Motivation for commuting in the winter?

[ishaqmir]

Hi everyone

I’m fairly new to road cycling, started about 6 months ago.

I’ve got a decent bike and all the winter clothing I’d need for cold and rain. Even the commute from Solihull to Coventry and back is a nice country route. And I only do that on Sunday’s as well.

But the weather and all is causing one thing to be missing, MOTIVATION! Arghhh

having to wake up earlier, missing the heated seat in the car, etc, etc, how do you all do it?

come on! I need some motivation! Please!

 

[vickster]

Don't feel you need to do it every day, choose the dry (drier) days to start with, then by March you'll be into the swing and ready to do every day. Good lights and mudguards especially and potentially panniers (rather than a backpack) will make it a more pleasant experience. Can you drive/train part of the way and cycle the rest? Or leave car at work so you can do just one way?

 

[mjr]

Heated seat? I'd cycle just to avoid such torture devices

It helps that driving is about as slow as cycling my usual route, the bus slower still and car parking more expensive unless you park so far away that it's slower than cycling! I guess they've got the incentives about right here.

 

[Slick]

I only commute twice weekly in winter and 3 times come the spring which is plenty for me. Not 100% sure where the motivation comes from other than I usually start to feel rubbish if I'm too long off the bike and with lots of other stuff going on, it's sometimes my only chance of getting a ride in.

 

[Rob Walker]

When the alternative is Northern Rail, there isn't much other option.... If the weather is too bad to cycle, then it's also too bad for the trains to run on time!

 

[cosmicbike]

If you stick at it, it becomes habit. Very very rare for me to use a car to commute on my day shifts, invariably up at 0445hrs and a cuppa before on the bike. Night shifts are different as I have thinking time, so sometimes the car gets the vote, generally only when it's wet though.
I find having little targets helps, like achieving an average of 10 miles a day through a month and so forth.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I’m often out on the cycle commute at before 05:00 in the morning, which at this time of the year can be ‘fun’. Get your kit ready the night before, get warm kit, the first couple of miles can be ‘fun fun fun’ but once you’re moving, it soon gets easier.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I only commute twice weekly in winter and 3 times come the spring which is plenty for me. Not 100% sure where the motivation comes from other than I usually start to feel rubbish if I'm too long off the bike and with lots of other stuff going on, it's sometimes my only chance of getting a ride in.

Yep, that’s about right.

 

[Milzy]

I don’t. I’d have to set off at 5am.

 

[Milkfloat]

My solution was to sell my car, I don’t have any choice but to commute by bike.

 

[I like Skol]

I have a car sat idle but just prefer to cycle rather than drive. It is fleetingly rare that heavy rain persuades me to take the car instead. Any other weather, be it wind, snow, sub-zero temperatures or extreme heatwaves (they do occur occasionally) have me itching to ride the bike to work instead of the car alternatives.
Motivation has never been an issue so I can't really offer any help on that problem.

 

[IaninSheffield]

My motivation came from thinking about the alternatives and how much I disliked them: driving in the car and suffering the aggression of other drivers and mind-numbing queues; sitting on a freezing cold bus for an hour with coughing, sniffling fellow commuters, standing on a freezing platform twice a day (like @Rob Walker ) at the mercy of Northern rail.
Or indeed thinking about the positives of cycling: the money I was saving; the fitness I was developing/maintaining; the environmental contribution my cycling was making; the ease with which I 'parked'; how much more physically and mentally ready for a day's work I felt after cycling and showering.
Yes, some days were decidely tougher than others (I'm now retired), but the key is to focus on the benefits.

 

[cyberknight]

Saves petrol money and with kids every penny counts , that and not using the car means mks ck can have it and her needs are greater than mine well at least till she had a stroke and had to stop driving .

 

[Levo-Lon]

Have you considered an E-bike.
Makes for a pleasant ride on windy days.
Plus you'll have more energy which helps combat negative thoughts.

 

[sleuthey]

I raised a thread here to cover this topic.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/incentives.252286/