Viewing 27 posts - 41 through 67 (of 67 total)
  • Winter motivation
  • chakaping
    Free Member

    +1 for proper mudguards. Pure luxury.

    Winter bike pictured yesterday…

    saxabar
    Free Member

    Really enjoying the cross bike at the mo. More diversity than roady, without commitment of MTB. Good fun to be had mixing up road stretches with normally unchallenging mtb trails. Can’t say I’m pushing myself as hard as I do with the roady, but I am having fun!

    lunge
    Full Member

    If you do buy a winter bike, make sure it’s one that you actually enjoy riding. I got very put off riding one winter as the bike I had bought was dull, boring and no fun to ride.

    In the end I downgraded a summer bike and rode that, it has no guards or other winter essentials but it’s fast and I love riding it so that means I’m more likely to venture out.

    chum3
    Free Member

    If you’re struggling for motivation to ride, don’t ride. Either time off the bike will make you miss it, and give you the motivation, or it won’t, in which case time to do something else, and perhaps come back to it in the spring. That’s OK – you don’t have to ride ALL the time.

    For me, the motivation is the knowledge that any significant breaks from riding means I’ll lose fitness, which has taken quite a bit of effort to build up. That, and knowing that my racing buddies will be training, and I don’t want to fall behind.

    A coach once said to me “the hardest step when training, is the one out the front door”. Rings true to me…

    gatsby
    Free Member

    +1 for proper mudguards. Pure luxury.
    Winter bike pictured yesterday…

    A Ribble? On Parbold Hill?? And the sniper positioned on the top of Dolan Towers didn’t get you??? 😉

    As others have said, it’s all about the kit. There’s not such thing as bad weather if you have good kit.

    I was off the bike for 3 months this year after a bad crash, so I bought a pair of winter road shoes, a new rain jacket, and I’ve been praying for the weather to turn!!

    Seriously, it’s always the first 10 minutes that are the toughest. After that sudden moment when you feel the cold water running down between your arse cheeks, it never gets any worse.

    I rode yesterday in storm-force winds and driving rain, and in a perverse sort of way, I loved every minute of it!

    The Sunday club group was whittled down to a hardcore of 4 by the weather forecast… We set off as friends and came home a band of brothers, reveling in the Strava hero kudos from all the wusses that could only manage a sufferfest or trainerroad sesh.

    I love winter riding!

    gypsumfantastic
    Free Member

    Going against the grain somewhat, take some time off a week, a month, six weeks it doesn’t matter. Uninstall strava so you’re not being bombarded by other people doing four rides a week and put your feet up read a book, learn to cook somthing new or do absolutely nothing if that’s what takes your fancy.

    If you’re anything like me then the pressure to be out riding will be something you put on yourself and then when you don’t go out riding you feel worse and it becomes a vicious cycle.

    Go out and ride if you want to and when the spring comes around your motivation will be picking up again right about the time when you’ll want to be upping the milage for summer goals. It’s pointless sickening yourself just because you feel you _have_ to go out.

    There’s nothing that sucks the joy out of something faster than when a ‘want to do’ becomes a ‘have to do’

    hooli
    Full Member

    +1 for making plans with other people.

    I have all good intentions of a solo night ride, until I get through the front door and decide it is too <insert lame excuse here>. If I have plans with other people, I just get on with it and always feel so much better for it.

    grannyjone
    Free Member

    Did my first proper mountain bike ride today in ‘proper’ Winter conditions after not going on the bike for a week due to lack of motivation with the poor weather. It was bad overall. Couldn’t believe how much harder it is now. It felt rediculously slow, uncomfortable and hard work. I felt like I was getting a constant head wind all the way round. It was miserable and grey. It was wet and muddy as hell. I got a puncture in a particularly cold and windy place and it was horrendous trying to fix it. Hands covered in mud and shit trying to get the tyre on/off as well. The ride felt like a killer and a lot of back ache yet it was only 18 miles. If this is what Winter riding is all about I can understand why I was doing 10X less riding last Winter than Summer.
    Plus its not even proper Winter yet, when you add the much colder temperatures ontop of all this crap its going to get even worse.

    asdfhjkl
    Free Member

    Some of my recent, horrible weather rides have been the best fun I’ve had on the bike all year. When the weather’s too grim for a ride (or when there’s not enough daylight) I go running instead.

    ashleydwsmith
    Free Member

    Gypsum, that is exactly where I’m at. I feel I’m putting pressure on myself to ride as I have an expensive bike in the shed and should be using it. Then when I don’t I get angry with myself.

    Yes I am the guy that was and still is a bit down, haven’t managed to talk to anyone and wondering where my life is going and if I’m a let down to the people around me. But upon reflection although I’m not in an amazing place I have a lot less to worry about than some people in the world so need to be happy with what I have.

    Whathaveisaidnow
    Free Member

    Join your local gym.

    I’ve ridden to mine this morning, brought a bmx off ebay, chuck on as hoody, get on the path n get yourself there. Really enjoy it!

    I did balk at the steps to the bike rack though, I really should have rode them

    DT78
    Free Member

    Get decent lights, decent kit and set yourself a challenge. Last 2 years I’ve done the Rapha 500 which is tough in wind, ice and rain. To do the final 50 miles on New Year’s Eve I drove out to the forest and went up and down a straight stretch of road for 2.5 hours watching the sunset and the stars come out….New Years beers were earned.

