Has anyone just decided one day to quit riding altogether?

Suffered physical disability (chronic rheumatoid arthritis) and the pain and eventual weight gain put me off riding for a few years, unless you count self-propelled wheelchair…but always vowed to get back at it. If anything i just quit MTbing and pootled more on lanes, now getting back into mtb. Extra weight puts one off cycling.

Can’t see me ever quitting, even if was riddled with brittle bone disease or somesuch would still ride an offroad recumbent trike. In fact looking for a recumbent style for Mrs Rider as she is compromised in the bone dept. oh ye gods what. did. i. just. say.

Malvern rider- **** A. 🙂 an inspiration to us who are just bloody idle

Yeah, me.

Had an unsatisfactory affair working in bike retail.

Was so devastating I gave up and went working the festivals for three months trying to “find” myself. Not a single bike ride for 92.days.

Then I came home and it’s the best, most important part of my life.

Mostly, because it’s joy not job.

*waves at al*

I don’t have any motivation to ride mtb at the moment, I’ve been mostly riding road. went on the mtb on Saturday for the first time in about 6 months, can’t say i’m in a rush to do it again at the moment so i’ll stick to the road.

last weekend I had my first two wheel drift in a longtime. I grinned like a Cheshire cat. Its moments like that, that ocassional spark that keeps me coming back for more.

Maybe these moments in a ride are what you miss?

Been close a couple times. Very close. But all it took was a quality day out with friends and I realised how much I would miss it. I am a little worried about the move to Newcastle and riding opportunities there though…. 😐

You should Paul – here until the end of June! enough space to bring the misses as well!

I forgot to mention whilst recovering from my shoulder operation I did my motorbike license and got a sports bike which is a lot of fun! but it’s getting sold again to get something slower as it makes downhilling feel safe!

That banshee frame looks nice!

Yeah, currently not feeling the love for off-road riding. Just happy doing my 12 mile commute. I’m sure It will come back eventually. Not done a great deal since October.

Try a fat bike, no suspension so hardly any maintenance req. can go where you want it doesn’t matter if you are faster than anyone else as you will always be going more than 10 smiles an hour. My 29er hasn’t used since I bought my fat bike 🙂

chilled76 – Member

…Was wandering if anyone on here just suddenly decided one day to give up riding?..

When you feel like that it’s time to decomplicate life.

Get a singlespeed with a moderate gearing and cable disks. It won’t cost much or go obsolete if you don’t ride it, but it can happily lean against the wall waiting for when the urge takes you, and with moderate gearing you won’t be punishing yourself if you’ve lost some fitness.

With nothing to fix, it won’t be a hassle.

You should own your bikes, not them own you.

Variety is the spice of life. Over the years sometimes I can’t wait to get out other times I’m not so bothered. In the past I’ve ridden more in the winter, mid, rain and cold as I’ve been too busy in the summer. This last year I missed 6 months riding with an injury and have been working gradually back into it. Take a bit of a break, it doesn’t hurt.

Keep one.
Have a break.
Come back start again when you want to/ if you want to.

Been ill, raced about 6months ago, did it, didn’t do myself any favours in the process.
11 months on from being stuffed in hospital, just trying to get going again, can manage 8-10km on road on a rigid singlespeed on 28c tyres at the moment.
I want to ride again though. I have 2 nice hardtail frames sat here looking at me, and a full susser in bits in box keeping them company.

Been scared to go out. Now unfit and no riding legs. Rigid bike, single speed, spin around town, might try a push uphill ride along and down at the weekend 🙂

Sometimes a change is needed, come back when your ready, keep a “bike” handy for when your ready.

Go to the gym for a bit, you’ll be back in no time.

Give up?

How would i get to work?

or to the shops or more important the pub?…

Have never ever trained, raced, Strava-stats etc… or used any type of motovation thing to cycle… no interest or motovtion needed…

Did the trail centre stuff and downhill etc…and just got tired of the same bland Forest Comission scenery, esp when the countrysides seen by country roads and trails is far more interesting, each to there own though…

Ride the bikes that suit where you live and not what magazines are being payed to tell you to ride and you will have a lot more fun 😉

I fell ill 3 years ago, balance gone and all over the place for about 2 weeks, and was told i would likely develop MS, and maybe not walk etc, nevermind work and do stuff like cycling. Things never materialised from that MRI scan result over the following months and i thought all along **** that! i`m not stopping doing what i love doing!

