in the past, i used to me a mtber, i lived for it, proper loved it.
rode week nights with 2 groups, rode on a weekend all over the country. organised mtb meets for other riders. was even half good at it, i had balls and would have a go………….what the hell happened to me?

i have become a bored road/lane riding pottering old man, and i hate it.
got to the stage where i feel i could pack it all in.
i try and mux it up, different routes to work and home? ride a bit faster now and again………but it is sooooooo mundane and boring.

no buzz, no after ride well being feeling, just heavy legs and anger from terrible drivers and road conditions, feel like throwing my bike in the scrap bin.

where did the joy and happiness go? i need it back

where did the joy and happiness go? i need it back

Thought you’d wandered off onto the topic of the EU referendum for a minute, then. 😉

This may just be a phase that you’re going through, or it could be that biking was the phase, and you’re ready for the next thing.

Hopefully it’s just the dull weather that’s getting you down, and the first signs of proper summer will re-kindle the spark.

Chin up, big fella.

Really? What about all those selfies of you spinning along and grinning like a (young) loon?

Commuting by bike every day can definitely take the shine off more enjoyable rides though. Maybe give that up for a wee while?

When I used to commute to work on the bike I felt similar to Ton.

The commuting can become a little boring and tedious, routine.

What I found that helped was a ride with friends on the weekend. All of a sudden , the social side of cycling made it enjoyable.
I think the frustration might be the solitude of the cycling, try a few social rides with different routes.

feel like throwing my bike

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ4QmHDCFHs[/video]

Get back on your mountain bike? I ride all sorts, including a recent 3 weeks road riding in Provence, but the only thing that gives me “that” buzz is the mtb. Yes it’s lots of faff but the rewards I wouldn’t do without

What’s stopping you from riding an MTB again?

Come out with me on Saturday Tony, we can compare notes. 😕

As Denis99 said – the commute can get mundane, but going for a ride with mates at weekend can make up for it.

I’m a fellow Leeds (SE) bike commuter and find I try and do longer rides in and out most days – mixing it up with several different routes in and out depending on how I feel, weather, kids commitments etc. All helps.

I also find the cross bike helps – take buzz out of cr*ppy roads but also lets me divert onto canal or find alternative routes home.

Dare I say Strava helps as it gives me goals to try and stay ahead of or catch mates on segments.

Chin up and keep riding!

A week of driving to work and you’ll be begging for the shed key

Jaz the commute up a bit, try it blindfolded or tying your arm to your leg ?

As an MTBer, I can’t commute on a road bike all week, I want to throw myself under a bus, I find it massively dull.

My commute is stunning as well, once I’m out of the town it’s beautiful Hampshire country lanes up over the South Downs.

Yet it still bores me to tears, so I do it maybe twice a week.

Road riding is just massively boring to me.

Commuting more than twice a week (12 miles each way, mainly on tow path) gets hard and dull. Also made the mid week MTB ride hard work, and Mondays commute after a big weekend ride was awful.

I find a couple of commutes, one MTB ride and one road ride in a week in is enough to mix it up, not burn out physically or mentally and still enjoy it.

Ton

I’m a life long cyclist from a mostly cycling obsessed family.

I’ve had periods in my life where I haven’t felt motivated to ride very often. Just the lack of novelty so the miles and ride frequency dropped but my life was then filled with other stuff (sailing mainly but some diy and track days were in there too).

I’ve always found myself back on the bike in the end.

These days I’m not helped by a very pressured job, a young family and a few home projects that get in the way of riding. Now any solo or group ride is a massive bonus. The absence of”enough” means I appreciate it more.

Iirc from your previous posts you have a fair bit of flexibility to ride a lot so may be the opposite for you if you don’t have to fight to squeeze in a ride does it just feel too ordinary.

Time to find an extra hobby or do more of something else for a bit maybe but ultimately if you don’t enjoy it I do question if it’s worth fighting.

In the UK road riding other than local transport has almost 100% lost its appeal for me, a means to an end (fitness) but I would rather go swimming more often than not.

I ride to work every time I’m at the main office (c.3 times per week; 15 mile round trip).

I’ve ridden the same route for 4 years, with minor variations – but I don’t have time to add interesting diversions etc.

The thing that has kept the commute something that I look forward to has been varying my bikes! I started on a cyclocross bike, then swapped to a gnarmac bike, which in turn gave way to two bikes: a lightweight roadie and a very practical flat bar/mudguards/panniers build. On the way to this, I also tried a drop bar singlespeed.

The point being that, if you can, it may also be worth mixing up your kit a little.

Ton, as mentioned elsewhere, gravel is your friend!

A bike. Just that, a bike. Something you get on and ride. Sometimes on road, sometimes off road, sometimes mixing them all up together. Makes tame trails exciting, and allows you to look at a bridleway off a lane somewhere and think, I wonder where that goes? Then you go and find out.

Taking riding back to what it used to be, before all the enduro-fluo-bouncy-wheelsize-bullshit. Just getting out and riding.

Excellent smile to mile ratio.

On my daily commutes I keep feeling that I should be smiling as I cycle along due to all the health and wellbeing benefits it brings, and by not doing so I’m doing a disservice to cycling and putting people off. Did 133 miles on the mtb last week, 40 miles of which was the 4hr Brass Monkey race Sunday. Decided this week would be a rest week trying to maintain HR < 106, which uphill is cycle on pavement speed, so more disservice to cyclists. Plus last year when I wasn’t entering races or training for races I used to race around on my commutes much more on, but now I tend to only use the direct route for slow days, so the car drivers are undoubtedly wondering why I only go slow these days instead of racing around “look at him, he’s knackered himself out” they conclude, and thus more disservice to cycling.

Biggest struggle lately is will power vs nice food. Will power is losing.

Carry on.

Cfh might have a point too.

I’ve seen that pic a couple off times now and there’s something reminiscent of my childhood riding my home resprayed “racer” (with 27*1 1/4 tyres) through mud, little tracks, the woods everywhere it’d go and a few places it shouldn’t have.