Bad habit of not finishing what I start

[Kris]

I was in your position, sort of, a few years ago. What worked for me was planning a major trip that involved biking. The first was a bike and barge trip in Holland, and I rode a tandem with DH. I picked Holland because it was flat, and we did the tandem because I was worried that I'd be left behind. But I didn't want to embarrass us too badly, so I rode almost every day. The trip was wonderful fun 20-35 miles a day at a leisurely pace. It was a "family" trip so there were kids along, the youngest was 10. People were from several different countries.
We barely got home before we were planning the next trip, Brussels to Amsterdam, also by bike and barge. This time I rode my own by myself, no problem, but the fear of being left behind was a great motivator to get up in the morning and get out on my bike in the months before the trip. Again we had a great time.
The next year we went to France. France is not as flat as the Netherlands. (duh, nothing is as flat as the Netherlands, even Central Illinois.) And more of the people on the trip were serious bikers. Even though I had sought out every hill in town to practice on, I was bringing up the rear on every hill. Well, somebody has to do it. I think a couple of others were glad I was there to take the pressure off. France was beautiful and we had a great time again. I was glad I'd trained as much as I had and lost the 25 pounds.
This year we rode on the Michelson Trail in South Dakota with some old friends. The rail trails are nice because the hills aren't steep, but some of them are pretty long. It was beautiful. Another good trip.

Haven't decided where we'll go next year, but the year after will be across Missouri on the Katy Trail. That's a long enough trip that I will have to do some serious training to be able to ride further in a day. So far 40 miles is my record.

DH goes on the trips and likes it, but he only rides his bike to work, and an occasional ride with me. We have a crummy tandem that we ride to church or maybe to the park. He rides a recumbent stationary bike while he plays video games. I prefer to get outside.

Anyway, that's what works for me, the pressure of having a deposit down on a trip that might be humiliating if I don't get out there and ride now. Most of the time, though, as soon as I'm on the bike, I'm glad I made the effort.

Kris

[JH-NV]

When we were 12, and we used to call our friends on the phone, and our friends would be like, "why don't you come over?" we thought nothing of hopping on our bikes and riding over. So you just have to be twelve sometimes.

Exactly!!!

[shellabree]

I have a horrible track record of keeping with exercise. I start off all gung-ho, but then somewhere between 3-6 months later, I just fall off.

Although I haven't read the entire thread, I'm sure you've already received a bunch of wonderful and motivational ideas. I'm not sure if the one that I'm going to give you is somewhere in there already... apologies if it is.

I think many of us have a problem with motivation. In my experience, more people have this issue, than not.

I was a very active child and teen with swim team and cheerleading, but I totally slacked off from ALL exercise in my 20s.

At age 31, I found running first... and then triathlon.

The SINGLE thing that keeps me motivated to get out there and put in my workouts is that I have discovered that I LOVE to RACE! So for the last 1.5 years my motivation to get out there and swim/bike/run is because I know that I am scheduled to race on X date, the entry fee has been paid and there may be a spot on the podium waiting for me.

If I didn't have the race at the end of the tunnel, I wouldn't be out there... that's just the way it is with me. So, basically I train to race; as opposed to racing to train (for the love of exercise). Make sense? This may work for you as well.

Interestingly enough, somewhere amidst all of the "training to race" stuff; I really fell in love with long, slow distance training. Anytime I can take in a bike ride without getting out of HR zones 1-2 or do an easy long run and bird watch at the same time, I'm in heaven! So... you can still have your zen time with all of this "training to race", but you also still have the fire under your butt b/c you know that there is a "deadline" looming.

Good luck to you!!!

[indysteel]

I've had trouble over the years staying motivated to exercise, but cycling has been the exception. So long as the weather is halfway decent, I'm usually pretty eager to ride. Perhaps cycling will be your exception, too. It helps to share it with your family and friends. I have a large group of cycling buddies and some or all of us ride most weekday evenings. My BF also rides and while he's not as gung ho as I am, we definitely keep each other on track.

As others have mentioned, event rides, tours and the like are great motivators. Space them throughout the season and you'll generally have something that you're "training" for.

Having a bike that fits you well and the right gear for every season helps. So does having some tried and true routes that are easy and safe to get to. Keep your bike(s) in good working order, too, so that it's always ready to go.

Good luck and have fun.