Motivating yourself when its cold!

brooksby

Err, thats it.

Too many times over the last few days I have got up in the morning and thought, ah - its really really cold this morning, I'll just take the car, just this once...

How best to motivate myself (other than getting my wife to hide my car keys!)?

*Dusty*

Somebody once told me to do something once a day which I didn't really want to do.

I suppose if you do it in the morning, by the time the ride home is due you won't have a choice!

mudcovered

brooksby wrote:

Too many times over the last few days I have got up in the morning and thought, ah - its really really cold this morning, I'll just take the car, just this once...

I'll admit I was tempted this morning but the thought of a nice ride along the canal towpath on a dry sunny day got me out of the house.

Mike

willy b

If your only alternative is public transport then it's really quite easy.

If you have a car, well...

dhope

Getting the tube is generally a good motivation for cycling the next day.
Man flu has left me on public transport 4 days this week. That's all the motivation I'll need for a while.

Wrath Rob

willy b wrote:

If your only alternative is public transport then it's really quite easy.

This.

nich

I have a scooter as the alternative, but

a) It's even colder on a scooter/motorbike, and my visor is crap, so it's up all the time, so my face freezes off.
b) There's a fair bit of ice on my road, and there's a good chance of dropping the scoot and ruining my morning

So I cycle instead...plus it means I don't feel so bad when I get into work and scoff a bacon buttie with brown sauce

And PT winds me up, even though it's a fairly relaxed journey in...I just hate paying £7 for it.

iPete

Wrath Rob wrote:

willy b wrote:

If your only alternative is public transport then it's really quite easy.

This.

That.

The thought of giving South West Trains £14, money that could be spent on shiny bike bits, is more than enough motivation!

mtb-idle

set yourself an annual target that means you have to get out.

suzyb

MTB-Idle wrote:

set yourself an annual target that means you have to get out.

That kind of thing never works for me, I just resign myself to not making it.

bails87

Take a wheel off your car the night before.

Then put the jack in the loft.

And put the wheelnuts in the post, addressed to yourself!

Stevo_666

I found that getting all your clothes and stuff ready to ride in the morning, bike prepared etc (but don't prepare any backup of 'normal' work clothes) worked for me. Then if you are tempted to change your mind, it'd be a bit of a faff getting a load of work clothes etc ready and you'd probably be late for work.

welkman

I sold the car. No choice for me.

dhope

iPete wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

willy b wrote:

If your only alternative is public transport then it's really quite easy.

This.

That.

The thought of giving South West Trains £14, money that could be spent on shiny bike bits, is more than enough motivation!

Those.
Even the £5 20mins each way on the Northern line irritates me now. I'd happily spend £100 a month before but now it seems extortionate.

SickAsAParrot

I like it when it's a 'dry' cold like we've had this week with no ground ice to worry about, I find it exhilarating, but most of my commute is country anyway, I don't think I would be as keen if it was all heavy traffic choking stink smog.

dhope

SickAsAParrot wrote:

heavy traffic choking stink smog.

Embankment Peloton, please

veronese68

I have a car sitting outside the house unused at the moment. It takes about the same length of time, less including changing and faffing. I had to drive in on Wednesday for an MOT and I would have been happier on my bike. I can't explain why. I know that once I've got moving I'll be happier on the bike so i just make myself get on with it.
Also, as I had the car I took advantage and carried some spare wheels and my Bonneville engine home with me. Gave a couple of people a lift so I felt the car was useful. I could have carried the wheels on my bicycle, but the engine would have been a struggle.

il_principe

Just MTFU.

meanredspider

Il Principe wrote:

Just MTFU.

+1

This is pretty much my approach. I mentally don't give myself the option - just get my gear on and set off. The only thing that stops me is if I think it will be unsafe. This is way past what anyone else would consider unsafe (I've discovered).

itboffin

Il Principe wrote:

Just MTFU.

