find usually find having some accomplishment helps, sometimes it's just building something in the shop or just accomplishing something on the Honeydo list. Over training tends to just make me very tired, that can cause depression as well - but getting a little more sleep and slacking off on the rides a bit helps.

kr32

I think you may have your problem solved with all the responses and I was going to say to just back off your "training" and just go for a FUN bike ride. And if you were so worried(?) about the upcoming event just don't do it, but you have solved that too! SAG driver and rider. Like the Guniess guys say "Brilliant!"

Yen

Joe, I remember your sharing about your funk, I thought it was last year, and saying that time off the bike did restore you. Yes, performance isn't everything if our mental attitude is suffering as a result. I hadn't thought of N+2..... hmmmmm..........

Yen

Thanks all, for your support and tips. I feel MUCH better knowing there's relief on the other side of the hill, that this doesn't last forever. For me, this is about fun, not performance, and when it ceases to be fun (as in the heat, and/or heavy traffic, especially both) then I cease to remember why I'm doing it at all.

My solution for the upcoming event is perfect. I can relax and enjoy my rides and not worry about the training aspect beyond just getting out to ride for the fun of it.

10 Wheels

For me it is The Heat from the sun.
I ride very early and quit before 12 N

Yen

Oh, and yes... I need to do some gardening. That's another favorite activity but I cannot do it in hot temps.

stapfam

We have not had the heat for as long as you-but heat does drain me. But gardening- most of mine is done at the weekends. Lots of jobs to do after a week at work- but I have a system in doing the jobs. I do 3 at a time. Just do a bit of each at one time till I get bored or tired- then it is have a rest or change tasks.

Can't do that on a bike but I vary the type of ride. Most of my rides will involve hills and if feeling tired- I won't feel like a ride on them- in fact I won't feel like a ride. So I force myself out on a PIE ride. Only down to the seafront for PIE and back. 20 miles at a gentle pace and that will only take a couple of hours. I even choose the route to take in lots of flat bits. But it is surprising how many times I get out and decide to take in a hill- Or just go out across the marshes to get a few extra miles in- or see that bike in the distance and decide to try and catch it.

The main thing top do is get out. 10 miles or so for a reason- or just a gentle ride to keep the legs moving. Once I am out there I enjoy it. In fact last weekend I did a ride on the old OCR. it does not ride too bad and it does have an advantage over the other bikes. It can take a pannier rack. So all those short trips I have to take in the car because I can't carry anything on the bike- may change. Looks like a trip to the LBS to get some Pannier bags is on the cards for today. Luckily it is not far from my favourite cafe so PIE ride with a reason for today. Just 20 miles or so- but with the bags fitted- I might make a trip into Town and get the bits of Shopping I need to feed a few friends coming round to look at the bikes tomorrow.

And have to admit that I am in the same mood for riding right now. Just got to find the energy- time and motivation to get out on a few decent rides.

Garfield Cat

I don't know your routine, but maybe a deprogramming might help. Some riders like to ride fast because they have this great bike that's designed to go fast.

How about some solo rides with the expressed intention of not going fast? Sounds counter intuitive. Bring along your digital camera, make sure you stop along the way. Plan some destination type riding, where the place you're going has an objective and not just a place to freshen up and turn around.

It could be to visit someone or to do shopping without really buying anything. Bring along a back pack so you can change shoes and stuff.

Barrettscv 

Everything in moderation.

I live in Chicago and don't ride much between December and March. The weather is a real limitation. If I lived in the southwest; I would avoid 90+ degree afternoon weather just as I avoid freezing weather here in the Midwest.

I also take a break from time to time. 10 days away from the bike is not a failure.

Lately I vary my route as much as possible. I've also been riding with a new group.

Change is as good as a vacation.

I'm at 4000 miles year-to-date and will hit 5000 by the end of the year. It's not a rigid pattern that keeps me going. It's moderation and variety.

Michael

alcanoe

Here in N Florida on the gulf coat, the humidity lately has been in the 90%+ range till about 9 to 10 am. I find riding later in the day with higher temps (high 80's/low 90's) and lower humidity is actually better especially for mountain biking. For road, there's not as much difference due to the higher speed and the better cooling due to the wind, but I still find higher temps/lower humidity preferable.

