Riding Motivation
 

Why do you ride? What do you like most about riding? How do you stay motivated? For those people who have been doing this for years, what is the thing that keeps you going?

I haven't been road riding that long, a year and a half, plus or minus a month or two. I came from mountain biking and I only did that for 2-3 years prior to getting a road bike. My mileage and time on the road this year has been significantly more than on my mountain bike. In 2014 so far, I've logged about 3000 road miles and 600 trail miles. I transitioned to road riding primarily because it's a lot more social than mountain biking. There are more organized weekly rides and cycling events like centuries. I've ridden a few centuries and have considered setting a goal of doing the California Triple Crown which is 3 double centuries in a year. Other than that, I've thought about racing crits next year too. I do race my MTB in 2-3 events a year and may up that as well.

I've just found I've been lacking motivation the past few weeks. I usually get a motivation boost after an event. I did the Marin Century in 5 hours and didn't get that much of a boost. It was so so on the fun meter. I also did the death ride in July which was 130 miles and 15000' of climbing in 9 hours. A challenge and achievement for sure but I didn't feel like I really accomplished anything. On my weekday training rides it's always a drag to get my kit on and head out the door. I probably don't start enjoying it until after I warmup and can start pushing my speed. I hear all about zone 1-2 training mid week but going slow bores me to death.

I'm starting to think that riding might not be my "thing". That maybe I only continued riding because of the initial honeymoon period where it was easy to improve. Perhaps my current plateau has diminished my enthusiasm.

Maybe these questions are a bit OT but it'd be great to hear why everyone here is so passionate about this sport and hopefully it'll rub off on me.

Everyone isn't as passionate as you might imagine. And sometimes, people just go "bleh" for a while.

There are times when I need either to back off and spend some time off the bike, or do something completely different. If you're doing a century in five hours you're pretty fit, you aren't going to turn into a slob by spending a couple of weeks just doing something else instead.

If it's a chore, vary it. I've had various strategies for this over the years. I like to go touring, I'll take off and spend some time just riding around using the bike for transportation. If I don't have time to do that, I'll just go on some long days out, eother alone or with companions, and just ride for the pleasure of cruising around somewhere beautiful, stopping for a couple of beers and a meal, whatever.

If what you've been doing seems samey, and you feel you have reached a plateau, think about getting into racing. Join a club - one that is active in the racing scene - start to develop a proper structured training plan, get into going out for training rides, group rides, etc.

And if going slow just bores you, consider the fact that you may just be tired. The slow recovery ride, or the long steady base ride during the base-building phase in the off-season, is part of putting yourself in a position to tolerate higher, more intense workloads without burning out - which you may be doing.

Relax. Think about just enjoying the ride for a change. Have a beer.

I ride because:

I have a sweet bike and it's fun to ride.
I like roaming the quiet country backroads.
I get to hammer up my 20% hill at the end of every ride.
After I get home, have a shower, and relax with my beer or Beam, I always feel GREAT.

More and more I need to find new places to ride. After so many years, the same old routes don't motivate me like they used to. I think that's one reason I have trying to work in more loaded touring in new areas, or at least areas I haven't been to recently. I crossed PA last year via the GAP and mainly Bike Route S. In June I went to Montana for a modified loop I had done in 2011. In a few weeks I hope to ride from Vienna, OH home to Philly mostly via areas I have never ridden through or haven't ridden through in some 16 years.

I've been cycling seriously/regularly/avidly since April 29, 1990 ... and a little less seriously/regularly/avidly for 17 years before that.

I grew up in a cycling family ... cycling is what I know and what I do.

That said, over the past 24 years there have been ups and downs. There have been some years where I haven't ridden very much for one reason or another ... injury, life circumstances, other priorities, etc.

And sometimes taking a little break is the best thing for the motivation ... you get back into it with renewed energy.

2 years so far

I find that too. I'm OK with the same old routes on weekdays, after work ... although even then I like to mix it up a bit. But on weekends I like doing something different ... going different places, trying different roads ...

Touring definitely helps.

And it helps that I've moved every few years.

Riding Motivation
 

Pin a number on.

