I fell out of love with my bike

[DeniseGoldberg]

It sounds to me like the difference in speed between you and your riding companions is the cause of your not wanting to get on your bike. The first thing you should do is not be so hard on yourself. And you are a real cyclist - speed has nothing to do with that!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with riding on your own, but it may also be more than possible to adjust your riding style so that you can happily ride with others too. I'm a solo rider, and I'm a slow rider (in the overall scheme of things). I occasionally ride with someone (Robyn!) who is a faster rider than I am - but she knows my riding speed and we ride together when she wants to have a slower day. Many years ago I was frustrated by my speed, but I came to realize that I ride at a pace that makes me happy and there really isn't a reason for me to change.

You sound like you'd like to ride with others, and like you'd like to evolve into a faster cyclist. Is there a club in your area that has different paced rides? If there is, maybe choosing a group that is closer to your speed, slightly faster maybe, would give you a good way to teach your body to increase its speed.

By the way, where are you in Ireland? I did a tour there back in 2003 - wandering between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and I absolutely loved it. I'm sure that my bike and I will be back again some day.

--- Denise