Over the last year or so my passion for cycling has hit an all time low
I force myself out to stop me getting fat(ter)
I try to commute most days 10 mile each way and ride on a Monday and Wednesday evening with a ride at the weekend
It has come at a bad time as I have planned an Alps trip later in the year
Am I doing too much and need a break or should I go down to one bike that will do it all
I currently have a Yeti 575
Evil Sovereign as a fat front singlespeed
Vassago Jabberwocky 29er rigid singlespeed
And a road bike
The majority of my riding is local (warwickshire) on one of the singlespeeds with the odd trip up to the Peak District,North Wales, Cannock and the Forest of Dean on the Yeti
I was thinking along the lines of ditching all the bikes and getting one to do it all
Maybe a singlespeedable long travel hard tail would fit the bill, keeping kit to run it rigid every now an again

What do you reckon before I Dutch the lot and take up golf
I really want to keep a bike, and as I never ride the road bike I reckon I could go down to one mountain bike
I have never had mojo loss like this in over 10years of riding
Any ideas/advice welcome. Ta

Ditch the road bike and stick some suspension forks on the sov and a corresponding front wheel. I can’t see the point in growing down to one MTB as it is always a compromise especially if you like ss and geared.

You do ride a lot and maybe that is the problem. Have a couple of weeks off and go for a short fun ride in decent weather. If you force yourself to ride, for whatever reason, you will never enjoy it.

Dont commute as much , maybe its becoming like a chore and associated with working not pleasure?

Ride somewhere different, something challenging. Get away for a day opr a weekend, do an uplift, anything like that. Lot of variety in mountain biking.

Take some time off from MTB and try something different for a few months and see if you want to get back on it when the weather improves.

Tom kp

Flog the lot and get a cx. Hth

It’s a dip. Go with it and don’t let it become a big deal. Nearly everyone has this happen if they’ve been riding for long enough. Don’t ditch the bikes. Just store them for a few months.

Matt, I take a sabbatical every year of 6 weeks non biking, this normally takes up my busiest period at work, make sure they’re all put away ready to go for that first ride.
Do something different, be it swimming or walking, don’t go to where you would normally ride, a proper break from bikes will help the mojo come back.
I’ve just come back to riding in the past 4 weeks after the wettest Mendip winter, off road would have been gopping.
All frozen and fast now and fitness coming back.

I am facing the exact same issue; major and significant “cannot be arsed” factor. However, I know the cause. It’s because I did two amazing rides over two years which were just so good, I can’t get the enthusiasm to get on the bike for anything less; apart from my daily commute. Those two rides were the Raid Pyrenees and the Raid Apline; on a road bike. At heart I am, and probably will always be, a mtb rider; but those two rides were just so far off the dial of excellent I now find it hard to do anything; once you’ve done a massive multi-day mountain road trip, your average 3-5 hour road or mtb ride just seems like a drag. So, my advice is to end up like me; to have lost your mojo due to unrepeatably fantastic road rides. To put this in perspective (massive roadie content warning) I have a 15.2 lb Cervelo R3 in the shed that I built up 3 weeks ago, and I’ve not yet ridden it. I need a shrink, quick. Good luck.

Woah! A 15.2lb Cervelo R3? 😯 pull yourself together man.

Not sure I’ve heard of a ride being so good that it stopped someone riding. Those must have been astoundingly good experiences.

An especially bad road ride took me off my bikes for over a year: A 40 mile hellish slog into a headwind and then through 60 miles of torrential rain in the hills and mountains. I was out of it for a week. That alone wouldn’t have done it, but the constant rain last year just put the tin lid on it. That, and building a house in last year’s rain with a river constantly flooding in the garden. Fun fun fun 😉

Cheers for the replies.
I think that the road bike will go whatever the out come.
Gonna try a big ride tomorrow in Wales, see how I goes.
If not will have a few weeks off and try again
Cheers

Abit bloody obvious but commuting is soul destroying.

My commute is 60% off road and I actually enjoy the early morning commute
Although the way home is a different story
I think overbiking combined with my insomnia isn’t helping
I will have couple of weeks off the commute to start with I think until the better weather returns, maybe

I love the way people’s replies tell you more about themselves than anything else – ‘this is what I’m like…’ Everyone’s wired differently. For everyone who hates commuting by bike there’s someone who lives for it etc.

But if you’re forcing yourself to ride, then what’s the point? Personally I’d think about approaching your riding slightly differently and ride the bike to ride the bike rather than seeing it as something you have to do. Just focus on the feeling of it and the sounds and the smells of riding instead of seeing it as a means to an end, like getting to work for example. Or keeping your weight down.

I know that sounds a bit pretentious, but try it. If you do think negative stuff, just acknowledge it and carry on riding.

I’m not sure what selling all your bikes bar one will achieve? Are you punishing yourself because you don’t deserve them? Or hoping just having one bike will make you more focussed on riding? Are you punishing the bikes for not being what you want them to be?

It sounds like you’re trying awfully hard – you use the words ‘trying’ , ‘force myself’, etc. But having fewer bikes won’t change that, it’ll just mean you have fewer bikes.

Anyway, that’s just my take. It might help, it might not. I’ve toyed with the idea of a single ti hardtail with biggish, lightish forks and a sort of modular wheel-set collection – light and fast, a bit burlier etc – plus a cross bike with road and off-road wheels and I figure I could manage quite happily with those, but besides cleaning up clutter, I’m not sure whether it would affect my actual riding experience.

Have fun 🙂

Yep just coming out of the same thing zero mojo to ride,I put a similar thread up in January and I’ve got say the best advice I can give is to just stop for a while and then just find some fun short rides plenty of singletrack etc, even if its only five mile ones a couple of times a week. For me I started to find the self imposed pressure to ride was getting to much combine that with riding buddy’s who are 10/15 years younger really messed with my head! Good luck with sorting it and I’m sure it will come back it has started for me.

I would keep the Yeti.

But I would give it a few months before flogging any of them.

It’s legal not to ride you know. Try it for a bit and see what your mojo does?

I know over the years ive had this many times,...due to injury, time of year, general life pressures... ol yeah and age!! lol Everything i do now is in moderation... I enjoy what i do coz i decided it was for fun nothing else... Ive found in the past i got cault up with pressures of a group, club etc etc… i now do want i want when i want… and dont feel guilty when a dont!!

don`t worry batman11 you still got this ol ticker to keep you warm!!!

I’m with BWD on this. Take it easy on yourself. Good luck

If commuting is doing your head in, get the bus. You’ll soon remember why you rode. Maybe set little challenges to yourself, like going for personal bests on the way home, or managing a trackstand at “that” set of traffic lights. Makes it more than just riding for the sake of it, and it makes you stronger and more skilful when you’re out on the mtb just for a bit of fun.

Discovering new stuff can help too. After a bit of time looking on the map I found a great new (to me) descent in my local hills and only yesterday I found some new lines in the woods. Both these things get me excited to get out on the bike.

Mojo update.
Changed things around.
More gym and only commute 3 times a week. I use strava to challenge myself on he way in, with a couple of local KOM’s to keep me on my toes
I vary the bikes and routes I use and the roadie has gone
Seems strange how I get the KOM on the fat front SS rather than the geared bike though

A couple of dry rides locally, a guided Woburn loop and a solo fat front Llandegla loop has got it up to about 75% mojo
I am now struggling why I can’t get on with 29ers now FFS
Have kept the local rides to short blasts on fun stuff rather than 30/40 mile rides
I’ll get there

Cheers for the replies