Ever feel like quitting?

[seagrape]

Good morning, all...

I'm just sort of wondering- do you ever have days when you just want to throw your bike off of a bridge?

I mean, sometimes I wonder why I continue road cycling... Dumb Barbies in people carriers, idiotic pedestrians, punctures?

I'm in a bad mood today, anyway, but I sometimes wish I'd stayed on a swim team. I've recently had a couple of close calls in the past week (some of it me, admittedly) and there are very few routes (like 2) that I can take.

How do you overcome bad attitude?

[bouncybouncy]

hey seagrape...just read your post and my shoulders drooped!!! i hate to hear that people have such d@** luck doing something they love

i seem to remember you mentioning you have a mtbike...let me just express the first thought that came to my head:

i just moved from sofla and could not have gotten out sooner...the drivers are enough to scare the be#$%^ out of anyone, let alone the "attitudes" of the walkers/runners/rollerbladers in the area i believe you are in...i would hit the trails to de-brief yourself from that mojo. i know, i know...you are saying "but i live in sofla...there are no mountains here! and besides...the 'canes have blown everything away!!!"
OK...i have vowed to myself to be a more positive person so i am done florida bashing and if you already know about the following club then disregard otherwise...good people!

www.clubmud.com

they have worked with some neighboring clubs and have made the trails better than ever...i hear Amelia is coming along nice and Oleta is better than before...and now (it is a drive for you) Markham is open!!!! the club has monthly group rides and "feminine flow" rides for the female enthusiast...i did not ride with them too much but know of a few people and they seem like a great bunch to hook up with...very patient and educational! in fact, a couple of clubmudders are now on the "subaru IMBA" team!!!
Cruz on over to their forum and lurk a bit...hopefully you will find something to cheer you up and keep you in your saddle

pedal on....


***edit...they go on some neat road trips too!!! to central florida and more...in fact NON-club group (just people who met thru the club i assume) is going to NC for a weekend mtbike trip (by bus) always a good placr for riding!!!!! ***i course i am bias now cause i call it home

[maillotpois]

I definitely got a bad attitude a few years back. It lasted a couple of years, and my performance really dropped and I gained weight, which made riding even worse. I backed off and didn't push myself to ride for a while, and then I have started back with some new challenges last year, and have re-discovered a real enthusiasm. I started back riding for fun, when I feel like it, and not because of some training schedule. Then I worked a schedule in (gradually - and it's a LOOSE schedule, just giving me milestones for long rides), and I have done 3 doubles last year, the death ride and have 5 - 6 doubles planned for this year.

I think I got burned out because I came into this sport on a real tear, and tried to do too much too soon. Then my husband's peformance really improved dramatically while mine was dropping. DOn't get me wrong, I am thrilled for him that he has improved so much. It was just hard to see him getting so much better while I was declining. I think work stress had a lot to do with it, as well.

My trainning buddy and FC 508 partner has gotten herself totally burned out and possibly injured following a very aggressive training schedule. I find some of the training schedules suck the joy out of riding, at least they did for me. I don't use a heart rate monitor any more at all. If I feel good, I ride HARD. If I am tired, I ride slow. Scientific.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't tell yourself you are going to "quit", but maybe take a break for a bit. And so much of performance is mental that if you are frustrated you won't be doing yourself any favors by pushig when it might be better to step back. Also, you mention close calls - if you are in a bad place in your head, you might be taking some chances or being careless in ways you're not even conscious of. Safety first.

Good luck.

[Veronica]

I'm currently training to do some hard double centuries. Most of the time, the training is fun. I know when riding seems like work, it's time to forget about the training and just enjoy the ride. It happens every couple of weeks for me.

V.

[Bike Goddess]

What Maillotpois says is right on! I trained hard last year as I was doing the AIDS ride and wanted to be in good shape. BUT, I was tired most of the time and my personal life suffered.

