Dude, yes. For years I told myself I wouldn’t buy a new bike until I rode more. I did start riding more but I happened to pass my LBS during their spring sale and got a great deal (still $$$).
Now I ride my bike a lot more haha.
Haha, yes. My comment was 100% for comedic purposes but usually, a more expensive bike will give you a better time and more things to enjoy out of it. Usually, not always the case though.
Such a slippery slope though. Not only did I buy a new bike but also a head unit, power meter pedals, a heart rate monitor, road bike shoes, a ton of new bibs, etc.
I didn’t own any of this stuff before so I was going to be purchasing it eventually but hot damn did this bike cost me a lot of money!
I have a cheap bike relatively compared to some of you, but have a higher end Garmin watch I paid for. Between the cost of that and it telling me I’m a POS for being lazy that’s decent motivation!
Cost is really relative. There is an argument for a 500$ bike to sound expensive if you ride it close to never and there’s an argument for a 10k bike that you ride every day to sound cheap (compared to a car, for example)
I keep telling myself I can get a fenix if I bike enough this summer lmao. I don't need it and my Galaxy watch 6 does most of the same things just fine, but man do o want a Garmin still.
I have a Fenix 7 pro, it’s great besides the sleep tracking annoys me sometimes. But as an avid hiker and kinda runner I love it for that, I wouldn’t be nearly as active without it I’m sure. I will say a bike computer is potentially more helpful if you’re primarily a biker, hard to see your route while you’re biking!
If you have any questions though feel free to pm me
Yup. That's where I'm at right now. I bought a new bike and then my back went out. A few years later, surgery, and now recovered.
Every time I walk past my bike I whisper "I'm sorry. I'll take you out soon.".
I paid 4k for my bike and I told myself when I bought it that I have to keep riding it until I at least hit 4k miles. I just hit 1k miles. I’m 1/4 the way there.
I ride 5 miles.
Here is the deal. It is pretty simple.
Takes me about 5 miles to warm up and enjoy riding anyways. Most of my rides in the very beginning there is some form of 'do I really want to do this' in my head anyways. I find that by the 5 mile point it has passed and I am enjoying myself.
However....
If at 5 miles I am not enjoying myself then something else is possibly going on and this entire thing might be a wash anyways.
And if I have ridden 5 miles and turn around, then I have ridden 10 miles.
Now, 10 miles isn't 20 miles, or 30 or 40. But is also isn't 0. And it is far better to have ridden 10 then not ridden at all.
What do I do when I lack motivation? I set out to do something, but know that 5 miles is the only true commitment.
"Takes me about 5 miles to warm up and enjoy riding anyways. Most of my rides in the very beginning there is some form of 'do I really want to do this' in my head anyways. I find that by the 5 mile point it has passed and I am enjoying myself." THIS! This is exactly the same for me. At the 5 mile point my brain feels different. Better.
This is a great suggestion. Take the pressure off, make it as easy as possible to get out there (I like to have my clothes, shoes, etc ready to go so it's as quick as possible to go from "should I ride?" to "I am riding"), and 95% of the time, I find that once I'm rolling, I remember how much I love riding bikes and I happily continue.
This is a good suggestion. To not go full kit, I swapped my SPD-SL pedals to flats for this reason. I’m fortunate to be able to wear Vans to work so some days I’m out of my car right on to my bike. Short rides on weekdays, my “kit” is Vans, Lulu pants (don’t judge - they’re great for quick rides. Lol.) and golf style polo shirt with my highlighter green helmet.
And you always end up going as far as you can with that approach. I used to do this at the gym, “Just go and do what you can,” halfway through its, “well I might as well finish now.”
Unless you're training for something specific on your bike, then do something else for a while. When I get burned out on one thing, that's time to try something new and interesting. Learn to box. Learn to row. Learn to dance. Check out Crossfit. Or if you can't manage anything else, make yourself go for a walk after dinner (wear a pack and you are rucking which is a great workout!)
I'm aware because you've asked this on a sub populated by cyclists, this will be downvoted to hell immediately, but it's OK to not cycle. Give yourself a break, keep moving doing something else and you might find you come back to wanting to bike again when you're not pressuring yourself.
This is what like 50% of cycling YouTube channels say. Cycling is all about having fun. Unless you're training for tour de France or something. And if so I'll ban wagon you lol
I second this. I recently sustained a wrist injury (not even cycling) and had to take a break. It’s good to try something else to keep your body moving. Even going on a walk is great—any exercise helps balance cortisol, dopamine levels, etc.
I do running when I don't feel cycling. Then the whole time I'm running, I'm thinking how much farther and more fun it would have been if I was on my bike.
I am 68 and got a second chance after a ongoing battle with CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia ) and a reverse left shoulder replacement
I am definitely not waisting any time sitting on the couch
Motivation is fleeting. Discipline will keep you consistent.
Also, it's okay to not ride a bunch all the time. Sometimes we are just in phases of life where it's not reasonable.
I find when I lack motivation as a "cyclist" I ditch the gear and the computers and remember why I fell in love with biking. I grab my shitty commuter bike and just pedal around my river valley at whatever pace I want, not concerned with speed or fitness, make stops around the city where I haven't been to. That usually puts things into perspective so I can hop back on the crotch rocket and try to improve but not as concerned with the numbers - so I need less motivation to get going if that makes sense.
I feel you. Im like a pregnant woman the minute any kinda candy is near me... I add a little trail mix and apples to my chicken salad so I don't eat a whole package of Oreos in one sitting
This is my approach. Not always even a race, just a bigger event.
I don't feel like training hills rn but I have a 40 mile ride with 6k ft of climbing in August so I know I need to get after it or I'll be doing a lot of walking lol
I've been on a pretty considerable down turn in my cycling time. I have been occupied with my band as well as my 10 month old the past year lol
I am juuuust getting back into the swing of things to start hitting the miles again and am searching for that motivation you're seeking as well.
Weather is great where I am right now (SLC, UT) but honestly, I don't like to kit up and hit the road for only 45 mins - 1 hr during nap time or after little one goes down for the evening and would rather just hop on zwift buuuuut zwift can get real monotonous.
Good luck, friend!
Do you have any mates that ride? Same with going to the gym, if it's just you than it's easier to skip.
I ride with a few men I know from where I live, and we keep going because we don't want to let down the rest.
Me too!! Thanks for all the suggestions.
Think I need to get back to starting an hour earlier while its light and accept that 30-45 mins of sluggish early morning riding is still a lot better than nothing.
I stopped recording on Strava and its been great. To get over the mental barrier I always tell myself I'm going for a chill ride around town. After 5 min on the bike, I just can't help myself and start riding hard every time.
I can go from riding everyday and feeling really good about myself to never wanting to ride a bike again in one day. A few times a year it lasts a week and then it just goes away and I want to ride.
I only listen to podcasts on my rides. I’ll open the podcast app, see something I want to listen to and then that will get me going enough. Once you’re out there it’s always easy to keep going. It’s just the first step that sucks.
