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Never thought I'd think this but in the last couple of weeks I cannot be bothered to go out on any of the bikes. Slogged my guts out on zwift in the winter and felt great on the first few rides with the group in the Spring. But I just prefer to swim and do weights.
There's a lot of biking talent unused at the moment. And getting WhatsApp goading.
It's ok to feel like that. Can happen with anything you do a lot of.
Feeling the same about dinghy sailing at the minute.
Yeah I’m the same at present. Got fed up of Zwifting during the winter so that’s up in the loft ready to sell and most of my biking mates live miles away so I started runnning again after a 6year break. Loving it at present, so quick to do from the house and exercised up before 8am.
Still got all my bikes and I know for a fact I just need a some trigger and I will be back on it. I reckon an extended break does me good every now and then.
Zwift would be enough to put me off cycling too! Weights in the winter, leaving you stronger but also hungry for riding, might work maybe.
My fitness influencer addled brain suggests
Force yourself out regularly on the bike as part of a plan, set a really short ride minimum (skip kiting up if not worth it) no expectations, but commit to doing it, because that's the plan.
We probably all have days, weeks, years like that. I have spells where I prefer to walk because it's less faff, especially when the weather isn't great for cycling
Don't stress, it'll happen 🙂
I personally wouldn't force yourself out the bike, you don't want it to start feeling like a chore.
What about just arranging some easy rides with friends, where the goal is going to a nice pub lunch somewhere? Then the focus is less on the biking and more on the social aspect (which is generally when the best rides happen anyway)
Do a club ten next week in the road bike category.
Zwift or similar is enough to put me off too. I only ever use the turbo for injuries - I used Zwift extensively after I broke my spine, then let the membership lapse when it got silly expensive. I set up a MyWhoosh account when I broke my pelvis. Did about four rides, then went back outside.
I commute to work by bike, but must say, since the accident, if it's hammering down in the morning, I'll take the car instead. I wouldn't have done that previously.
I personally wouldn't force yourself out the bike, you don't want it to start feeling like a chore.
That's what happened to me - strava, how many miles this month, what's my fitness and freshness score, you're 5s down on your average on that hill.....I was out on a ride on a dour, drizzly, not cold but just cold enough day last March and I realised it wasn't fun anymore, it was just to meet self imposed targets that I hadn't even actively agreed to, they were just in my head.
So I stopped (not right there, I was 20 miles from home) and I haven't been 'on the bike' since. That's not exactly true, I fancied it a few weeks after, got on, rode away and after 20 mins had enough and came home again. I keep meaning to give another go, but rather than set a diary wait for the urge which hasn't come yet. almost 18 mo on. And I have been on a bike, I still use the Brompton for chores (although not the commute) and have used hire scheme to get around a few times, so I haven't forgotten completely how to do it.
I can't run due to arthritis in knees and hip, and in honesty it has been a shit nearly 2 years since my Mum died in bad circumstances that still are to be resolved (NHS enquiry and coroner inquest still open) and I am depressed and stuck in that rut too that is probably affecting the desire to get out when getting out would be good. I watch a bit of local cricket if the weather's good, and have contemplated doing an umpiring course.... if you want a pastime that involves saying no to a lot of people that's the one for you!! And I still just occasionally think maybe I'll get the bike out at the weekend, only to then have a 'can't be bothered' change of mind
What about just arranging some easy rides with friends, where the goal is going to a nice pub lunch somewhere? Then the focus is less on the biking and more on the social aspect (which is generally when the best rides happen anyway)
+1. Plus look at other kinds of cycling. I got fed up with audaxing last year so I stopped. Instead, I took my daughter touring and went bike packing round Cornwall with a good mate. It rekindled my enthusiasm. Oh, and I sold my turbo trainer, can't stand zwift.
I wouldn't worry too much. I've been riding for nearly 30 years and it has ebbed and flowed during that time. A new bike has always lured me back into riding when I am feeling meh about pedalling.
Sounds like somebody needs a new bike
😉
I have about 8 in 3 countries, so i'd be forced to buy a tiara* before i'd be allowed a new bike.
*Big Bang reference before i get arrested for gross misogyny
I got a bit like that, didn't use Strava but my Garmin recorded every ride, every mile ridden and every second lost or gained over a previous ride. It also recorded my heart rate, pulse ox, sleep patterns, absolutely everything.
