The end of the road?

[Pblakeney]

I reckon I must just be lucky. I've cycled all my life and I couldn't pack in if I tried. Every ride, even at 69, is an adventure and I hope that never changes. Besides, the wife says if I didn't cycle I'd have nothing to moan about 😉

Your wife just wants rid of you for a few hours at a time.

 

[steveindenmark]

I was out yesterday for the first time in 4 months. But my new allotment has taken my time.

But gardening is slowing down and so I got the Koga WT out. Give it a good clean and oil and made sure all the toolkit, lights and spares were on it and went for a 15km ride in the sun. I have 4 more to clean, oil and tool up this week. I like to just grab it and go. So they all have individual tool Kits and lights.

I have cleared out the shed and so I have loads of room to service them.

 

[All uphill]

I hear you. I'm naturally conservative/cautious so tend not to take risks. The fatigue I'm feeling, or rather for the period of time that I've felt it, is concerning. I have spoken to my doc but the standard range of blood tests revealed nothing (other than slightly elevated cholesterol which is, I suspect, due to my reduced activity levels) I had a heart scare a few years back (I was misdiagnosed) but it may well still be lurking, at the back of my mind, as a concern.

Did you get the ebike because of the heart problems?

I did, and it's great.

I also had a misdiagnosis. I reported huge fatigue back in March and a heart murmur was spotted by my GP. A CT scan led to a diagnosis, confirmed in writing by the cardiologist, of an unusual condition that could result in me dropping dead anytime, as my father did at 65 years. A few months later I got a phone call to tell me it was a mistake, and nothing to worry about. FFS.

 

[classic33]

I did, and it's great.

I also had a misdiagnosis. I reported huge fatigue back in March and a heart murmur was spotted by my GP. A CT scan led to a diagnosis, confirmed in writing by the cardiologist, of an unusual condition that could result in me dropping dead anytime, as my father did at 65 years. A few months later I got a phone call to tell me it was a mistake, and nothing to worry about. FFS.

Being told you've got something that puts a stop to what you were doing can't be nice. Especially when it's later said to be wrong.
For a while you're left wondering, on your own, if the initial diagnosis was right and the second was wrong. Then you decide "what the hell!" and carry on as close to normal as you can.

Yello, don't just give up is about the only advice I can offer. Fight it if at all possible, maybe doing less than you did before, but doing something.

 

[88robb]

Has anyone made the decision to stop cycling? That is, if it is/was something you do/did for pleasure rather than necessity, i.e. commuting. Because I think I'm maybe close to making that decision. If I wasn't so invested in it, in terms of equipment, I think it'd possibly be a 'no-brainer' and I'd pack it in, but I have a garage and a wardrobe full of cycling stuff.

Now admittedly I've had health issues these last 3 months, and I've had periods in the past where I've taken a break, but it feels different today. Like it's 'not there' anymore. I find myself looking at my cycling gear, not feeling motivation but simply thinking it's time to sell up.

Curious, as it's been such a part of my life.

Yeah, I've been there. When it starts feeling like a chore instead of fun, it's hard.

Don't make any big decisions while you're still dealing with health issues. Just give yourself permission to take a proper break without the guilt. The gear will still be there in a few months if you decide to sell.

 

[esoxlucius]

@yello.Decades ago I had exactly the same thing going on with angling. It was my love, my real passion in life, and over a short period of time that passion left me, and I packed it in completely.

But I never got rid of my gear, I just stored it away. My retirement is now looming and angling will come to the fore again, I've already been fishing the odd time and i've started checking through my old tackle and replacing some of it.

What I'm saying is, yes, have a break if your head and your heart is no longer with it, but keep your stuff. Or, if you do sell some of it at least keep enough so you can get back on the bike if the urge returns.

Another very important aspect of just stopping riding is your fitness and health, both mentally and physically. I don't need to go into any details because the benefits of cycling are numerous and well documented.

Have you got other things going on in your life exercise wise to replace cycling? If not this whole thing could be detrimental to you. The last thing you need is to start feeling worse than you do currently because you're slowly reverting back into couch potato mode!

