Cycling Slump?

Anyone else ever have a slump?

I am a newer cyclist and having a hard time motivating myself to get on the bike. I primarily got the bike for commuting but find it discouraging to ride. My commute, as I've said in other threads, is only 2 miles, but the second mile is all uphill, and I've yet to be able to conquer the one very steep hill, so I walk it.

It's so discouraging. I have these images in my mind of being able to ride and love it, but I'm not loving my commute right now. I've gone back to riding the bus to work because I'm so discouraged even though it takes almost 3x as long. And I'm not motivated to ride for fun, either, because the whole city is so hilly - it's hard to find a flat area.

I'm also not in love with my bike. I got it at REI because it was decent at a good price, but I've never tried out LBS bikes, knowing that they cost more than I'd want to spend.

Any wisdom or encouragement? I was so inspired by that article posted about women cycling at every age, but it's still not enough.

We can cycle at every age, but not at every moment.
Take care of yourself.

We all go through ups and downs (at least I do). Your bike looks nice! Perhaps just replace the wheels? I had Alex wheels on my old bike (which was not nearly as nice, in terms of components as yours) and upgrading the wheels made a difference. You mention hills... I've seen several recommendations for the Williams Cycling System 19 , which are very light and that makes a difference when you climb. Maybe you need the new wheelset, some nice, colorful, handlebar tape. Maybe even colorful brake hood replacements.

As someone who travels more than hour to find rolling terrain... I wish I had the hills close by! It's so flat out here.

PS: Just found the weight of the Alex wheels (side bar here): 2946 grams! The Williams ones weigh less than half. That *will* make a difference in your climbing

I basically took a year and a half off. Just couldn't motivate myself to get on at all! Instead, I swam. And swam and swam. 5 days a week. It was refreshing and now that I'm back on the bike I appreciate it a lot more! (hard work getting back into shape though!)

Thanks, all.

Yes, Reesha, it is hard getting back in shape. That's part of my problem, I'm woefully out of shape. I've never been the athletic type but thought biking was something I could really do.

I appreciate everyone's insight.

Try taking that hill in small pieces. Ride just, say, 1/4 mile of it for a week or two, or maybe just two minutes, or whatever distance/time is comfortable for you, then walk the rest. Each week increase your distance by just a little.

Everyone has slumps. :)

I'm in a minor slump in that I'm not cycling the tons of mileage since:

am in a new city and still even exploring its bike routes

cycling infrastructure outside its river path, is way more limited (than Vancouver where I lived before)

boring scenery. It's a big urban prairie city. (over 1 million people) Some areas have hardly any trees. In summer I'm told due to little rain, hills turn brown. How edifying.

But I just still ride..daily even though it's not far ..because I know if I don't when I return to VAncouver to visit in a few weeks, my body will be surprised.. :rolleyes:

I am a destination oriented cyclist..especially in this sprawling, flattish city. I don't like wandering on bike here without a map. Cars still rule alot around here.

Just tell yourself this: SEattle never gets too hot like other parts of north U.S.A. Doesn't have the heat/humidity of NYC for instance. So over time, your body will adjust.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VeganBikeChick

Thanks, all.

Yes, Reesha, it is hard getting back in shape. That's part of my problem, I'm woefully out of shape. I've never been the athletic type but thought biking was something I could really do.

I appreciate everyone's insight.

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I told myself I didn't have a choice in the matter and just toughed it out those first 200 miles. Ugh it was terrible! Especially because when I stopped, I was in fantastic cycling shape. Things are getting better now and I'm starting to gain speed. Go easy on yourself physically. Ease into it. Don't overreach because it might be disappointing and that's a huge morale killer.

I think everyone experiences slumps, be it in our hobbies, or even desires to do things we normally enjoy... Sometimes its just change, other times it's the 'blues' or mild depression brought on by a variety of reasons.

Sometimes when things stop being fun, even tho physically we know the 'work' is needed, it can be hard to motivate oneself.

I used to love to play chess, but DH got frustrated as it wasn't 'fun' and refuses to play now... Guess I was a tad too rough on him ;)

Shannon

maybe you should try riding when you aren't impelled by commuting to work. Find a route for weekends and after work that will give you a one mile loop or a mile to some sort of reward, coffe shop, park, peaceful bench, scenic overlook whatever, an then the return trip. Try doing it once a week until you feel comfortable, or it starts to pale, then up the distance or frequency a bit, generally build up your length, strength and endurance, or try the hill, not for commuting, but just to measure your strength and capability. Think about baby steps for a while until you get the fit, the wheels, the gears all figured out and before you know it, you will be looking forward at riding as a pleasure, and not looking back at weight or condition then. Think of all the room you have to make positive progress now.

Good luck, sometimes just starting out is the hardest thing. Lay out your clothes and gear the night before, get up have a breakfast and a coffee and then go without thinking about it too much or letting yourself stop.

Its all about building a habit.

marni

I haven't ridden regularly in months.

My all-rounder bike got damaged and I simply lost heart. I've ridden another bike (which lives 1,000 miles away) but not this one. I've been running instead.

Don't worry about it. Even though 2 miles is easily walked or ridden, don't let it bug you. If you'd rather ride the bus, ride the bus! No-one ever said you have to ride the bike just because you have a bike.

I only now (6 months later) worked up the intestinal fortitude and took my bike to the shop to be fixed. Talk about slow! I anticipate I'll be riding it again soon.

Wait until you feel like riding again. Then ride. Lots.

ETA: If you'd like to do a "TE Field Trip to meet VBC at a good bike shop", let us know. I'm sure we'd all be willing to peruse the bicycles and give you our opinions and cheer you on as you test ride a few! There's Montlake, and Counterbalance, and Free Range, and Recycled Cycles, and Cascade Bike Studio, and Velo, and...

