• This topic has 74 replies, 55 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by mboy.
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  • Losing my mojo for MTB…
  • antennae
    Free Member

    Don’t come to malvern, the ridings’ awful.

    This 😉

    I lived in Worcester for a few years and I was up the Malverns nearly every weekend. Felt really lucky to have it on my doorstep. There is some immense riding up there and it’s probably <15 minutes drive from you, or even a short train ride if you like.

    jimster01
    Full Member

    15 minutes drive from you, or even a short train ride if you like.

    He could always ride over,then he’d get his roadie fix.

    infidel
    Free Member

    There’s a new bike shop in Bewdley, Overspoke, who do rides each week. At the mo there both road and mtb options happening at the same time. I’ve not managed to go yet due to work/family but Mark who runs the shop is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met so I’d be totally happy to recommend him and the rides. MTB in the Wyee with some chat re Clent I think.

    Like GeeTee, my MTB mojo is a bit meh right now and for many of the reasons you listed. I’ve parked the bike and ride the roadie for now. It’ll come back and when it does I’ll be über retro on my 26″ wheels!

    Don’t dispair mboy!

    muddydwarf
    Free Member

    I’ve lost the mojo too.
    Been riding the road bike 3pr 4 times a week since August last yr and hardly touched a mtb. Went to the lakes in June & took my big mtb – hated every minute of it. OK, a lot of that was picking the wrong route, horrible bike-carrying ascents followed by dull gravel road descents, too much tarmac & getting caught in a massive bog that took over an hr to get through whilst dragging/throwing the bike.
    All the time I kept thinking “if I’d brought the road bike I could have done Hardknott & Wrynose..”
    Also, the whole gear thing has really pee’d me off. Over night my MTB’s are obsolete, forks don’t fit, wheels are the wrong size gearing all wrong etc. Being 5’2″ 29’ers don’t fit & I can’t see the point of 650b. I read the mag and it doesn’t speak to me anymore, I feel no connection to scene, the new kit coming out is stupidly expensive/doesn’t fit my bikes and the ‘enduro’ clothing kit is straight out of the circus!

    Maybe it will come back, but at the mo’ I’m giving serious thought to getting rid of my MTB’s.

    jameso
    Full Member

    Over night my MTB’s are obsolete, forks don’t fit, wheels are the wrong size gearing all wrong etc. Being 5’2″ 29’ers don’t fit & I can’t see the point of 650b. I read the mag and it doesn’t speak to me anymore, I feel no connection to scene, the new kit coming out is stupidly expensive/doesn’t fit my bikes and the ‘enduro’ clothing kit is straight out of the circus!

    Good post as it highlights a lot of general issues many riders have now I think. So not answering your point directly, but the bigger complaint with MTBs now – I could agree with a lot of that but it just doesn’t affect the bike I ride and what I do, and I still love riding off-road. Always will. MTB is so much more than the ‘scene’ the media or brand advertising presents.
    Obsolete bike? Who cares, it’s as good as it was when you bought it right? I like riding a SS CX bike at the mo and they’re fairly hopeless off road ) worse than obsolete MTBs anyway. But fun to ride.
    New kit not fitting.. Do we really need that much new kit? Or do we need major-component kit that needs replacing every couple of years? If so, does it need to be so high-end or pricey to service that it’s not considered a consumable?
    (good job I don’t work in bike sales huh)

    I think a lot of our issues come from group-ride arms races. “I need ‘x’ so I can keep up” etc. The reality is that the result of the urge to be faster is sometimes killing the fun, which is odd as riding fast is damn good fun. However if not racing, the perception of speed is what we’re often looking for most of the time rather than absolute speed relative to others. There’s no answer to this of course .. blokes on bikes will be what we are.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    If you can’t get motivated to ride while we’re having a relatively good summer (and it sounds like you’ve got no kids and a decent amount of free time), then you might as well sell your MTBs.

    What would be the worst thing about not being an MTBer any more?

    Jamie
    Free Member

    What would be the worst thing about not being an MTBer any more?

    Not being able to wear the gnar baggies?

    jameso
    Full Member

    What would be the worst thing about not being an MTBer any more?

    Joining the golf club? : )

    curiousyellow
    Free Member

    Take up middle/long distance running.

    You will hate it so much that any kind of cycling will seem like a relief.

    I used to run, then I found bikes. Now I just run if I’m bored of the bike and it all comes flooding back.

    andywill
    Full Member

    Cranham is my “soul food”, we try to get there a few times each year. You would be welcombe to join us for our next ride there if you like.

    iamroughrider
    Free Member

    get a little getto type urban bike / maybe a singlespeed rigid or something similar for local riding from the doorstep and make some interesting urban/local offroad riding routes up. Go and explore locally.

