I think it’s all over…. What’s next?

Audax? Start doing long-distance events where power is less of an issue?

It's not giving up, it's more about finding new fun.

Fun, where max sustainable power isn't the main priority but a wide grin across your face is.

Is there anything wrong with just riding your bike for fun?

It is different to what you are used to,  but not worse

I’ve only ever ridden bikes for fun, I don’t feel like I’ve failed / given up ?

the basic 52yo body/lure of tea, rest, beer and chewing the cud with other dads

That sounds a lot like the world of audax.

Enter the sport/open cat and just do it for fun rather than trying to win your age cat. As a mid pack rider in both CX and XC I'm only there to make up the numbers, enjoy myself and act a temporary unpredictable moving obstacle to the leaders..

That sounds a lot like the world of audax.

It is for me, but note that the pointy end of an audax is very competitive. I imagine it would be easy to get sucked into that world.

Audax?

I guy i used to race with years ago switched to that after a bout of post viral fatigue, 4 or 5 years unable to recover from any sort of elevated effort sort of rules out anything that's full on. So now he does Audaxes, up to and including PBP and LEL (and some others). Audaxes just left him a little jaded for a few days to a week rather than in bed for a week plus that a mid level XC MTB race did.
Haven't seen him for 20 years though, so no idea what he's doing now!

Do a weeksy and go racing with your kid.

Enjoy them enjoying the love and support of a parent helping and cheering them on.

The only danger is that you may get friendly with some of the other parents ,then end up going cycling with triathletes.

But hey,that's a risk you will have to take..  🙂 🙂

Yep, maybe just enjoy riding your bike. Maybe choose a few big, but non-competitive rides as long-term aspirations. And try to take pleasure in the moments of being on your bike. Oh, and enjoy supporting Kryton jnr in his ambitions.

It's not an irreversible decision. If, in a year's time, if you feel you really want to race again, there's nothing stopping you from doing that.

I was listening to one of the Time Crunched Cyclist podcasts the other day and the coach they were talking to - might have been Joe Friel - basically said that most people have capacity for three things: family, work and training/racing. As soon as you try and add in more, or, I guess, one of the three becomes more time consuming, the training and everything else will suffer. Training in a structured way to race is a big commitment and, as you know, takes a toll.

If it feels 'right' to stop, then it's probably a good indication that you should. All imho etc.

Go bikepacking.

There's more to life than cycling.

It was my life for 25+ years - then it wasn't. You'll find something else you enjoy.

For me, I was never a potter-around cyclist, it was flat-out or nothing. Once that went the enjoyment went.

end up going cycling with triathletes.

Ha Ha - I already do, as I have to take him to Regional Tri training, I take my bike and ride with the Group as a "responsible adult" volunteer to help the kids.

It’s not an irreversible decision. If, in a year’s time, if you feel you really want to race again,

This is a good point actually.  A year out would certainly put my head into a different space.

Is there anything wrong with just riding your bike for fun?

Of course not!

Audax? Start doing long-distance events where power is less of an issue?

I would strongly suggest not doing this if you think chronic fatigue is genuinely an issue.

In that instance, rest is the most important thing you can do. If you must ride, do it in smaller quantities. Find something else to feed you dopamine in the interim. It sounds like you're still figuring stuff out, so I would highly recommend doing some research around what chronic fatigue is and isn't, because it's quite unique in how it needs to be approached.

You can't do it forever mate. Time for a break!

new bike obviously

I came to the same conclusion earlier in the year, although I have only been riding for fun for many years, I still treated it like training and my body kept breaking. I think a lot of my problems came from injuries earlier in life from rugby and martial arts when I thought I was indestructible and never went for proper treatment (look after your bodies kids it catches up with you in the end).

So now I have decided that a couple of gym sessions a week and a ride on Sunday is enough, got rid of the power meters first, and am selling a few bikes. I have taken up music instead, maybe I can look after my brain as I get older better than I have looked after my body.

I've been lucky that my move away from my own attempts at racing have been eased by the fact I'm still massively getting to enjoy riding, trips to Dyfi, Antur, Morzine etc. it makes up for it in spades.

But what someone above said hits the spot too, going racing with your lad has the potential to be amazing too. I'm lucky that I've found paddock mate I bond with massively and have an awesome time at races, you're talking rubbish all the time, but also you have the bond of watching your kids from the bottom and the rollercoaster that comes with. Me and the boy are best mates and he is everything I hoped in terms of being polite and a well rounded person, I think a lot of that is down to our days together.

Sure, I'm fatter, slower and older than I was but honestly it's been fantastic

Can't you tempt the triathletes to do some techy xc and get the amusement of watching?

I’ve been competing against myself for decades and I still can’t win. There’s always a challenge to be found somewhere.