A new bike always helps. I really enjoy Strava for tracking my progress against myself. After years of mainly commuting, going out for a ride for the sake of just riding is a wonderful thing. Being self-employed now, it's all the more enjoyable getting to do it during "work" hours.

My dad is my inspiration. He's 77 (I'm 44) and has ridden many multi week cross country tours and charity rides. Right now he's on an ABB east coast tour that spans 1600 miles over 3 weeks. When I'm deciding whether or not to roll my lazy butt out of the bed to get my 13 miler in before work, I think of him. I also think of the wounded warriors and folks who overcome so many things and still ride, run, etc. A guy here locally that I always see here in town who rides with a prosthetic leg.
I have some goals for some upcoming rides that are my milestones and goals.

Weight loss/maintenance is a big part of it for me.

I like being outside with my thoughts, too.

Racing the clock on regular loops is motivating.

The social factor of the weekly shop ride is fantastic, too.

Finally, I'm kind of committed to riding the MS150 every year (wife has MS and I'm a pretty high fundraiser as a result)

I always rode bicycles because it was fun. As a kid, I didn't have a very good bike, nor did I ride far or fast, but riding shortish distances slowly was still fun. Once I started earning for my living, I could afford a better bicycle (main difference being gearing suited for more serious hills), and riding a bit longer, faster became even more fun, so I was doing more often as well. Then came a new bicycle, even more riding, rinse and repeat.

Fast forward a few iterations of the above, and I'm still riding because it's fun. I ride moderately fast and moderately far, and my yearly mileage is quite low. I don't track my progress and I don't have training goals; I never go out to train, I go for a ride. Of course I like pushing and I like seeing higher speeds and more mileage, but I don't have a problem if my abilities go down when I ride less; it comes back once I start riding more. For this reason, never need motivation to ride - I ride when I feel like riding and I can make some free time.

My reccomendation is, stop making a chore out of a fun activity, and ride for the sake of riding, at least for a while.

This, basically. Here's a great doco about one of the young Aussie pros on Garmin-Sharp and his brother reconnecting with a ride through the Australian outback after a long time apart.

Thereabouts #1 on Vimeo

You either love it or you don't. I've never really needed motivation- there's always something new to do. There are new places to see, new distances to ride, new elevations to reach, new time goals to aim for, etc. I ride because I love it. If I didn't, I'd do something else.

I don't ask myself why I can't find the motivation to play tennis more often. It's just not my sport.

I ride for the pure joy of it. I have a nice enough bike and love wearing matching kits and yeah, I follow my progress on Strava but I'm never gonna break anybody's records and sometimes I struggle just to pedal home. Still, seeing my world (one of the most gorgeous places on Earth IMHO) from a bicycle seat never fails to fill me with awe and plant a smile on my face. I'm one of those people who feels grateful to be alive and every pedal stroke and hill I climb is a reminder of my biggest victory and how lucky I am to be here, much less on a beautifully designed machine that I make go by the turn of my legs. I think maybe sometimes we forget how rich our lives are for being able to ride a bike anywhere.

Cycling isn't the most important thing in the world. You just need to be sure that the things you are doing instead of cycling are truly more important (i.e. spending time with kids, yes. Laying on couch watching TV, no)

Cycling takes time which is the most valuable commodity we have. We all have 24 hours in a day, so whatever you are doing instead of riding is getting a higher priority. That may be OK, or it may not be depending on what those things are.

There was just a blog post from Lovely Bicycle about the summer lull.
I just started cycling again in May. I haven't felt anything but excitement each time I get on the bike. I love the way it makes me feel when riding and the rest of the day.

Forget the computer for awhile, just head out any direction, no time limit, no plan. Pedal for joy, slow down in quiet forested areas and listen to the silence, coast down hills , smell the air, make it like it was when you were a little kid.
Do all that and the joy will come back.

+1 I completely agree. I ride because it's fun...if it becomes work...I would stop

For most cycling events, and racing,at least below the cat 2 level, you don't need to do a ton of long miles.

One long ride a week will be fine.

A program like this will make you faster, and take the drudgery out of having to be on the bike a ton:

Tuesday, one hour with intervals. Wednesday, 1-2 hour ride moderate endurance pace. This can be a group ride, since you said you like to be social. Thursday, one hour intervals. Saturday, 2-3 hour group ride. Sunday, Race, event, or intervals.