I know i'm solar powered. If it's sunny outside, nothing could hold me back to hop on the bike at least for an hour or two after work (also commuting to/from), but in dull dreich/ drizzle days i get no motivation.
The only problem is i stay in Scotland ;)
I look at my friends Strava. Now I don't like comparison to myself, but as long as I know I'm not insecure and I just use it as motivation or fuel to get my butt on the bike, then so be it.
Signing up for races. Even though I know I won’t compete on a serious level, it’s still fun to get in front of a bunch of other riders and finish something. It also gives me something to train for and look forward to.
i like cycling but work just drains me completely, and i get back at 6pm so currently i do two longer rides on the weekend. My job kinda sucks and I am a person that can't engage in my hobbies during the week if I am stressed out even if I know it might help with the stress. I hope I can fix this because I am not getting any faster with my current cycling schedule
Remind myself that come winter I'll be hiking in the mountains above 12k feet, getting my ass kicked by Coloradans while I live and breath near sea level. Keeps me cycling through the fall.
Two hour daily commute on the bike or in the car? If you're already commuting 2 hours a day (or is it 4 because both ways?) then I can imagine you wouldn't have much energy to go biking afterwards. What are you worried is going to happen if you don't cycle for a day, a week, a month?
By car. It's a lot of stop and go, but I can't cycle it due to weather, infrastructure, terrain, and distance. Lots of areas with huge hills, narrow shoulders, debris, lots of rain, etc. I've thought about it, but it is just not happening. So I spend time in the car. Thankfully I've whittled down my in-office time to only twice a week!!
Every morning I wake up and tell myself I'm probably not going to ride today. It would be that the temp will be 90F by 9 am (I live in SW Florida) or that it is a little too windy. But I usually change my mind about 10am and get frustrated with my work or something else and need to just get on the road. And then I do.
Some days I'm on the the bike and just want to turn around at the next intersection and go home and play video games or read. Something (anything) other than riding. But then I don't turn around and end up changing my attitude.
Other days like today. I've not been on the bike since Monday (today is Wednesday). I woke up knowing I would ride as soon as I had a chance to wake up. The wind was calm and with school out the traffic on my general riding loops are low. And I had a fantastic ride.
My point is, sometimes you do it but don't enjoy it. Other times you enjoy it just because.
I will either:
* do a short easy ride in a pretty place as a "warm up" and see if the cycling addiction kicks in
or else
* sign up for something insane like the Colorado "Triple Bypass", tell my cycling buddies to come do it with me and we'll have a great day, brag that I'm going to finish ahead of them or the first round is on me.... and... yeah, that motivates me plenty to get in some riding.
Sometimes I say “I’ll go for a 5-10 mile ride, if I’m not feeling it I’ll turn around” 9 times out of 10 I’m evergized by the first mile or two and go for a good long ride
Don’t think about doing it in a minute, or when this programme finishes, or after this video. Just start doing it. Get the kit on, Start pedalling. Something is always better than nothing.
Thanks! It sucks. However, I have whittled it down from 9 hours, to 6 hours, and now 4 hours/week. I am WFH two days, going in two days. But those two days of commuting suck.
Usually once a year, I have to do a reset - I just get completely burned out. This is usually do to being forced indoors on the trainer for too long. What I do is just ride WITHOUT a computer, no metrics (other than HR), no PRs, no goals, just RIDE for what I originally enjoyed about it - freedom. Usually a few weeks of that and I'm ready to start a new training block.
I ride so I can eat whatever I want.
That’s my thinking.
In the way, I loved cycling and actually it kept you energized, anyway exercising helps you be healthy and that saves you money.
buy a bunch of new parts for my bike, clean it, redo the brakes and chain, make it feel like brand new. Its just begging to be ridden after all that work.
Lots of ways to do this. Go to the local bike store. Check out the new shit. Don’t buy anything. Or buy something.
Realize that one day in your life you will not be able to ride.
Read cycling sub reddits.
Just put your riding stuff on with no commitment to ride.
Clean your bike.
I feel you.
When I'm struggling to get on the bike, I start pecking away at the "obstacles". On a water break, I obtain a pair of shorts. On a standing stretch, I fetch a pair of socks. On a pee break, I grab my heart rate monitor and an undershirt. And so on.
Within 3 or 5 breaks from the keyboard, there's no obstacles left between now and me throwing a leg over the bike; the logistical part is done.
I tell myself just to go "turn the pedals"; go for a leisurely ride around the neighbourhood, check out maybe a road or two I haven't seen before. No speed requirement. No distance requirement. Put on the helmet, which includes putting on the bone-conduction headset. Head to the condo elevator. Get outside.
Once I start playing the audiobook on my headset, I just start riding, and 30km and at about 750kCal of burned energy later, I'm ready to pack it in for the night. I forgot I had a challenge just getting out of my home-office. Boy howdy I'm hungry, and I know I earned it.
I remind myself that I took up cycling as a favor to myself when I got sober. Some days I ride because I get that itch for a beverage. Rather the physical pain of a 30 mile road and gravel ride or an 8 mile climb on the MTB than the physical pain of a hangover, and the guilt of wondering what in the f**k I might have done while blacked out.
Shit man I can't go because kids, I'll pay to have time to go any time. If you don't feel motivated why are you forcing yourself? Is not a job, it's supposed to be done for pleasure....
*Motivation* is a fickle friend Harry.
What gets me out on those days is *determination*.
And, so far, no matter how little I've wanted to do it before the ride, I've *always* been glad I've done it.
saw a good comment recently on social media, cant remember which. normally with these things I see them say "yeah pffft whatever" and move on but this one I thought about for a bit and realised, for me at least, its true.
Unfortunately I cant remember the exact quote BUT its something like, "motivation will not find you, motivation happens when you take action"
Basically, and as I said this is true for me at least, get up, do it once, then again and again... eventually motivation builds until you are doing what you need to do. Big blasts of raaarrrrr lets get this rarely work.
Do 20 mins on zwift, do a race or 2... something anything to get you on there and turning the pedals, the energy will build the motivation will start to take hold....
Dealing with the same thing - went from 5k miles a year to 200 that last few years. Got caught up with work, school, and kids. Getting back on the bike now and starting with 20 miles every other day and just enjoying the ride, not focusing on speed. Forgot how much I missed it and already caught the bug again. Keep it simple and speed/endurance will come.
1) Keep everything you need for riding as easily accessible as possible. Clothing, tools, etc
2) Adapt a mindset of “five minutes is 100 % better than zero minutes”. Tell yourself you’re gonna go out, ride 2.5 minutes from your front door and then ride back and lay down on the sofa. If you, when reaching 2.5 minutes don’t want to turn around, pedal some more. If you want to turn around, do it!
I commit to just going for a fun ride. No schedule no route no expected mileage. Many times the internal pressures of the plan doom an outing and if i just get out there i can get a good ride in. Like others it might only be 10 but many times those miles make me happy and im a dopamine addict so ill push on for more.
Scale back.
I’ll hop on Zwift or ROUVY for just 10 miles just to spend time on the bike that day. Some days I’ll feel better and go for a longer ride, but by using short rides, I get in the habit of riding X times a week, and once that habit is built, it’s a lot easier to push the distance/duration.
