i dont think i will be alone with this.
why the huge come down after a event or trip ?
been home 4 days, and cant bear the thought of riding my bike............ ;o(
why does this happen
Because prior to the event we were looking forward to it, and now we can’t do that any more and it leaves a space in our psyches that needs to be filled. Our brains don’t like uncertainty, so it interprets that space as sadness.
The fact that makes us a little sad is good, because that’s what motivates us to organise something else. I also find it’s generally a sign that the event/holiday/trip etc has been a good one.
Sort of.
Biggest ride for a few years yesterday, 180km from my doorstep to the top of Cairngorm ski centre.
Awesome ride, everything went perfectly other than legs finally falling off on the final climb.
But to just wake up and go back to work the next day as if nothing happened is definitely a bit of a bummer. Am just planning the next over-ambitious trip now 🙄
Ah yes, the 'happiness hangover'.
It's a thing. Currently suffering myself after an epic weekend of racing in the lakes.
Every year, upon return from an alpine trip, where almost all the elevation has been gained on the lifts or bus and the descents are long, dusty and epic, the idea of trudging up hill in the mud for a 90 second drop, then cleaning filthy bikes in the cold, seems much less appealing that it did before the trip. Work even less so.
It is totally a thing.
Loads of excitement in the build up, not getting too excited so you crash on the first run etc.
Then you are there - normal life is on the back burner for X days. You are most likely doing better riding than you have locally, probably with your mates and with some beers and chat along the way.
Then 'BAM!'
It is over. You are trailing around after the kids tidying up after them, back at work. The little escape is over.
We had a fantastic weekend (Thu-Sun) at the Golfie. Now I'm just starting day 2 back at work and the mood is low. It just is.
There is some consolation (quite a lot, really) in having been able to do the trip in the first place, but the first couple of days after are a downer, that is for sure.
TBH it isn't just going away riding. Family holidays are similar. We rarely argue as a family on hols - most of the time there isn’t much to argue about without the normal daily deadlines and rush.
And breathe...
In 2010 I went from 6 months of bumming around in North America including 4 months of working and riding in Whistler, back to living in my parents house in Sunderland and working in a bike shop.
That particular come down nearly ended me. I still have dreams/nightmares about it.
Same as akers...
It ruins the experience here in the uk.... normally takes me 5 to 6 weeks to start enjoying local riding again
Back to life, back to reality innit.
Yep, or "un-reality".
I get this all the time after skydiving; the next day at work feels so false that dealing with people and normal problems is really difficult. It somehow feels normal to be looking at the world through a lens of rapidly approaching the ground from a great height and staring at a screen feels pointless.
Had this after finding a WW2 bomber wreck up a mountain. First time I'd ever really experienced it, post operational tours I always had an odd feeling for a week or so, but I always put that down to the change in reality rather than anything else.
But the plane wreck took some time to get over.
Yep, totally get this. I live in Suffolk and after riding very flat XC loops, then having a weekend to Wales/FoD/somewhere with hills and proper trails, it always takes a few days to pick myself up again.
Adrenaline - it's a hell of a drug!
I get it too, no idea what the answer is but I tend to start planning my next trip as soon as I get home.
i still want to ride my bike after a trip, but returning to normal life is extra dull.
it’s your brain adjusting to the changes in the dopamine and endorphin levels, i think.
arrange another trip and get back on your bike!
I was on the same trip as MoiMoi up there. Brilliant weekend where you can park real life in a lay-by for a few days. The trip away is always better than the trip back too.
I don't tend to get this and after a 4 month ride last summer was glad to be home
Weirdly, I’m the other way.
The build up, the training and the prep is the fun bit. The event itself is often an anticlimax after all the build up.
It doesn’t help that I always set high goals for myself and I am super critical of my performances. Rarely I am I happy with how I performed, there’s always more to be had.