    Cheezpleez
    Full Member

    Do what you want to do.

    Jamie
    Free Member

    Take up middle/long distance running.

    You will hate it so much that any kind of cycling will seem like a relief.

    Unless the OP is like me, and loves distance running.

    Has to be offroad, mind.

    wors
    Full Member

    I’m the same OP, in the last 12 months I must have been out on my mtb less than half a dozen times. And I have some pretty decent trails from my door. I’d much rather go out on the road bike. I have been considering selling my 5 and going back to a hardtail.

    mattjg
    Free Member

    @op do what you want to do, don’t do what you don’t want to do, and don’t stress about the difference. we’re only here for a little while.

    rocketman
    Free Member

    mboy
    Free Member

    This
    I lived in Worcester for a few years and I was up the Malverns nearly every weekend. Felt really lucky to have it on my doorstep. There is some immense riding up there and it’s probably <15 minutes drive from you, or even a short train ride if you like.

    Malverns are great on sunny summer’s eves when you’re in the mood for a hard ride. I don’t often finish work before 7, often stay later than that, and I live the wrong side of Worcs (so it’s a 30 min drive not a 15!), and I’m often not in the mood for all that climbing. I love the Wyre Forest for instance (and can get there as quick as Malverns), but when it’s drenched in water for 50 weeks of the year, it’s rather depressing!

    Had a call yesterday morning, a guy I know who knows I only work a half day on Monday normally. Ended up going down the FoD with him and another friend of his yesterday afternoon as it happens. Only a lap of the Enduro XC loop followed by a lap of Freeminers, but started to get in the zone a bit more and enjoy the ride. Helped I didn’t have to spend too much time waiting for them too I think, but it was still sociable. Felt good on the bike too, last couple of MTB rides I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes and had really off days. Yesterday I felt planted, cleaned every climb and descent without issue, railed the berms and popped off the roots nicely! 🙂

    Come and play in the secret cheeky trails with ss idiots on the chase. We promise not to make you cry too much…but seriously, riding with new folks on new stuff can be a grwat way to rekindle the joy of simply mucking about on bikes

    I’ll see when I could be free to do that, would love to ride some of the lesser known stuff up there. It’s been too long since the (now moved away Postie) showed me anything up there.

    South Wales local stuff when you have some time free, you know where I am

    You’ve lost weight and are at least pretending to get fit though! I may have to do some training first… 😉

    But seriously, would be good actually. I’ll drop you a line about a ride soon… Do you ever have Mondays off per chance?

    Also, the whole gear thing has really pee’d me off. Over night my MTB’s are obsolete, forks don’t fit, wheels are the wrong size gearing all wrong etc. Being 5’2″ 29’ers don’t fit & I can’t see the point of 650b. I read the mag and it doesn’t speak to me anymore, I feel no connection to scene, the new kit coming out is stupidly expensive/doesn’t fit my bikes and the ‘enduro’ clothing kit is straight out of the circus!

    You make a very good point!

    It’s interesting to note though, that I see more VERY tall people on mountain bikes these days that I ever did when bikes all had 26″ wheels and the largest frame sizes you could get were 20″… Maybe you’re suffering at their expense! I do feel almost short at 5ft10 these days though out on the trail, and some company’s “medium” sized MTB’s almost feel a bit big these days to me.

    If you can’t get motivated to ride while we’re having a relatively good summer (and it sounds like you’ve got no kids and a decent amount of free time), then you might as well sell your MTBs.
    What would be the worst thing about not being an MTBer any more?

    You’ve not understood my reasons behind my lack of motivation… I don’t have kids, but I also have pretty much no free time. Other than Thursday evenings for a road ride, Sundays are pretty much the only guaranteed time each week I get to ride if I chose to. But often then, the thought of always having to drive somewhere, always having to guide other people round and wait for them, well… I need some variety I think. Go out with people that are happy to guide me for a bit. I love riding with my GF at times, but sometimes I also need to go out with someone who’s genuinely going to show me a clean pair of heels on their local trails, but is also happy to do that in a sociable way.

    Basically, you can see why road riding has become more and more appealing!

    Take up middle/long distance running.
    You will hate it so much that any kind of cycling will seem like a relief.

    I was quite a good runner when I was a kid. These days if I run to the corner shop I’ll have bad knees, hips and shin splints! It’s always bored the arse off me too…

    Cranham is my “soul food”, we try to get there a few times each year. You would be welcombe to join us for our next ride there if you like.

    Cranham is an absolute gem. One that sooooo many people drive past all the time without even knowing it’s there! I wish I knew it well enough to go explore on my own thus far. Will aim to get on a couple of rides down there soon.

    get a little getto type urban bike / maybe a singlespeed rigid or something similar for local riding from the doorstep and make some interesting urban/local offroad riding routes up. Go and explore locally.

