Totally lost the desire to ride!

[Bethany1]

I'm for looking for a hybrid on CL to help with errands if that will help. Can you sell the hybrid you have now to help buy a new or new to you bike? The best thing I did was sell my Mamba after my accident as I never trusted the bike afterwards. A huge weight was lifted up after that.

I hope you feel better soon and are up and riding.

[kajero]

I found this poem somewhere on the Internet. I imagine most of you have seen it, but I thought I would post it for those of you have not seen it. (It's given me something to think about. They extended my probation another 30 days. Ugh. What is with them anyway?)

When the spirits are low,
when the day appears dark,
when work becomes monotonous,
when hope hardly seems worth having,
just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin
down the road, without thought on anything
but the ride you are taking."
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1896

[Penny4]

I found this poem somewhere on the Internet. I imagine most of you have seen it, but I thought I would post it for those of you have not seen it. (It's given me something to think about. They extended my probation another 30 days. Ugh. What is with them anyway?)

When the spirits are low,
when the day appears dark,
when work becomes monotonous,
when hope hardly seems worth having,
just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin
down the road, without thought on anything
but the ride you are taking."
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1896

Thanks for posting, I love this! And is is so true....

[Miranda]

First of all, I just wanted to say thank you for posting this thread. I too have been struggling to ride. And the discussion here has been helpful.

I am in pain, to varying degrees, 24/7/365, from my crashes of the last few years. And that permanent damage will be there for the rest of my life. But the worst, is the emotional and psychological. My real life cycling friends just do not get it. The majority have never been thru that situation. That part, of people not understanding, really hurts too.

Besides getting a hybrid that has been mentioned, I instead also own a cyclocross bike. I love the versatility of that sweet little work-horse bike. It's a no-brand-name Nashbar special. It was the same geometry as my roadie, so I knew it would fit ok. And yes, btw, I've crashed bad on that bike too. Sometimes I just ride it the 7/10mi loop around the sub-division. Where I live it is so bike un-friendly, it's hard to find a place to ride that feels safe.

Also, I have taken up alternatives I would have never done before when cycling as I used to, pre-crashes. I've found a relatively safe route to take the dog on a longer walk, 3mi, and I figure that's something, vs doing nothing.

[Dogmama]

Miranda, I completely understand. I have nerve impingement in my neck that causes numbness & pain. It is exacerbated with long bike rides. I've had to accept that my century days are probably over. I, too, am doing alternatives like dog walking & weight lifting (I have osteoporosis too). It isn't as satisfying but there is that part in Desiderata about gracefully giving up things of youth...

And losing the desire to ride - at 5AM it is over 80 degrees and 60% humidity. Ugh.

[Catrin]

I also have had bike-related injuries that have really impacted my ability to ride longer than 45-60 minutes. Thankfully I've found other activities (weight lifting/metabolic conditioning/cross-training) that I like just as much as riding, but I MISS being able to just go out for a nice 40-50 mile ride to explore the countryside. I was in denial for some time in thinking that the only real impact was to mountain biking, but that has been proved wrong. At least I CAN still ride short distances - and the almost daily rain for the last month has meant that I've not been able to ride more than once a week (if that) as it seems to only rain when I've a "riding window".

It is sad that those few people I've ridden with in the past no longer asks me to ride since I've had to turn them down so many times due to these physical issues.

[Miranda]

Miranda, I completely understand. I have nerve impingement in my neck that causes numbness & pain. It is exacerbated with long bike rides. I've had to accept that my century days are probably over. I, too, am doing alternatives like dog walking & weight lifting (I have osteoporosis too). It isn't as satisfying but there is that part in Desiderata about gracefully giving up things of youth...

And losing the desire to ride - at 5AM it is over 80 degrees and 60% humidity. Ugh.

Thanks for sharing, that was helpful, nice that someone else understands...and I had never read that poem before...beautiful.

It is sad that those few people I've ridden with in the past no longer asks me to ride since I've had to turn them down so many times due to these physical issues.

Yes, I know what you mean, have the same thing...I try to tell myself, for some reason, their destiny must not be meant to be mine.