Can too much Cycling take over your life

[johnnyb47]

Hi.
Haven't posted much the last few weeks but thought I'd share some of my views on what I may think about what "over doing it" on the bike is for me.
The last few weeks I've been feeling somewhat under the weather. I've been extremely tired with little energy and under motivated in what ever I do. Today it came to an embarrassing head whilst at work. This afternoon it was quiet and I ended up nodding off to sleep in my office. I woke up when I fell off my chair and felt a right Burk. Luckily I have my own office and no one saw me thank goodness!.
The only thing I can put feeling like this down to , is to much cycling in my spare time. The last few weeks I've been cycling well over 200 miles a week with a good few long 60/70 mile rides thrown in. With the weather being kind I've been making the most of it and after work i have been going out every night to do anything from 25 miles upwards without fail. With my new discovery of Strava this hasn't helped matters much either. I Shamefully admit I do try to compete with beating others on it, which means cycling has been turned upside down since using it. The lazy rides of last year and stopping at various points to take in the scenery have been turned into racing around the roads like a blue arsed fly. The realities though, is that I'm no spring chicken anymore and my road bike is an old heavy weight steel framed clunker.
So from today I'm making a new years day resolution as regards to my cycling..The strava is going purely because my weak mind cannot use it and not be competitive. Accept I'm no spring chicken anymore and realize that I can't do things I once could back when I was a teenager, but most importantly cycle for enjoyment and pleasure and stop getting wrapped up in statistics / miles etc.
I think a lot of keen cyclists often overcook there ambitions and then end up cycling for all the wrong reasons and ultimately throw in the towel when it all becomes a chore and to serious, instead of a sense of freedom and escapism.
Tonight I found it really hard not going out for a ride, but I've got to learn to take days off to recharge , otherwise it,s going to start to take an impact on my day to day life . I know some of you will find what I say quite amusing as you probably do many many more miles than me each day and are much more fitter than me :-)
All the very best all and stay safe out there,
:-) :-)

 

[classic33]

Nah, just keep pedalling. And concentrate on beating yourself, not anyone else.

I did 14 hours in one day earlier this month,

 

[Alan O]

Nah, just keep pedalling. And concentrate on beating yourself, not anyone else.

I did 14 hours in one day earlier this month,

I'm having a good day if I'm awake for 14 hours!

 

[Soltydog]

In 2015 I went the same way with Strava, riding everyday , pushing as hard as I could & chasing KOMs It was good fun for a while, but then it got to the point where I'd go out & blast along on a segment thinking I'd done well, then get home & find it wasn't even a PR never mind a KOM It started to take my enjoyment of cycling away & I was starting to fall out of love with cycling. I've now admitted that at nearly 50 I'm never going to be the fastest cyclist in the world & just gone back to enjoying the ride. I still use Strava as it's a great tool for recording rides & still compare some segments with 'friends' to see how we compare, especially climbs, but can fully understand where you're coming from if you do sack off Strava

 

[Kajjal]

Having turned into stravaman a few years back I now just enjoy every ride, the scenery, cafes etc. Life is too short to be stravaman continually trying to go 0.1mph faster and grumbling when something gets in your way.

That being said there is a mountain bike downhill KOM I am after , only 1 second behind current KOM but keep getting stopped by head winds or walkers getting in the way. The difference now is I just cut my speed and tootle past saying hello if anyone appears

 

[Brandane]

Too much of ANYTHING is bad for you. Everything in moderation, as they say.
As for Strava - why not set your rides to private by default? Then you can forget all the competitive nonsense and just use it as a tool for recording your rides.

 

[classic33]

Hi.
Haven't posted much the last few weeks but thought I'd share some of my views on what I may think about what "over doing it" on the bike is for me.
The last few weeks I've been feeling somewhat under the weather. I've been extremely tired with little energy and under motivated in what ever I do. Today it came to an embarrassing head whilst at work. This afternoon it was quiet and I ended up nodding off to sleep in my office. I woke up when I fell off my chair and felt a right Burk. Luckily I have my own office and no one saw me thank goodness!.
The only thing I can put feeling like this down to , is to much cycling in my spare time. The last few weeks I've been cycling well over 200 miles a week with a good few long 60/70 mile rides thrown in. With the weather being kind I've been making the most of it and after work i have been going out every night to do anything from 25 miles upwards without fail. With my new discovery of Strava this hasn't helped matters much either. I Shamefully admit I do try to compete with beating others on it, which means cycling has been turned upside down since using it. The lazy rides of last year and stopping at various points to take in the scenery have been turned into racing around the roads like a blue arsed fly. The realities though, is that I'm no spring chicken anymore and my road bike is an old heavy weight steel framed clunker.
So from today I'm making a new years day resolution as regards to my cycling..The strava is going purely because my weak mind cannot use it and not be competitive. Accept I'm no spring chicken anymore and realize that I can't do things I once could back when I was a teenager, but most importantly cycle for enjoyment and pleasure and stop getting wrapped up in statistics / miles etc.
I think a lot of keen cyclists often overcook there ambitions and then end up cycling for all the wrong reasons and ultimately throw in the towel when it all becomes a chore and to serious, instead of a sense of freedom and escapism.
Tonight I found it really hard not going out for a ride, but I've got to learn to take days off to recharge , otherwise it,s going to start to take an impact on my day to day life . I know some of you will find what I say quite amusing as you probably do many many more miles than me each day and are much more fitter than me :-)
All the very best all and stay safe out there,
:-) :-)

Bit late for a New Years Resolution.

Never used strava, a five function cycle computer instead(battery now dead so everything needs resetting). Gave the mileage and the time(current actual time, no need to look at a watch). Used to record total mileage done, more than anything.

