Does anyone ever just lose interest?

On_What

The thought of riding to work at the moment fills me with dread, I just can't seem to get any enthusiasm to do it anymore. Maybe it's the cold, maybe its the maniac drivers but I can't pin it on any one thing. Does anyone else go through this?

smokey_bacon

Yeah I have done. usually means I need to change things up abit e.g. route change, time change, or just take a break. What usually keeps me going is the thought of how awful PT is.

Failing that.......New bike?

hopkinb

Sometimes, after a sh*tty commute, I have a bit of a grumble. But if it's the bad traffic along CS7 getting me down or nearly colliding with me, I take a different route in and/or home, which takes me longer, but is usually much less traffic choked. There is an increased risk of school-run mums in large SUVs not looking where they are going.

As Smokey Bacon says, it's the thought of cramming onto a Northern Line carriage, or SW Trains & the Waterloo & City line. Then traipsing through the crowded stinking underground tunnels. Which makes the journey take an extra 15-20 mins. Then remembering that I lost 15 kilos through cycling to work (albeit from a pretty high starting point!), without any real change in my diet, which would all go back on in 6 months.

So yep, sometimes, but the alternatives currently seem far worse than the occasional loony driver or traffic jam. And Spring/Summer are just round the corner!

mtb-idle

yeah, every now and then, usually after a lay off due to injury or summat. It's tough to motivate yourself to start back again but as soon as i get back in the saddle I'm okay.

but hey, that's why we're better than those others who take the tube/train/car/PT

pastryboy

No. I don't have a practical alternative so I just get on with it.

That said I do find it's really a drag as you come to the end of winter. Months of cold and pitch black get me down and it can become a real grind (one hour journey).

I have pretty good enthusiasm levels right now but the weather is really annoying me; It's either cold, windy or cold and windy.

Twentytoo

I've been cycling for 46 years now. Getting knocked off 2 years ago didn't phase me. Then, last year a van ran me off the road. I've struggled with confidence ever since. I love cycling. But the van has had an impact on my interest. I hope it is restored one day.

tangled_metal

If I take a break for some reason such as knee issues or stolen bike I struggle to get back into commuting. If a stolen bike it's a bit easier because I have a new toy, but not that much easier.

What works for me is the idea I'm saving money. Also, my other way in is train. Not an issue as less than £4 return but a single is almost the same which really annoys me. Another thing is fare dodgers. You see the regulars and I always take notice when they never buy a ticketl. One guy never buys a ticket at the station or on the train. Then when asked for a ticket on the train he gets a single then I see him riding home the same day. He's one of those regular fare dodgers. Both my grandparents were railwaymen for almost all their working life. It kind of got into me so fare dodgers really wind me up so that no matter how bad the weather or how bad I feel the train journey is worse. I know this sounds weird but any motivation that works!!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Since my accident on the Tricross, I happily take a break from commuting by bike over the winter. In another week or two, it will finally be light enough to stop using the bus for my early morning starts, cannot wait!

wolfsbane2k

Yes, very much so, especially around winter time. So much so that I've gone two years without cycling before, only to start up again in august, and give up again in December. for another 2 years.

Now it's all about saving money, and sometimes time, as well as the opportunity to get fit while doing it.

The Rookie

It's summer that gets me down, arriving all hot an sweaty, now is perfect cycling weather, cold enough to be sweat free even after a nice vigorous ride in.

vimfuego

As above really. The odd morning I wake up & struggle with motivation, but I just ask myself a few questions: would you rather get PT? Will you feel better for the ride? Could you amend the route slightly today? Will that b*stard on the SS that I keep seeing jumping reds to get away from me be out there....?

I usually get to question 1 and then get up and get on with it

apreading

I used to not want to cycle when there was a likelihood of rain but the traffic around my town has got so bad in the last year or so that even then it is preferable to driving to work. I have actually enjoyed cycling through adversity this winter, the right clothing etc helps.

Never just lost interest in general and cant imagine this ever happening - I love every minute on the bike.

Am laid up at the moment after being knocked off and wont be able to cycle for a couple of months probably - this makes me even more desperate to do it again.

mlgt

I think its normal as others have voiced. Sometimes a change of scenary or a different route/time off the bike can relinquish the ride. I tend to ride the same route and there are days Im just on autopilot.

However upon your commutes you will meet other cyclists and can strike up a conversation and its not that bad.

I would say if you do lose the interest, get back into public transport then you will want to get back on the bike again

ddraver

A few days on the train used to sort out my lack of interest soon enough. Plus the fact that I could stay in bed 10 minutes longer if I was cycling..

mtb-idle

I found that setting myself an annual target in tandem with a mate (no pun intended) really got me motivated. I would get up in the morning keen to add another 28km to my total and post it so that he could see how well I was doing (he doesn't cycle commute so would be sitting at home/on the train seething at me moving ahead of him).

This kept me going for a couple of years. Then I lost motivation again for whatever reason, injuries, cold, too much rain even though I've ridden through all those in the past (e.g. the whole of 2012 was a good example of that) but found that switching to singlespeed got me motivated again. I had never ridden singlespeed before so it was a new experience that I enjoyed. Gave commuting a whole new lease of life.

I also find that Strava helps. I'm not about the KOM's - I don't even think i have any, I'm more about logging the miles, giving each ride a stupid name and then getting a little kick when you get kudos e.g.

https://www.strava.com/activities/495426949

Childish I know but if it helps motivate me then I don't care.

iPete

I’m an ardent commuter, I’ve lost some of the love, part down to the implementation of the new superhighways but never lost interest to the point of stopping.

