Losing the MOJO

Jay_Forme

How often (if ever) do you guys lose the mojo for cycling?

I have so far this year covered just over 800 miles on the bike, many of these Sunday runs and after 8pm at night when the kids are in bed. I know 800 is not a huge amount but last year I only managed 2100 in 12 months!

At the moment I am getting up at 5am to get into work and have been doing this for just over 2 weeks. my mojo for then getting out at 8pm is gone. Weekends have been taken up by family events, Mrs working or decorating.

I was going to head out last night but when time came I just didn't fancy it.

However, over the last few weeks I have managed a few 20/30 minute runs around the village.

I need to get back in the mind set that I enjoy cycling, I love the pain and I enjoy the benefits of it. I just need a kick in the rear for that first step.

fenix

Doesn't sound so much like losing the mojo as being knackered. A few weeks more and the weather will be picking up.

lakesluddite

Will power mate! I get up at 6am if I cycle to work, and NEVER fancy it at that time! But I know that once I get going I will ease into it. And yes, even at weekends when I know I've got all day, it'll be the sofa calling loud and long. I think getting yourself out of the door and in the saddle is the hardest bit - once you've broken sweat and got the heart going then your mood just improves immeasurably.
I've got the Fred Whitton coming up in about 4 weeks, so I know I can't let the sofa/duvet win!

whoof

Will power can only get you so far, if you are knackered there's a reason and 5 am start and riding after 8 pm seems like a good reason. If you man-up and ignore it eventually you will either get physically ill, have a breakdown or throw the bike in the canal and give up.
Take a look at what you are doing and make some choices. For instance; decorate this weekend and ride next weekend, pay someone to decorate. Going to a family get together, you ride there and your wife and kids can drive. Move to somewhere where you don't have to get up at 5 am to get to work.

supermurph09

It's the long wait to get on the bike that kills the motivation. Let's face it, most of us think about riding our bike or doing our training on the bike more than we think about anything else! As others have said, once you are on the bike then unless you are over trained or fatigued etc the actual act of riding should be fun / motivational / satisfying depending on what your goals are.

From waking to being able to train is normally about 14 hours for me, it's a long time.

Jay_Forme

Thankfully the 5am starts will soon finish as at the moment we are changing offices and my work pattern has changed. so this will be back to normal fairly soon.
and at some point, the wife must decide the house can no longer need any more work doing to it..... Please god!!!!

Riding to family etc is a good idea in principle however all our family still live in Essex (I live in Lincolnshire) so the 110/120 mile journey isn't a choice.

Of all the weekends for me to write this its my other halves birthday Sunday so we are away, again.

I must admit that I do spend time thinking about my bike, checking the route I plan to do on Strava/Google and get all excited only to be not bothered when the time arrives.

I think its going to be a case of forcing myself to get back on early next week to remind myself of the joy I have on it.

webboo

What's wrong with riding home when you've been visiting family. Get dropped off if you can't face the full distance, most of the time you will have a bit of wind assistance going South to North.

fenix

Life is too short to do your own decorating.

ben@31

I had the same problem at the start of the year. In Jan or Feb I lost all willpower.

But just wait for a nice sunny evening with no cloud in the sky and just go out for a slow bimble on a short route, no pressure. And you'll come back thinking " I really enjoyed that".

I think at the start of the year the lack of daylight, strong winds, constant rain and putting myself under pressure contributed to making excuses for not going out.

I find once I get into a routine of going out cycling or running it gets much easier, almost the norm. Its much harder to get out if you've had several days off.

Should be easier and more pleasant as summer approaches.

IanRCarter

I don't think I've lost motivation for more than a few days (which could be put down to fatigue) for quite some time now. From January 2014 I was building up fitness (had a major motivation loss at the end of 2013), didn't want to start from scratch again at the start of 2015 as I did with 2014 so that was the motivation for riding during the winter and I reaped the rewards of that good winter during the summer of 2015. And so I followed the same pattern again, I've just had a good winter and I'd say I'm slightly stronger than I was this time last year.

In other words, when it's not so fun and difficult to motivate yourself, set yourself some long term goals - maybe a distance target or a certain sportive - and remember that what you're doing now is building towards that goal.

Riding with friends or a club can help keep you motivated. You've got a set time to meet up with them so there is no lounging around before going out (giving you time to make excuses), you don't want to let them down by not turning up and when you are riding, it's more sociable.

N1TRO

Too much of anything is never a good thing. It's understandable that if you ride full on every day, that sooner or later you'll grow tired of pushing yourself. On the other hand, if your work and other commitments don't permit you to go out, it might not be best to try and force it. Perhaps planning ahead a bit and setting time aside especially for riding might be best. Otherwise the missus might not like you shying away from your duties while she gets to do all the "hard work."

svetty

Fenix wrote:

Life is too short to do your own decorating.

^this. My 'better half' has realised that I am a much nicer person to be around if I get my weekly dose of cycling so we compromise and I get to ride provided I also pull my weight.....

pastryboy

Sounds like you need something to aim for. I'm the same - just riding around is good now and then but after a while it can get a bit meh and things like a bit of wind will put you right off.

I've found a power meter good for motivation because there's always specific things to chase.

mikecassie

Have a target to aim for is the best boost for me. I was aiming for the FW this year but work has stepped in and ruined that so I've booked myself in for the KOM Sportive in Aboyne instead. Almost has long and with a wee bit less climbing but a helluva lot closer to home so a good alternative.

After last Summer I did take a full month off with no riding the bike, handily this was during my trip offshore so not as hard as it sounds.

The hardest bit is going offshore and knowing I've a month on a pretty mediocre stationary bike to face most mornings before shift. Doing that then shows how brilliant proper cycling really is.