If you're bothered about dropping off at work, get out in the fresh air, if it's possible. Other than that try going to a few meetings. Some of the "spring chickens" I've worked with always seemed to be nodding off. Try a different cycle type(The Dark Side?) if you can and put the fun back into cycling that way.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Never used strava, a five function cycle computer instead(battery now dead so everything needs resetting). Gave the mileage and the time(current actual time, no need to look at a watch). Used to record total mileage done, more than anything..

I recently fitted a Cateye Velo 7 cycle computer to one of my bikes and I think it's excellent. I get all the info I'm interested in without allowing Strava to ruin my enjoyment and turn me into an OCD stat-chasing cyclist.. I am mildly interested in the mileage, max and average speeds, but only to see how my rides improve as I clock up more miles and get fitter not to become obsessed by beating other riders. Allowing Strava to take control of your cycling destroys the pleasure, IMHO. If you can't allow yourself to stop to have a breather or look at something interesting that has previously caught your eye, because doing so would make you look "slow" then you have lost control of your hobby.

 

[Shropshirelass]

See I use Strava for both cycling & running & I do really like the app, but I know I'm never going to be top of the leaderboard very often. So I use it to beat my prs & its fun looking at all of the different routes & how friends are getting on. I'd love be able to cycle more but I probably only get out on the bike 2-3 times a week if I'm lucky with 1, 20-30 mile ride but I'm working full-time & often helping on the farm in between then so it's hard to find time.

 

[johnnyb47]

I recently fitted a Cateye Velo 7 cycle computer to one of my bikes and I think it's excellent. I get all the info I'm interested in without allowing Strava to ruin my enjoyment and turn me into an OCD stat-chasing cyclist.. I am mildly interested in the mileage, max and average speeds, but only to see how my rides improve as I clock up more miles and get fitter not to become obsessed by beating other riders. Allowing Strava to take control of your cycling destroys the pleasure, IMHO. If you can't allow yourself to stop to have a breather or look at something interesting that has previously caught your eye, because doing so would make you look "slow" then you have lost control of your hobby.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with that comment. That's exactly how I feel about it at the moment buddy.

 

[fatjel]

Theres all sorts of hobbies that'll ruin your life, I've tried most
Drinking , drugs , gambling and smoking spring to mind,
Strava addiction is a bit tame innit ?

 

[Lavender Rose]

I am only ever competitive with myself, if I really wanted to be competitive with others I would have either given up by now or be dead. I feel so much more accomplishment when I do a little better each time.

It has been mentioned before about using GPS Tracker apps, I think it can go one of two ways. You either are inspired to do more to beat your targets, or you become despondent because you cannot compete and you end up burning out trying to do it - so as you say it becomes a chore...

I am doing my monthly 100km medal and yearly 1000 miles so unfortunately I have to log my miles etc, but it is useful and gives me pride to know I am getting better and each ride I can go longer, so it never gets easier! I just feel I can endure more.

I think I have a healthy mix of both competition and escapism. If I have had a long week (considering I usually work shifts from Wednesday to Sunday), I cannot wait till Tuesday when I am off and I can plan a nice long ride and get out and about ON MY OWN! It is great, I am a very peopley person, in a very peopley job....but christ I need peace and quiet once in a while

I don't think you are stupid at all - making the most of the lighter mornings and evenings is so important, even if the weather isn't all that....I cannot wait to go out at like 7am and come back just after midday!

 

[Lavender Rose]

See I use Strava for both cycling & running & I do really like the app, but I know I'm never going to be top of the leaderboard very often. So I use it to beat my prs & its fun looking at all of the different routes & how friends are getting on. I'd love be able to cycle more but I probably only get out on the bike 2-3 times a week if I'm lucky with 1, 20-30 mile ride but I'm working full-time & often helping on the farm in between then so it's hard to find time.

I also use Strava for running! You sound just like me....except I don't work on a farm sadly

 

[Alan O]

I do think it's a shame that some people can't use Strava without getting into an intense competitive state of mind, because I think it's a great thing for other reasons.

I love being able to record my rides to look back on, and I frequently use them to work out variations and build different future routes.

It also means I can head off in random directions when I'm out, and if I find interesting new things and routes, I've got a record of them for future planning. I've found several good route extensions that way using the "I wonder what's down here?" strategy and then finding I can link up to other routes when I examine my tracks later.

And, of course, it's great to see where other people I sometimes cycle with are riding when I'm not with them, as that gives me new routes that I know I'll like based on having the same kind of cycling style. I recently found a great new route that way, somewhere I wouldn't have thought of myself.

I'll just add that I remember some great rides from when I was a lot younger, and I wish we'd had something like Strava back then - I'd love to be able to look back on those old routes.

 

[Globalti]

Good post and interesting thread. It sounds as if the OP is overdoing it and is in a state of permanent low-level fatigue, as so many sporty people are during the season, especially those no longer in their youth! A week off with good food and rest would make a miraculous difference to strength and state of mind without any effect on cardio-vascular fitness.

Despite one cycling buddy nagging me I've resisted using Strava although I sometimes look at the Strava Global Heatmap in amazement. Going out on a ride is supposed to be enjoyable and I've heard too many cyclists whining about this technology or that technology not working and ruining their ride. So I also use a simple, reliable wired Cateye 7 to record distance and average speed and I log my rides on a spreadsheet just as a record. There are fields for weather and overall comments on the ride as that interests me as much as the metrics. If something happens like a puncture or a good cafe or pub stop, that gets recorded as well and I also record significant expenditure like new chains or brakes as a way of monitoring their life.