So I metaphorically binned the Garmin demoted to a watch that tells me the time. Now its get on the bike and ride. Look at the trees, the fields, birds, stop for a coffee say hello to pedestrians and other cyclists.
Gone is that self competitiveness, what has come back is the enjoyment of cycling for what it is.
I also feel I sleep better, not knowing how many times I turn over in the night, and I don't give a toss about Pulse Ox and all the other info the Garmin used to give me!
What's helped me on some days to get out the door in the last few months is that my hybrid now has flat pedals on it, so on days I cannot be bothered I can simply put my old slippers on and ride around the block in whatever I'm wearing for 10mins or so.
Check your emails for a 60 day free trial from Zwift, I've got a code to activate within the next ten days, after not using Zwift much since March.
Time riding as a goal has been much easier to deal with than my old distance/elevation/speed/segment time targets.
Is there somewhere you fancy riding that's not your "same old boring" local, that you could get to on the train or in a motor? A new hill or trail centre?
Maybe three weeks of the TDF starting tomorrow, with live coverage on ITV4 for the final year, will get your cycling mojo back.
I started being a little more mindful of the rides I do other than the commute. Commute rides are saving time and money (hah - the money thing - well not really). More time - hate sitting in a car doing 10mph for 10 miles. Can cut that right down on a heavy commuter bike.
Weekend rides, stop for a photo of the scenery, or just stop to look. I've found a nice little coffee van about five miles from home - I know it's near, but it's nice for a quick 10 minutes before a warm down. Coffee is great too. I haven't touched my FS MTB for over a year... weird that, but it's been mainly commuting on an old MTB or I've been out on my CX bike as it does everything pretty well, not quite as fast as my road bikes, but they are 'vintage' and I want them kept 'nice'. The CX bike I bought second hand, did the usual cable changes/ bearings etc, and I don't worry too much about it.
I still use the Garmin, but don't go analysing the data. This year my mileage has been terrible after breaking my pelvis, and a resultant rotator cuff tear from the extended crutches use, has curtailed the miles - even CX rides have been mild off road, no chance of anything overly bumpy.
Take a break, do something else, then come back. Ride somewhere different - go for a pint/coffee to somewhere nice.
I find it helps to set out on rides with the genuine intention of riding very slowly and focussing on enjoying the moment. No pressure to 'train' at all. A level of effort that's similar to a walk. That's usually enough psychological trickery to get me over the barrier of getting out.
Once I'm out, after 20 minutes or so I usually find the prospect of putting some effort in much more palatable - quite appealing even - so before you know it I'm balls deep in a full gas PB attempt up a local climb. And that is how my zwift fitness is maintained over the summer off-season.
Big Bang reference before i get arrested for gross misogyny
Should get arrested for watching Big Bang Theory.
So watching that American trite and get out on your bike.
I get like that sometimes. I just decide to go out for coffee and cake... to a cafe an hour away... and go by bike 🙂
So easy to trick myself!
I have just completed an enforced lay off due to a fracture and have commented this week that I am experiencing a new found passion for pedalling.
My advice would be to not over think about it, enjoy what you are currently doing and the love will return.
I had two years off bikes, in Nottingham - shit place to ride a bike, followed by Barcelona - unhealthy suicidal place to ride a bike. I climbed, mountaineered, swam and ran instead.
Then found myself in Nancy - nice place to ride a bike. I bought an old roadie, a couple of tubs and some glue and asked around for where the Metz-Nancy time trial went in 1978. One of the most enjoyable rides of my life, just as well it was only 70km though. Since then I think the longest break has been a couple of months. I'm addicted.
Lack of motivation is definitely a sign of overtraining, have you just gone a bit hard recently or done too much?
What keeps me motivated is a combination of routes and events, the impending CX season has given me an excuse to smash around on the road bike midweek and call it 'threshold training', and some ridiculously over-ambitious gravel and off-road routes have given me reason to try and get out for some gentle morning rides and longer weekend rides.
I really like having an objective, be it distance or efforts, then hanging a route around it.
Midsummer lul?Think we've discussed this before.I haven't done a long ride since June.
Lost the love over 2 years ago now. Flogged all the bikes bar the Mason. Bought a motorcycle instead and just can’t stop looking for a new reason to get it out of the garage …. Change, as they say, is as good as a rest.
whether I’ll be getting the Xcode disco slippers out any time soon who knows, but motorcycle adventures beckon !
Just back from a 85 kms road ride so this flounce didn't last long.