    It does seem a fairly logical solution… Though I’ve been desperately trying not to spend any money on fixing this problem thus far!

    postierich
    Free Member

    Come upto the lakes I will put you off mtbing for life 🙂

    njee20
    Free Member

    Malverns are great on sunny summer’s eves when you’re in the mood for a hard ride. I don’t often finish work before 7

    Don’t you work in a bike shop? Why are you still there at 7? Sod that.

    mboy
    Free Member

    Don’t you work in a bike shop? Why are you still there at 7? Sod that.

    😆

    Maybe I go that extra mile… 😉

    Come upto the lakes I will put you off mtbing for life

    Hehehe. In all seriousness, I am planning a, wait for it… Week off in August. Wanted to go abroad with the GF, but don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to actually leave the helm for long enough to get a whole week off, but might manage a few days… 🙂

    I even rode a (shock horror) 650b wheel sized bike briefly today, that I thought was really rather good… Still not sure it’ll sway me back from 29er’s though.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    It does seem a fairly logical solution… Though I’ve been desperately trying not to spend any money on fixing this problem thus far!

    If you look at my history, you’ll see I actually spent the sum total of £40 on a 29er rigid SingleSpeed within the last 10 days. I’ve done two rides on it and loved it. I didn’t expect to.

    dobiejessmo
    Free Member

    Blimey i must ride in a different Cranham to others.

    beicmynydd
    Free Member

    Have you been on an uplift day? Ride out of your comfort zone, better to be scared to death than bored to death!

    andywill
    Full Member

    “Blimey i must ride in a different Cranham to others.”

    You should see what we normally have to ride 🙁 . Cranham is worth the 50min drive to do a few times a year. It just has a good mix of trails that suit my skill level & is never busy (unlike some trail centres).

    prawny
    Full Member

    Funny this, I live in the same sort of area, and have recently sold my road bike in favour of spending more time in my mtb. Wishing I still had one now mind, might get a cheap one over the winter, but really loving the mountain bike at the moment, road rides were getting very samey and boring, there’s only so many roads that are nice to ride. Over the chase there’s loads to explore. I haven’t even started on the off piste stuff after two years.

    jimster01
    Full Member

    Whereabouts in Worcester is your shop?

    mrsi
    Free Member

    I’ve been having a similar ‘identity crisis’ of late. Just not been motivated to get out at all, I think part of it was needing to get over thinking about myself as being a ‘mountainbiker’ as opposed to someone that happens to ride a bike for fun. If it’s not fun – do something else.

    I’ve been out on the road bike a bit, done a bit more running, taken up swimming again for the first time in about 10 years and got of the bandwagon of constant new bike bits coveting an to be honest I feel better for it in the end. That said I went out locally with a few folk last week, first ride in about 6 weeks, and had a great time. I found the key is not to treat it like a chore that you feel you should be doing. Go out if you feel like it, if not maybe try taking up something else (swim/run/climb/martial arts etc etc) for a bit for a bit of variety.

    dobiejessmo
    Free Member

    Perhaps we are too spoilt living in the Cotswolds.Having Cranham on our doorstep!!!!!!.Only ridden in there once off-road this year prefer the faster trails in the the Forest of Dean.Mind i do ride through there alot on the road to see how muddy it is,which is alot of the year.

    mboy
    Free Member

    I like Cranham precisely because it’s tighter and techier than much of the FoD. My favourite trails in the FoD are all the steep/tight/techy ones too.

    Shop is in Droitwich, few miles out of Worcester. We’ve built quite a decent following already, many of them join us consistently on road rides, which is great. Might be a sign of the times, but the only MTB rides I organised, I ended up cancelling cos nobody wanted to come!

    MTB riding for me is usually just me and the GF these days. Though she’s very fit, she’s not very confident, so rides tend to be a bit of a yo-yo of her waiting at the top of climbs and me waiting (a lot) at the bottom of descents… We don’t spend much time together in other words, whereas on the roads I’m finding everything just that bit more sociable.

    Thinking the weekend/week away to try and ride new places might just be the answer to rekindle the love… 🙂

    roverpig
    Full Member

    …I’d rather just lay in bed. My GF finds it extremely frustrating…

    I think you’ve answered your own question. Don’t just lie there man 🙂

    njee20
    Free Member

    Don’t you work in a bike shop? Why are you still there at 7? Sod that.