 

[yello]

A few months later I got a phone call to tell me it was a mistake, and nothing to worry about. FFS.

I didn't get a phone call. I went to a different cardiologist for a second opinion and got an all clear from that. The cardiologist told me just to forget about the previous results (not that easy to do in truth) but was not more forthcoming. To this day (as I said up thread) those first results lurk in the back of my mind. What did the 1st cardiologist see? Did he even see anything? Did he just mix my results up with someone else?

I'm so tempted to ask a 3rd cardiologist to compare the results and ask them if it's possible they are from the same person.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I hear you. I'm naturally conservative/cautious so tend not to take risks. The fatigue I'm feeling, or rather for the period of time that I've felt it, is concerning. I have spoken to my doc but the standard range of blood tests revealed nothing (other than slightly elevated cholesterol which is, I suspect, due to my reduced activity levels) I had a heart scare a few years back (I was misdiagnosed) but it may well still be lurking, at the back of my mind, as a concern.

Did you get the ebike because of the heart problems?

I got my ebike - my first one - because of asthma
I wanted to cut costs and find some way of getting exercise
but didn't want the possibility of getting stuck and not having the puff to get home
especially as I live in the highest place around!

I was looking at them and decided they were too expensive at the time (about 2011!)
then saw an advert for one in the local chippy for only £220
looked genuine so I bought it and after a few months I could even get home the steep way without too much trouble
some of teh time anyway

There have been times when I have got to the far end of a ride and felt I might not be able to make it home
but if I put it in Turbo mode and just pedal gently, it gets me there!

after a few months

 

[yello]

Another very important aspect of just stopping riding is your fitness and health, both mentally and physically. I don't need to go into any details because the benefits of cycling are numerous and well documented.

Yes, cycling has helped my mental health immensely over the years. Just getting out into nature and turning the pedals... it's unbeatable. It refocuses and calms me. Vital stuff really.

In honesty, I don't have anything else that quite matches it for balance of physical and mental benefits. I have my gardening and walking the dogs, and a small social group - those things all address my different needy areas in their different ways but none (on their own) deliver cycling's 'bang- for-buck' I think I need to cycle in some form or another for as long as I'm physically able.

 

[All uphill]

I didn't get a phone call. I went to a different cardiologist for a second opinion and got an all clear from that. The cardiologist told me just to forget about the previous results (not that easy to do in truth) but was not more forthcoming. To this day (as I said up thread) those first results lurk in the back of my mind. What did the 1st cardiologist see? Did he even see anything? Did he just mix my results up with someone else?

I'm so tempted to ask a 3rd cardiologist to compare the results and ask them if it's possible they are from the same person.

Yes, the medical profession doesn't like admitting mistakes, or suggesting their colleagues messed up, or explaining what went wrong. I decided not to pursue it any further.

My very experienced GP asked me in detail about my symptoms and gently pointed out they fitted a diagnosis of anxiety much better than any kind of heart problem. I'm now working on that suggestion with a therapist, and it's going well.

 

[yello]

I think relating my woes yesterday, and the responses I got, was the kick up the backside that I needed.

tldr; it was like I'd never been gone. Thank you cyclechat massive.

I woke this morning... well, in truth, one of our dogs woke me - she woofed to be let out for a wee. It's not annoying, it's infinitely preferable to the alternative. So I was up and could see it was a lovely morning. A bit blowy but the sun was starting to peek out.

I was ruminating and realised I had been influenced by thoughts of what I can't do. My thoughts of packing in where a result of my all-or-nothing thinking. So, I flipped my thinking from what I can't do to what I can do. No, maybe I'm not up to my favourite 80km spectacle of autumn ride just yet BUT I can still ride a bike, I can still get out and turn the pedals for a bit. So with the glimmer of a spark, I togged up and headed out.

