Losing the mojo...

[Milkfloat]

The real answer is to drive to work for a week, you will soon want to get back on your bike. I had to drive into Birmingham yesterday, within 10 minutes I was wishing I was on my bike rather than stuck in that hell hole.

 

[jowwy]

I lost my mojo due to ongoing knee and foot problems.......then i bought an ebike

 

[ColinJ]

My local cycling mojo sometimes gets mislaid! I live in a very scenic area but have ended up spending a lot of time riding on the same roads, some of which are a bit busy, just to get to less familiar places.

The answer is to vary your rides, make them shorter so less tiring, use the car or train to explore new areas or do linear rides and generally try to make rides more interesting with cafes and visits to touristy places. It works for me.

@Littgull and I are using the trains a lot these days to allow us to do less riding up and down the A646/A6033 and more riding elsewhere. We both have senior rail cards which get us 1/3 off our fares.

There is a new direct rail service from Manchester to Clitheroe via Littleborough and Todmorden so we can now easily start and finish our rides out your way in the Ribble Valley. (When Northern rail services are not subject to industrial action, that is!) In fact, we are heading out to Whalley tomorrow to do a big loop round via Rivington to Accrington to catch a train home. We know a nice cafe in Greenmount which we will call in at once we have got most of the hills out of the way.

 

[Globalti]

What time will you arrive at Whalley station? I'll nip down for you to commiserate on my injury!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

My mojo comes and goes, if it's missing I'll go do something else and miss a couple of rides then start again.

 

[Brandane]

My mojo goes up and down like a yo-yo. I don't worry about it too much as I know it will come back sometime. In fact I prefer it that way, when I see some of my cycle obsessive pals who insist on going out for rides no matter the weather. Rain, wind, freezing, whatever. I just wonder how they can possibly be enjoying it; but as with everything - each to their own.

 

[Salty seadog]

It just happens from time to time, I like the suggestion from @Milkfloat to have a few days of the bike next time you go out will feel better.

 

[ColinJ]

What time will you arrive at Whalley station? I'll nip down for you to commiserate on my injury!

We are catching the 08:35 train from Todmorden, supposedly arriving at Whalley at 09:30.

I suppose shaking your hand vigorously and/or slapping you manfully on the back would be out of order then!

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks for your thoughts...

I find I start to dislike my commute into work when I'm trying to deflect away from things that aren't right at work, it's the not the drive, it's the motivation to go to work, because that's what I'm not enjoying.

Possibly correct. I'm in my probationary year at the moment so there's a pretty steep learning curve and it has been getting me down.

I find I get very bored of doing the same old route when commuting, when you're riding the same roads over and over again it takes the edge off.
Read a bike mag, watch some GCN videos, go for some pleasure rides in the opposite direction to your commute and it'll return.
It happens to us all occasionally.

You could be onto something there: I did absolutely no touring at all this year because I felt guilty about not being with my family, having already taken so much time away from them for revison for my exams. Maybe I should have thought about that a bit more.

My commute became a grind, same roads, same hazards same awful weather. Then I got ran over, carried on for a year or so but with nagging doubts then had a couple of very near misses on the same roundabout that if hadn't spotted coming would have killed me. Then I started worrying at night about the commute which killed any joy on the bike and I virtually stopped for a year.
Couple of months ago decide to get the bike out and ride simply for fun, and I've rediscovered my love of it. Did my first 100+ mile ride for years last week and other than a sore bum I loved every minute. Take a break and remember why you like cycling, it's fun.

Fair enough. I'm fortunate that I hardly touch a road for the whole commute and then it's only residential streets. Mebbe I'm just fed up of the same route.

The answer is to vary your rides, make them shorter so less tiring, use the car or train to explore new areas or do linear rides and generally try to make rides more interesting with cafes and visits to touristy places. It works for me.

That's a bit difficult: Stuttgart is about 200m (650ft) lower than where I live, and the route I take is the only one that doesn't involve a massive detour through the Neckar valley which is basically full of a port and Mercedes Benz main plant. Then I'd have to climb on busy roads to get to workm, and climb again to get back...

The real answer is to drive to work for a week, you will soon want to get back on your bike. I had to drive into Birmingham yesterday, within 10 minutes I was wishing I was on my bike rather than stuck in that hell hole.

