Motivation required...help please

[Sale Madrid]

Thanks for that. Looks interesting, I'll have a proper read in the morning. I think I need a group to ride with. At least if I arrange to meet people for a ride it will force me to turn up and do a bit. cheers all :-)

 

[Fab Foodie]

Night cycling ? what about the Police ?

It's not illegal to ride a bike at night! Just get plenty of lights and reflectives. You can get bike lights as bright as car for less than £20 if you know where. It's great fun. In fact Friday night me and some guys from yacf rode from Oxford at Midnight to Brekkie in Acton at about 7am, the world is empty and serene in the small hours and the road is all yours! Caught the coach back home, 90 miles in total!
Read all abaht it
http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=58830.msg1252772#msg1252772

 

[Sale Madrid]

Just my luck - I'm about to re-locate to Chorley from South Manchester. There's a CTC in South Manchester and not much too close to Chorley although Blackburn is probably the nearest.

 

[Sale Madrid]

It's not illegal to ride a bike at night! Just get plenty of lights and reflectives. You can get bike lights as bright as car for less than £20 if you know where. It's great fun. In fact Friday night me and some guys from yacf rode from Oxford at Midnight to Brekkie in Acton at about 7am, the world is empty and serene in the small hours and the road is all yours! Caught the coach back home, 90 miles in total!
Read all abaht it
http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=58830.msg1252772#msg1252772

If you ride at night, when do you sleep/work? ..........Blade?

 

[daSmirnov]

For me it was getting into a routine. In my case commuting, pretty much guarantees I'll be on the bike. If I'm feeling energetic long ride on the way home - which is pretty much all the time unless it's raining.

Work 20 miles away? No problem, start one day a week and see how you get on.

I also got the other half into cycling, who's now also commuting to work by bike now, and uses the bike when she needs to go to town. Pretty simple to include it in your daily routine.

Then when I'm feeling very energetic. It's time to smash some personal bests!!!

 

[NotthatJasonKenny]

Just my luck - I'm about to re-locate to Chorley from South Manchester. There's a CTC in South Manchester and not much too close to Chorley although Blackburn is probably the nearest.

I live in Chorley (Adlington) and I suffer from motivation issues just like you. I love it when I'm out on the bike but I find it helps to arrange to meet a buddy so you 'have' to turn up...no excuse to stay in bed on a Sunday morning!

I do go out on my own occasionally and with a bit of music on (low) I find I enjoy it but nothing beats riding with a few mates, they don't have to be your best mates as not a lot of chatting gets done anyway!

We occasionally meet up at the millstone or Yarrow bridge on a Sunday at 8am for a 20-30 mile ride at a 13-16 mph average, tending to wait for each other along the way. You are welcome to join us (anywhere between 2 of us to five of us) anytime!

 

[MrJamie]

I get a bit bored cycling on my own if im not focussed on trying to pace myself as fast as possible, when im out with friends its different and usually about the pub stop. Strava is proving to be good for motivation, recently I head out to find a couple of segments that'll have a tailwind to try and beat my records (although im shockingly slow on the leaderboards). Exploring new routes in the local area I havent been to before is fun too and looking for different pubs to sample

 

[Nebulous]

I must be a bit anti-social because I love riding on my own!

The rest of my life is generally full of people, and getting out on my bike without having to plan or organise something is great. The mileage and exploring is certainly one of the attractions, I can find myself miles away from home, somewhere I have never been before, very easily. Set goals, plan your training and stick to it.

I was carrying a lot of weight and hadn't exercised for years when I started, so the changes have brought their own motivation. I now want to be as competitive as possible, and becoming faster and beating other people is also bringing motivation. The fact it is very hard work to improve makes it worth all the more when I do. It also helps that age isn't such a big factor in cycling as in some sports. Starting relatively late in life for many sports would be difficult, but it seems to work for a lot of people in cycling.

 

[compo]

Instead of just aimlessly riding, actually plan to go somewhere. I have all the local cafes worked out at different mileages. I have been doing long rides recently that take several hours and having a target destination helps.

There is also the possibility that cycling is just not for you. After all we are all different people.

 

[Sale Madrid]

Thanks for the replies. Thanks notthatjasonkenny, I might take you up on that :-). Speaking of Jason Kenny, I was up Rivington a couple of weeks ago (just with the dog) and saw that guy (Jason Kenny). I assumed it was him because it had his name on his sky kit, a sky pushbike and he looked normal except his thighs were bigger than my torso. Seeing him didn't motivate me much as I chomped on my bacon butty :-)

 

[uphillstruggler]

if its bacon butties that motivate you, plan a ride with the bacon buttie stop at a far away mid point that way you can think about the butty all the way there, and then reminise about the butty all the way back.

it helps to have a goal, riding around not having an aim can be a little dull if you are used to competitive sports like football etc. reaching a tangable target or achieving an end will help

and Hills, enjoy the hills. UP and down

 

[Sale Madrid]

I'm sat here with the back door open. I'm a bit knackered because I've just walked to the garage and brought my bike to the back door and propped it up. The sun is shining and I'm eating another bacon butty as I pet the dog. Can life get any better than this....don't know if I should ruin the ambience by going out on the bike. I'll have a good think and I'll re-assess the situation after pop master. Then I might see what Jeremy Vine is going on about, then I'll prepare tea for the wife, then I've got a tennis match at 6pm............maybe I'll try again tomorrow :-)

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I haven't been on a mountain bike for over 15 years, but something off road might give you a wider set of bike handling challenges. You might find that riding with (against?) a bunch of riders on a technical trail might be more up your street. Well, without the streets, obviously...

 

[black'n'yellow]

I'm sat here with the back door open. I'm a bit knackered because I've just walked to the garage and brought my bike to the back door and propped it up. The sun is shining and I'm eating another bacon butty as I pet the dog. Can life get any better than this....don't know if I should ruin the ambience by going out on the bike. I'll have a good think and I'll re-assess the situation after pop master. Then I might see what Jeremy Vine is going on about, then I'll prepare tea for the wife, then I've got a tennis match at 6pm............maybe I'll try again tomorrow :-)

Why not just accept that you're not cut out for cycling? Some people are - you are obviously not. Stick to footy.

 

[Sale Madrid]

Trouble is my football days are over due to age and injury but I do miss it big time. I think I like the idea of cycling more than actually doing it but I'm trying to change that. I've got tennis and squash and I thought cycling would be a good fitness/easy/less skillfull pursuit to fill the gap left by football. Now I'm wondering if/why/where do I sell the bike. I'll put the kettle on, pop master in 30 minutes:-)