I nearly did a few years ago but switching to fixed got me hooked again. Apart from that having the right gear/mudguards/clothes and whilst it is overkill, having a powermeter has added a new level of interest.

Things might be different if I could hop in my car and drive to work in half the time but the only option is the train, no thanks.

surrey_commuter

I find that by ducking out on the odd day when you don't fancy it then you keep going more often.

warreng

All of the above. I was ill in November which kept me off the bike until January. Then swiftly followed by a chest infection which has limited me to 2 commutes a week. The sheer disgustingness of PT means I'd quite happily cycle in all conditions

menthel

My problem is that commuting means I am going to work!

imatfaal

Days like today are enough to remind me why I love it - bright clear and crisp and I am the fastest thing on Embankment (I like my bed and all you real speedsers are already hard at work by the time I make it to central london). But then when you are in a good mood everything feels right; the rain and wind last night were brilliant.

In line with most of the comments above - everyone gets blue and down for a while. I tend to change something - ride my nice bike in the winter, make Mr Wiggle a little richer by buying a new piece of clothing I don't need, take a different route, and of course the answer to all our woes - new bike!

warreng

The worst thing is losing interest while you're actually at work. Normally after a busy day of pointless meetings and it starts raining around 4pm. I can fanny about in the office until 7 before I finally summon up the energy to pedal home

corriebee1

I drive to cycle, and switch up the length of my commutes dependant on the weather.

Frankly, the sh! tfest that is trying to drive into central Cambridge from the south West is all the motivation i need. However, i have several points at which i can bail! Parking up the car in the countryside on a windy, rainy day and choosing to get out and onto the bike takes serious willpower! I could just drive in.

It helps me that there are a few other cyclists in the office, mostly fairweather. So i know that if i arrive on my bike, i'm proving a point to myself and to them. I also have close friends on Strava and like seeing my "last 4 weeks" constantly edging ahead of theirs!

I also like saving money, so tot up my miles on strava and apply my corporate 45p per mile cost to them (it's probably more like 20p) thereby justifying all kinds of other excess!

ugo.santalucia

iPete wrote:

I’m an ardent commuter, I’ve lost some of the love, part down to the implementation of the new superhighways but never lost interest to the point of stopping.

I can't believe you are still going on about it... aren't you a bit too young to hold a rant for that long? You should be like those puppies, here's the ball, now play and be happy!

Change route... when I cycled to Brick Lane to pick up my rims, I used go come back via Tower bridge, London bridge, Oval, Stockwell, Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney and so on... it's a reasoably fast route with a bit of action for you lot...

Nellyspania

This time of year I often lose interest, just one car commute to work sorts my head out!

arthur_scrimshaw

Like a lot of you, the alternatives aren't attractive. There's no public transport where I work and I sold my car about 18 months ago because it was just sitting on the drive. We still have a Fiat Panda that the kids learnt to drive in but they've moved on and now look on it with contempt. The very few times I have used it to go to work quickly remind me that I'm an impatient git of a driver an the bike is much nicer.
I don't know how I would fare if i was in (e.g.) London or another big city - I think I'd struggle. My commute is 90% in the country and pretty quiet (and through the South Downs National Park)

iPete

ugo.santalucia wrote:

iPete wrote:

I’m an ardent commuter, I’ve lost some of the love, part down to the implementation of the new superhighways but never lost interest to the point of stopping.

I can't believe you are still going on about it... aren't you a bit too young to hold a rant for that long? You should be like those puppies, here's the ball, now play and be happy!

Change route... when I cycled to Brick Lane to pick up my rims, I used go come back via Tower bridge, London bridge, Oval, Stockwell, Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney and so on... it's a reasoably fast route with a bit of action for you lot...

I'm not ranting, it is what it is, I have and do use alternative routes but the days of howling down Embankment are gone, that's all. Perhaps I'm just getting old, hardly bother with SCR either*.

*big fat lie, I just save it for the hillier bits in Richmond Park.

On_What

Well five days and counting on the train. I decided to buy a scooter for the days I don't ride, simply because it will work out cheaper than the train in the long run. I still want to cycle in, and hope to tomorrow, but it's going to hurt!

prawny

I did after a bout of tonsillitis back in 2010 took almost exactly five years to get back on the bike. Haven't missed a commute since december this time round.

tangled_metal

ddraver wrote:

A few days on the train used to sort out my lack of interest soon enough. Plus the fact that I could stay in bed 10 minutes longer if I was cycling..

Going by train needs 20 minutes extra so cycling = lie in. Except with the car I get an even longer lie in.

I'm fortunate in that my ride is almost a steady profile going up to the summit at exactly half way. So on those days I don't want to be on my bike I only tend to struggle to halfway then the second half just feels like fun. I've just got to grind it out on a very easy gradient for 3.5 miles or so then I'm over the hump.

ugo.santalucia

iPete wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

iPete wrote:

I’m an ardent commuter, I’ve lost some of the love, part down to the implementation of the new superhighways but never lost interest to the point of stopping.

I can't believe you are still going on about it... aren't you a bit too young to hold a rant for that long? You should be like those puppies, here's the ball, now play and be happy!

Change route... when I cycled to Brick Lane to pick up my rims, I used go come back via Tower bridge, London bridge, Oval, Stockwell, Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney and so on... it's a reasoably fast route with a bit of action for you lot...

I'm not ranting, it is what it is, I have and do use alternative routes but the days of howling down Embankment are gone, that's all. Perhaps I'm just getting old, hardly bother with SCR either*.

*big fat lie, I just save it for the hillier bits in Richmond Park.

Sound like you need a new bike... is the SS with discs ready yet?

iPete

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Sound like you need a new bike... is the SS with discs ready yet?

No, it really is being built for next Winter