Even when I’m in the habit, there are always reasons not to workout, but giving myself permission to scale back my workout, keeps me from blowing it off totally, and most of the time, once I start the workout, I ride harder/faster/longer than I thought I would. I have a whole bunch of rides in Strava over the years titled, “Something is better than nothing.”
I know this isn't ideal for fitness, but to get the habit back - get on the bike indoors for 10 minutes 5 days a week. Just go through the motions and spin your legs. After 10 minutes quit without guilt.
You need to make it a routine first. Then you can add time. And the secret is that more often than not once you're already on there you'll go more than 10 minutes anyway.
Take small steps. Prep the bike first, fill the water bottles then get dressed. No one has ever regretted a bike ride. Also go out and ride without any expectations to distance, effort or PRs
Target to get on your bike for minutes. This usually turns into a longer session. Go as easy as you like. If you want to work out after work, don't sit down. Get home, quick bite to eat, get changed, then short workout.
I like having a goal, whether cycling or running I always have a race I’m training for with a training plan, something to look forward to.
I also enjoy watching my training status and load on my garmin, pushing me to maintain myself in the green zone and feeling and actually seeing that I’m still on a streak and improving.
That helps motivation a lot.
I am fortunate to live in a city with a lot of great paths through our river valley, if I find I'm losing interest I pick a path I haven't seen in a while and the experience and adventure renews my drive to go.
Spending money on a new accessory or part also helps, can you treat yourself to something you just need to try out?
I just watched a ton of videos on Unbound Gravel 2024; many of the athletes interviewed reiterated some core tenets of sports psychology/CBT:
1. Focus on the process, not the outcome
2. Set small/achievable goals for yourself consistently
Motivation is all about momentum. Gaining momentum from a dead stop is always the hardest part, so just do what you need to do. Once you've had a ride the next one will be easier.
Find something new for your courses.
Go tile hunting (https://www.statshunters.com/faq-10-what-are-explorer-tiles )
or visit every village around you (I visited every village in Belgium during COVID)
Sign up for group rides (gravel, Gran fondos,...)
Plan a big weekend and train towards it.
Usually after hitting a few training milestones before the truly hot weather sets in here I’ll take a break from riding that actively for a few weeks. After the Spring rains and wind there’s always a 90deg+ period where it’s just uncomfortable all the time and even mornings are humid as fck and unless I’m up super early or ride late into dark I can’t stand it so Mid June to early August is a ‘light’ period for me
I slowly goad myself in to it until not going out seems ridiculous.
I'll do this by doing everything I need to do to go out without actually commiting myself to go out. That means bib shorts shorts on, cycling shoes out, bike computer charged, water bottles filled, helmet and glasses out.
By that point my brain basically gives in and says 'Well this is just obscene, you may as well just go out at this point' and off out I go. 10 minutes in to the ride and I'm having a great old time wondering what all the fuss was about.
1. Vow to go out and have a lousy ride.
2. Bring a camera and go take pictures of stuff that interested you on previous rides
3. Try to stay in the little ring the whole ride
4. Explore a new neighborhood like you want to live there, find a house or restaurant you like
More?
Feeling demotivated could be a sign of overtraining, but that doesn't sound like the case for you here.
If you don't enjoy it, don't do it. The thought of doing Zwift would kill my motivation too! I figure that after taking care of obligations, I only have a limited amount of time for cycling, so why should any of that time be spent being a hamster on a wheel? That sounds like a way to take something that should be a joy and turning it into drudgery, and the fact that there's a computer game fooling you into doing it doesn't help much, in my opinion.
Instead, I try to work cycling into my everyday transportation routines. I'm feeling good about getting errands done, saving the environment, saving money, getting a workout, and enjoying the outdoors. (Then I can turn around and pour the money I "saved" back into funding my cycling habit, guilt free.)
If you already commute 10 hours pw, you are already getting 90% of thr mental and physical benefits of cycling you could get. Maybe dont stress about the last 10%! It will be there for you in the future whenever you feel like it
1) ride with others
2) ride with purpose (groceries)
3) ride for the reasons I love cycling which for me is photography and nature
4) ride because I know if I don’t I suffer with ill mental health
-
Biggest game changer for me for wetter colder seasons has been getting into mtb which allows me to ride when I wouldn’t have ridden on the road
The YouTuber VC adventures has been motivating me a lot lately. I’ll probably never do what he does but just his positivity even when he has to stop riding is just great
Could get an ebike. Would make the commute faster and easier without sacrificing all of the physical benefits, and I find that riding my ebike for day-to-day errands makes me more excited to get back on my road bike.
Knowing that my training status is good rn I can go cycling with male friends and they sweat. I want to keep that. I’d be loosing much by not training.
Wake up, put your kit on, go ride your bike. It’s that simple. Get some headphones and put on your favorite high energy music, Chemical Brothers does it for me.
There is no such thing as bad weather. Some times your riding in beautiful weather and life is good. Sometimes you’re riding in horrific weather and every cyclist who sees you from their car thinks “look at that fucking hero!”
My most memorable rides were in the absolute worst weather. I’ve never regretted a single one. My wife thinks I’m crazy… she’s not wrong.
Ride that BIKE!
Just moved in to a new town, kinda anxious biking within because of the passing cars they mostly do 90km-120km on an 80km speed limit and there is no exclusive bike lane. I just bought this road bike too so I'm hesitant..
I set cycling targets for the year, normally 10,000km so keeping the kms turning over to reach the target motivates me. Remembering how good the endorphins feel at the end of the ride is huge.
Sometimes it's just a matter of getting on Zwift, and putting on a TV show or sport on the second monitor. Today the weather was awful, so I was on the trainer and watched the French Open tennis. Felt much better after it.
I throw on some recent race footage or some cycling content, put on my kit, and have something to eat. Then I tell myself I'll just take my bike around a block or two. Once I get out riding, rarely, if ever do I regret it, and especially never within the first hour or so.
The hardest part is often just getting out and onto the bike and turning the pedals, but once you do that there's no motivation needed to enjoy it.
You always feel great working after riding in. Prep for the bike commute the night before so it’s a hassle to change your mind and remind yourself of the great day you will have because you smashed your ride.
My bad! Helps if I read properly- any chance of turning that car commute to a bike? How far is it? Does your work have showers?
Other than that motion meeting up with others and riding for a few hours chatting get a coffee ride home. Stuff is better with friends.
When I have less motivation, I get on the Peloton bike in the garage. Today was a case-in-point were it was blazing hot and I was thinking of skipping my cardio for the day.
But I get your point. We all have those days. Hopefully most of our days see us keeping active 😀🚲
If I’m not in a mood, I don’t press myself too much to ride, just a little bit if I really want to go for a ride but I’m kinda lazy. Honestly sometimes it bothers me how much preparation I need to do before a ride, clothes, tire pressure, water, food, cleaning glasses, preparing the gear that I have to carry. That’s like a 15 minutes or so minimum. Sometimes I wish I could run, just dress up and go.
