Grr...

[Cella66]

I have lost all motivation and can't seem to get it back. I haven't been on my bike in weeks. Now, it just sits. A friend of mine actually took a picture of my bike and sent me an email (from my bike) telling me how much it missed me. I am at a loss as to how to motivate myself again. I ride alone which doesn't help. What gives? I don't want a pity party, just trying to figure out a different approach to this stupid problem.

Any ideas?

[Melalvai]

When did this happen? Because about 3 months ago, I became a bicycle fanatic, I like to say a born-again bicyclist. Maybe I got all your biking passion. Well, you should take some of it back, because it is interfering with the rest of my life! Just leave me a little. :)

Seriously, what happened is I took the Road I course (designed by the League of American Bicyclists, http://www.bikeleague.org). I suppose it depends on the instructor as well, mine was apparently excellent (and is now my best riding buddy. And I hope he's not reading these forums regularly because he has a big enough ego w/o my help.)

[bacarver]

Hi -

Sorry to hear about the inner turmoil regarding time on the bike. Has something happened or did something happen in the past?
What other sports/activities do you engage in?
Maybe it's time to give a new physical activity a try for awhile, or a hobby, or new interest to broaden your horizons.
I've ridden alone since 1989 when I got married and moved to Southern Indiana. I used to live in Indy where I had riding partners, club rides, group rides, a velodrome close to my house, racing opportunities, etc. Now I ride all by myself. I push myself hard, so my fitness is about the same. I'm 47 and in darn good shape. I'm proud of my freaky bikie tan.
This body is the only one I'm going to have. I have to take care of it. I want to be able to stay active when I'm old and gray. This means dedication. I'm a nurse and I take care of too many patients who let themselves get fat and lazy long ago. I work in Kentucky where nearly everyone smokes. This isn't the life for me.
Don't beat yourself up.
I'm sure you find answers to your situation and you'll move forward.

Best wishes.

Barb

[DarcyInOregon]

I am like Barb in that I ride alone during the week and there is no cycling club in my rural county. But I have two TE friends with whom I can ride with a few times a month and that helps for the longer rides because riding with friends is a lot of fun. The real trick is to register for the event rides at a ride level that is more difficult than your current longest ride, and then start training for that specific event ride.

Other tricks are to bike from Town A to Town B, stop for ice cream or a fruit smoothie or a special goodie in Town B, then bike back to Town A.

To get motivated, just get on the bike and go. Once the ride is over you will feel great and wonder why you stayed off the bike.

Darcy

[annie]

I agree with Darcy. Signing up for an event can be very motivating. Scares you into training, if nothing else. :eek: :D
Also, having a destination, whether it's a nearby town or an ice cream parlor, or a coffee shop....... just somewhere to go. It doesn't have to be far. Stick a small paperback in your pocket so you can read when you get there, if you don't want to sit alone with nothing to do.

Once you get out there again, I bet your desire to ride will come back.

Annie

[Melalvai]

Now I ride all by myself. I push myself hard, so my fitness is about the same. I'm 47 and in darn good shape. I'm proud of my freaky bikie tan.
Me too! I love my tan lines/areas, and the little tan circles from my gloves. And although outwardly embarrassed by my chainring tatoos, secretly pleased. And the bruises on my shins from flipping the pedal up with my toe too hard. (Those should heal now that I have toe straps.)

I'm 33 & in darn good shape for me.

I find riding by myself I go easier than with someone who can go faster than me. I try to push myself, but I get distracted and forget and suddenly realize I slowed way down. I like to vary my rides. By myself, with my husband who is slower but I like the company and family-ness of it, or with my riding buddy who is a good friend and helps me keep a challenging pace.

[Zen]

The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one.

Motivators:
1)as stated previously, events to train for

2)a riding partner.

3) a swift kick in the

If there is a bike club in your area they should have weekly rides.
a lot of bike shops also have weekly rides

What's stopping you?
I imagine you sitting there saying to yourself "I really should ride my bike today but_____________"

What goes in that blank?
Whatever it is, you know it's lame.

RIDE YOUR BIKE

[Mr. Bloom]

Is it possible that you're struggling with depression? Lack of motivation to do what you intuitively know you should do...well, it's one sympton...