Gravel events. Move away from road only events so as not to compare your new self with your old self. Make it fresh.

Doing considerably better than me. I gave up proper "Competitive" cycling aged 29. Several years later I still do the odd local 10 mile TT but otherwise I just ride for fun alone or in a group. I might enter a sportive next year. Unfortunately the endurance / audax / long distance cycling craze hasn't hit me yet...or maybe that is fortunately. That does seem to be the way things are going with my mates who don't do crits and road races anymore and they all seem to love it.

Enter the sport/open cat and just do it for fun rather than trying to win your age cat. As a mid pack rider in both CX and XC I’m only there to make up the numbers, enjoy myself and act a temporary unpredictable moving obstacle to the leaders..

This. I'm very much a back of the pack rider in the Gorrick races, to me it is a fun day out which provides motivation to push myself harder than I would otherwise. But you can race and not worry about the results, just take pride in your public service of giving the "middle of the pack" riders someone to beat.

Half seriously, try letting yourself go for a year and get really fat. Lower your standards. It makes it much easier to enjoy riding for the benefit it brings you, rather than chasing a target which becomes unattainable as you age.

I tried racing once, I was awful. It was awful. I decided to just ride bikes and hang out with friends from then on, even if they were racing. I've quite enjoyed it, though i appreciate things may differ for others

I went through something similar a few years ago with a combination of head injury and long COVID. The step of being honest with myself that racing wasn't realistic anymore felt hard at the time but I don't have any regrets about my decision to step back.

The next part, which too a bit longer, was figuring out what could fill some of the space that traiing and racing took up in my life. After a while messing about with stuff I realised I missed training and just enjoy going out and doing intervals and following a plan. The experience of that kind of focused effort is something that I can't get anywhere else and it unlocks something good in my brain. These days I loosely follow a TrainerRoad plan (I find the adaptive training aspect really helpful) in the winter and try and make time for at least 1 structured ride a week in the summer. As a result I feel 'ok at riding bikes' most of the time and don't have anything to 'fail' at making me feel bad if I miss sessions or choose a different thing to do. My w/kg has gradually improved over the last couple of years and now isn't a million miles away from where it was when I was racing. It's enough that I can tackle some fairly big challenges (3 day badger divide) and hang with the medium-fast group on club runs.

Perhaps its a good time to think about your relationship with your body and your bikes and pick the things that will make you happiest. BEst of luck.

I don't think its giving up at all and the list of things you mention you will still do in your OP all sound like fun stuff to do that will have a great health benefit anyway.

Like the poster above me ^^ I get most of my "fun" out of following trainerroad plans and picking ad-hoc goals to keep me fit, I still get the benefit of training and keeping fit but there's no stress if I miss days or whatever. In fact the "event" itself is usually just to act as a carrot/motivation to train and I sometimes find I'm relatively indifferent to the event itself when it comes around.

I'm 43 and don't have kids and fitting in training and work (tbf I also study) in together is super-hard, I have no idea how people with kids manage to fit it all in tbh, its no surprise that its all a bit much to keep up.

We've chatted about this before I think. Anyway I gave up any racing years ago as the ups and downs of chronic fatigue would just result in wasted race entry fees time and time again. I have periods when I do ride regularly (not now), and it's local trail rides. Hitting features, sessioning stuff, no real mileage, but fun. Sometimes some xc loops, but I know that endurance anything tends to get me in trouble if I am not careful, so not too much of that. And that's fine with me. Also bouldering and that's a fun technique based and social activity.

Mid life a bitch ain't it!

On a serious note, some of you may know my real name and might even see me pop up in races (very occasionally).  Since 2019 I keep trying to train to race pace, most years I get myself into some resemblance of race fitness.  Come race season life responsibilities take over and I may get one race in.  This inevitably makes me depressed, all the wasted time and effort for nothing.   There have been I've had further complications with health issues (which hopefully are resolved).

• What have I learnt from all this (and this is only learning applying to me)?
• Reduce or remove the personal pressure to attend key events
• Stop rigid training plans/structures (I follow my nose here based on previous plans and knowing what works best for me)
• I stop comparing myself to my peers (Strava is my enemy, seeing my racing cohort and what riding they fit in compared to me - the how to they do this with family/work stresses?
• Recognising that my body is changing as I age.  Reducing the endurance load and intensity load. Changing the training sessions accordingly.
• I recognise that I am not a 6% body fat racing snake - I don't rigidly control what I eat now (looking back I possibly had a few issues here).

I'm not sure if this is going to help, or even answers the question for you.  I guess my ethos now is purely focused on the enjoyment, whether that be training or racing.

Be kind to yourself. You work hard, you are a strong rider and a good dad.

