Sudden loss of interest. Cures?

CiB

This week should have been my opportunity - no school run, it's mid-July so the weather is good [ha], am now fitter than ever, so I should have been getting the miles in from this week doing 4 maybe 5 commutes instead of the usual 2 - 3. And guess what? I just can't be bothered. It's Wednesday and I'm in the car again, through choice. It's nice - arrive in a relaxed mode not needing recovery time and 10 minutes in the disabled loo getting sorted for work mode. I can listen to Evan Davies and his increasingly improving interview technique on the wireless, and spend what it would have cost me in buying dinner on diesel instead - that part of it is a near zero-sum equation anyway. I need the car on Friday too so that's one day at most this week, and probably none as I'm enjoying the relaxed drive instead of the early start, an hour into the wind, the hour 10m to get home in the evening - suddenly it's all got no appeal.

What to do? Bike on Ebay? What suggestions can the panel put forward to get me back on 2 wheels?

prawny

Stop being a girl, think of the stats. I'm kicking you arse for the month now, pull yourself together! :twisted:

Alternatively, take a couple of weeks off, no ones forcing you to ride your bike. Maybe your body needs a rest?

Choose one and go with it.

prawny

Oops double post!

sarajoy

Don't worry about it

I know I'm a relative beginner anyway - but after my full week cycling in, I really enjoyed a full week's rest.

Cycling is /your/ hobby. Do it as often or as little as you want, as soon as you feel you /have/ to, you won't enjoy it. Nothing wrong with having a less bikey phase, means you can enjoy it more when you do ride!

sarajoy

Also, every time I've been away, on holiday, or just unable to ride for a week - I've come back feeling really strong in my legs muscles. Maybe they need a bit of time to settle, or regenerate, or whatever else tired muscles do.

Porgy

ChrisInBicester wrote:

This week should have been my opportunity - no school run, it's mid-July so the weather is good [ha], am now fitter than ever, so I should have been getting the miles in from this week doing 4 maybe 5 commutes instead of the usual 2 - 3. And guess what? I just can't be bothered. It's Wednesday and I'm in the car again, through choice. It's nice - arrive in a relaxed mode not needing recovery time and 10 minutes in the disabled loo getting sorted for work mode. I can listen to Evan Davies and his increasingly improving interview technique on the wireless, and spend what it would have cost me in buying dinner on diesel instead - that part of it is a near zero-sum equation anyway. I need the car on Friday too so that's one day at most this week, and probably none as I'm enjoying the relaxed drive instead of the early start, an hour into the wind, the hour 10m to get home in the evening - suddenly it's all got no appeal.

What to do? Bike on Ebay? What suggestions can the panel put forward to get me back on 2 wheels?

Oh come on Chris! Without you racking up the miles - where's MY motivation?

Stop being so damned selfish :twisted:

Kieran_Burns

You're going to the get MTFU comments - which aren't helpful.

We all go through commuting droughts. I've have a couple myself, what gets me out of them is not thinking about the fuss it causes but about the relaxation I get from cycling in.

If I drive I leave home 30 minutes before starting work. If I cycle it's 90 minutes.

However. As far as I am concerned my day at work starts when I leave the house and get home when I amin the car, but it starts and end when arriving at / leaving my desk when I cycle.

My time on the bike is MY time, not commute time - so in essence I gain personal time for myself which is an endless benefit. In truth this is the main reason why I commute on the bike.

It's all down to self-discipline in the end, if you want to cycle you will. If you need to find a reason to get you started - think how much more satisfying it is to cycle than it is to drive.

Porgy

sarajoy wrote:

Maybe they need a bit of time to settle, or regenerate, or whatever else tired muscles do.

hee hee - just imagined your legs turning into Tom Baker

R_T_A

Kieran_Burns wrote:

My time on the bike is MY time, not commute time - so in essence I gain personal time for myself which is an endless benefit. In truth this is the main reason why I commute on the bike.