+1

first alarm goes off @ 5.30, 2nd at 5.45 then it's feet on the ground into the shower, dress for battle, coffee, pack bag with lunch etc and out

LIKE A MAN

Cafewanda

^^ This, but an hour later plus 20mins faffage

Freezing fingers despite two pairs of gloves don't keep me off the bike .

Twostage

Didn't have a problem this morning. Lovely sunny morning. Wind chill at 30mph when its -5 on the face and in the eyes was something of an experience (had to look down to stop my eyeballs freezing over).

I've got the layering just right for sub-zero so arrived at work nicely warm.

welkman

Motivating myself for a long ride at the weekends is a bit more tricky. I usually watch some inspirational stuff on YouTube, prepare my bottles and energy foods and plan a route the night before. I have also found signing up to a 100mile sportive in May to be a great motivator.

kurako

I don't have the option of taking the car so motivation is easy. I think of the last time I walked to the train station, realised I had to wait an age for the train (like at least 10 minutes) got a train going out the way to the next station with more trains, swapped platform got the train back, crammed in like the proverbial sardine, did the slow shuffle down the platform while impatient twats barged past, shuffled through the gates and why is it I am always behind the person who's ticket doesn't work, waited ages for a bus and even though there are loads of them NONE OF THEM ARE THE ONE I WANT and got to work later than if I'd just ridden.....

brooksby

I guess all I meant was, my morning is basically just 'alarm goes off - go down and have bath/shower - go out to shed - unlock bike - go'. I warm up once I'm on the bike and moving, and really enjoy it once I'm on the bike and moving, but I find it all too easy to just decide that just this once I'll get in the car, but I'll make up for it by riding more next week &c &c. (I am weak; weak, I tell you!). And, @welkman, riding at _weekends_? There's posh - I have two small kids and I am not _allowed_ to go out and do something I might want to, at the weekends...

veronese68

brooksby wrote:

I guess all I meant was, my morning is basically just 'alarm goes off - go down and have bath/shower - go out to shed - unlock bike - go'. I warm up once I'm on the bike and moving, and really enjoy it once I'm on the bike and moving, but I find it all too easy to just decide that just this once I'll get in the car, but I'll make up for it by riding more next week &c &c. (I am weak; weak, I tell you!). And, @welkman, riding at _weekends_? There's posh - I have two small kids and I am not _allowed_ to go out and do something I might want to, at the weekends...

I just try not to think about the car. I didn't have the choice before, wife used the car and I sold my motorbike to remove temptation. Since she got laid off she sometimes says "why don't you take the car, it looks cold?" Then it is REALLY hard but I take a perverse pleasure in making myself MTFU. I'm also fine once I am going.

wyadvd

just bite the bullet and sell the car. you won't regret it! We had two (one each) and mine was just gathering dust so we sold it. I have been doing the school run before my 15mile ride to work now all through the winter so far on my bike with a child seat and or trailer bike.

don't kid yourself that a bike saves money on petrol though. If you do the sums, I believe (even taking the 900miles per gallon mpg of a bike equivalent of 50kcalories per mile into account) that cheap carbs (like bread or chips at a quid for 600 calories) are roughly 20 times more expensive than petrol per calorie.(which contains 31000 kcalories per gallon and costs roughly 6.50 a gallon --what a bargain! If only I could drink petrol!) And I spend more on my bike every year than I ever did on my car.......

Jay dubbleU

As I'm no longer commuting thought motivating myself to get on the bike might be an issue - however nice day today, cold but crisp and sunny, no wind, so I did a 20 miler this pm - nose got a bit chilly but otherwise brilliant ride

McNulty

just get on and do it - stuff ready the night before really helps - this week has been awesome - i do a 20 mile each way commute a couple of times a week and Ive not enjoyed it this much since the summer

veronese68

My Ducati used to cost less in petrol than the extra food would cost if I bought ready made sarnies. Fortunately the Mrs makes them so not too bad.

Initialised

brooksby wrote:

Err, thats it.

Too many times over the last few days I have got up in the morning and thought, ah - its really really cold this morning, I'll just take the car, just this once...

How best to motivate myself (other than getting my wife to hide my car keys!)?

Sell your car