Inspiration

[AncientWyvern]

Hello All,

Firstly sorry if this has been raised before!

I have not been away from cycling for too long but long enough to find it difficult to get the enthusiasm. I have a turbo trainer that i intend on putting my road bike on at the weekend with the intention of getting fit again; my aim being to join a cycling club in the new year and get fit for my wedding early spring.

I figure that i can find some programmes and get out at the weekend with my buddies to make it fun again.

I wonder; what inspires you to get on your saddle?

 

[upsidedown]

The fact that I have never once felt worse for getting out on the bike. Even the most un-promising day can turn into a great ride.
If you're bored, tired, fed up, can't sleep , can't wake up a ride will sort it.
Paul

 

[snorri]

Fresh air, meeting people, observing changes in my local environs, the refreshed feeling, both mentally and physically when the run is over, these provide all the inspiration I need.
The thought of "getting fit" on a turbo would drive me to the depths.

 

[ian turner]

Yup boring. Like a hamster wheel. No change in scenery.
Go outside !!!!

 

[wmtlynx]

I'd been trying to get my partner to go for a bike ride for ages. However much she didn't want to do it, we went for about a mile to the park and back and although her thighs were hurting, she was really happy and couldn't stop smiling for a good while after.

I'm still new to cycling but I seem to be getting addicted to it now I've got over my fears of traffic, falling in the canal and losing control, I don't seem to be able to go more than a couple of days without getting my ASDA bike out for a ride. I don't expect it'll last that long (the bike) being 65 quid brand new, but it's achieved its aim in getting another cyclist on the road!

Go out and enjoy the ride - It's like being a 7 again!

 

[Canardly]

I was out on my own last week end on a hybrid fairly late in the day and the heavens opened. Not a little, it hissed it down. I was riding river and park trails and had a whale of a time (no pun intended) It was raining so hard it was funny and as I had the appropriate layers on I was dry and warm. So get out there you may just enjoy yourself, best time I have had for yonks.

 

[ELL]

Dont leave joining a club until the new year join now. Any club worth joining will look after you and teach you the best way to ride. and its so much more fun than going on the turbo.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

For me, riding is the motivation. Nearly every day, I look out the window and the same argument goes on in my bonce which says "no, don't bother today, have a day off". Invariably I ignore it and just get on my bike. Within a hundred yards I'm wondering why on earth I was ever considering staying in!

Don't let the easy excuses for not riding win. When you get out there you'll love it.

 

[snailracer]

I dislike exercise for it's own sake, however I find commuting by bike compelling for various reasons:
- exercise
- practical purpose i.e. getting to work
- easier to pop into shops on the way
- save money
- save the environment
- variety - I can drive instead if I feel like it

 

[wobbler]

I love riding my bike because I see things I have lived by for years yet never knew existed. It does make you feel like a child again too, every ride is like a mini adventure. I've just realised, by using canal tow paths and cycle paths along disused railways I can get from home to the city centre (Wolvo) without going along a main road. In fact I can get to B'ham city centre without going along a main road! Well I could if I was fit enough!

 

[nosherduke996]

Dont leave joining a club until the new year join now. Any club worth joining will look after you and teach you the best way to ride. and its so much more fun than going on the turbo.

As above, do it now you wont regret it. A good club will look after a beginer and before you know it you will soon become faster and fitter.

 

[Tigerbiten]

I go shopping on mine.
So if I don't go out at least once a week, I don't eat.
I find that's that motivation enough.

 

[lukesdad]

Because I hate driving all ways have.

 

[Midnight]

Setting myself targets has helped me with motivation. I decided on a target mileage for the year, then broke that down into monthly and weekly targets. As well as a target mileage, I also want to be able to do longer rides, so I've been increasing the length my longer rides. And I want to be fitter, so I keep record of ride times and distances to help track my performance.

There's been many a time when it's windy, cold or raining when I've not felt like going out, but the thought of getting too far behind my targets have given me the incentive to do it. IME once you get on your bike, it's never as unpleasant as you thought it was going to be.

But apart from all that, I love cycling and almost never regret going out on the bike. Enjoy!

 

[automatic_jon]

I object to buses and taxis on an almost idealogical basis. Bus drivers don't care if you don't get there on time and taxi drivers don't care if you get there alive. I hate relying on other people for anything, even transport, I'd swim to the island with my bike on my back if I could.

Club riding and 'training' rides keep me fit, fitter to get to work quicker and at 29 I'm in the best physical shape I've been in since I quit gymnastics at 15.