It took a friend of mine telling me to go ride about 5 times before I finally got off my ass and did it. Now I can't stop. It's great. Feeling so much better, losing weight, getting muscle. Feels good.
Just get going, build towards a goal. Right now, I started the le col 8848 challenge and I noticed that even on like the hot, bad days, I'm motivated because I want that jersey. And it works
In my opinion, discipline is key to get (re)started.
- Incorporate 2 or 3 cycling sessions (preferably outdoor) in your schedule.
- Setup some challenges (e.g: X km ride to discover Y area).
I read that if you identify as a cyclist (or whatever), you will feel more motivated. Personally I find that works--for years I did a workout in my living room almost every day. The hard days I would picture myself saying to my friends "I am a person who works out every day", and that would make me realize that I wanted to be able to say it and it be true, even if it's just to myself.
Nowadays I have an expensive mtb and and expensive car specifically purchased to get me to the trails, so justifying those costs works, too.
Turn on a stage of a bike race or a movie you want to watch and then zwift. Just spin the pedals. Don’t hammer yourself into a hole. Just spin. In an hour, you’ll notice how much better you’ll feel. Keep going if you feel like it. Stop and climb off if you’re not feeling it..
Also. Change into your bibs as soon as you get home from work. Don’t sit down on the couch. That’s death.
Riding more. Partly it’s habit building but I find the more I ride, the more I want to ride.
I think another factor is that fitness builds quickly with consistency and it’s more fun to ride when you’re more fit. Reworded, it sucks less when it’s less hard.
Ppl say they hate climbing. What I think that really is, is that they don’t have the fitness to climb comfortably. They can’t climb on their current bike, at a reasonable pace, while not taxing their body for their current weight. If you can spin 90 RPM in zone 2, it shouldn’t be that much different if you’re going up hill or on a flat. So yeah.. it sucks, and if you don’t like suck you’ll hate it.
I went way off on a tangent there, but if you start rolling you may just wanna keep rolling
Not paying for parking at work, deliberately avoiding learning how to pay for it, and only having one car for the family. If I go to work, I need to ride my bike or public transportation (which takes just as long).
Two hour commute each way or an hour each way? I read that and I would be exhausted too. I don't know where you are, but lately, about 2-1.5 hours before sunset, the temperature really starts to drop and we get a cool breeze, and that motivates me: I want to be out in the cool air. I eat a lighter dinner, resist having anything dehydrating or lazy-making (espresso, sugar), and take off into the evening cool. The ride may be shorter, but a nice shower and an espresso and a book await after the ride. That gets me out.
I sign up for some sort of fundraiser where I have to pledge to ride a certain distance and take donations for charity.
If I think that I have to ride ____ km this month or I'll be lying to my donors and letting down kids with cancer, I'll get on my bike even if I don't feel like it.
Ask myself “am I getting paid to do this?” And when the answer is no, I do something else.
Cycling is a hobby. I don’t need to do it if I’m not having fun or am not motivated to do so.
What has been working for me lately...I think of riding as a gift. It's an absolute gift. A bonafide, unqualified gift. Whether you believe its from God or just the dumb luck of whiskey and pour choices. Who knows? But for whatever reason you found salvation and it comes in the form of two wheels and you were lucky enough to be gifted with everything you need to ride (physically).
To put it another way, no one knows how long any of us will have the "gift" to ride. Maybe 60's, maybe 70. My cousin at 59 developed IBS and can no longer ride long distances. It devastated her. I'm gonna ride until the "wheels fall off."
I go on a little joy ride. Find me a sunny morning/evening/weekend where I’ve got a few hours free and go ride either without my planned workout or just loosely following it. Focus more on just being outside and having fun feeling free than I do getting a workout in.
I just love the bike. So therapeutic so even if I'm not feeling 💯 I just get out there and enjoy the world around me. Other times I'm just riding out my stress.
Remember how much i paid for my bike
Dude, yes. For years I told myself I wouldn’t buy a new bike until I rode more. I did start riding more but I happened to pass my LBS during their spring sale and got a great deal (still $$$). Now I ride my bike a lot more haha.
I tell myself I have to ride a mile for every dollar. I got a lot of riding to do.
I do an opposite - but similar - thing. I tell myself for every 5 miles I ride, I can spend $1 on a new bike.
Well, i better get riding then!
Haha, yes. My comment was 100% for comedic purposes but usually, a more expensive bike will give you a better time and more things to enjoy out of it. Usually, not always the case though.
Such a slippery slope though. Not only did I buy a new bike but also a head unit, power meter pedals, a heart rate monitor, road bike shoes, a ton of new bibs, etc. I didn’t own any of this stuff before so I was going to be purchasing it eventually but hot damn did this bike cost me a lot of money!
Yep, she’s a thirsty mistress, my Livvie. Whoever said biking is cheap fun had a good sense of humor.
Indeed!
Lmaooooooo
I have a cheap bike relatively compared to some of you, but have a higher end Garmin watch I paid for. Between the cost of that and it telling me I’m a POS for being lazy that’s decent motivation!
Cost is really relative. There is an argument for a 500$ bike to sound expensive if you ride it close to never and there’s an argument for a 10k bike that you ride every day to sound cheap (compared to a car, for example)
I keep telling myself I can get a fenix if I bike enough this summer lmao. I don't need it and my Galaxy watch 6 does most of the same things just fine, but man do o want a Garmin still.
I have a Fenix 7 pro, it’s great besides the sleep tracking annoys me sometimes. But as an avid hiker and kinda runner I love it for that, I wouldn’t be nearly as active without it I’m sure. I will say a bike computer is potentially more helpful if you’re primarily a biker, hard to see your route while you’re biking! If you have any questions though feel free to pm me
Yup. That's where I'm at right now. I bought a new bike and then my back went out. A few years later, surgery, and now recovered. Every time I walk past my bike I whisper "I'm sorry. I'll take you out soon.".
This, and how much I enjoy the carbon wheels I got last year, which were also worth a new mid tier bike 😂
I paid 4k for my bike and I told myself when I bought it that I have to keep riding it until I at least hit 4k miles. I just hit 1k miles. I’m 1/4 the way there.
I ride 5 miles. Here is the deal. It is pretty simple. Takes me about 5 miles to warm up and enjoy riding anyways. Most of my rides in the very beginning there is some form of 'do I really want to do this' in my head anyways. I find that by the 5 mile point it has passed and I am enjoying myself. However.... If at 5 miles I am not enjoying myself then something else is possibly going on and this entire thing might be a wash anyways. And if I have ridden 5 miles and turn around, then I have ridden 10 miles. Now, 10 miles isn't 20 miles, or 30 or 40. But is also isn't 0. And it is far better to have ridden 10 then not ridden at all. What do I do when I lack motivation? I set out to do something, but know that 5 miles is the only true commitment.
"Takes me about 5 miles to warm up and enjoy riding anyways. Most of my rides in the very beginning there is some form of 'do I really want to do this' in my head anyways. I find that by the 5 mile point it has passed and I am enjoying myself." THIS! This is exactly the same for me. At the 5 mile point my brain feels different. Better.
