Greatest motivator?

philbar72

afternoon!
What would you folks say was your greatest motivator when swinging a leg over the bike?

For me it has been about improving my fitness, and upgrading my bike (wheels) so that its able to do what I know the frame is capable of. Also the social aspect, there are some nice people out on the roads. and the scenery!

over to you...

bernithebiker

KOMs!

supermurph09

My first Sportive in April, all 80 miles of it!!! After that, I have a few climbs that are regular parts of my routes, beating my times on those segments so I can see how I am improving is also a great motivator.

Anonymous

The bike itself. I just look at it and want to go for a ride!
Doing first century this year so training for that will be motivational. Also going to be more into time trials this year too.
Have been very motivated by improving my running times in the past, so can see the same thing happening with cycling this year.

mk1markfalkirk

None at the moment unfortunately.

This morning seen another 8am rise to head out on the bike, this time welcomed by the promise of a mild, dry day. The alarm was then set for a later time and I went back to sleep! Just could not face it. Now there's no time before work for a decent ride

Need to break this slump!

tetley10

Watching my gut getting smaller.

brucebar1980

Getting away from the Missus ..

danlikesbikes

I guess the fitness aspect & also that happy feeling I get after coming back from an epic ride

saprkzz

brucebar1980 wrote:

Getting away from the Missus ..

was going to say the same thing

FoldingJoe

bernithebiker wrote:

KOMs!

I'll get Milook one of these days - just you watch!!

philbar72

actually to get a sub 6 minute box hill zig zag would do me. only 3 mins to go!

bernithebiker

FoldingJoe wrote:

bernithebiker wrote:

KOMs!

I'll get Milook one of these days - just you watch!!

Haha!! That was a fun one! Just keeping the bike moving around that left hand bend is an achievement!! On that day, there was a storm, and all sorts of crap all over the road. Wheelspin city!

Here it is!!

http://app.strava.com/segments/651547

Mikey23

Aah, a couple of local masochists... I know it by reputation only!

FoldingJoe

Im the local (well, what i mean is i live locally. )

BB is an imposter who comes and decimates all of our KOM times.

Mikey23

I've just looked him up... Cornish miles are worth double those namby pamby French ones ;-)

TakeTurns

Winning races.

iPete

sucked at running and wanted to set a few goals, kind of stuck from then on..

Gizmodo

Wanting to do a sub 6 hour Ride London 100

And riding with a club and not wanting to get dropped

Mikey23

Time ran out as a runner. I was becoming bored and unmotivated so hung up my trainers. The rest, as they say, is history...

slowmart

Independence.

Relaxing, even when I'm on my chin strap

Getting fit for the summer, shorts and summer top........

Hammering my mate into the ground as he's fitter and quicker than me at the moment.

VTech

Dad died at 50, I recently turned 40 and have 3 kids I want to stand side by side with as they Marry.
So with that in mind, drop weight and get fit.

crescent

Carbonator wrote:

The bike itself. I just look at it and want to go for a ride!

This^
Also, fitness and weight loss/control.
Setting my next distance target is also a great motivator. Moved from 20 to 30 to 50 to 80 and beyond in the last 18 months.
Roll on the better weather.

Anonymous

Gizmodo wrote:

Wanting to do a sub 6 hour Ride London 100

Same here How much under 6 hours are you hoping for?
I feel traffic may be a bit of an issue, but hope it does not push me over 6 hours
Am going to do a few sportives between now and then, so should have a more realistic estimate/goal nearer the time.
Good luck ;-)

Gizmodo

Carbonator wrote:

Gizmodo wrote:

Wanting to do a sub 6 hour Ride London 100

Same here How much under 6 hours are you hoping for?
I feel traffic may be a bit of an issue, but hope it does not push me over 6 hours
Am going to do a few sportives between now and then, so should have a more realistic estimate/goal nearer the time.
Good luck ;-)

I'd be happy with a minute under

Anonymous

Gizmodo wrote:

I'd be happy with a minute under

We could end up sprinting down the Mall together then

Have you got any sportive times to go on?
I am doing my first serious one in May (i.e. not stopping and going as fast as I can), so will have a better idea then.

cat_with_no_tail

bernithebiker wrote:

KOMs!

yup

vdubnut2013

been told by step grandkids i looked pregnant!

philwint

Just the quiet pleasure as the miles roll away under me. Getting out and enjoying the scenery too. oh and the speed of the descents.... and earning them

teisetrotter

Fitness and weight. Burn 2500 calories and then be able to eat and drink the finer things in life, that is the main one.

Simon-R7

Generally feeling healthier and sleeping better for doing exercise, also now I have a place on the London Ride 100 i want to get round in under 7 hours.

deadhead1971

I'd agree with all of the above, there are so many good reasons to ride.
Another one that I find is the effect it has on general wellbeing, and in turn on general mood, alertness and to some extent, cognitive functioning.
Since getting into cycling again a couple of years ago as I approached 40, I have a lot more energy and enthusiasm for other things in life, because of the benefits I mentioned above. It's all one big positive feedback loop.
I'm lucky that I've never had any problems with depression, but I hear that there's good evidence that exercise can help (if you're not so debilitated that you can't actually get out of bed...).
So for me, the motivation is about staying as healthy as possible - both physically and psychologically.