+1 to that. With an 8 month old in the house and people acting like 6 month olds at work, I love the time to myself. It's a really good time for me to gather my thoughts, plus I get a workout every day and don't have to pay astronomical gym fees.

And it's especially good when it isn't -5C and dark outside......

biondino

It's totally acceptable to have time off the bike - is it possible you're subconsciously resenting it for the level of expectation you feel you've built up, with the help of us lot of course? Enjoy the driving for a while, and what will probably happen is you'll find yourself thinking about going for a quick pootle on the bike, and then you'll do it, and realise how nice it is, then Monday morning will come along and it's sunny and warm and wouldn't it be nice to be on a bike...

Whatever you do, don't force yourself to do something you're not feeling, or you'll resent it all the more.

CiB

Porgy wrote:

sarajoy wrote:

Maybe they need a bit of time to settle, or regenerate, or whatever else tired muscles do.

hee hee - just imagined your legs

Fixed that for you there. Me too. Better than reviewing documents...

Good points one & all. A few days off won't hurt, except for seeing Porgy disappear off into the distance. That hurts actually. That's been bugging me all week since the 350 miles went in. :evil:

Onwards then. Monday it is. Or maybe Thurs & Fri this week to claw some back.

Kieran_Burns

Good points one & all. A few days off won't hurt, except for seeing Porgy disappear off into the distance. That hurts actually. That's been bugging me all week since the 350 miles went in.

Onwards then. Monday it is. Or maybe Thurs & Fri this week to claw some back.

Hang on.

Is all this about the silly commuting stats thread? :?

Is THAT why you've lost motivation? You muppet - you've gone from just enjoying cycling for its own benefits and turned it into a competition every time you go out.

It's no wonder you're feeling down about it - it's turned into a means to an end rather than the end itself.

It isn't CYCLING you want to stop, it's worrying about that bloody thread.

Do yourself a favour and stay off the thread for a while and stop worrying about how FAR you've gone and just enjoy the GOING.

Yeesh. :roll:


(and here endeth the lesson )

sarajoy

I'm worrying how much my legs and bum keep cropping up around here.

Probably a good thing I'm not coming to London, or you'd all be sorely disappointed by the reality!

Anyway yeah as said - you should never feel under pressure to do something which is for your own funtime. For a while I all but gave up dancing because I was starting to feel I /had/ to go, so I stopped altogether for a few months. But now (as you may see from the change in my sig) it's all ramping back up again and is very exciting

Not saying you'll be breaking habit for as long as a few months - but whatever - do what makes ye happy, not what increases numbers on a silly stat sheet

Kieran_Burns

sarajoy wrote:

I'm worrying how much my legs and bum keep cropping up around here.

Ohhhh.... crap....... <runs off to edit last post......>

prawny

sarajoy wrote:

I'm worrying how much my legs and bum keep cropping up around here.

Probably a good thing I'm not coming to London, or you'd all be sorely disappointed by the reality!

Anyway yeah as said - you should never feel under pressure to do something which is for your own funtime. For a while I all but gave up dancing because I was starting to feel I /had/ to go, so I stopped altogether for a few months. But now (as you may see from the change in my sig) it's all ramping back up again and is very exciting

Not saying you'll be breaking habit for as long as a few months - but whatever - do what makes ye happy, not what increases numbers on a silly stat sheet

Who mentioned your bum?

You temptress!

sarajoy

Think it was biondino in the summer drink's thread..

..no stop it, you're the one's tempting me to enjoy the attention! no no no!

prawny

sarajoy wrote:

Think it was biondino in the summer drink's thread..

..no stop it, you're the one's tempting me to enjoy the attention! no no no!

I'm half tempted to join in the London to Bristol run so I can sneal a peek

CiB

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Hang on.

Is all this about the silly commuting stats thread? :?

:shock:
Ummm - no, actually, it's about not having enough enthusiasm to be up & about at 6:30 to ride to work, when the alt of a lie-in and a casual journey in by car is so much easier. Good speech tho.

lost_in_thought

If you don't want to do it, don't.