This past fall I decided to cut back my AM rides, do more gym work and ride with my club 2 times a week. It's been much more fun and rewarding. AND, I generally do a metric when I'm out, so I feel I've gotten a good ride in. As the mornings get lighter, I'll probably do some morning rides as well (riding at 5AM by myself in the dark aint much fun) just to be outside and enjoy the sunrise and the quiet of the day.

I just did a century in Death Valley this past weekend. I'm tired from the exertion (I did a lot of climbing), but it gave me an gauge as to what I need to work on for the rest of the season. Now, once I have fully rested, I'll be ready to train harder.

My advice- if it stops being fun or at least a joy to be outside on your bike, it's time to cut back.

[AuntieK]

I went through what you're describing about a month or so back. I asked a friend about it and she told me to put the bike away for awhile and do some cross-training instead to stay fit. So I covered the bike up with a blanket so I wouldn't see her and feel guilty.
Anyway, I guess as they say is true: Absence makes the heart grow fonder. After a couple of weeks the desire to ride was back.
It worked for me anyway.
Good luck!

[Brandi]

I am lucky in the sence that I travel so much that while I am away all I can think about is riding my bike! So when i get home and hop back on her I am in the mood. And with my job i am around thousands of people every day and loud music etc.... so I look forward to some peace and quite. The roads I ride don't have a lot of cars on them so I have that. I know some of you have to do a lot of dodging which i think would make riding frustrating!

[bikerHen]

I worry about quitting everyday. I seem to have a short attention span when it comes to life, which may explain my Google issues, but I digress. I worry that this is just another phase and I will lose interest. (I have a history of phases)

I have amazed myself that I have been able to stick with riding my trainer all winter. There are days when it is hard, but I really want to try riding with others this season without being the slo-mo of the group. My first training ride with a group is this Sunday and I'm already breaking a sweat over it. Training rides are hard work and I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I am ready, I think, but fear of the unknown has me all uptight. My main motaviation for riding is of course weight loss. That is not happening but I still keep riding and hoping. I am getting stronger so I guess it's not a total waste of time.

I worry ALOT about everything. And quitting is right there at the top. But I seem to be enjoying it and on the days I don't feel like riding I don't and have only a minimum amount of guilt. I keeping hoping that maybe I am getting hooked and will make this a lifelong passion. I need to think more like an athlete and less like a couch potato. Maybe I just need to worry less and enjoy more. BikerHen

[Brandi]

My neck has been out sence last thursday too. This is the first day I feel like I could ride and I am having to really talk myself into it! And what am I doing sitting on the computer reading about riding.

[Dianyla]

Yeah, I really felt like this after I finished the Seattle to Portland last July (double century that took me 19 long painful hours to complete ). I totally overtrained and ran myself into the ground, and really didn't even want to think about my bicycle for at least a few months. I also really resented the fact that every weekend from March to July was consumed with STP training rides.

I find that seasonal rotation helps me not get too bored with a specific sport. Instead of pushing too hard to do a specific sport year round, I just do different things in different seasons. After I stopped cycling in July I switched to hiking and backpacking for the rest of the summer. In winter it's time to go skiing.

This spring I've been casually contemplating doing the STP or some other area centuries but I refuse to do an all out training effort for it. I've decided I will just cycle for pleasure and health and do some good solid riding, and as it approaches on the calendar if I'm feeling good and in the mood I may go for it. Or, not.

[CorsairMac]

I feel like that Every Time it's cold outside and I have to put on multiple layers just to make the short ride into work. I do own a car but A) I don't see that as my vehicle of choice for getting to work and B)I'm afraid once I choice the car over the bike it'll just get easier and easier to make the choice.

On those days I just keep reminding myself I Know I'll love the ride once I get started and if I still really feel the un-motivated, one of the guys can always bring me home!

As a runner, I learned early on to listen to my body: if I don't feel like riding (beyond my daily commute), I don't. Neither I nor the bike are going anywhere anytime soon and the day will come when I feel like riding it - again.

[bikerchick68]

yep, sometimes I just don't feel like riding... so I don't. I did a century in February that was rough... I rode on only 3 1/2 hours sleep, and was just hurting due to that the whole ride... then 58 miles in my friend crashed. Mentally, that ride just drained me... so I took 3 weeks off. This past Sunday I rode a 71 mile ride for the first time since and felt great.