Those first 30 minutes, I was feeling surprisingly good. Usually it takes me up to that amount of time just to feel right but it was all there from the get go. I decided to tack a bit onto my ride. I'm blessed to live in an area with a plethora of quiet roads. I can pick and choose my direction as I feel and almost on a whim. That 30 minutes turned into 60. I rolled up to the front gate, 25km covered and feeling huge contentment - it had been a crackin' ride! Indeed, like I'd never been gone.

On reflection, after the much needed post on here, and the responses I was getting, I realised that I'd had a kind of sadness induced in me. It was autumn, my favourite season of the year. The colours around here this time of year are wonderful. The light is special (it really is, artists love it - there's a clarity you just don't get in urban areas) The roads are quiet (holiday makers have gone) and the riding is serene.

The mind can do weird things, lead you to strange places. I'd been thinking of my favourite rides - and thinking I wasn't capable of doing them ever again. I'd concluded that if I couldn't do my favourite rides in my favourite time of the year then I might as well just give it up. It is the classic depressed person's all-or-nothing thinking. And it was all more-or-less subconscious. I only needed to tease it out, see it for what it was to turn it around. The comments I was getting here helped me do just that. Thank you to all. Bonne route!

 

[classic33]

Good for you @yello.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I think relating my woes yesterday, and the responses I got, was the kick up the backside that I needed.

tldr; it was like I'd never been gone. Thank you cyclechat massive.

I woke this morning... well, in truth, one of our dogs woke me - she woofed to be let out for a wee. It's not annoying, it's infinitely preferable to the alternative. So I was up and could see it was a lovely morning. A bit blowy but the sun was starting to peek out.

I was ruminating and realised I had been influenced by thoughts of what I can't do. My thoughts of packing in where a result of my all-or-nothing thinking. So, I flipped my thinking from what I can't do to what I can do. No, maybe I'm not up to my favourite 80km spectacle of autumn ride just yet BUT I can still ride a bike, I can still get out and turn the pedals for a bit. So with the glimmer of a spark, I togged up and headed out.

Those first 30 minutes, I was feeling surprisingly good. Usually it takes me up to that amount of time just to feel right but it was all there from the get go. I decided to tack a bit onto my ride. I'm blessed to live in an area with a plethora of quiet roads. I can pick and choose my direction as I feel and almost on a whim. That 30 minutes turned into 60. I rolled up to the front gate, 25km covered and feeling huge contentment - it had been a crackin' ride! Indeed, like I'd never been gone.

On reflection, after the much needed post on here, and the responses I was getting, I realised that I'd had a kind of sadness induced in me. It was autumn, my favourite season of the year. The colours around here this time of year are wonderful. The light is special (it really is, artists love it - there's a clarity you just don't get in urban areas) The roads are quiet (holiday makers have gone) and the riding is serene.

The mind can do weird things, lead you to strange places. I'd been thinking of my favourite rides - and thinking I wasn't capable of doing them ever again. I'd concluded that if I couldn't do my favourite rides in my favourite time of the year then I might as well just give it up. It is the classic depressed person's all-or-nothing thinking. And it was all more-or-less subconscious. I only needed to tease it out, see it for what it was to turn it around. The comments I was getting here helped me do just that. Thank you to all. Bonne route!

Well done!!


I went through something like that when I was first alone after leaving my ex
I was just going through my life and thinking
"Oh if I had not done that my life would have been SO much better"

and I was doing that with ever decision I had ever made

after a day or so of that - which was VERY depressing - and I mean that properly not just a bit upsetting

I realised that every one of those decisions had 2 forks - and the other one could have been worse
even getting together with my ex (I could write chapters and why I shouldn't have!!)
resulted in our daughter, and I would never have had the time with her that I did have without that

and every other thing was the same

negative thinking is very destructive

Well done for getting away from it

 

[HLaB]

Hopefully, I have the continued motivation to get out on my bike. My driver when I'm down/deliberating etc. Is that Im 99% sure that the only reason I'm still here was that I was cycling fit when underage bowel cancer was diagnosed 6 years ago (I'd probably been living with it for 3-4 years before the diagnosis).

 

[All uphill]

That was a powerful insight you had @yello

Worth adding to a list of helpful thoughts if you have one.