    Maybe I go that extra mile… [/quote]

    All joking aside, and assuming that wasn’t you being a martyr, if you’re not being paid for working outside shop hours is that really worth it? IMO you can “go the extra mile” without having to work free overtime every day, and if there’s too much work to do that’s not fair on you. You don’t own the shop.

    coastkid
    Free Member

    Ride on your own for a bit,
    You can ride then for yourself at your own pace and mood, gives you time to think about stuff and what you want out life,

    If you want to stop to soak up a view, take a pic or just to have a breather then you can when you want,

    Use your bike for A-B transport and throw in some off road, be it a detour on route to work, or to the shops after work,

    Meeting some friends for a pint? take the bike and have some fun cycling there and home 🙂

    Cycling is an escape from the mundane things in life, and you will always feel better if you keep exercising by cycling than doing no exercise 🙂

    slackalice
    Free Member

    Wanted to go abroad with the GF, but don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to actually leave the helm for long enough to get a whole week off, but might manage a few days…

    In that case fella, you’re doing it wrong. Do I take it that your being at the ‘helm’ means you’re either the proprietor or manager? In which case, the art of good effective management is to make yourself dispensable/redundant. Seriously. How else will anyone learn responsibility and gain recognition if you don’t let it happen? If you don’t take charge of their professional development? Learn to delegate more, take time out and let your people feel like you trust them to do a good job, they’ll appreciate you more for it, as will your GF probably as she’ll see more of you.

    Either that or stop whinging. 😉

    Bedds
    Free Member

    I’m kind of the same, I ride with some great guys (including Alex from here) in the FOD, it’s where I live, but I’m losing the love of doing the stuff they do, we ride the brilliant stuff of the FOD and surrounding areas, the group are quick and often put people off.

    Thing is, I got into road riding last year and now prefer the fitness gains of road riding instead of being in the woods, I enjoy the feel of doing a 50 mile ride instead of a 20 miler. Increased fitness is good and I just enjoy being out and riding.

    I live in Ross and cycle alone on the road, I can understand where you come from to a certain extent, the thought of roading it is far more enjoyable than an mtb ride, even living in a fantastic area and even riding with a great bunch.

    I can’t bring myself to join a club and the only mate I have who road rides is too slow for me to ride with, he pootles whereas I prefer to get on with it a little 😉

    Do what makes you happy though and don’t label yourself, I get a load of stick for being a lycra wearing roadie perv, but my mates are there if I fancy a ride off road at any point. I’ve stopped calling myself an MTBer or Roadie, I’m a cyclist.. that kind of helps as did just admitting to myself that I’m not up for doing massive drops and jumps, the world didn’t end and I can stuff most of the group up any hill I just stand with the camera whilst they try to kill themselves 😉

    Give us an email if you wanna road ride, it’s only 30 minutes and Malvern is kind of midway for a ride!

    mboy
    Free Member

    All joking aside, and assuming that wasn’t you being a martyr, if you’re not being paid for working outside shop hours is that really worth it? IMO you can “go the extra mile” without having to work free overtime every day, and if there’s too much work to do that’s not fair on you. You don’t own the shop.

    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-2NimrRPAQ[/video]

    😉

    To be fair, I’m making hay whilst the sun shines… Did a normal week’s takings in one day yesterday, another good day today, 2 people coming to put hefty deposits on new bikes tomorrow… And a workshop FULL of bikes that need fixing!

    Cycling is an escape from the mundane things in life, and you will always feel better if you keep exercising by cycling than doing no exercise

    Couldn’t have put it better myself. Won’t be stopping any time soon (anytime ever I hope!) just that at the moment, in general, I’m finding a lot more motivation to get out on the road bike than the mountain bike.

    the art of good effective management is to make yourself dispensable/redundant. Seriously. How else will anyone learn responsibility and gain recognition if you don’t let it happen? If you don’t take charge of their professional development? Learn to delegate more, take time out and let your people feel like you trust them to do a good job, they’ll appreciate you more for it, as will your GF probably as she’ll see more of you.

    I totally 100% agree… You are so correct, it’s impossible to be more so. The problem is that in the bike trade, good shop staff can almost command their own wage and will go wherever is most desirable (ie. the big shops with lots of lovely brands). For me, the wages I can afford to pay, I can’t be too choosy just yet and end up on my own for 2/3 days a week… Few more weeks like this week though, and I may be able to do something about that, and start having more time for the GF and to possibly get my MTB mojo back! 🙂

    Either that or stop whinging.

    Not so much whinging, was more seeking advice from those who have experienced the same relative loss of interest for MTB on how to get it back.

    Do what makes you happy though and don’t label yourself, I get a load of stick for being a lycra wearing roadie perv, but my mates are there if I fancy a ride off road at any point. I’ve stopped calling myself an MTBer or Roadie, I’m a cyclist..

    We’re all cyclists (well those of us that ride a bike anyway)… Cycling is almost as bad as music when it comes to genres and pigeon-holing, and the sooner the prejudices subside, the better! The absolute worst prejudice I come across funnily enough, is the 26″ diehards that vehemently despise 29ers! Strange eh…

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