I give myself permission to take time off as needed. I don't want cycling to ever be some sort of obligation. If I lose the joy of riding, I stop until I feel ready to ride again...

as to the bad attitude... I think it's great that you know some of the close calls were you, not someone else... so the question is, how do you change that? What do you need to do to ensure your safety? Why do you ride? Are YOU feeling obligated??? Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves that we lose the joy of the activity. That happened when I began dancing competition... I lost the joy of dance. I quit competing and now love dancing again. It's for ME and no one else.... riding is the same way... some days I ride hard cause I feel good...and some days I stop and take pictures of birds, and flowers and enjoy the feel and scent and sights of the earth around me...

I hope you find the joy again too... give yourself permission to be off the bike until you miss it...

[Bike Goddess]

Yeah, I really felt like this after I finished the Seattle to Portland last July (double century that took me 19 long painful hours to complete ). I totally overtrained and ran myself into the ground, and really didn't even want to think about my bicycle for at least a few months. I also really resented the fact that every weekend from March to July was consumed with STP training rides.



Dianyla- Some of us from the Bay Area (women) are doing the STP in two days. We're planning to stop in Vader (Good food, I hear from Sloe Joe). So...if you want to join us please do! Then you won't have to train so hard! I've done STP twice and always done it in two days. Enjoy the scenery and all the other cyclists!

[Trekhawk]

I worry about quitting everyday. I seem to have a short attention span when it comes to life, which may explain my Google issues, but I digress. I worry that this is just another phase and I will lose interest. (I have a history of phases)

I have amazed myself that I have been able to stick with riding my trainer all winter. There are days when it is hard, but I really want to try riding with others this season without being the slo-mo of the group. My first training ride with a group is this Sunday and I'm already breaking a sweat over it. Training rides are hard work and I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I am ready, I think, but fear of the unknown has me all uptight. My main motaviation for riding is of course weight loss. That is not happening but I still keep riding and hoping. I am getting stronger so I guess it's not a total waste of time.

I worry ALOT about everything. And quitting is right there at the top. But I seem to be enjoying it and on the days I don't feel like riding I don't and have only a minimum amount of guilt. I keeping hoping that maybe I am getting hooked and will make this a lifelong passion. I need to think more like an athlete and less like a couch potato. Maybe I just need to worry less and enjoy more. BikerHen

Hey Bikerhen you know you cant quit because who will I ride with at LRRH.
I hope you have a great group ride on Sunday. I understand breaking out in a sweat over it - Im not fast enough to join the club around here but if I was Im sure I would be panicking before each ride.

Let us know how it all works out. I will be sending vibes for a smooth fun ride.

[tprevost]

I actually did quit for 8 years (husband, job, kids, no one to ride with... it goes on) and in December, it HIT, the desire to get back on my bike came back in a very big way. I started riding short rides and ordered a new bike... then SPLAT (that was the sound of me crashing on my roller blades and breaking my arm )

Anyway, the cast is off and I'm back to riding short rides on my mtn bike and I can't wait to get back on the road bike. I'm ultra slow but SO excited about the rides I've committed to doing. I think Bikerchick68 said it very well, if we take a break when we need it (hopefully NOT 8 years though!) the joy of riding will always be there (or at least most of the time).

Bikerhen & Trekhawk - Don't forget - I'm counting on you two to keep me company on LRRH!!! This is OT but what Bikerhen said about riding with a group really hits home with me... its difficult to find riding partners here that aren't racers (and way beyond my level). I was contacted by a guy close to here who knows I'm just starting out again and offered to ride w/me. I am SO intimidated, I mean REALLY, doesn't he KNOW he will have to reduce his average speed and distance by half for me to keep up???? (I'm sure I'm not THAT bad, but that's the stuff I've made up that is so intimidating!) I told him I would give it a try but reminded him of my 'level'~ Bikerhen, please let us know how it went!

Anyway, thought I'd throw in my story!

Tracy