The mindset must change. It's not about accomplishments or accolades or particular goals. Not about Strava, or posting to social media. Not about chest thumping or back slapping. It's about developing a routine that's geared towards better health no matter how boring or mundane. Just like brushing your teeth daily. Gyms offer all kinds of fitness possibilities that can be done back to back. Yoga, weight training, water aerobics, stationary bike, spin classes, etc, etc for all levels of people. Then you can relax in the hot tub or sauna and sweat out the lactic acid. Take a shower using their facilities and walk out the door ready for the day or to go to sleep.

I'm 78 and I ride 40 miles a day in the summer months. I am sorry about whatever issue you have that you cannot ride any longer. The leader of the cycling club I was in 30 years ago had to stop because his knees developed arthritis. We all have something that throws a turd in the bucket. I was a runner before cycling but kept getting stress fractures. I ride because I love riding. Many years ago I played in a rock band and a guy that wrote a famous song for the Four Seasons bought a restaurant in town. Our lead singer knew where he lived and asked him to give us a listen and he did. He came to our practice place and worked with us to play some of his songs. Then he took us to New york City for a week (two still still in High school) to a recording studio where we layed down tracks for his songs. I was very good on lead guitar and the head engineer told me If I moved to the city and got a job to pay for a cheap apartment he would train me to be a studio musician. I was cute and in a band and someone got pregnant. In those days 1968, you married the girl and I did, but that put an end to that chapter. I played in bands for awhile but eventually had to get a haircut and a real job. I am still married to her and I love her. I moved on and so can you.

You are doing the right thing by staying fit because your health is gold. Find your next fitness chapter that fits you.

This is the best of of times for it.

Therapy. Joking aside (not really), do you really need to stop completely for health reason or just stop pushing hard because your body can't handle it?

I see lots of elderly people riding their bikes at a snail pace and they seem to enjoy it.

Buy a smoker and get into BBQ. There are, however, some non-negotiable rules with this hobby.
1. You must grow a long, bushy beard.
2. You must tell other people how they're cooking their meats incorrectly.
3. You must consume a 12-pack of beer while smoking a brisket.

Perhaps an e-bike will keep you on the road and your heart rate down.

You never went into specifics about your health concern, so people, like me, are just shotgunning. If you could provide more info, the suggestions might be more relevant

it’s complicated, but the simple explanation is that it is very likely that any exercise damages my heart. i have a very nice road e-bike, and have for a while, but having known the joy of hard rides, and especially long spirited rides through amazing scenery, i have found it impossible so far to either truly enjoy casually pedaling an e-bike and limiting myself to short rides that don’t take me far from home. i really miss it and this thread in part came from realizing that all the evidence of those days, the talk about rides, bikes, seeing people out there on bikes headed towards great rides just makes it worse. maybe cold turkey is the way to go, or maybe i can learn to enjoy what I (probably) can safely do, which is short rides at very low intensity. I don’t think that’s in my nature, I tend to either do something a whole lot or not at all.

Civilisation VI (or VII or whatever they’re on now)

Your bike will rust while you have “just one more turn”

lol! i played the original civ and then civ 2 obsessively, especially the multiplayer civ 2 mge. i could never really get into the later ones, too bogged down!

I, too a prone to obsessive hobbies, but I've never had to end one. They just seem to stop suddenly. For example, I used to spend at least a couple hours every week at the watchmaking bench, generally tearing down and rebuilding at least one watch every week. Along about the beginning of the Pandemic, I stopped. I just never found myself at the bench. I've tried a couple times to reignite the obsession, and I enjoy the time at the bench, but there's no obsession there.

So, I can't help you. The Muse is fickle.

Very sorry to hear about losing your passion. When something is such a part of your life, and maybe identity, letting it go is extremely difficult. I have seen this happen with my wife, who was very physically active (skiing, hiking, running, unassisted cycling) and my son (bad knees, bad shoulders) who loved golf, hiking, back country skiing and cycling. It was extremely difficult to let their favorite pastimes disappear while seeing others out there doing them. This is especially true when one is obsessive and they both were/still are. My wife has turned to political activism and has found a great group of like minded friends which has turned into friendships outside of politics. My son now coaches a pee-wee league baseball team, and does yoga. It was not an easy transition for either of them and can’t say they are close to 100% over it. I have given up mountain biking because of the pounding was messing with my back for days on end. I really preferred mountain biking to road cycling because of the constant challenge and skill building.