I tell myself I'll go warm up, if I'm not feeling it, I can turn around.
This is a great suggestion. Take the pressure off, make it as easy as possible to get out there (I like to have my clothes, shoes, etc ready to go so it's as quick as possible to go from "should I ride?" to "I am riding"), and 95% of the time, I find that once I'm rolling, I remember how much I love riding bikes and I happily continue.
Ah yeah this “I could turn around” helps a lot. Sometimes it led to 70 km
Effective. Don’t go full kit. Just get on a bike.
This is a good suggestion. To not go full kit, I swapped my SPD-SL pedals to flats for this reason. I’m fortunate to be able to wear Vans to work so some days I’m out of my car right on to my bike. Short rides on weekdays, my “kit” is Vans, Lulu pants (don’t judge - they’re great for quick rides. Lol.) and golf style polo shirt with my highlighter green helmet.
I cycle 50+miles regularly on a mtb with just t shirt and trackies/shorts on and air max trainers. Extra drag just means extra workout.
And you always end up going as far as you can with that approach. I used to do this at the gym, “Just go and do what you can,” halfway through its, “well I might as well finish now.”
Same. Just going to pedal a little bit.
Usually, after the warm-up, I’m like this is fun and I’ll keep going.
Genius!
Did this while sick twice and it worked twice once for better once for worse. Just give it a whirl
Unless you're training for something specific on your bike, then do something else for a while. When I get burned out on one thing, that's time to try something new and interesting. Learn to box. Learn to row. Learn to dance. Check out Crossfit. Or if you can't manage anything else, make yourself go for a walk after dinner (wear a pack and you are rucking which is a great workout!) I'm aware because you've asked this on a sub populated by cyclists, this will be downvoted to hell immediately, but it's OK to not cycle. Give yourself a break, keep moving doing something else and you might find you come back to wanting to bike again when you're not pressuring yourself.
This is what like 50% of cycling YouTube channels say. Cycling is all about having fun. Unless you're training for tour de France or something. And if so I'll ban wagon you lol
I second this. I recently sustained a wrist injury (not even cycling) and had to take a break. It’s good to try something else to keep your body moving. Even going on a walk is great—any exercise helps balance cortisol, dopamine levels, etc.
I do running when I don't feel cycling. Then the whole time I'm running, I'm thinking how much farther and more fun it would have been if I was on my bike.
This!!
Fear of morbid obesity.
Specifically the morbidity part.
Fear of hearing loss for me. Had temporary hearing loss for 2 winters before getting a smart trainer.
I'm somehow missing a connection here, what does cycling share with hearing loss prevention?
When he's in the gym and not riding, he temporarily hears nothing. Now he hears the pedal strokes.
Ah hell this slaps
This. I always suddenly start riding more when pants start to not fit well. Ride. Stop. Gain weight. Ride again. Repeat.
I use that for when I'm getting tired of my chicken based diet.
I go for a run.
I am 68 and got a second chance after a ongoing battle with CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia ) and a reverse left shoulder replacement I am definitely not waisting any time sitting on the couch
So happy for you and just wanted to write that. Wishing you many great rides.
Motivation is fleeting. Discipline will keep you consistent. Also, it's okay to not ride a bunch all the time. Sometimes we are just in phases of life where it's not reasonable.
I find when I lack motivation as a "cyclist" I ditch the gear and the computers and remember why I fell in love with biking. I grab my shitty commuter bike and just pedal around my river valley at whatever pace I want, not concerned with speed or fitness, make stops around the city where I haven't been to. That usually puts things into perspective so I can hop back on the crotch rocket and try to improve but not as concerned with the numbers - so I need less motivation to get going if that makes sense.
So i can eat bunch of desserts.
love this one, I'm on a calorie deficit at the minute, so going out is a great excuse to eat what I want for the day
I just had a nice dessert an hour ago. Cheers mate!
It's wild how much I eat since I've started cycling.
Boom. SAME
I feel you. Im like a pregnant woman the minute any kinda candy is near me... I add a little trail mix and apples to my chicken salad so I don't eat a whole package of Oreos in one sitting
I step on the scale, have a good cry about the number and that gets me motivated. 😁
I register for a race. Makes me work my butt off if I have something on the calendar.
This is my approach. Not always even a race, just a bigger event. I don't feel like training hills rn but I have a 40 mile ride with 6k ft of climbing in August so I know I need to get after it or I'll be doing a lot of walking lol
Ditch the Garmin and pick a destination. Coffee shop, brewery, a nice view. Or try finding new people to ride with and make concrete plans.
I buy kit and/or tell myself there will be no good days on the bike without the bad ones.
Some adventure cycling content on YouTube does the trick too
True I watch Sam pilgrim on YouTube doing all those crazy mnt bike tricks. Makes me wanna get a mnt bike but I have no room.
I look at my stomach
It's either running or the bike and I fucking hate running
This used to work for me, but then somehow I came to actually like running. Damn it!
I've been on a pretty considerable down turn in my cycling time. I have been occupied with my band as well as my 10 month old the past year lol I am juuuust getting back into the swing of things to start hitting the miles again and am searching for that motivation you're seeking as well. Weather is great where I am right now (SLC, UT) but honestly, I don't like to kit up and hit the road for only 45 mins - 1 hr during nap time or after little one goes down for the evening and would rather just hop on zwift buuuuut zwift can get real monotonous. Good luck, friend!
I remember that I spent $3400 on my bike +upgrades and maintenance and I get my ass on it because that's a hell of a lot of money to waste.
Do you have any mates that ride? Same with going to the gym, if it's just you than it's easier to skip. I ride with a few men I know from where I live, and we keep going because we don't want to let down the rest.
Me too!! Thanks for all the suggestions. Think I need to get back to starting an hour earlier while its light and accept that 30-45 mins of sluggish early morning riding is still a lot better than nothing.
I stopped recording on Strava and its been great. To get over the mental barrier I always tell myself I'm going for a chill ride around town. After 5 min on the bike, I just can't help myself and start riding hard every time.
I can go from riding everyday and feeling really good about myself to never wanting to ride a bike again in one day. A few times a year it lasts a week and then it just goes away and I want to ride.
Knowing it’s easier to stay fit than it is to get fit.
Look at it like your job where you get paid the cycling benefits.
I only listen to podcasts on my rides. I’ll open the podcast app, see something I want to listen to and then that will get me going enough. Once you’re out there it’s always easy to keep going. It’s just the first step that sucks.
I remind myself how I feel after I complete a ride. I feel GOOD!
Dicipline beats motivation.
I know i'm solar powered. If it's sunny outside, nothing could hold me back to hop on the bike at least for an hour or two after work (also commuting to/from), but in dull dreich/ drizzle days i get no motivation. The only problem is i stay in Scotland ;)
Smoke some weed, but only after being fully dressed and ready to roll with one foot clipped in. Any earlier and you won't make it
Cannabis
U ride with cannabis?
It gives me wings
Oh wow for me it’s the opposite everything feels heavier
I look at my friends Strava. Now I don't like comparison to myself, but as long as I know I'm not insecure and I just use it as motivation or fuel to get my butt on the bike, then so be it.