If you're anywhere near Bethel Maine in July...we'll be there riding...I assure you that Silver is a motivator!!!

In addition, there's a group of 80 teenagers from Bloomington completing a three week ride from Fort Meyers to Vermont on July 15...drive over there and see them at the end of the line...I think it will be motivating to see these 13 year olds finishing a 1,500 mile ride....http://us.1.p11.geocities.com/decyclesindiana/index.html

[Jiffer]

JUST DO IT!

Sorry! Had to say it! :D

I agree with the other posts. Find a riding buddy. Search one out at all costs! Surely there must be SOMEONE somewhere who you can ride with. Do you have a cycling club in your area?

I also like the motivation of an event to train for. Do you have a bike computer? Do you try to improve your riding by tracking your progress of speed and distance, how much easier a climb is getting, etc? Those kinds of things motivate me. I can't compare myself too much to other people, (since everyone I know is WAY better than me!) but I can compare myself to me and see my improvement and it spurs me on!

I say, tell yourself you're going for a ride tomorrow and just do it. Plan it. Decide where you're going. Get your stuff out before you go to bed. it doesn't have to be far or fast. Just something to get you out there.

I also agree with what someone else said in that you may be wanting more variety in your exercise. I can't understand why anyone would want to do anything other than cycling, but, you know! Whatever floats your boat! Do you like to run? Swim? Work out at the gym? Maybe you can still ride your bike, but add some variety if you aren't thrilled with doing the same thing all the time. (Which, of course, variety in your route, people you ride with, etc. helps). If you find a cycling club with set riding dates, maybe that will help. Planning you're going for a specific ride at a specific time.

Well, I hope we have encouarged you to get back on your bike. Let us know when you did and, hopefully, how exhilarating it was! :D

So, again I say ...


JUST DO IT!


:D :D :D

[iFKA]

I had the same problem few months ago, but luckily I solved it and I hope you'll do it soon. My problem was that I had perhaps an hour or maximum two to ride per day and I rode the same 2 routes and it get pretty bored. I rode at the same time, the same place, same people and animals were along the way... terrible deja vu :(

Than I decided to change something... anything.
1) I started to ride at dawn, it was so refreshing, you couldn't believe it.

2) When it was to early for me to wake up cause I didn't have enough sleep I put my bike in a car and than drove to some furtherer mountain/place/lake and I drove my bike on and off the mountain/... I saved much time getting there with a car so I still had the time to do my chores/homework/gardening etc. The mileage I did per day was the same but it was much exciting

3) I persuade one friend of mine to ride with me (she borrowed my DH bike) and we ride the "old" route at much, much slower speed. But I had someone to talk with. :) After a while she fall in love with biking and bought herself a bike and now we ride a lot together, much faster, of course

I hope some of this will help you...

[echidna]

Relax and give yourself permission to have fun on a bike. Accept that ANYTHING might happen when you roll out the driveway - you might feel great, you might suck, you might have an epic ride, or it might be 5 miles. This day, your accomplishment is buckling up the helmet and going for it.
Sometimes it's easy to psyche yourself out of riding "today" because today isn't perfect enough, you're not going to set a PR, you only have time for the ride you can do, not the one you want to do (my bugaboo - used to be that if it wasn't 6 hours, it wasn't a ride, so I spent a miserable several months without much riding until I got THAT notion out of my system).

[lauraelmore1033]

Someone on this forum (don't remember who...) said something that kept me motivated to ride throughout this last winter. It was this: Just plan to go out for a ten minute ride three or four times a week. I found that if I just went out for a casual "spin around the block" I would just get caught up in how FUN it was to be on my bike and it would turn into a much longer ride. If you are anything like me, you might get caught up in all of the steps that need to happen in order to get out and do a "proper" bike ride; packing toolkits, packing extra tubes, packing water, checking tire pressures, finding this and that and whatever.... I tend to pack like I'm summiting Everest for some reason. But with the 10 minute directive, I'm not getting all hung up on all that stuff. I just grab the bike and go. I do hope you get your motivation back in any case.

[rij73]

A friend of mine actually took a picture of my bike and sent me an email (from my bike) telling me how much it missed me.

