Hello again.
Whilst out on my bike ride tonight I got thinking as to why a lot of new cyclists give up riding after a few weeks ,of there newly found interest.. You often see bike ad,s on eBay etc on the lines of " used a couple of times and have no time to use it" blah ,blah blah..
Is it the road traffic that puts new cyclists off ,or the fact they have bought an ill fitting bike that's completely unsuitable for there needs.
The summer time always seem to be the peak time when you see new faces peddling there nice new shiny bikes on the road. It always seem to peak after a well publicised bike race like the Tour de France ,and then theres a raft of newbies sporting some expensive looking team replica bike and dressed to break the laws in physics in time trialling.
.As soon as the winter grip takes hold they all seem to disappear never to be seen again..I too, must admit to losing my focus on my cycling sometimes. When i first got back into it last year, i rode all my miles for just the sole intention of enjoying getting outside and clearing my head of all the crap that was going on in my life at the time.
As time went by i started to realise my belly was getting smaller and that i was starting to ride further and quicker. I noticed that i was becoming more and more obsessed with my average speed / miles and endurance. Suddenly out of the blue i started to realise that i was now not enjoying my bike rides as much as i did. Coming home absolutely cream crackered because i was pushing my self to the limit was all very well when admiring my fastest ever time, but i was now missing out on enjoying the lovely country side that surrounds my area because i was to focused on pushing myself.. Gone where the stops by the lake side or taking in the spectacular evening sunsets. It was a case of bike out the door , cycle hard for a good hour and then collapse on the sofa when i got home.
The last few weeks though I've made a conscious effort to slow my pace down and enjoy my cycling again. The magic of cycling has now come back again ,and once again look forward to getting out for a ride after work. I think it's all to easy to get "sucked " into the wrong kind of cycling when you get to over enthusiastic about your new found interest. Sometimes i think we need to take a step back and re evaluate the real reasons for cycling enjoyment. It kind of makes you wonder if new cyclists expect" to much to soon " from there new found hobby ,that ends it all to quickly for them ,and a new bike languishing in the garage for months on end before being sold on.
If your still awake after reading that i appluad you .
Take care out there .
Johnny :-)
Whilst out on my bike ride tonight I got thinking as to why a lot of new cyclists give up riding after a few weeks ,of there newly found interest.. You often see bike ad,s on eBay etc on the lines of " used a couple of times and have no time to use it" blah ,blah blah..
Is it the road traffic that puts new cyclists off ,or the fact they have bought an ill fitting bike that's completely unsuitable for there needs.
The summer time always seem to be the peak time when you see new faces peddling there nice new shiny bikes on the road. It always seem to peak after a well publicised bike race like the Tour de France ,and then theres a raft of newbies sporting some expensive looking team replica bike and dressed to break the laws in physics in time trialling.
.As soon as the winter grip takes hold they all seem to disappear never to be seen again..I too, must admit to losing my focus on my cycling sometimes. When i first got back into it last year, i rode all my miles for just the sole intention of enjoying getting outside and clearing my head of all the crap that was going on in my life at the time.
As time went by i started to realise my belly was getting smaller and that i was starting to ride further and quicker. I noticed that i was becoming more and more obsessed with my average speed / miles and endurance. Suddenly out of the blue i started to realise that i was now not enjoying my bike rides as much as i did. Coming home absolutely cream crackered because i was pushing my self to the limit was all very well when admiring my fastest ever time, but i was now missing out on enjoying the lovely country side that surrounds my area because i was to focused on pushing myself.. Gone where the stops by the lake side or taking in the spectacular evening sunsets. It was a case of bike out the door , cycle hard for a good hour and then collapse on the sofa when i got home.
The last few weeks though I've made a conscious effort to slow my pace down and enjoy my cycling again. The magic of cycling has now come back again ,and once again look forward to getting out for a ride after work. I think it's all to easy to get "sucked " into the wrong kind of cycling when you get to over enthusiastic about your new found interest. Sometimes i think we need to take a step back and re evaluate the real reasons for cycling enjoyment. It kind of makes you wonder if new cyclists expect" to much to soon " from there new found hobby ,that ends it all to quickly for them ,and a new bike languishing in the garage for months on end before being sold on.
If your still awake after reading that i appluad you .
Take care out there .
Johnny :-)
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