    This year I have a kiddy taking all my time, so I’ve bought a kickr and looking at trainerroad and zwift for some motivation. Zwift seems okay for the ‘just going for a ride’ whilst trainerroad will replace my suffer fest sessions

    tenfoot
    Full Member

    wondering where my life is going and if I’m a let down to the people around me

    I feel like that most of the time too, and I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but riding my bike really does help.

    Try and find some new routes, to give you something new to do. I spent half of Friday night working out a route in my head for Saturday morning, that a) was around 30 miles, and b) would be suitable for a bit of on and a bit of off-road.

    I really enjoyed the ride, and came back feeling energised.

    EDIT: As DT78 said, maybe set yourself a challenge. This month I am trying to do the climbing 6000 m in a month on Strava

    Bregante
    Full Member

    Having previously had a Turbo Trainer which barely saw any use I really struggle to motivate myself to get out and ride in the filthy weather, especially when other time constraints would usually limit me to a road ride rather than a mountain bike ride.

    I signed up to Zwift about 10 days ago having taken the plunge on a used Elite Turbo Muin off here and I’m absolutely loving it. It’s properly grim outside this morning and there is no way I would have gone out today but I’ve just put 30 miles in. All while the kids are playing in the other room and the Mrs is having a lie in. It’s brilliant and properly addictive so I reckon my winter motivation is sorted this year.

    FOG
    Full Member

    Oh no! I have ignored all the good advice on here and bottled an event today! I got up at 7 loaded the car got a few miles down the road until the howling gale blowing rain like shotgun pellets made me turn round and come home. Of course now I feel really bad. the wind and rain are still going at it but I really should have given it a shot. My only excuse is that I rode for 3 hours on Thursday in p***ing rain and didn’t enjoy it much .
    I am now really getting on Mrs FOGs nerves , shuffling about, staring wistfully out of the window, sighing etc.
    If I am not careful I will spend a large amount of money while sat here at the computer just to make me feel I should ride. In fact I may go to the garage and measure the clearance for some wider rims……

    stevenmenmuir
    Free Member

    I’m shit at manualling but puddles are a great motivator for practising. And in general if you can get out and ride when conditions are bad you’ll be flying when it gets better. Having others to ride with helps me when it’s like this, too easy to stay in unless you’ve made plans to ride with others.

    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    It’s properly grim outside this morning and there is no way I would have gone out today but I’ve just put 30 miles in

    😀

    How many laps of the front room was that?

    chipsngravy
    Free Member

    BMX + indoor skatepark on miserable weather days.

    MTB on the crisp cold winter days (when winter really kicks in)

    No to turbo, no to the gym.

    Keep it fun.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    All the motivation I need
    [url=https://flic.kr/p/BBucjo]The Tree[/url] by Colin Cadden, on Flickr

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/BudkYs]Nates – More smile(y)s per mile[/url] by Colin Cadden, on Flickr

    Dibbs
    Free Member

    The monthly Strava climbing challenges have been my motivation this year.
    One more to go ?

    deanfbm
    Free Member

    I’m in the “i have to go out riding” camp, trying to break the habit so i’m in the “i want to go riding” camp, tough though.

    Getting too much into treating it as a chore that i have to do or else i’m going to become weak and unfit, but it’s when i’m having fun that i get strong and fit.

    Glad to see some of the responses saying you don’t HAVE to go riding, trying to teach myself this.

    beano68
    Free Member

    +1 Strava Challenges .. got 6 this month, for bike and running’ never used them before and its certainly gives me the boost to get out … roll on December

    nathanial
    Free Member

    A useful trick I learned was to make the first step of any process as easy as possible just to gain some momentum. In this instance it could be ´get dressed in cycle gear´ at the absolute minimum. Once that arduous task is complete, pat yourself on the back and go back to what you were doing. Next day add ´leave house with bike and cycle 1km´ and make progress from there.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Actually been enjoying riding in the rain and cold lately, but I was buggered if I was going to head out on the road in that wind today.

    Maybe Mtb tomorrow though.

    sirromj
    Full Member

    Commuting and not having a car helps

    Sure does, I’m really enjoying cycling every week day… Though might be a different story if commute wasn’t only 4 miles each way… and I didn’t live down south in a coastal town.

    corroded
    Free Member

    It’s difficult. I’ve got a 100km mtb race in February (in Australia) so I need to stay in shape (relatively…) for December and January. But it’s tough to maintain form throughout the worst months. I sacked off a ride today because the trees were bent double. It might have done some good to go out but I was weak (and hungover). I don’t do turbos and can’t see how I can get hard miles in over the winter. I’d recommend a spring target – last year a bunch of us signed up for Paris-Roubaix (can do it on mtbs or road bikes) and it was a brilliant incentive (and a great ride). But mid-Feb for a hot mtb ride, that’s different.

    djflexure
    Full Member

    December is usually a less hectic work month for me so I try and get my life in general back on track. Once I embrace the cold, dark, wet rides I quite like it. Safety is the only concern but again once I’m out it usually feels Ok.
    If I can get hold of a little bit of form in Dec then then I feel ahead of the game in Jan Feb – more positive.
    Also if I manage to commute on the bike (I have not for a few years but did my first on Fri) then its a game changer in terms of how at ease I feel with myself.

Viewing 27 posts - 41 through 67 (of 67 total)

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