getting motivated

kev2b3

I bought the bike, the lights and all the clothing, all i need now is the motivation to get out there and start cycling.
Anyone have any ideas.

Keiron Curtis

kev2b3 wrote:

I bought the bike, the lights and all the clothing, all i need now is the motivation to get out there and start cycling.
Anyone have any ideas.

Dear kev2b3,

It's up to you,if you enjoy cycling, I don't see the problem, is it your first time? Get the gear on and get out there, you won't look back.

marcba

At the beginning, just set an easy goal of commuting twice a week by bike (check weather forecast and choose non consecutive days); after a few weeks, you will easily rise to 3 days, then 4 then all days of week, and wonder why you didn't do that before.

Belv

Sell your car/season ticket/bus pass and then your motivation is keeping your job!

Seriously, if you've got all the stuff then you must be pretty sure you can do it. How far is it and whereabouts?

SmellTheGlove

I've no idea where your route might take you or how far, but never underestimate the endorphin factor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphin

Welcome in!

DavidTQ

Belv wrote:

Sell your car/season ticket/bus pass and then your motivation is keeping your job!

Seriously, if you've got all the stuff then you must be pretty sure you can do it. How far is it and whereabouts?

That worked for me Petrol prices help keep me going

karl j

yep selling the car worked here too. but i would have been forced into it anyway as i've had my licence revoked now anyway.

But one idea, maybe worth thinking about, is to sort your bike out the previous night (tyres, lights, panniers etc) then just get up and go the following morning, without having to stop and sort stuff out and think about it all

Bassjunkieuk

Well besides actually enjoying cycling quite a bit, my motivation to cycle commute comes down to 2 things:

1. I work mainly in London which means if I want to drive in I have to sit in traffic and then find a car park, this isn't as bad as it seems as I can claim my parking and mileage back from my employer but the money I get for petrol doesn't even cover half the cost.

2. PUBLIC TRANSPORT. At least on my bike I can guarantee I'll have a seat, which is more then I can say for Southern rail and the underground during the 3 dark months I had to use them due to a rather nasty accident that meant I couldn't ride!

I suppose a third reason would be it's much quicker and also quite nice knowing how long it will be until your either at work or at home, barring a puncture or mechanical failure!

beegee

Not sure if you mean commuting to work or just cycling in general. If the latter, maybe join an easy going club or just find a friend who has a cycle and arrange to go out for an easy ride like on a saturday. Maybe head for a pub that is a few miles away. If you have a non-cycling partner, maybe they can drive there and take you and the bike home in the car. After you''ve celebrated your epic ride. If it's the commuting then you need to work out what it is that is making you reluctant to use the bike. For me the biggest problem is that part of the day when people realise that you are not a normal regular person - when I'm wearing my cycling costume. I know this is what bothers me because I don't have any problems when there is no one around like at the weekend.

Bassjunkieuk

beegee wrote:

For me the biggest problem is that part of the day when people realise that you are not a normal regular person - when I'm wearing my cycling costume. I know this is what bothers me because I don't have any problems when there is no one around like at the weekend.

Funny you say that, I think the people who don't cycle are the one's who aren't normal :-) I dread the days I have to join the masses and stuffing myself onto a train!

Having said that my cycling "costume" is a pair khaki shorts over my cycle shorts, a cycle t-shirt or sleeveless t depending on the weather, gloves and helmet along with a set of those lovely cycle shoes (which look like trainers) from Lidl's a while back! So for all intents I just look like someone dressed casually, it's only really the helmet that gives me away as a cyclist, but most people I speak to about it are quite impressed by either how far I ride or how quickly I can get to/from work, if they think I'm not "normal" because I choose to ride a bike then frankly that's their problem :-)

cee

i found to start with that it seemed too easy to leave the bike at home, but as soon as i got on it and rode out of my street, i was up for it!

Like others here, I now dread having to use public transport with the rest of the daily ratrace. I now don't feel ready for work until i have had my norning fix, then by the time i get home, i have sweated the day out and find it really easy to relax!

A couple of weeks in and you will probably feel the same. Also, getting that hunger for the morning cycle now will help when the winter comes.

JoeSoap76

My motivation is in inches and pounds... since starting my commute I'm down nearly 2 stone and am wearing clothes that had been relegated to the back of the wardrobe for quite a while.

Also, every day I cycle across a (bike/pedestrian only) bridge over the M8. Nothing makes me smile more than whizzing over the top of all those lanes of gridlock'd traffic battling its way into Glasgow. :twisted:

woodgob

Yeah...keeping in shape is a big motivation for me....but the cost and hassle of public transport is another factor. But probably the biggest factor is the rush I get with a particularly fast commute. Flying past queued traffic.....never fails to put a big smile on my face

richk

My motivation is that I don't get a lecture (re overweight/lack of exercise) from my GP whenever I have to go see him since I took up cycling :oops:

MattHybrid

I've found it hard this week, had a puncture on the first wet morning we've had in weeks and had to walk half the way to work, then noticed my new pannier rack had dismantled itself and I've lost half the bits, then my front brake went wonky, and the ride home was windy etc. Rah! First problems I've had in months, all at once!

At last I've got it out the way at once I guess, and hopefully the next few months will be trouble free! It was glorious again this morning and had an excellent ride, and I asked Continental tyres about their tyre guarantee and they're sending me an innertube no questions asked! Just had to send them a pic of my tyre

I'd never go back to public transport, and the car can stick with the girlfriend!

biondino

The commute's a slightly weird one for me.

Pros:
- knocks 10 minutes off commuting time
- I lose weight and maintain fitness
- environmental benefits
- I get to ride my bike

Cons:
- I go out after work fairly often and depending on distance/booze, cycling home is usually impractical
- I have to read a lot for work and get most of it done on the train
- my train journey is actually as pleasant as a train journey can be
- this is Britain, it rains a lot
- I might get killed

So I tend to ride 2 or 3 times a week and train it 2 or 3 times a week. In winter I go by train a lot more, though I do try to cycle often enough that my core fitness doesn't disappear. This pattern works for me, by and large, but it also feels a bit unsatisfactory, and is of course a lot more expensive.

Finally, back to the "I might be killed" thing. Every time I get on my bike, I get a flash of mortality, much more so when I'm about to commute. I wish I could shake this feeling but so far I haven't been able to.

JavaBob

It is quite surprising but the water really increase the number of punctures. However I have found Shwalbe Marathon Pluses have protected me for months.