You are also hugely goal driven and a worrier too, everyone here has seen that. Your new goals should be compatible with getting older and slower, but still with commitment leading to achievement. If that’s on a bike maybe make it about visiting new places and seeing new things, chase the best coffee stops in the county, visit every castle between you and the coast, badg Munros, whatever.

(Or say not yet, and hop on the TRT, HGH, all the PEDs and keep the speed another few years. /s)

Good luck.

Stevious second para is exactly where I saw my immediate future, I too need a reason to get off the couch, so yeah maybe the odd non-competitive race punctuated with club rides and social ride plus a bit of Trainer road during the week where it all fits with work & Jnr - much reduced from my current efforts and not having the pressure of "needing" to train may be the way to go.

We’ve chatted about this before I think

Yes at 24/12 - I much enjoyed this with Jnr in 6hr pairs and despite the fact next year I might not be "trained" next year this maybe exactly the thing I need to bear on mind - a fun weekend away for the two of us with space for a few beers and a hot dog.

A fun weekend with beers and hotdogs - perfect! See you then. I might do a team 24. Not sure yet. Certainly will be untrained.

Do you already do gravel?

It works pretty well in your neck of the woods.

Try touring and audax?

Once I thought it was for old folk, then I realised it's 'ultra' or bikepacking or endurance with a different name and a different attitude and it's the attitude part that makes it so good. And it's certainly not lacking challenge or reward. The other reward in a different kind of fitness is something that for me replaced any short distance race urges without a second thought.

I gave up competitive fencing because I was tired of finishing mid/ bottom third in competitions and driving home for 2h in a massive huff, having spent all day and £50 minimum to come home grumpy.

It stopped me fencing as club night was always training for the next competition

MTB took over as could head out with my mates, ride all all day, eat cake and arrive home tired and cheerful

So I'd join a fun group over solo rides. Make the rides fun to replace  the competitive part. I still need reasons to ride when it's crap. So bike packing in January is essential to keep me enjoying the ride through Nov and Dec.

Threads like this make me think we as a community need to do more 'boys/girls days out' get people out enjoying the riding again without performance pressure etc.

MTB Eastern Region is trying for a resurgence

offer to help run the events. Do the BC Commissaire course. It’s not always about racing. Speaking as someone who had three years off and still very variable long covid. And a summer off with more fatigue.

And ride some gravel. Apparently that’s a good form of recovery. Mentally if not physically.

Threads like this make me think we as a community need to do more ‘boys/girls days out’ get people out enjoying the riding again without performance pressure etc.

We need to revive the @pook’s pootles

 hold it and they will come

Threads like this make me think we as a community need to do more ‘boys/girls days out’ get people out enjoying the riding again without performance pressure etc.

Agreed - i'll look into the dates/weather for a 'south coast shandy drinker get together' - been a few years since one of those!

DrP

Speaking of audax, after a busy 15 months or so and a successful PBP, I started to feel pretty jaded: after a knackering 400 back in March, and faced with needing to do another 200 to keep my RRtY going in April, I decided to stop riding for a bit and then do some fun stuff. So I did the Devon C2C with my daughter, and the West Kernow Way with a good mate. I've rediscovered my enjoyment and will be starting audaxes again in a couple of weeks. LEL next year!

You've wrung your hands and wailed at the sky about this for a while now.

Seems to me like you've tied your mtb identity to the competitive side, but you really don't need to. Cut yourself some slack because it is what it is.

You choose your pathway on what you want and what you can do. There are no other rules other than those you make for yourself, so readjust those myopic racing glasses and relise you're still perfectly capable of getting out for a ride.

There is no spoon, man.

Bikepacking. Still a challenge, but one you can take at your own pace.

pretty much the same as MSP here, ive not tried to push myself for a couple of years one hard ride can mean a week of terrible sleep and impacts family and work.

i have been on the odd ride but very careful not to burn any matches as they say they are just for fun

Ive returned to painting models like i did as a kid. with the added twist of 3d printing

oh and loads and loads of DIY still. starting to thing a self build would have been easier than a reno...

i cant say im particularly happy about giving up proper riding and getting slower and fatter but overall im a much nicer to my family when i get sleep ans im not in loads of pain so that takes priority

If you can’t go fast, go long.

Or stop giving a shit. I race once a year (Hamsterley Trail Bike DH), and love it. I imagine it’s the same for the 2 or 3 folk who finish behind me.

Thanks for all the tips and experiences, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in the racing and ignore the rest.    Going long isn’t a bad idea and is my forte actually, I’ve never been full of power but am good at endurance.   This might also limit me to 2 or 3 events a year, as I’m long past travelling for half of a long weekend just to race.