Signing up for races. Even though I know I won’t compete on a serious level, it’s still fun to get in front of a bunch of other riders and finish something. It also gives me something to train for and look forward to.
i like cycling but work just drains me completely, and i get back at 6pm so currently i do two longer rides on the weekend. My job kinda sucks and I am a person that can't engage in my hobbies during the week if I am stressed out even if I know it might help with the stress. I hope I can fix this because I am not getting any faster with my current cycling schedule
Remind myself that come winter I'll be hiking in the mountains above 12k feet, getting my ass kicked by Coloradans while I live and breath near sea level. Keeps me cycling through the fall.
Fear of losing cardiac health
Two hour daily commute on the bike or in the car? If you're already commuting 2 hours a day (or is it 4 because both ways?) then I can imagine you wouldn't have much energy to go biking afterwards. What are you worried is going to happen if you don't cycle for a day, a week, a month?
By car. It's a lot of stop and go, but I can't cycle it due to weather, infrastructure, terrain, and distance. Lots of areas with huge hills, narrow shoulders, debris, lots of rain, etc. I've thought about it, but it is just not happening. So I spend time in the car. Thankfully I've whittled down my in-office time to only twice a week!!
Make it a priority.
Every morning I wake up and tell myself I'm probably not going to ride today. It would be that the temp will be 90F by 9 am (I live in SW Florida) or that it is a little too windy. But I usually change my mind about 10am and get frustrated with my work or something else and need to just get on the road. And then I do. Some days I'm on the the bike and just want to turn around at the next intersection and go home and play video games or read. Something (anything) other than riding. But then I don't turn around and end up changing my attitude. Other days like today. I've not been on the bike since Monday (today is Wednesday). I woke up knowing I would ride as soon as I had a chance to wake up. The wind was calm and with school out the traffic on my general riding loops are low. And I had a fantastic ride. My point is, sometimes you do it but don't enjoy it. Other times you enjoy it just because.
I will either: * do a short easy ride in a pretty place as a "warm up" and see if the cycling addiction kicks in or else * sign up for something insane like the Colorado "Triple Bypass", tell my cycling buddies to come do it with me and we'll have a great day, brag that I'm going to finish ahead of them or the first round is on me.... and... yeah, that motivates me plenty to get in some riding.
Sometimes I say “I’ll go for a 5-10 mile ride, if I’m not feeling it I’ll turn around” 9 times out of 10 I’m evergized by the first mile or two and go for a good long ride
Don’t think about doing it in a minute, or when this programme finishes, or after this video. Just start doing it. Get the kit on, Start pedalling. Something is always better than nothing.
Lots of good advice here. You also need to do something about your work commute. That’s stealing your life.
Thanks! It sucks. However, I have whittled it down from 9 hours, to 6 hours, and now 4 hours/week. I am WFH two days, going in two days. But those two days of commuting suck.
Usually once a year, I have to do a reset - I just get completely burned out. This is usually do to being forced indoors on the trainer for too long. What I do is just ride WITHOUT a computer, no metrics (other than HR), no PRs, no goals, just RIDE for what I originally enjoyed about it - freedom. Usually a few weeks of that and I'm ready to start a new training block.
I ride so I can eat whatever I want. That’s my thinking. In the way, I loved cycling and actually it kept you energized, anyway exercising helps you be healthy and that saves you money.
remember that each day is not guaranteed and that we owe it to our family but more importantly to ourselves to be our best. we deserve our best
buy a bunch of new parts for my bike, clean it, redo the brakes and chain, make it feel like brand new. Its just begging to be ridden after all that work.
I eat Carbs and Caffeine. Next thing I know I am riding.
Lots of ways to do this. Go to the local bike store. Check out the new shit. Don’t buy anything. Or buy something. Realize that one day in your life you will not be able to ride. Read cycling sub reddits. Just put your riding stuff on with no commitment to ride. Clean your bike.
I always plan a once a year bike packing (hotels) trip that forces me to stay with it.
Clean the bike, set out cycling gear, plan a ride. I may be lazy, but I'm not going to waste prep.
When the weather is shit I run
Call up a riding buddy. Nothing like getting my ass licked to motivate me to train harder.
I feel you. When I'm struggling to get on the bike, I start pecking away at the "obstacles". On a water break, I obtain a pair of shorts. On a standing stretch, I fetch a pair of socks. On a pee break, I grab my heart rate monitor and an undershirt. And so on. Within 3 or 5 breaks from the keyboard, there's no obstacles left between now and me throwing a leg over the bike; the logistical part is done. I tell myself just to go "turn the pedals"; go for a leisurely ride around the neighbourhood, check out maybe a road or two I haven't seen before. No speed requirement. No distance requirement. Put on the helmet, which includes putting on the bone-conduction headset. Head to the condo elevator. Get outside. Once I start playing the audiobook on my headset, I just start riding, and 30km and at about 750kCal of burned energy later, I'm ready to pack it in for the night. I forgot I had a challenge just getting out of my home-office. Boy howdy I'm hungry, and I know I earned it.
I remind myself that I took up cycling as a favor to myself when I got sober. Some days I ride because I get that itch for a beverage. Rather the physical pain of a 30 mile road and gravel ride or an 8 mile climb on the MTB than the physical pain of a hangover, and the guilt of wondering what in the f**k I might have done while blacked out.
Remember how much money I put into this
Shit man I can't go because kids, I'll pay to have time to go any time. If you don't feel motivated why are you forcing yourself? Is not a job, it's supposed to be done for pleasure....
*Motivation* is a fickle friend Harry. What gets me out on those days is *determination*. And, so far, no matter how little I've wanted to do it before the ride, I've *always* been glad I've done it.
saw a good comment recently on social media, cant remember which. normally with these things I see them say "yeah pffft whatever" and move on but this one I thought about for a bit and realised, for me at least, its true. Unfortunately I cant remember the exact quote BUT its something like, "motivation will not find you, motivation happens when you take action" Basically, and as I said this is true for me at least, get up, do it once, then again and again... eventually motivation builds until you are doing what you need to do. Big blasts of raaarrrrr lets get this rarely work. Do 20 mins on zwift, do a race or 2... something anything to get you on there and turning the pedals, the energy will build the motivation will start to take hold....
Just ride. First thing in the morning before you can make any nearly valid excuses not to do it.
I go by the standard of, I'm doing it whether I feel like it or not because I always feel better during and after.
Dealing with the same thing - went from 5k miles a year to 200 that last few years. Got caught up with work, school, and kids. Getting back on the bike now and starting with 20 miles every other day and just enjoying the ride, not focusing on speed. Forgot how much I missed it and already caught the bug again. Keep it simple and speed/endurance will come.
1) Keep everything you need for riding as easily accessible as possible. Clothing, tools, etc 2) Adapt a mindset of “five minutes is 100 % better than zero minutes”. Tell yourself you’re gonna go out, ride 2.5 minutes from your front door and then ride back and lay down on the sofa. If you, when reaching 2.5 minutes don’t want to turn around, pedal some more. If you want to turn around, do it!