You can get a predicted temp and humidity hourly chart from the "weather" website,


Al

Yen

No doubt about it, high temps w/ low humidity is much more tolerable than w/ high humidity -- but, for me, only to a point. I'm much more heat-sensitive than I ever was.

will dehne

For Yen it is the heat and for us it is things like Bronchitis and Kidney infection with flu like symptoms. In all cases cycling is not ideal exercise because you are exposed to changing weather and wet/cold conditions.
However, exercise we must. Failure to do exercise means reduced food intake and for us that is depressing.
As someone else suggested: That is why a Gym comes in. My wife goes Curves and I go YMCA. We will go back to cycling as our infections clear up and we are fully recuperated.
BTW, I wish we had your dry F90's temperature here.

alcanoe

Nothing wrong with gyms, but the weather thing is a state of mind rather than a real problem. My wife and I (plus the kids when they were home) have been outdoors no matter what. From backpacking in the mountains in the winter to paddling canoes in snow showers. Both my wife and I were relatively sedentary in our youth, so we started this type of stuff in our mid 20's.

I'm still out there at 70. The heat is not an issue if one is adapted. That's takes time (up to 7 or 8 days) which necessitates being outside all year around to adapt as the weather changes. According to Ryan (Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes), adaptation to the heat includes greater blood volume, increased sweating and sweating from more of the body (which means you need to drink more) and husbanding of electrolytes. Ryan indicates the better shape your in the more you sweat (thus the better you cool) and thus the more you need to drink.

Riding in hot weather is more stressful and can probably be likened to riding faster in cooler weather. It's thus easier to over train in the heat which means more rest is needed before another ride or other strenuous activity. That's especially true for us older folks as we recover more slowly. That became really evident for me at around 67 to 68.

I've never felt the need to slow down in hot weather. That'll happen automatically if the humidity/temps are really up there.

Also, we've never gotten sick from being out in the woods in wet/cold conditions.
However, if one is sick, the heat is even more difficult to deal with.

Al

BengeBoy 

How about skipping the (hot) event you're describing and instead take your bikes to Santa Monica early on a Sunday morning, ride down the beach bike path to Redondo Beach for lunch, and ride back. That ride is usually cool any time of year.

Red Rider

Do something other than ride. You'll either love it so much you incorporate it into your lifestyle, or hate is so much that you can't wait to get back on the bike.

When I couldn't ride my bike that's all I wanted to do. On my days off the bike I walk the dogs, which, when they chase jackrabbits, turns into a different kind of workout, not altogether unpleasant.

It's okay to not want to ride. Don't fight it. Try something new -- I hear pole-dancing is all the rage now.

JimF22003

This is my 8th day off the bike. I don't think I've missed that many days in 4 years or so. Last week I just couldn't get enthused about the idea of getting on the bike, even when there were no good excuses such as weather.

I think I'm getting depressed thinking about the shorter days, riding in the cold etc.

Today there's a century ride I've been trying to do for the last three years. It's raining and 55 degrees outside. I'm staying in and watching football...

I "plan" to snap out of it starting tomorrow. Or maybe Tuesday. Definitely Tuesday. Probably...

daredevil

screw the century....ride if and when you feel like it. You fitness won't suddenly disappear. Do some different types of riding...maybe just around the neighborhood or with the wife. Plus not riding at all for an extended period is a good idea now and then.

I had a forced 6 week layoff because of knee problems recently. When I got back on the bike, I could hardly tell I had the time off. I bet I could have still finished a century np.

soma5

I don't have anything much of value to add, except that I understand and that I've gone through the same thing. After I quit racing (because I was burned out - training, racing, nothing in-between) I stopped riding altogether for 12 years. Two years ago, my kids (who are avid cyclists) got me out on a ride. Since then, I've tried very hard not to slip back into the old mentality with varying degrees of success. However, I've also managed to keep part of my cycling social, so that I will do a number of easy rides with a neighborhood group every week. I have succumbed to the training demon on the weekends, but at least I try to keep it fun.

I would say that if you don't feel like riding, don't. If you are an introspective type, then sit down and examine what your goals are for riding. Examine them once again - if you're like me, you will first decide one thing but if you really try to be honest, you will realize that the first goals may not be real ones. For example, I might put down "placing in a local crit race" but my real goal might be to keep riding as a fun, social activity and avoid injury. Decide how important your riding goals are compared to other life goals.

If you aren't introspective, then see how you feel when you're on a bike. Is it exhilarating? Do it more. Is it a chore? Stop doing it so much. But don't beat yourself up about it. We all change our interests from time to time as we grow.

The Weak Link

Some of my most fun rides have been when I've decided to do a BF>50 travellogue when I take my camera and try to conjure up a story about the ride. You can't generate fast times stopping every 20 minutes to snap a picture of horses and stuff.

I loved this picture even though it will never win me any awards. The horse had an attitude that the photo couldn't convey:



As a fellow depression sufferer, I know it's hard to know sometimes when you have to back off and let your battery recharge, and when you have to give yourself a good swift kick in the butt. It would be easier if I could tell the difference everytime. But such is life.

I'm in such a time now.

Hang in there.