Jay_Forme

I managed to get out Sunday afternoon. albeit only 20 miles but was nice to get out.

I have the Ride London in July to look forward too so its just a case of getting in the miles.

For the last two years I have had something to train for, 2014 I did the London to Paris and last year I cycled from Milan to Monaco so I always had that in the back of my mind.
This year, although I have done a fair few miles so far it has just generally been around where I live on the same roads, similar distance and similar time. None of my friends cycle and the club I was with I left due to it taking a whole Sunday to ride 40/50 miles.

Living in Lincolnshire is great for flat, but damn its boring where I live. hills are very very few and far between so I need to go some distance to get any mixture in my ride. This also means its always windy an lately I've just lost interest in it.

No doubt I will get back into it once the weather improves, just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar issue.

johngti

I've suffered the same loss of motivation. But over the last few weeks I've dragged myself out more, started commuting more (and that's helped by the fact that the local council have just installed parking meters EVERYWHERE around here now so driving to work is a proper pain in the rear!) and I've actually started enjoying it again; its no longer a case of dragging myself out of the door. Stick with it!

homers_double

To add my bit, I regularly get up to ride midweek at 5.45am, I guess I get out around 50% of the time because I'm either knackered or the weather is against me.

Once your work pattern changes and you don't "need" to get up so early then things might change as you'll see riding as a hobby rather than a means to an end - and riding at 8pm just to get the miles in is about as demotivational as it can get.

Change work pattern, sunny morning, go for ride. If it's fairly traffic free, sunny and cold you might get a different kick out of it.

Devastazione2

Stop riding your bike and do something else for a while. Lack of motivation occurs and there is nothing wrong with it. I work only in summer and I've just stored my bike for good until September. Do I miss riding it ? Yes,but I have other things to do that keep me busy. I have a brand new bike coming in a week and will only use it to bed in brakes,then she will be put to sleep aswell,and guess what I don't care.
Riding a bike must be a pleasure,practicing a sport has to be like hang out with a trusty old friend : it gives you quality time. If these things are not happening just stop riding the damn thing and take a break.

itboffin

Jay_Forme wrote:

How often (if ever) do you guys lose the mojo for cycling?

I have so far this year covered just over 800 miles on the bike, many of these Sunday runs and after 8pm at night when the kids are in bed. I know 800 is not a huge amount but last year I only managed 2100 in 12 months!

At the moment I am getting up at 5am to get into work and have been doing this for just over 2 weeks. my mojo for then getting out at 8pm is gone. Weekends have been taken up by family events, Mrs working or decorating.

I was going to head out last night but when time came I just didn't fancy it.

However, over the last few weeks I have managed a few 20/30 minute runs around the village.

I need to get back in the mind set that I enjoy cycling, I love the pain and I enjoy the benefits of it. I just need a kick in the rear for that first step.

yeah an early start and late finish takes its toll, i've been doing 5am to 8pm day 4-5 times a week for 9 years and 2 months now and it did and some times now does leave me with little desire or energy to ride socially, that said i ride 35+ miles a day in the 5-8 commute which when added to weekend social sportive and club rides comes to 200-250 miles a week.

You can get used to anything but the question is do you want or need too?

if you're physically tired rest if mentally i'd say ride it will refresh you whatever distance you choose, one useful tip is have everything ready so if the mood takes you its a quick transition to riding, procrastination is the enemy of the cyclist.

rowlers

I've just lost mine tonight
I've been struggling for a few weeks, lethargy, dead lifeless feeling legs.. Got home tonight after the 25mile commute home and I've had enough. At least a week off cycling for me!

ben@31

rowlers wrote:

I've just lost mine tonight
I've been struggling for a few weeks, lethargy, dead lifeless feeling legs.. Got home tonight after the 25mile commute home and I've had enough. At least a week off cycling for me!

Thats a long commute to do after a days work, I would be lethargic with dead lifeless legs too.

rowlers

ben@31 wrote:

rowlers wrote:

I've just lost mine tonight
I've been struggling for a few weeks, lethargy, dead lifeless feeling legs.. Got home tonight after the 25mile commute home and I've had enough. At least a week off cycling for me!

Thats a long commute to do after a days work, I would be lethargic with dead lifeless legs too.

It's not normally an issue, I don't do it everyday - it's actually an easy way to get 50 miles in without interrupting kids after school clubs etc..

Jay_Forme

Well last night my Mojo came back in, when I got home from work the Mrs had got the bike in from the shed and said "get out for an hour as your a miserable git"

so 63 minutes later and 18.9 miles covered, I hit 3 top tens on Strava and get 5 PR's.

Yeah baby!!!

homers_double

Good lad!

rnath

If I hit a slump (common over winter), I try to do a completely different type of riding. Usually something like putting jeans on (so I'm not in "roadie" mode) and just pootle around the streets of London for a couple of hours to see where they take me. If you're doing the same routes day in day out I guess it's easy to get jaded when the weather's a bit mardy or you're tired - a change is as good as a rest (or so they say)...

Devastazione2

rnath wrote:

If I hit a slump (common over winter), I try to do a completely different type of riding. Usually something like putting jeans on (so I'm not in "roadie" mode) and just pootle around the streets of London for a couple of hours to see where they take me. If you're doing the same routes day in day out I guess it's easy to get jaded when the weather's a bit mardy or you're tired - a change is as good as a rest (or so they say)...

I remember few years ago entering into a park in London ( zone 4,northeast somewhere) a sign that said " cyclist,a gang Of bike robbers has been reported to operate in this park " or something...I mean...that sucks !