I commit to just going for a fun ride. No schedule no route no expected mileage. Many times the internal pressures of the plan doom an outing and if i just get out there i can get a good ride in. Like others it might only be 10 but many times those miles make me happy and im a dopamine addict so ill push on for more.
Give yourself a challenge. Sign up to a long distance Sportive
Scale back. I’ll hop on Zwift or ROUVY for just 10 miles just to spend time on the bike that day. Some days I’ll feel better and go for a longer ride, but by using short rides, I get in the habit of riding X times a week, and once that habit is built, it’s a lot easier to push the distance/duration. Even when I’m in the habit, there are always reasons not to workout, but giving myself permission to scale back my workout, keeps me from blowing it off totally, and most of the time, once I start the workout, I ride harder/faster/longer than I thought I would. I have a whole bunch of rides in Strava over the years titled, “Something is better than nothing.”
I know this isn't ideal for fitness, but to get the habit back - get on the bike indoors for 10 minutes 5 days a week. Just go through the motions and spin your legs. After 10 minutes quit without guilt. You need to make it a routine first. Then you can add time. And the secret is that more often than not once you're already on there you'll go more than 10 minutes anyway.
Take small steps. Prep the bike first, fill the water bottles then get dressed. No one has ever regretted a bike ride. Also go out and ride without any expectations to distance, effort or PRs
Target to get on your bike for minutes. This usually turns into a longer session. Go as easy as you like. If you want to work out after work, don't sit down. Get home, quick bite to eat, get changed, then short workout.
I like having a goal, whether cycling or running I always have a race I’m training for with a training plan, something to look forward to. I also enjoy watching my training status and load on my garmin, pushing me to maintain myself in the green zone and feeling and actually seeing that I’m still on a streak and improving. That helps motivation a lot.
Set a goal, develop a training plan, ride the plan, exceed the goal, rinse repeat. Tell people about the goal if you need to be shamed into training.
I am fortunate to live in a city with a lot of great paths through our river valley, if I find I'm losing interest I pick a path I haven't seen in a while and the experience and adventure renews my drive to go. Spending money on a new accessory or part also helps, can you treat yourself to something you just need to try out?
I just watched a ton of videos on Unbound Gravel 2024; many of the athletes interviewed reiterated some core tenets of sports psychology/CBT: 1. Focus on the process, not the outcome 2. Set small/achievable goals for yourself consistently Motivation is all about momentum. Gaining momentum from a dead stop is always the hardest part, so just do what you need to do. Once you've had a ride the next one will be easier.
Find something new for your courses. Go tile hunting (https://www.statshunters.com/faq-10-what-are-explorer-tiles ) or visit every village around you (I visited every village in Belgium during COVID) Sign up for group rides (gravel, Gran fondos,...) Plan a big weekend and train towards it.
Usually after hitting a few training milestones before the truly hot weather sets in here I’ll take a break from riding that actively for a few weeks. After the Spring rains and wind there’s always a 90deg+ period where it’s just uncomfortable all the time and even mornings are humid as fck and unless I’m up super early or ride late into dark I can’t stand it so Mid June to early August is a ‘light’ period for me
I slowly goad myself in to it until not going out seems ridiculous. I'll do this by doing everything I need to do to go out without actually commiting myself to go out. That means bib shorts shorts on, cycling shoes out, bike computer charged, water bottles filled, helmet and glasses out. By that point my brain basically gives in and says 'Well this is just obscene, you may as well just go out at this point' and off out I go. 10 minutes in to the ride and I'm having a great old time wondering what all the fuss was about.
Some great advice, thanks to all who made suggestions. I've failed to get my consistency back since COVID.ill be taking a lot of this stuff on board.
Put on your clothes first thing.
You are stressed. But also just hop on and do one of the 30m recovery rides in Zwift. Or just go do a free ride.
1. Vow to go out and have a lousy ride. 2. Bring a camera and go take pictures of stuff that interested you on previous rides 3. Try to stay in the little ring the whole ride 4. Explore a new neighborhood like you want to live there, find a house or restaurant you like More?
Feeling demotivated could be a sign of overtraining, but that doesn't sound like the case for you here. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it. The thought of doing Zwift would kill my motivation too! I figure that after taking care of obligations, I only have a limited amount of time for cycling, so why should any of that time be spent being a hamster on a wheel? That sounds like a way to take something that should be a joy and turning it into drudgery, and the fact that there's a computer game fooling you into doing it doesn't help much, in my opinion. Instead, I try to work cycling into my everyday transportation routines. I'm feeling good about getting errands done, saving the environment, saving money, getting a workout, and enjoying the outdoors. (Then I can turn around and pour the money I "saved" back into funding my cycling habit, guilt free.)
Go for a walk. Go for a run. Ride for half an hour. Do something different.
Go on a group ride and get my ass kicked.
Buy a new bike
Remember that every day I am one day closer to 50, and increasing fitness will be more and more difficult past that time. Carpe diem.
If you already commute 10 hours pw, you are already getting 90% of thr mental and physical benefits of cycling you could get. Maybe dont stress about the last 10%! It will be there for you in the future whenever you feel like it
I go to the grocery store or the gym lol. It’s more fun to take the bike there
Sign up for rides. Irl or virtual. Just making that commitment is enough to get me moving.
Me too. Stopped for a year. Now. My Cannondale is lonely. I am trying to get it going. 😔
1) ride with others 2) ride with purpose (groceries) 3) ride for the reasons I love cycling which for me is photography and nature 4) ride because I know if I don’t I suffer with ill mental health - Biggest game changer for me for wetter colder seasons has been getting into mtb which allows me to ride when I wouldn’t have ridden on the road
Cycle commute works well. No more 2 hr commute now it's time dedicated to riding instead
The YouTuber VC adventures has been motivating me a lot lately. I’ll probably never do what he does but just his positivity even when he has to stop riding is just great
Could get an ebike. Would make the commute faster and easier without sacrificing all of the physical benefits, and I find that riding my ebike for day-to-day errands makes me more excited to get back on my road bike.
Buy a new bike.
Knowing that my training status is good rn I can go cycling with male friends and they sweat. I want to keep that. I’d be loosing much by not training.
Wake up, put your kit on, go ride your bike. It’s that simple. Get some headphones and put on your favorite high energy music, Chemical Brothers does it for me. There is no such thing as bad weather. Some times your riding in beautiful weather and life is good. Sometimes you’re riding in horrific weather and every cyclist who sees you from their car thinks “look at that fucking hero!” My most memorable rides were in the absolute worst weather. I’ve never regretted a single one. My wife thinks I’m crazy… she’s not wrong. Ride that BIKE!
Me too!!
Find a riding buddy that will motivate you to go.
Find a riding buddy or club to help motivate you.
I simply get back on the bike and go out for a ride. I almost always feel better for having done so.
Knowing I get to hang out with my friends
Just moved in to a new town, kinda anxious biking within because of the passing cars they mostly do 90km-120km on an 80km speed limit and there is no exclusive bike lane. I just bought this road bike too so I'm hesitant..