That's brilliant! Does this friend have a bike? Sounds like a built-in riding partner to me...

There have been some great ideas on this thread, and I'm bookmarking it in case I ever run into the same issue. All I can say is that I second the bike computer idea if you don't already have one. Tracking my increase in speed and mileage has been a huge motivator for me. I've never been good at anything athletic, and it's awesome to see evidence of my improvement.

Good luck, and get out there and enjoy the beautiful summer!

[DDH]

So, hows it going? Did you get out there and ride?

I am having this problem on and off, but mine is because the weather will not cooperate and I am afraid to ride when the rodes are wet.

We have had so much rain in TX and I am really tired of it. All the cool weather rides have been ruined by rain and then when you do have a clear day someone has appts. or life things get in the way.
I have been going anyday I can, and yesterday it was so hot and humid that I thought I was going to melt before I got home. LOL
It's all good though, I still enjoyed my ride.

[Livin the Dream]

My motivation comes and goes. There are evenings when my day has just been hectic, I'm tired and I'd rather plop my butt on the couch and read a book. DH rarely rides with me during the week -- he's a weekend rider only. So, when I'm fighting a mental "should I do it or should I not" battle with myself, I agree with myself that I'll just ride to my daughter's house and back (She lives a mile away). Once I'm on the bike and going, I'm fine. I don't think I've ever just ridden to her house and back. I'm no marathon rider by any stretch of the imagination -- I ride because it is the form of exercise I enjoy most. I usually end up riding at least 6 - 7 miles and feeling much better when I'm back home!

[mimitabby]

Cella, i am not sure what will work for you; but mortality is what did it for me.
When my mother fell 2x last year and broke bones both times, I had my wakeup call. Osteoporosis and being out of shape are a bad combo. You need to be in shape to keep from stumbling. You need to be in shape to be able to open jar lids and climb stairs. Bicycling has been a great gateway drug for me. From there i have progressed to walking, stairclimbing, weighlifting and pushups.
I am not someone who exercises 3 hours a day; but for sure, I am trying to do SOMETHING 6 days a week.
I hope you get off your azz soon :D

[rapid cycler]

Hey, Cella—

I had a similar spell in the early part of this year. Over the course of a few months I went from riding outdoors every chance I got…to riding mostly on a trainer in front of the TV…to riding occasionally on a trainer in front of the TV—and being afraid to ride outside again—to hanging the bike in the garage and putting the trainer away. I sort of got into this weird place where I even contemplated selling my bike and getting something less fancy because I wasn't worthy of carbon and Ultegra. Yup, it was a spiral.

The good news is, spirals work both ways, because once I finally forced myself back out on the bike for an outdoor ride—with no pressure to do anything epic or exhausting—I rediscovered the exhilaration that lured me into cycling in the first place. I think the key is to reestablish the joy in your relationship with cycling—that pleasure that doesn't understand the language of "training ride" or "hill repeats" and instead recalls the freedom you felt as a kid when you got your first bike. I'll come back to you in time, but you might have to cajole yourself into that first ride. Keep the faith, and enjoy the trip back.

[Torrilin]

I stay motivated by competing with myself. How fast can I get to my partner's office to meet him for lunch? (around 8 minutes for 2.1 miles) Can I ride 10 miles? (not yet) Can I break my weekly mileage record? (yes!) How many miles can I get in in gear combo X?

Since I just moved and I use my bike as my primary transportation, I'm always going new places. That helps keep the interest level up. Finding raspberries in the Arboretum on Wednesday was awesome! If I'd been in a car I'd never have seen them. Now I have a reason to ride that route more... they should be ripe soon and I want to beat the birds to them.

The exercise high doesn't hurt either, but by itself it wouldn't be enough.

[Cyclo Kitty]

I think it's a familiar cycle, to get burned out. Three months ago was March, and March was nasty up here in the NE--I rode home in ice storms, just about lost my desire to ride. I took a day off, and rode different routes. I rode for fun instead of to work because riding in there actually wasn't fun...so I added a couple loops to the commute and that helps.

Get back on the bike and ride in circles around the yard, the driveway, whatever you've got. It's FUN. It feels GREAT. Just get back on. I think the rest will come to you if you just start again.