VeganBikeChick I love your name! Here is what I have been trying to tell my friends to get them into biking. Personally getting into some type of bike shape is the hardest part of biking. It is not the 70 mile ride I did last week that was the hardest, it was the 15 mile ride I did 5 years ago before I had really ridden much. One you are in shape my bike craves me, and I crave my bike. But it is when I have taken some time off that I just dont want to ride.

What gets me on my bike for miles and miles everyday is:
the fresh air
I'm outside
the speed
pretty flowers I dont see in cars
the fact that I rode and didn't waste gas didnt pollute the environment
that I burned a few extra calories
and that I moved my body
that I feel strong
that I love my bike so much it makes me feel free

Hope that helps

How about walking to work? Taking 3 times longer than biking sounds like a drag. I wonder how long it would take you to walk there?
I find that if bike riding is a "chore" then I won't want to do it. I do it because it's fun. Maybe if you could search out (not sure about Seattle, so I can't recommend any place specific) some fun or interesting places to ride it would be a nice change to the "same old, same old" of going back and forth to work.
Don't give up, just make it fun. If you're new to the area maybe ask around. I think there are some flat places by the lake.

Thanks again, everyone. Big hugs to all of you for your advice!

I do see biking as a chore right now, and I want to enjoy it. I biked to and from work while living overseas, but it was relatively flat and I knew it was the only way I was getting to work - no bus there!

I might get out on the Sammamish River Trail on my day off. It would involve renting a car to tote my bike but my reward would be a nice beer from RedHook Brewery!

Part of my problem, too, is that I feel I have to go max speed, so that I can get it over with (as in hill climbing). It's not a race, it's a journey, I just have to keep reminding myself.

You gals have been so helpful and encouraging :).

@Veganbikechick, when I ride from my house to the Oregon Zoo, there are a couple of short, intense hills I have to ride in order to get onto the multi-user path that parallels along Hwy 26 and up the long, slow, steep hill to the zoo. I have always been able to do it from my very first time, but it was very difficult in parts. I know that if I do it periodically it will get easier, but there was this one hill that still "psyches" me up. I know I can do it but it will take 110% effort to get to the top and slowly. I just laugh now and do it - not let it get to me. I tell myself, "so what? I'll be out of breath at the top, but it will be a relief". I just do it. I shift to a low gear and just keep pedaling and looking at the ground just in front of me, not at the top of the hill.
Have you actually tried riding up that hill? How low of a gear were you in? I'd say that speed isn't a factor going up a hill unless you're coming down one hill and you want to use speed/momentum to help going up the next hill. If you're going up this hill from relatively flat, I'd just keep shifting into lower gears (before you need them) until you get one that is comfortable. When I ride up long, tortuous hills I'll tell myself, "I'll ride just to that mailbox", then once there I keep going and pick something else I'm going to ride to. I break it into smaller pieces and that makes me feel successful along the way versus making it to the top (or not) and using that as my success.
Hope this helps. Keep up the good work. Maybe you could "reward" yourself if you ride to work, say, twice a week?

@VeganBikeChick,

I was wondering last night if you had shifting problems when climbing. I had those when I traveled to Scotland until some friends explained to me how to do it. What I was doing: gradually shift down all the way in the rear derailleur and then go to a smaller ring in the front. I would "overspin" for a short stretch, and I was suddenly out of gears, had to stop and walk.

My apologies to everyone if I am stating the obvious (it was not to me): my friends told me to get into a good cadence when approaching the climb and shift both at the front (shift down) and the back (shift up). When you 'fire' both shifters at the same time, the chain ends in the best gear to match you cadence. This made an enormous difference for me. It also explained why the shifters for the front and back work as they do.

I don't think I have shifting problems. When I'm approaching the hill I shift into the smallest rear gear, and then as I'm climbing I downshift until I can't downshift anymore! So I'm definitely in the lowest gear possible when climbing the hills.

Instead of taking the most direct route up and over the biggest hills, have you tried zig-zagging it onto other streets so you take the elevation gain more in chunks? Yes, it makes the route longer, but it might actually make the commute more enjoyable.

I used to do this on my commute home in a previous job. If I took the most direct/shortest safe route between my office and home, it was only about 2.5 miles...but almost all of it was uphill--the upside was that getting to work in the morning was fast and took very little effort. Going home, I added about a mile to the distance using a combo of streets with more shallow grades and little climbs with bits of flat for "rest". It only took a few minutes longer, but it made me happier (and more likely) to bike commute.

There are enough Seattle TE'ers around here that if you need help finding alternate routes someone would probably have thoughts.

I've had lots of cycling slumps in the past ten years.
The way I solve them is to ride for a different purpose. A couple of years ago, I was really distraught about getting slower because of the effects of illness and on going sports injuries. I rode a lot more on my hybrid, for errands that summer (almost 1,000 miles) and I still ended up riding the normal amount of miles I usually do for my total. Riding my hybrid absolves me of all speed requirements... it's like the bike is so much heavier than my road bike that I feel no compelling reason to try and ride it very fast. The year after that, I still did a lot of bike errands, but not as many. Last year, I only rode my hybrid maybe 5 times. I had to quickly get in shape for a challenging tour in May and after that I felt very fit, so I rode a lot. And it never rained.
I also started riding in the early AM and discovered I like riding in the dark, when no one else is out. Those rides might be short, but they add up.
This year, I am kind of in between. Weather, work, and allergies seem to be conspiring against me for mileage, but I've decided to sort of let it go for this season. I'm pretty sure I won't end up with the miles I had last season, but I'm sure I will reach my "minimum" which I keep in the back of my mind.