trying to start all over again

[DDH]

I read the post from momtohanna and I thought, WOW how exciting. I remember how exciting it was as you added miles and really started feeling good about riding and just wanted to do it more and more.

As I read the post and thought about my first 10 miles, and then 20 and then 30 but never could get past the 30's mark, worked so hard at it and seemed to have a mind block to it. Tried to do a 50 twice at two different organized rides and failed after about 32 or 34.
Now I have had health problems for the last year and haven't gotten back on my bike since last August, but I gurantee you that the first 10 is going to be just as hard this time as it was the first time. Maybe harder since I have gained a LOT of weight on top of the health issues.
I have my bike in the living room and it calls to me daily. I get on here and read and lurk, and it makes me want to get back out there, but now, I seem to have a mental block for getting out the door.
I have started exercising again now that I am finally feeling better after 2 suregeries and a half dozen cases of hive break outs in the past year.
I have been using my WII and getting on my treadmill but haven't been able to talk myself into getting back on my bike yet.
I want to so badly and I don't know what stops me.

Anyway, whine, whine, whine, that's not getting it done either.
I just need to kick myself in the butt!!!
I miss my bike, maybe it's a body image problem. I've been heavy for about 13 years now and fight constantly to lose, but this is the heaviest I've ever been and I'm tired of fighting I guess.

Anyway, I do appreciate all the inspiration and still love to come here and read, and catch up. I don't post much since I'm not riding, but I do get on here and continue to try to get inspired enought to get going again.

You girls really do have great stories as well as interesting things happening and some of the funny stuff you find. I love it.

[maryellen]

Donna, it can be hard to get back on the bike after a layoff. I had a hard time getting back to riding after an accident in 2006. How about just going for a short ride? Don't think about mileage, just fun. Just a mile or two or three.

....(impatiently waiting for the wind gods to dry the roads a bit)......

[Tri Girl]

Donna- so good to see you back around.

Now get out there and ride your bike!

Ok, in all seriousness- you've been through some serious issues and you'll get back on when you're ready. I agree with MaryEllen- try going out for a 5 minute ride, then 10 minutes, then more as you feel up to it. Maybe what's keeping you from getting back on is just plain old fear. Once you get back on you might just remember how fun it is (I had a similar experience after a bad mtn bike crash- getting back on was scary but I did it the next week just to not let the fear keep lingering).

Give it another shot. I know you miss your bike and I'm certain it misses you. Don't be too hard on yourself, just try to have some fun. Big hugs to you.

[jobob]

Small steps, grasshopper.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Donna-
the good news is that your bike is 'calling' to you- that means you want to ride it....that's great!
The other good news is that yes you certainly can start all over again, and why the heck shouldn't you? Forget about 30 and 50 mile rides for now- thinking about them only makes you feel bad...and the hell with that!
Get on your bike and do a 2 or 3 mile ride, and you will feel GOOD. Then do it again a couple days later. Just do what makes you feel happy.
Trying to ride too much does not make you feel happy, and not riding at all does not make you feel happy.
You need to make riding something you enjoy again- not some ordeal or dread/guilt thing or punishment.

Go for a quicky little ride and feel good about it!

[redrhodie]

Donna-
the good news is that your bike is 'calling' to you- that means you want to ride it....that's great!
The other good news is that yes you certainly can start all over again, and why the heck shouldn't you? Forget about 30 and 50 mile rides for now- thinking about them only makes you feel bad...and the hell with that!
Get on your bike and do a 2 or 3 mile ride, and you will feel GOOD. Then do it again a couple days later. Just do what makes you feel happy.
Trying to ride too much does not make you feel happy, and not riding at all does not make you feel happy.
You need to make riding something you enjoy again- not some ordeal or dread/guilt thing or punishment.

Go for a quicky little ride and feel good about it!

+1. Very well said.

I have discovered over the years that my favorite length ride is around 20 miles. I feel like I've gotten a workout, but the bike hasn't taken over my life.

[momtohanna]

Hey Donna ~

I agree with everyone else ~ just go for a quick ride. That's how it all starts. If your enjoyment stays at short rides ~ cool ~ at least you're on your bike and moving. No one says you have to be doing 30 mile rides.

Can't wait to hear about your bike reunion. You can and WILL do it, when it's right for you. Be patient and kind to yourself.

[graceomalley]

I agree with everyone else. My first ride was around my BLOCK. Then I started exploring farther and finally crossed the street to join one of our trails.

Just give yourself permission to get on and ride TODAY, no matter what your weight. No one is going to think twice except to say, "Good for her -- she's not on the couch with a bag of Doritos." This is what I tell myself and it works for me.

Hugs to you Donna and I hope you get out there today and ride!

