Depressed?........not me any more

finlayson99

Feeling a bit low over the last few months. Work stress and stuff. Increasing lethargy, poor sleep, too much booze and an expanding gut.
Recently got the bikes out again and today cleared the "Hill of Doom." The sense of euphoria and elation and doing this climb was fantastic and put everything right. My wife had suggested today's route, I pointed out that there was a BIG climb, "oh no" she said "it's not much" but boy is she a good liar.
Did it though without dabbing at all..........oh yea 8)
The best decision EVER was to start riding again.
Loving it.
Who needs artificial chemicals when we can make and use our own wonderful endorphins.
Bring it on.

And if anyone knows anyone who is feeling low, tell them to get on their bike, best remedy of all.

sungod

hurrah!

rain, cold, wind, going for a ride always gives me a boost

indysmith

finlayson99 wrote:

And if anyone knows anyone who is feeling low, tell them to get on their bike, best remedy of all.

Amen!
Glad you're feeling a bit brighter mate keep at it

chris_bass

As someone who often struggles with this I find that cycling is a godsend, really helps my mood and general outlook

should be prescribed by the NHS, would cure many of life's problems!

smidsy

Or cause more divorces 8) What stated as an hour here and an hour there has increased to 4 or 5 hrs a time.

I have been out with a club on a Sunday run twice now and each time it has caused much grief as I have been out longer and longer leaving 'er in doors' alone cooking and cleaning.

This may not be sustainable, she may have to go :-)

crescent

Totally agree. No substitute for a blast on the bike to blow away cobwebs and make you feel good again, especially if it's beena couple of days or so since you last rode. Gary Fisher, the famous MTB guru once said thet bikes should be available on prescription for lethargy, obesity, depression etc. He definitely has a point.

Cheers

finlayson99

Thanks for the comments guys, even work doesn't seem so bad today or is that just me being weird???

tarbot18

nothing like a nice ride to clear the cobwebs and cheer you up , you should post some pics of your pics you have some classics there love to see the chopper and grifter , i went on many a good scramble on those in my youth.

finlayson99

Yea I love those old bikes, the kids love em too

daveyroids

Suffered loads from depression in the past and the cycling kept me going its great therapy and I highly recommend it. Anyway before this turns into Dave moaning himself, its good to see that you are feeling less stressed after getting back out on the bike. Its too easy to to get stuck in a rut and drink a few beers when feeling stressed. Your right about what you say that cycling is better than chemical therapy and there is loads of research to back this up. I think its the combination of doing some exercise and getting out into the fresh air for a couple of hours does it.

NHS do prescribe exercise for depression and many GP's are signed up to exercise on referral schemes where patients can get a prescription for exercise.

Just to add to what tarbot18 said I have fond memories of my Grifter. Believe it or not the first bike I rode any serious distance on was the Grifter. Used to ride regular 30 milers on it in my early teens.

finlayson99

Exercise on prescription is a good thing but isn't it so nice to get outside into the open air and take it all in. You are right that there is loads of evidence for the benefit of exercise. So much better than medication if possible.

As for the Grifter, great fun bike from back in the day, don't know that i could do 30 miles on it though :shock:

daveyroids

You are right, I used to work on such a scheme and some people used to thrive in the gym. We once got funding to take people out on walks into the local countryside. It was great, everyone loved it and they didn't realise how much exercise they had done. I live local to the C2C, been on the route today and could see the hills right up to the borders of Scotland, its hard to beat that.

I could not do 30 miles on a Grifter now. Used to just disappear for the day. I still just disappear for the day just my bikes are slightly more sophisticated.

Flexisurfer

smidsy wrote:

Or cause more divorces 8) What stated as an hour here and an hour there has increased to 4 or 5 hrs a time.

I have been out with a club on a Sunday run twice now and each time it has caused much grief as I have been out longer and longer leaving 'er in doors' alone cooking and cleaning.

This may not be sustainable, she may have to go :-)

Just say to her," I'll take the bollocking but you can't take away the satisfaction of that ride I just had" then just walk away and listen her jaw hit the floor.