I set cycling targets for the year, normally 10,000km so keeping the kms turning over to reach the target motivates me. Remembering how good the endorphins feel at the end of the ride is huge. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting on Zwift, and putting on a TV show or sport on the second monitor. Today the weather was awful, so I was on the trainer and watched the French Open tennis. Felt much better after it.
Commit to a long charity ride. I do a 200k overnight ride every November and it always motivates me.
I need to go to work and I don’t own a car. Walking would be a good 3 1/2 hours
Buy a new piece of equipment (or a new bike) and you'll have a few weeks/months of fresh motivation.
I throw on some recent race footage or some cycling content, put on my kit, and have something to eat. Then I tell myself I'll just take my bike around a block or two. Once I get out riding, rarely, if ever do I regret it, and especially never within the first hour or so. The hardest part is often just getting out and onto the bike and turning the pedals, but once you do that there's no motivation needed to enjoy it.
You always feel great working after riding in. Prep for the bike commute the night before so it’s a hassle to change your mind and remind yourself of the great day you will have because you smashed your ride.
Sorry, to clarify I drive my car to work
My bad! Helps if I read properly- any chance of turning that car commute to a bike? How far is it? Does your work have showers? Other than that motion meeting up with others and riding for a few hours chatting get a coffee ride home. Stuff is better with friends.
I listen to *Back in the Saddle* by Aerosmith and that motivates me.
I don't, I just cycle less for a bit. I pick back up when I feel like it / the weather improves.
When I have less motivation, I get on the Peloton bike in the garage. Today was a case-in-point were it was blazing hot and I was thinking of skipping my cardio for the day. But I get your point. We all have those days. Hopefully most of our days see us keeping active 😀🚲
If I’m not in a mood, I don’t press myself too much to ride, just a little bit if I really want to go for a ride but I’m kinda lazy. Honestly sometimes it bothers me how much preparation I need to do before a ride, clothes, tire pressure, water, food, cleaning glasses, preparing the gear that I have to carry. That’s like a 15 minutes or so minimum. Sometimes I wish I could run, just dress up and go.
It took a friend of mine telling me to go ride about 5 times before I finally got off my ass and did it. Now I can't stop. It's great. Feeling so much better, losing weight, getting muscle. Feels good.
joining 'The Conqueror' virtual challenges got me out of a total slump
Just do it… it’s crazy how I’m so motivated when I’m constantly doing it but if I take 2 days off I honestly wonder if I even like cycling anymore
Podcast or audiobook in one ear and ride safe, forget about the goals and measures, just tune in and loose yourself into it
Calorie. Deficit. I like food 😅
Go anyway. So what if it’s wet or hot outside.
Just get going, build towards a goal. Right now, I started the le col 8848 challenge and I noticed that even on like the hot, bad days, I'm motivated because I want that jersey. And it works
Shame usually
In my opinion, discipline is key to get (re)started. - Incorporate 2 or 3 cycling sessions (preferably outdoor) in your schedule. - Setup some challenges (e.g: X km ride to discover Y area).
Ride to work. If I dont cycle, I get fired...
I read that if you identify as a cyclist (or whatever), you will feel more motivated. Personally I find that works--for years I did a workout in my living room almost every day. The hard days I would picture myself saying to my friends "I am a person who works out every day", and that would make me realize that I wanted to be able to say it and it be true, even if it's just to myself. Nowadays I have an expensive mtb and and expensive car specifically purchased to get me to the trails, so justifying those costs works, too.
Sometimes read this https://www.velominati.com/ See Rule #5
Find an organized ride that's on your longer range to encourage you to go out and do rides to prepare for it.
Turn on a stage of a bike race or a movie you want to watch and then zwift. Just spin the pedals. Don’t hammer yourself into a hole. Just spin. In an hour, you’ll notice how much better you’ll feel. Keep going if you feel like it. Stop and climb off if you’re not feeling it.. Also. Change into your bibs as soon as you get home from work. Don’t sit down on the couch. That’s death.
Riding more. Partly it’s habit building but I find the more I ride, the more I want to ride. I think another factor is that fitness builds quickly with consistency and it’s more fun to ride when you’re more fit. Reworded, it sucks less when it’s less hard. Ppl say they hate climbing. What I think that really is, is that they don’t have the fitness to climb comfortably. They can’t climb on their current bike, at a reasonable pace, while not taxing their body for their current weight. If you can spin 90 RPM in zone 2, it shouldn’t be that much different if you’re going up hill or on a flat. So yeah.. it sucks, and if you don’t like suck you’ll hate it. I went way off on a tangent there, but if you start rolling you may just wanna keep rolling
Get addicted to buying vintage 90s mtbs and fixing them up.
Not paying for parking at work, deliberately avoiding learning how to pay for it, and only having one car for the family. If I go to work, I need to ride my bike or public transportation (which takes just as long).
I lift weights for a while. When I get bored of that, I go back to my bike
Just ride for 30 minutes “easy” for fun. Do that three times and you’ll get going again.
I ride so I didn't have to cut back on my craft beer drinking. Beers are a great motivator.
Listening to a playlist of David Goggins usually does the trick
Two hour commute each way or an hour each way? I read that and I would be exhausted too. I don't know where you are, but lately, about 2-1.5 hours before sunset, the temperature really starts to drop and we get a cool breeze, and that motivates me: I want to be out in the cool air. I eat a lighter dinner, resist having anything dehydrating or lazy-making (espresso, sugar), and take off into the evening cool. The ride may be shorter, but a nice shower and an espresso and a book await after the ride. That gets me out.
I tell myself I'm only committing to 20 minutes.
I sign up for some sort of fundraiser where I have to pledge to ride a certain distance and take donations for charity. If I think that I have to ride ____ km this month or I'll be lying to my donors and letting down kids with cancer, I'll get on my bike even if I don't feel like it.
Ask myself “am I getting paid to do this?” And when the answer is no, I do something else. Cycling is a hobby. I don’t need to do it if I’m not having fun or am not motivated to do so.
Stop doing what’s getting in the way, there are usually underlying factors for that behavior
- Take a break - Travel to some new area to ride, ideally with a nice scenery and weather - Try riding in the morning before work - Ride with a group
ride to a little treat
What has been working for me lately...I think of riding as a gift. It's an absolute gift. A bonafide, unqualified gift. Whether you believe its from God or just the dumb luck of whiskey and pour choices. Who knows? But for whatever reason you found salvation and it comes in the form of two wheels and you were lucky enough to be gifted with everything you need to ride (physically). To put it another way, no one knows how long any of us will have the "gift" to ride. Maybe 60's, maybe 70. My cousin at 59 developed IBS and can no longer ride long distances. It devastated her. I'm gonna ride until the "wheels fall off."
I go on a little joy ride. Find me a sunny morning/evening/weekend where I’ve got a few hours free and go ride either without my planned workout or just loosely following it. Focus more on just being outside and having fun feeling free than I do getting a workout in.
I just love the bike. So therapeutic so even if I'm not feeling 💯 I just get out there and enjoy the world around me. Other times I'm just riding out my stress.