It's meant to be fun, it's not meant to be a chore. If you are forcing yourself and dreading it, and guilting yourself into it, it will become a chore.

Stick to the car for a while, see if you miss the bike.

il_principe

Kieran_Burns wrote:

You're going to the get MTFU comments - which aren't helpful.

:shock: :shock:

If therapists in America incorporated MTFU into their verbal armoury the world would be a better place.

MTFU

Or think of how driving into work limits your guilt free pie/treats/booze input...

prawny

Mmmm pie

Kieran_Burns

ChrisInBicester wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Hang on.

Is all this about the silly commuting stats thread? :?

:shock:
Ummm - no, actually, it's about not having enough enthusiasm to be up & about at 6:30 to ride to work, when the alt of a lie-in and a casual journey in by car is so much easier. Good speech tho.

it's not?

Damn. All that righteousness wasted....


Okay then - MTFU you wimp. I have to be up at 5:30 and on the road at 6:30 if I cycle in on the early start!

CiB

That was a bundle of help then. How to regain the motivation to get back on the bike? Either MTFU and stop wittering about it*, or just give in to it and use the car until the apathy passes.

:oops:

*Preferred option. Poundon Hill awaits.

Kieran_Burns

Actually I think the answer was "stop worrying so much about it"

Life is peaks and troughs, you just need to accept this and deal with it as best you can. In this case, remember that cycling is a hobby and something you WILL miss if you never do it, so when it becomes a slog give yourself a break (in both senses of the word)

Feltup

Sounds like you actually need more sleep. I went through a tired spell and couldn't then get the enthusiasm to get on the bike. The thing is when I did convince myself to get back on the bike I started sleeping better.

I say lay off the bike a little longer catch up on your sleep then go and rag yourself stupid in to work one morning on the bike by the nicest route and on the nicest forecast. Feel the flow again!

Fireblade96

I think everyone is missing the very obvious solution.
Your psyche is telling you that you NEED NEW BIKE KIT
There have been times when I've lost interest, the poor old MTB hasn't been ridden for a month and I've even taken public transport into town...the solution, as always, is to buy something new and shiny for the bike. A new set of pedals, shoes, whatever - from the moment that package from Wiggle turns up your interest will be restored

If the loss of interest is severe, you clearly need a new bike !

biondino

Chris, were you hoping for the secrets of some magical motivational technique? I think they do seminars for that kind of thing, but I suspect you're out of luck if you expect a bunch of layabout nerds to have the answer

biondino

Okay, some off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts:

- Buy something new for the bike - better tyres, a different cassette, even new grips/tape. As soon as you've fitted them you'll want to ride; hopefully you'll enjoy it.

- plan a new route that you've never taken before, and set aside the time to do it. Always wanted to test yourself on that fiendish hill? Always fancied a dappled late afternoon pootle along the river? Haven't visited your aunt in neighbouring town for years? Give it a shot.

- persuade a friend or family member to ride with you - even better if you can make it seem something special you're doing for them. This ride must involve pie, ale or preferably both

Or is the problem simply the commute, rather than the bike itself? That's a tougher one. In all likelihood, the fact that you'll be getting out of puff and developing a bigger paunch in a few weeks will probably be what gets you cycling again.

cjcp

ChrisInBicester wrote:

Porgy wrote:

sarajoy wrote:

Maybe they need a bit of time to settle, or regenerate, or whatever else tired muscles do.

hee hee - just imagined your legs

Fixed that for you there. Me too. Better than reviewing documents...

Good points one & all. A few days off won't hurt, except for seeing Porgy disappear off into the distance. That hurts actually. That's been bugging me all week since the 350 miles went in. :evil:

Onwards then. Monday it is. Or maybe Thurs & Fri this week to claw some back.

Time off the bike is no bad thing if you've been a long time on it. Not that I actually practice what I preach (except when it comes to the weekend and I wae up on Saturday goosed).

Just get back on it soon. :twisted: After all, you are Mr Stats.