You may have to explore new areas that have piqued your interest in the past and give those a try. Join a club, write a book, volunteer with a community organization. Volunteering is one of the most rewarding activities I do and studies have confirmed that other than developing close friendships is wonderful for mental health. When the time is right, you might try this kind of exploration.

I wish you well on your new journey.

it's interesting how people are just wired differently. i have a good friend who has been into bikes (a 50/50 jan heine / rivendell type) for decades, and when we started talking about riding and i mentioned the urge to always go a bit harder, further, etc, he said "yeah i never feel that way, ever." he just tools along, maybe a long ride maybe short, never saw or sees it as an athletic endeavor where you compete with yourself (or anyone else.) for him, all about the aesthetics, the vistas, the culture, etc.

any physical activity i've ever done has basically involved some element of testing myself, pushing myself, etc. i don't know if it's possible to un-wire that.

Sure, Get an e-bike...

OH LORD, I read this as a connoisseur of PORNOGRAPHIC sound reproduction, now I am trapped in my mind.

Get a motorcycle

and increase your life insurance…

The problem is, for an obsessive who likes to challenge themself, an e-bike doesn't make it easier, you just go faster.

Edit: Thanks for catching the typo, choddo

Years ago, I went for a motorcycle ride in the morning and a bicycle ride in the afternoon. I was shocked at how much more exposed and at risk I felt on the bicycle. On the motorcycle, I wear protective clothing with body armor and abrasion-resistant fabrics, a full-face helmet, leather gloves, boots, etc. I'm also moving with traffic and taking up the lane. After wearing all of that stuff, my bicycle helmet felt like a toy, the lycra offered no protection, and I was at the whim of drivers as they zoomed by me.

I was also going to suggest a motorcycle - but yes there is risk. Riding a bicycle on the roads also includes risk.

A bout 6 years ago I injured my hip and went from hiking up to 10-15 miles pain free to walking 1/4 mile in constant pain. I adopted a young dog who himself was hit by a car and recovering from a leg fracture. We were a perfect match and we learned to walk again together. We never went over 4 miles, but this enabled me to get back into cycling.

doesn’t ?

Oops. Yeah, "doesn't"

Will edit.

nah, i home brew, part of why i do ride.

i've kind of been the same. naturally stopped obsessing about building up drones that could carry more weight for longer, stopped traveling the world solely to take pictures and reading everything i could about lenses, optics, etc, stopped building new PCs every few months and spending dozens of hours tearing them down, trying new OS, tweaking for that last bit of performance. i don't know if road cycling would have gone that way too, maybe, but being forced out before a hobby "ran its course" is a new one, and i'm having trouble coping!

i've been doing about 40 miles a week on the addict e-ride, absolutely forcing myself to keep below 150w average and 90bpm average, 100bpm max. it sucks. total anxiety at every little irregular heart beat, never being able to really smash it, sprint, climb fast, spinning out biggie smalls on a descent, etc etc. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

exactly, that's the mental un-training that has to happen. but it has always been my nature, one of my first memories is AYSO soccer at 4 or 5 years old, the run to the end of the field and back drills, the other kids are just gleefully running around and i'm sprinting to the end and back, collapsing in a heap. or later climbing mountains at yosemite on field trips, for me it was about being in nature, for sure, but also getting to the top as fast as i possibly could. anything left in the tank was a mistake. ditto competitive swimming later on, then running, and then finally cycling seemed to be something vaguely compatible with my health situation where the level of exertion could be easily dialed to a reasonable level thanks to gearing and the wide range of possible speeds, unlike running.

i am trying to use the e-bike to maintain similar speeds to my old rides, but keeping my output low.

I have a similar compulsion. When I'm riding solo, I tend to push the pace progressively higher. If there's a climb, the compulsion is even stronger.

Maybe group rides are a solution. When I'm with a group, I ride at the group's pace. Until the road turns up, then I can't help myself.