Motivation to ride

[ianrauk]

Cleaning the bike is quite demotivating, especially after the last ride, it looked like I had been cycling laps around a cowshed..

Yet it's the opposite for me.
Once cleaned I'm wanting to jump straight back on it and go for another ride.

 

[young Ed]

it's like when i had swimming lessons or went horse riding quite a few years ago i dreaded it every week but when i was there and doing it a simply loved it! and so it is the same in winter with cycling
off i go and put my lycra on now as i haven't been out for ages i have just been fettling!
Cheers Ed

 

[MarkF]

+1 ...... Apart from the gym membership part that is!
.

I am not a gym rat but the cost of my 3 month stationary cycle-a-thon works out at .76p per day inc sauna, bargain!

 

[Roadrider48]

I admire Roadrider48, wish I was like that, but, I'm not, I don't care how cold it is but I don't like rain & cold and don't enjoy cycling in it at all. I buy a winter 3 month gym membership and cycle every day without fail, I know it's not the same but, I use those 3 months to get my body into shape for the other 9.

Plus, my weight doesn't change much.

It's just something that I love doing, so it doesn't take any thinking about.
But as Ian said, the dog rough weather isn't for everyone, unless they have to.
If it's any consellation, my wife laughs at me every time I go out and it's raining. She says I must need my head seeing to.

 

[Twizit]

Just sign up for something silly like the Fred Whitton Challenge in May - getting fit enough for 112 miles and 4,000m of climbing doesn't half help motivate when you might be waivering...

As has been said above though, don't think about it, just do it. I find it so much easier to just to get out of bed and get dressed straight into cycle gear in a morning. Before your brain has woken up to the fact, you're already out on your bike and invariably enjoying the ride whatever the weather

 

[Adam4868]

The only weather that really puts me off is the wind ! I drive for a living,but live for the bike.Cheesy i know but i itch to get on it.

 

[screenman]

I just watched Davina and thought if she can do it then I have no excuse.

In truth I seldom ride for pleasure and I do not commute by bike, I do want to be fit and thin though and there is my motivation.

 

[uclown2002]

I just watched Davina and thought if she can do it then I have no excuse.

In truth I seldom ride for pleasure and I do not commute by bike, I do want to be fit and thin though and there is my motivation.

Do you not feel thoroughly satisfied afterwards?

 

[screenman]

Do you not feel thoroughly satisfied afterwards?

Yeh! But! I forgot I put that one up, damn this old age. Doctor says I have water on the brain, does that mean I need a tap on the head.

 

[coffeejo]

It's not the weather per say that's putting me off at the moment, it's never knowing if the road will be flooded and if so, whether it's safe to cycle through. I think most of that can be put down to a pre-existing problem with anxiety but it's certainly been enough to stop me going out recently. On the other hand, I don't have a car and it's a 12 mile round trip to town and back, which I need to do regularly - luckily that's on the main road.

 

[stu9000]

Im a calm kinda guy but work can be stressful and if i dont get some exercise I can, im told, be a tad grumpy at home. I dont want to be that kind of husband or dad so sometimes its Grumpiness that drives me out. I burn off the tension and come back all sweetness and light.

The wind isnt fun but I quite enjoy the rain. Its time Spring started to get here but some of the rides Ive done this winter have given me a real buzz. Soaked to the skin but generating a core of heat as you power through huge floods. People looking at you like your mad from inside their tin boxes. The satisfaction and the endorphins!

Getting out can be tricky. But once your out it is ALWAYS worth it.

 

[Roadrider48]

Do you not feel thoroughly satisfied afterwards?

Seeing Davina collapse was very satisfying.

 

[maltloaf]

Usually I have the missus badgering me to go out because she knows I enjoy it so much.
She says you know you'll regret it if you don't and sure enough if I don't bother I'm like a caged animal in the evening.

 

[Cubist]

I was reading a different forum about motivation and this mantra struck me as very telling.

I rarely if ever regret riding my bike, but I always regret not riding it.

I think back to my darkest days of depression, when I genuinely couldn't muster the motivation to ride. On those days, especially dark wet club night rides I always took Cubester who wouldn't be put off, and dropped him off at the club with all sorts of excuses as to why I wasn't riding. As soon as I left the car park I instantly regretted not riding with them.

At the moment I am in a great state of mind, and have shortened route options if the weather is truly lousy, but in any case, having the right gear and the right bike means I commute more often than ever before. MTB options are limited due to the wet trails, but I've now fitted marsh guards, and have a weekend ride planned for this week.

Whoever suggested getting dressed to ride the bike without looking out of the window has it spot on.

 

[Danny Tuff]

3 things seem to unmotivate me really, poor form, poor weather, and poor company (people to ride with)

I had the full house last weekend, and it really knocked me for six!