By going with some short harder rides, you'll bust through your plateau, and you won't feel like you have to go out and ride multiple hours repeatedly.

I do it for the plethora of chicks and money

and ofcourse being able to wear spandex while showing your "bulge" in public

Thanks for the suggestions.

I only picked up cycling because of my kids. I use to travel to rock climb 2-3 weekends a month. Since having kids, I had to stay in town. Because of that, I needed a new sport and decided to mountain bike. After doing that for awhile, I picked up road cycling like I mentioned. I really enjoyed the adventure of starting a new sport and it gave me an activity I could do besides rock climbing. Since I've ridden most of the roads and trails in the area, the adventure aspect of it has been diminished. That's why I was thinking about doing double centuries and entering more races. But if I were to do those things, I might as well start rock climbing again because I'll be headed out of town more weekends and the time demands go up.

One of my many faults is the need to always do something new. I have trouble been content with what I have or what I'm doing. If I'm not improving in one way or another I tend to feel stagnant and bored. It was true with rock climbing too and it always pissed my wife off. Like cycling, I couldn't just pedal around and be happy. If I wasn't doing a harder route each weekend I get disgruntled.

Anyway, from the suggestions it sounds like everyone is different, which is to be expected. I'll work on the following suggestions: chill out and just ride, ride without a computer but use Strava, race, find something else I love to do, or someone find some chicks and money who like my bulge. :) Or hopefully it's just the summer lull and I'll snap out of it.

My motivation? I need to get home.

I've been riding on the road for ~ 30 years, starting with centuries and doubles and then graduating to racing age group races. Once I had improved to a level at which I felt I was one of the better riders on the road, I would always feel the need to catch whoever was up the road whether it was just on a regular ride or a century. I caught most people and felt like I really crushed the century riders.
I started riding with guys who raced and told my stories of great triumph in my century rides. They quickly reminded me that the people riding the century rides were not racing and if you really wanted to see what you had, try actually entering an event where people are trying to be the first ones across the finish line. So I did. I began racing when I was 35 and joined the 35+ 4/5 category and had enough success and enjoyment, that I became hooked. It took 4 years to get to the 35+ 1/2/3 level, but after winning numerous races at the 4/5 level I had made it to the big boy league. I knew it would be difficult to hang with these very talented racers, and I did get popped pretty hard in my first few races, but I eventually got to the point where I was able to hang with the main group and then able to hang with the front group. What an amazing feeling of physical accomplishment, I was able to hang with the best master racers in Northern California, who at the time were some of the best riders in the country at that age group.
Once I had reached that level I was totally hooked on the rush of the competition and excited to be involved in the shape each race took, whether through attacking or hanging through the attrition, there was nothing better then being with that front group and vying for the victory. By the time I was 44 I was no longer able to hang with the front group of the 35's, so I raced lightly that year, but eagerly awaited the next season when I was able to join the 45+ group. At that point I was a seasoned racer who had good skills and an understanding of how to shape a race. I had good success until I was 49 and then began to taper off. I've taken a few years off from racing and now am training to enter the 55+ group and can't wait to jump back into the mix.
So I think the message behind this tale is that there is a freedom and exhilaration that is achieved on the bike. Whether that comes from racing or just knowing that your body is able to do things that only a small % of the population can. Riding a death ride in 9 hours is fabulous. Doing the Marin Century in 5 hrs is fabulous. But if these things don't keep you motivated, try the racing world. To be competitive you need to ride enough to have the endurance and speed to keep up with group, and once you're able to conquer that goal, there is no better feeling then taking a race into your hands and coming out victorious. So keep motivated and if you want to hook up with a ride go thelocalsroute.com

I, like many here, can identify with these thoughts. As a younger man I wanted to do everything, ski, scuba dive, play hockey,hunt, fish, cycle, run, there was no limit. As a result, I did everything half assed. With age and maturity, time constraints became greater, family demands and work demands dictated a need for me to narrow down my hobbies. Cycling is what remains. I find if I remember with every ride, how much I love this sport and what a blessing it is to be able to do it , then the joy returns. The more I cycle the more I like it.