How do you keep riding fun?

KHodge
KHodge Posts: 27
edited January 2013 in The bottom bracket
That's why we do it right? Because it's fun. But if you always feel the need to train hard and long to succeed in a big event you can lose some of the fun of it all. What do you do to keep it fresh and enjoyable? Best answers might be used in Cycling Plus!
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Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    I got rid of the cycle computer and changed up where I went.

    Helped a lot.
    _
  • snoopsmydogg
    snoopsmydogg Posts: 1,110
    being new its still fun anyway, beating previous times/challenges. riding further and feeling less knackered after. changing routes etc.
  • sfichele
    sfichele Posts: 605
    I have the luxury of doing all my riding in the Peak District. It doesn't matter how hard I ride or how shattered I am, or how easy I take it, the scenery always gives me a lift :)
    BMC: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12749451
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    MTB
    I don't do smileys.

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  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    Unless you make a living out of riding your bicycle, it's good to not ride sometimes. The feeling of freshness when you get back in the saddle is magic.

    Just don't leave it too long...
  • CHRISNOIR
    CHRISNOIR Posts: 1,400
    edited May 2012
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    ...changed up where I went.

    Helped a lot.

    So much this. I'd been schlepping round the same old couple of routes for years and it really did start to become a bit of a chore. Last year I started riding over to my missus' in Preston then having the odd spin through Bowland and beyond and it was like discovering cycling all over again.

    Girlfriend was chuffed as well; got me out of the house for a few hours of a morning...
  • sfichele
    sfichele Posts: 605
    dodgy wrote:
    Unless you make a living out of riding your bicycle, it's good to not ride sometimes. The feeling of freshness when you get back in the saddle is magic.

    Just don't leave it too long...

    ^
    Blasphemy - now go wash your mouth out.
    BMC: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12749451
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    By changing routes regularly! Nothing duller than doing the same tired trips time after time.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    +1 on new routes.

    If there are no interesting routes in your area, try an early train to a better location.
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Get Strava!

    You can hunt down segments in your local area, makes training fun, even not training, just riding.

    I don't really get bored but sometimes you need a kick to push yourself hard enough, a good steep hill does the trick nicely.
  • Gizmodo
    Gizmodo Posts: 1,928
    1. Cycling with friends, even my brother comes out with me now
    2. Strava, great fun seeing how you measure up and trying to achieve that PB even if you know you'll never get KOM.
    Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
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  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    what i do occasionally is have my own little mini tour - i have a marker, its a bump in th etarmac, that is the distance of this years tdf prologue (6.1km) - and I see how fast I can get there - then I do 3 hills, which to me are small medium large (7,10,14%) - then on th eway back I try and get to over 30mph and i try and better my best time from january when the weather was rubbish

    Little challenges make it more fun - but most of all vary the route.
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    I like to mix up my routes. I either plan a route on my Edge800, or I head out on a route I don't know, just following my nose, then tell the Edge800 to navigate home when I've done half the distance I want to.

    Failing that, I find riding naked helps !
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    It's fun for me because I can still do lots at the age of 61.

    It's also fun because I don't get bogged down in doing just one type of ride event, speed,terrain, time out, place or people I ride with. In other words it variety that keeps the fun ticking away.

    1. I do slow social rides with folk that can tell me about the areas that we visit and watering holes.

    2. Quicker rides bit more chain gain with another bunch.

    3. Rides during the week as I'm Retired most on my own taking in more the beautiful scenery around the Welsh Marches where I live.

    4. Local Audax events.

    5. Challenge rides and Sportives.

    6. Ride with a friend a bit who one the Tour of Britain in 1955 and done the TDF and raced abroad some insights there I may add. We have done the Johnny Helms Memorial Gentlemen's Two up TT together in the past.

    7. Visit the Algarve fantastic riding with the best winter weather in Europe, cheap and excellent food, ride with Lagos Road Bike club between 20 and 40 out on Sundays. 18km climb to Foia from Portimao direct, Foia at 902m.

    8. Nove Colli 4 times, Maratona done in Italy also sportives in France.

    9. Ride around La Marche where todays Giro stage went through and stay at friends near Urbino todays Giro start.

    10. Visit me 93 year mum in Market Harborough by bike (one way) wife takes car still it's 115 miles from here.

    11. Visit eldest daughter near Clee Hill Shropshire near where Harmon lives.

    12. Done the Wild Wales Challenge a few times, also the Police Wolverhampton to Aberdovey charity bike ride a few times 125 miles.

    13 Stayed at the Belvedere Bike Hotel in Riccione Italy 10 times.

    That's since I turned 50 before that for 27 years I raced sailing dinghies all over the UK and abroad.