First I'd have to buy a car, which I've never done before, and insure it, and take it for various tests, and put petrol in the tank (which means finding a petrol station) and pay for all of this... Cycling looks more attractive already.

I think it's a combination of a more urban commute (even thought that bit is on Tram/Bus) too much of the same old ride, and that I have to catch a bus for less than 10 min, then catch a tram for about 15 min, and then get on a bike. After you factor in missing either tram or bus and not being able to sit down it all seemed a bit laborious, especially as I could catch a tram to within a couple of kilometres of the village instead of cycling most of the way, which would be much faster.

I'm currently trying the local stop and travelling before the morning and eveing peak which means connections are better because the busses don't get snarled up in traffic, there are less people, and I'm only cycling for about 3 or 4 k's at a push.

I could catch a bus for the last bit but waiting ten to fifteen minutes for a six minute journey doesn't make much sense.´, and I save about 60€ a month by cycling that little bit, so it's better all round.

A local day tour wouldn'tr go amiss though...

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Ach, I get fed up of the commute all the time.
Same route (it's the safest), same destination
What makes me carry on cycling is the thought of the 4 buses, or 2 buses and 2 trains, or a taxi if the shift is outwith public transport hours.
I wish I had more time for leisure cycling, but I don't, so I'll have to make the most of it.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Time was, the commute to and from work/college was the highlight of my day, but now I've changed job I've found I see the ride as a chore: I even started to ride to the nearest tram stop instead of going as far as practical by bike then catching the tram for the last bit.

The strange thing is the route hasn't changed much in the last few years, in fact both times I changed I was still pretty much following the same way but it got a bit shorter, and some of the nastier and hillier bits of road were removed. The current route is mostly a gentle climb in, so requires very little work to get back.

Strange then, that the return journey is the chore.

The bit I really don't like is a section of shared use cycle path giving out to a shopping centre. I have no idea why I don't like it as it's a bit like cycling through a park, there's nothing especially dangerous and it takes a couple of minutes to traverse. Maybe the large numbers of people puts me on edge.

I suspect it is just that I'm going through the city now instead of fields, but I can't do much about that for the next eight months until my contract ends.

Anyone else lose the fun factor? Hpw do you get it back?

It sounds a bit like you need a holiday. Best do it on the bike, though....

 

[vickster]

I can drive to work or cycle in pretty much the same time (only around 20 minutes), I try to always cycle even though it is more faff as I do kit up and have to change. I only drive if it’s raining or I need the car to go to a meeting. Schools back next week so even more incentive to commute on 2 wheels due to traffic (slows my bike commute a little but not stuck in school traffic).

I’m keeping pedalling as much as I can despite increasing knee pain as I know I will be off the bike for at least January following surgery to hopefully reduce said knee pain.

Keeping Cycling through the autumn is actually a key reason for postponing the op. 3 week holiday in November means little to no cycling so I’m sure I’ll be keen to ride through December assuming dry weather

 

[simonali]

Like the other things I enjoy, cycling just isn't a "must do" for me. I go cycling when I feel like it, and do other things when I feel more like doing those. I think it's very important for us to only do the things we like when we're actually enjoying them - otherwise we lose a pleasure and gain a chore.

Ditto. I can't bear the thought of being that someone for whom cycling is a 'way of life'. It should be pleasurable and that is why I no longer commute to work by bike. I don't like going to work, so why add to the misery by cycling there.

I also do a lot more walking than cycling since getting a dog in 2004 and even go on walking holidays. Exercise should not feel like a chore or a duty, it loses its fun factor.

 

[galaxy]

You have to love something to enjoy it, you just need some variation, as said, commute a different way for a while, or once or twice a week.

 

[Edwardoka]

My mojo: absent presumed dead. I'll get it back some day I'm sure

The technique I had to motivate myself when I had a 25 mile minimum each-way commute (which was both incredibly stupid and not at all sustainable on both occasions I ended up in that living situation) was to convince myself that I was being paid to ride my bike and that the stuff in between the two commutes was not that important.

Sadly that technique doesn't work when the job has an ongoing aspect, e.g. long term projects, as it follows you around rather than being a compartmentalised part of your life that exists only during working hours.