My personal motivations are to drive as little as possible and to bike instead, to get fit enough to race, and to race 'cross, and to prove to the lunky guys at work that a chick can do it...even when they won't/can't. It's my own foolish pride and a point of principle, but if I won't ride, I have to walk instead of driving. And I hate the walk to work. So I ride.

[maryellen]

Thank you for this thread!

Since my crash last August, I've had a hard time getting back on the bike. I went out for a few miles one day, then out for 26 miles the following week, then skipped a week. Surely not the way to get back to consistent riding!

I was compiling reasons why I couldn't ride today when I read this thread. It was clearly talking to me--especially Jiffer's "Just Do It" post so off I went for a 37 mile ride in the park. I'm getting there.

[Cella66]

Thank you all for your help. I think there are many reasons for my lack of motivation (a lot listed in this thread) Your suggestions are great ones and in some perverse way it helps to know I am not alone in my struggles.

I think the big thing is the "Groundhog Day" effect. Same ride day in and day out. Unless I put my bike in the back of my car and take it somewhere I am limited to the road that I live on.(rural living bites!) That coupled with no one to share the bikelove seem to be my biggest issues. None of my friends ride and they get this funny half glazed look when I talk about it. One of them will inevitably say "here she goes again!"

I still haven't got on my bike, but I hope to. I am setting a goal to at least ride once next week. It was supposed to be this morning, but the weather dampens more than my spirit.

Thanks for letting me whine and I will try some of the suggestions given.



marcie

[Suzi-Sue]

Hi Marcie,
The old 'lack of motivation' has happened to me a few times and it sucks!:(

I used to ride the same route all the time, and it did get a bit boring.
I started to set some goals and vary my route a bit.

1. Time yourself doing a route & try to improve on it!
2. Just go out and explore, take a few new roads. (I went through the town the other day for the first time, and it wasn't bad at all! It's nice to get up in the morning and have an option of good routes to choose from.)

I think having a selection of routes is a great thing as you can go on the one that suits your mood best that day :)

Somedays i look at my bike and just have no kick up the *** or motivation, but i would go out anyway. I just think to myself, i'll be home, outta the shower & reading a magazine in an hour n a half if i leave the house now...

but the thing is, i get back home and feel GREAT! :D and that's me hooked on cycling again. :rolleyes:

I didn't ride for a few months, mainly due to the weather here in Ireland, and it was the hardest thing to just get up and go again :mad: fustrating sometimes, so i know how you feel & i know that every rider goes through those horrible little phases.

Hope you feel inspired to get out and about soon!;) do let us know!

[Cyclo Kitty]

same old same old....

Yeah, that was why I added the extra loops. I ride alone except when I can ride with DH. It gets pretty lonely and the folks at work think I am cra-a-a-zy.

You are not alone!! I really hope you can get back on the bike and start riding again. I've been thinking about you, and hoping you'll start again!

Good luck, and please post when you do ride again! :)

[pooks]

Maybe you need a new jersey or shorts?

I wouldn't ordinarily recommend "spending" yourself out of a funk, but if you need to shake things up a bit, maybe a new bit of gear or apparel will get you excited to wear/use it?

[Cella66]

Took me a while, but I got on the bike today. 3 miles at a whoppin 14.58! Woot...(insert sarcasm here) I have lost muscle and wind, but figured out the whole depression and motivation thing. I will say that it felt good mentally...

Thanks, it helps sometimes to know someone cares. I just wish I could suck it up.

[snapdragen]

Baby steps, it will happen.

[LBTC]

Cella, I'm sending you butterflies to give you motivation, to make your heart light, to make your rides easy and fast.

Hugs,
~T~

[ChickWithBrains]

It helps me *every* summer.

[Starfish]

I just wish I could suck it up.




I know everyone's different, but for me, when I start saying what you've written, above, it is time for me to be very gentle with myself, rather than beat myself up.

Someone else wrote "Baby Steps." That's the ticket. You got out there again...it will come.

We do care!

[Tuckervill]

Aha! Good place to post this article I just read. It's called Choose Joy, and it quotes extensively a book called Fitness Intuition by George Beinhorn.

http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=148

The article is very, very inspiring. I'd love to read what others think about it.

Karen