    Why because it's been absolute bloody fun :!:
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    + 1 for number 7 :D

    More bikes=more fun.
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • wishitwasallflat
    wishitwasallflat Posts: 2,927
    Get yourself two kids under six and a stressful job like mine - any chance to escape from it on the bike is fun!
  • freddiegrubb
    freddiegrubb Posts: 448
    I have the luxury of riding when I want, so it's weather /country file on a sunday then plan the week out , trying to avoid the bad weather & the cafe stop in Coniston make it enough fun for me. What an exciting life I lead, I should try & socialise a bit more.
  • y tin
    y tin Posts: 102
    Mix it up. Don't do the same thing all the time. Go out with friends, go out on your own, race, train, chain gang and cafe runs. Especially cafe runs.
    >^..^<
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    I find the trick is to defninitely forget the computer, then pick a nice day ( :roll: ), shift into a lower gear and just spin away wearing some lovely, lovely kit...whilst making sure I take the time to enjoy the countryside (preferably with someone else). Oh, and actually stopping to refuel, sitting down and a having a nice coffee and apple crumble/ice cream, nom nom nom nom nom :)

    I do my fair share of tough training rides in miserable weather where I get back after 4 hours and all I can remember is digging deep, suffering and stuffing bars into my mouth whilst out of breath... so the odd enjoyable spin is a real treat and helps me to look forward to the next ride, rather than just looking forward to finishing the current one.
  • ALaPlage
    ALaPlage Posts: 732
    Varying the route and exploring all the little country lanes that otherwise I'd probably not see.
    Using Strava for training record and pitting myself on those segments
    Good to clear the head on a solo ride but getting out with a group of mates/like minded cyclists is always a good day on the bike
    Trek Madone 5.9
    Kinesis Crosslight T4
  • upperoilcan
    upperoilcan Posts: 1,180
    As already mentioned....

    A change of route keeps things fresh for me.
    Cervelo S5 Ultegra Di2.
  • mattshrops
    mattshrops Posts: 1,134
    what else could it be?
    Death or Glory- Just another Story
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    As well as changing routes, just slowing down slightly every now and again to take a look around makes a world of difference.

    Some of the roads I rode on Saturday are on a regular route, but I was on my own and in no hurry so took it easy. I saw views I didn't know existed, rode through Bluebell woods which I've neve noticed before and was sworn at by a ten year old boy who I've never seen before. It all adds the variety which keeps it enjoyable.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,620
    Go mountain biking :wink: Actually mixing up the disciplines a bit can make them all more enjoyable.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    Afraid to say Strava does make it fun.
  • MaxwellBygraves
    MaxwellBygraves Posts: 1,353
    MattC59 wrote:
    As well as changing routes, just slowing down slightly every now and again to take a look around makes a world of difference.

    + lots, just chill out and enjoy the scenery, makes a world of difference.
    "That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college! " - Homer
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,162
    Strava has to be one of the best apps ever invented. I find myself looking for local segments which in turn takes me onto roads I've not ridden before. Plus mixing it up - some commuting rides, some leisure rides, a bit of training and some racing. After 12 years off the bike and two years too overweight to enjoy my riding I'm finally enjoying it more than ever :)
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    Take a break?

    The weather has been crap and I have none of the expensive wet gear stuff.. or anywhere to clean my Bike at Uni so I pretty much had a month off the bike (with a little bit of illness contributing to that too) -> I played squash ~3-4 times a week, and went to the gym more to work on core strength.

    When I got back on the bike for 20 miles last weekend it was amazing. The gym is just so boring! (squash is so much fun though.. and i play 3-4 times a week regardless of any time on the bike)


    Obviously you don't have to go cold turkey.. but drop your mileage and do something else instead of a few weeks otherwise you can burn out and get bored riding the same routes, distances and intensities. Especially if you have no real goals at the moment (like me.)
  • KHodge
    KHodge Posts: 27
    Thanks for all your helpful advice! Computers, breaks and variation sound key from what you've all said. Would you consider learning tricks, such as bunny hopping or track stands? How about setting yourself a goal such as a multiday ride, or weight loss?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    KHodge wrote:
    ? How about setting yourself a goal such as a multiday ride,

    For sure.

    Something to train for makes those awful rides in terrible weather worthwhile - and the achievement of having done the training when I otherwise wouldn't have was definitely very satisfying.

    Couldn't ALWAYS have something on though - and the above works if your work allows it to. Else you get stressed that you're not training enough because you have too much work, blah blah etc.
    _

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