You have one life, so go make the most of it!, there are many people who cannot…

Cycling for myself is A-B transport 90% of the time (I do drive but seldom), so just do hours and hours of cycling, i do not count it in distance-no interest really in that, but enjoy hours time involved with bicycles be it cycling or tinkering or stopped chatting to folk you meet out in the countryside who show interest in what your cycling and are also out enjoying what you are on foot 🙂

My how we all differ, I couldn’t cope if I didn’t ride my bikes, life at home is low ATM with Mrs C now having palliative treatment, my bikes are an escape, my GP says I need to ride to sustain a good mental health.

Yup me too.

I used to roadie race back in the day, long story short, I’d had enough of pulling on the front for others glory and handed the bike back in to my team after 5 years of it. Didn’t touch a bike again until about ten years ago when an ex team mate came to stay and he bought a bike down with him “to encourage me to get back on one” git 😆
It took a while to get back into it, but I did realise that I do love it really, but chose not to race or be competitive again.

I’m just back on a bike after over 18 years off. I did quite a lot of road stuff way back when then just drifted away from it and eventually got much more into fell running/orienteering. After one knackered ankle and one knackered knee, and a hefty dose of life, I bought my first ever mountain bike about two months back and am enjoying trunding around forest roads and bridleways from home, in spite of being overweight, unfit and finding out it’s a lot more technical than I ever thought. If it’s no fun any more, just give biking a rest for a while.

I had an enforced absence for a year or so – found it harder since then, but absolutely loving it at the moment. Living somewhere with great trails out the door certainly helps – driving to ride on a regular basis is a faff and would quite often stop me bothering.

As above – if you’re not loving it take a break, don’t force it.

Mojos come and go. Came back from snowboarding trip this year totally bored of it and not planning to go again. My Yamaha R1 is currently SORN, first time in 20+ years I haven’t had a road legal bike. Mtb only comes out for weekends away or holidays (Turkey in 2 weeks with Cycleactive). For the last 18 months its all been about the road for me. It started with the non-summer we had, got sick of gloopy riding and constant cleaning and maintenance, now I love being able to get straight out from my door without driving somewhere, and the ‘purity’ of it.

I may come back from Turkey all enthused with off road and I’m sure my mojo will return at some point.

I got into fell running, its just less hassle than taking the bikes out, plus you can go almost anywhere within reason.

So the bikes have just hung in the garage now for over a year, only get used when there are signs of running injury.

Yep had a lay-off for 6+ months from July last year until Feb this year.
Combination of a house renovation, followed by the death of my younger brother in October just took me away from bikes.

My Mrs bought me a turbo trainer for Christmas, which got me spinning the pedals while the weather was crappy, and I’ve got quite back into ‘proper riding’ over the last 6-8 weeks, which is good because I’ve agreed to ride from London to Mt Snowdon in September!
I’m going to try and ride weekly from now on, as I can totally see the benefits to my mental/physical health.

I’ve just bought a 29 Inbred frame and plan to sell my full bouncer and road bike and just have the Inbred for everything. Got fed up with maintaining two bikes, getting bored on the road and bashing out the miles just to stay fit enough to keep up with my mates off road. Work and other commitments means I feel like just winding the mileage dial back a bit. Will see how it goes and am looking forward to the “freedom” of riding where I want, when I want, for how long I feel like. This is my idea of a compromise rather than throwing the baby completely out.

Like someone earlier said, much harder to get back into something if you’ve dropped it completely. I’m vowing not to be a Strava slave from here on in!

Trailrider Jim – Member
I’ve just bought a 29 Inbred frame…

Get a spare set of wheels and stick 2.35″ Big Apples on them, and you will have a reasonably nippy road bike with limousine comfort.

Guarantee you’ll love it.

There are times when I think to myself “what am I doing this for?”, especially during the winter months when a ride consists of trying not to slip on wet chalk for four hours in the freezing cold.

The fact that the (mountain) bike industry is seemingly mired in a cynical cycle with ridiculous new standards designed to make a two year old bike obsolete doesn’t help either…

…and yet I ventured out on Sunday, after a downpour and got caught up in the heady scent of springtime, the vivid colours of blossoms and the sight of lambs dancing soggily on the green grass and it suddenly made sense again.