Actually right now I’m just thinking I’ll ride as back of pack Indy whenever Jnr races MTB, bearing in mind that’s infrequent and mainly May-July and I’ll be at the event anyway.   So my 2025 may look like a weekend road or MTB ride, with a couple of trainer road sessions mid week (I’m not one for constant surfing) as and when my work schedule allows - all of that being flexible/as and when I feel I want to to pop out e.g. a summer evening ride with a pub at the end may occur….

Did you ever get any decent answer out of your coach(es) as to where they thought you were at with fatigue?

It's easy to be a coach when things are going well .  Not so much when the wheels get wonky on the wagon. It's good to see you looking for a way forward to get satisfaction from training without banging your head on a wall

Threads like this make me think we as a community need to do more ‘boys/girls days out’ get people out enjoying the riding again without performance pressure etc.

I would love to organise something like that in the Lakes or Peak...

Have a crack at something different. I'll recommend karate, cos it's what I've done. But literally anything, basket weaving, mud wresting, body modification, owt, spice it up a bit!

One of those weird bikes without a saddle. Just spend your time developing advanced riding skills. It's full body exercise.

So a year of struggling with “power” and the ups and downs of chronic fatigue have got to me, I think I’m done with competitive cycling.

Quite a few years ago now (mid 2000's maybe), I finished a National Series MTB XC race at some absolute mudfest venue, much the same as the other half dozen mudfest venues I'd been to that year. Think I might have scraped top 20 - ironic really, the conditions were so bad that the main reason I got top 20 was because so many other people pulled out!

Packed the car with a jetwashed bike, a muddy tent, a bag full of muddy kit and drove the 200 or so miles back home on a Sunday night, arriving at 10pm or so. And I just thought - why? I could have had 3x the riding for 1/10th the price locally. I could have been home 4hrs ago without a quietly rusting bike or a load of filthy camping kit.

And that was it. It was the kick I needed to say that I was never going to get any better, could honestly not really afford such trips, the training (what with actually having a proper job rather than being a carefree student) wasn't getting any easier and the week of post-race logistics of cleaning everything, fixing the bike etc wasn't fun either.

After that I did some occasional road, circuit and CX/gravel races as well as 24hr and endurance MTB but it was much more selective, none of the need to chase series points or do every round and so on.

I actually did a lot more riding - more miles, more places and a lot less cost! And it was a lot more fun. It did need a mental reset but, almost counter-intuitively, it made the occasional races I did do a lot more fun as well, allowed me to focus on that and think "ooh, this is a bit special" rather than thinking "oh FFS, I need to drive another 250 miles next weekend, camp in a field, ride around for 3hrs and then drive home again".

You can still stay fit. Not racing doesn't have to equal "splodging on sofa drinking beer". You can still ride in nice places. You can still have fun doing it. Just take a year or so to reset the mind. Good luck and enjoy the riding - even the slow rides!

One of those weird bikes without a saddle. Just spend your time developing advanced riding skills. It’s full body exercise.

Ie trials riding. I fear may be looked down upon, not taken seriously, just dicking around being a nuisance on the streets, trying to be a show off, or the opposite, it's too difficult, too unachievable, takes too long to learn.

It's very difficult for sure, very challenging, and all that may be part of the mental game of it.... I'd love to convince someone who rides like you to take this up instead. When I took it up, it felt like an alien concept to not be constantly pedalling, to not be constantly moving, to not be in constant transition between places, to repeatedly attempt to ride over a single obstacle, potentially limiting a ride to a very small area. That's part of the mental game too, as well as battling with yourself that you're not good enough to ride trials, you're not getting better at it, etc. There's also the problem solving element, how do you do that, how do you ride over that, how are you limiting your view of what you can ride your bike on? You're not too old, you're fit, you race mountain bikes, that's a good fitness and skill base to start from.

Did you ever get any decent answer out of your coach(es) as to where they thought you were at with fatigue?

Yep, we can spot all the signs now and manage my plan for prevention.  F'rinstance I have a bad cold now, and will be at away trade show for three days next week.   Hence, all my training has been postponed until we review again next Friday so I can have a restful/recovery week and see this cold through.    If I can I'll do some stretching and bodyweight exercises in my hotel room mid week, but thats it.   This is to avoid triggering the EBV and avoid chronic fatigue.

The problem I now have of course is that I have greater breaks for illness / more interruptions to training than the average person.  Watching my CTL & TSS build up to a decent level but then watching it shrink again before it meets its pick is a bit disheartening, alluding to the through I'm wasting my time anyway.

It’s good to see you looking for a way forward to get satisfaction

I thinks its been forced upon me by "life" TBH.   I remember being distraught many years ago when I had to stop Rugby which is extra hard because you don't just leave the game, you leave a whole community behind and it can be very lonely - luckily this is not quite the same scenario.