[momtohanna]

Grace makes a good point ~ give yourself permission to get around your blocks so you can ride.

I had a huge block about riding through the gravel to get to the road, it kept me at really short trips for fear I wouldn't have the energy to get back home.

When I finally gave myself permission to just drive to the road with my bike and then ride I finally started accomplishing some of my goals.

Give yourself permission and don't judge yourself. You are awesome and you can do it.

[Crankin]

I have found that whenever I have a bad attitude toward riding, instead of getting on my road bike and riding for fitness, I get on my hybrid and do an errand. Sometimes these rides are as short as 7 miles, other times they are 15 miles. All I know is that having a destination or purpose and being on a bike that forces me to go slower cures me of the bad attitude. I feel like a kid again and am usually ready to get on my road bike the next time.

[Jiffer]

Yeah, go for a "fun" ride and tell yourself it can be as short as you feel like making it. Just get on and start going. If you only go down the street and back, at least you will have ridden your bike.

As for weight loss, what worked for me was The Weigh Down Diet, which basically teaches you how to listen to your body's hunger and fullness signals and eat "less food". No calorie counting, fat counting, or even any food restrictions. Just less of it. Another book of similar philosophy is Thin Within. I lost 60 lbs 11 years ago because of Weigh Down and kept it off.

[Yelsel]

Hey, I can really empathize. I had a multi-year sick in bed layoff, and I started out just using the stairs and walking for 15-30 minutes at a time. A couple months later, I started biking to work - only 4 miles, and I took the bus+bike there or back as often as I biked both ways. Then I started riding a bit more for weekend rides, and a little bit of light, close bike errands.

Another setback with a really bad tibia stress fracture in January (running on the treadmill too fast too soon, my muscles and tendons were back up to par after a year, but not my bones), and when I was eventually allowed to ride again in mid-May, I could only increase mileage by 10% a week. It goes really slowly at first! Plus I needed to divide my time between commute (now 8 miles each way) and weekend rides. At the moment I commute 3 days a week, do grocery errands, have one day on the trainer, and am increasing gradually on the long weekend ride. Only being allowed a couple miles increase per week total (and having to split it between different goals) made it much easier to work up to about 45-50 miles on the weekend (which is what I'm at now for my long ride). I look at the ride books to find rides of the right length, and then add the mileage there and back if I'm biking to the start. Being forced to add slowly made it really exciting every time I got to increase the long ride by a couple miles, so I haven't hit a barrier yet.

[Red Rock]

Trying to start all over agian...that is how I feel right now. I have read what everyone hear has said, I think I just need to apply it.

I have gone on a few rides since the weather here has cooled off. When I have, I have done serious hard rides. Meaning going realtivly fast for me, so I have a high heart rate. Then it takes a while for the heart rate to come down. I'm 40 yrs old which is something that I have to keep reminding myself of. I am not 18-20 when my body was superflexible and could do everything. I do not have other health issues either. So I should be ok.

I must admit that I really did not do anything over June, July, August, and I guess September too. So my cardio system is not in good shape right now. I miss my bike. I need to go ride but I do not want to over do it either. Then of course it really makes me mad when I see people in lycra on good bikes blowing through stoplights. Then I either read or hear how people are being injured by cycling.

I do not know if all of this is in my head and I just have to block it all. The other thing I have to work on is finding other exercise I can do when the temps reach over 100 during the summer. My summer is like winter to the rest of the world. Fall, Winter, and Spring are riding times around here. I should be outthere.

Any suggestions on how to get back ouththere in a safe manner?

Thank you for listening. I hope I have not rambled to much.

Red Rock

[Crankin]

Can you swim in the summer? Take spin classes or get a trainer? Hike/walk very early in the AM? Weight lifting?
These are all of the things I did when I lived in a 100 degree climate.

[e.e.cummings]

I was in a funk for a while. I had my son, immediately lost the weight because of nursing, but then gained when the nursing stopped. I thought I was going to have another, a number of false starts, until I accepted it was not going to happen (I figured, why put a lot of effort into losing weight and getting tight abs if I am going to get pregnant again?) Then I had an operation that put me out of commission exercise-wise. Afterwards, I bought a bike and started to do decent rides, but I needed more. I finally signed up with a local gym - they have a four month program called 'transform' - they measure, weigh you, follow your stats, you are followed by a trainer and nutritionist during that time, then continue on your own after four months. I have a ciricuit training program and I do the spinning classes, which are fantastic workouts - I rarely get that intensity on the roads (hard when you have a child with you most of the times). The people there are great and gunning for each other. I am starting to see results and I doubt if I would have had the motivation if I was not being coaxed along by the staff and the great people at the gym. Give it a thought - a year ago, I would have never thought I would gone to a gym, just hated them, but now I see results. Good luck, we are all behind you!