I stopped riding for about 3 years, just lost interest, besides there are more intersting things in life than riding a bike.

Back in to it again now, but still dont ride that much. I used to almost go out for the sake of it, but now pick and choose when to go and appears to be more enjoyable for it.

Whatever you do, make sure you’re doing some regular exercise. It’ll keep you healthy and sane and make it easier to get back into riding when you want to.

I mountain bike a bit, but I live in a flat flat place with a perfect car free commute to work daily, I’d be mad not to keep on riding.

Also, you are never closer to that childhood feeling of freedom than when you turn those first couple of cranks and head away from the door. Or when you are bolting along eyes streaming and wind in your hair (or what remains of it).

Bikes are great and I will continue to love them for years to come.

Have a break if you need it – sooner or later though they will call out to you!

Yup

Broke my arm for the third time in November last year, got back commuting a few months ago but “the fear” had arrived and the mojo’s gone.

Bought a boat instead. Takes a similar ammount of time, the same feeling of commitment/danger, far more physicaly draining*, costs about the same, and the added bonus of not having muddy kit everywhere.

I’ll probably get back into it at some point, but I don’t anticipate it getting back to the point where I’d say “I’m a cyclist”, just for fun in the evenings maybe. TBH I’m quite looking foreward to it.

*it’s an all over feeling rather than just the cardio/tired feeling and dull legs after a long ride.

I’ve been riding bikes on and off since ’97.

Got hooked at 13 and my life and friends revolved around bikes for three years. All of my money was spent on bikes, lunchtimes spent in the library with mates flicking though every bike mag we could get and every waking minute spent riding, even if it was just dicking about in the street manualing curbs nd bunny hopping stuff.

After a few years I got burnt out on it, got a bit older and was distracted by girls, cars, beer and going to gigs etc. Also fell into BMX and skating…both of which I was useless at. Sold my MTB to buy a BMX which was nicked at uni. Not insured and my folks wouldn’t let me claim on the house insurance so I was hopeless for the first time in eight years! I then developed a major guitar habit and forgot about bikes.

Until one summer I was sat about in the garden murdering Slayer and Metallica songs on one of my many guitars and I realised that I missed bikes so I bought an FSR and built something up. Once again, bikes were the focus of my life. Riding loads, worked in a shop, alps trips. Crap car and posh bikes. This went on from 2004 through 2009.

I had a fairly chunky pay cut at work (construction industry and the recession wasnt a nice combo). I wasn’t riding much so I decided to reduce the fleet to a single bike….a Patriot 66. I’d started to fall out of love with bikes again and I hated this bike so much that it out me off riding and before I knew it, it was broken up and sold to fund car repairs. That was it, I didn’t ride for ages.

Then in 2011, I got a Christmas bonus and randomly bought a bike frame. Built it up over a few months and was hooked again before I knew it. Downside was that I was hideously unfit but I felt like my weekends had a purpose again. Before I knew it, I had a fleet of bikes and spent most of last summer riding.

After an epic post, I’d have a break keep your fav bike and see what happens over the next few months. For me, it seems to be a hobby that I can drift away from but it pulls me back eventually. Riding different stuff helps me…last sumer was all about the road bike but I’ve barely touched it this year although I’m hoping a good ride this weekend will get the spark back.

I see nowt wrong with a nice motor either…I love cars and still get a silly grin on my face listening our 330 redline. It love not cash to have a fun car that I could tinker with.

Getting close to making that decision. Just been diagnosed with a second permanent health condition that questions the wisdom of riding. Thing is, seeing my bikes split for selling would finish me off. 🙁

Life really can be crap sometimes. 😐

I’d have to agree with Hora, bought a flat bar road bike last year (was cheap, and didn’t want to go full roadie), can go out, do 20 miles and be back home in no time, no cleaning, just a brief lube/check over, and job done.

Unless it’s with a few mates and it’s going to be a full day, loading up all the kit to drive to a trail centre just seems unnecessarily expensive and a lot of hassle.

That said, I have the black mountains, hergest ridge/radnor hills and hopton all within 1/2 hour of home………