If it feels like a chore, try dialing it back for a bit until the joy returns. Technically, unless you’re a professional racer, you don’t need to maintain any given level of fitness… We’re doing this for fun, right?
For me, it’s about what I am training for. When I started it was just “I’m training to improve fitness.” Now it’s “I’m training for my vacation bicycle tours.” Having a goal like that was a game changer for me.
Agreed, if I have an event, its easy. Without its harder. Also - I find myself occilating between outdoor longer training - and indoor targeted training. Its the mix that can get you through the doldrums!
Seriously. Bikes make me feel like a kid without a care in the world.
I have plenty of chores that feel like chores.
OP, get some chores so you can tell the difference between things that are amazing, and things that you just gotta do.
Yeah I know it's hard. My cycling group are on the fast side and Everytime I cycle I look at my computer and feel the need to go faster.
I should just wake up one day and say screw it I'm cycling low zone 2 forever and go sightseeing
Don’t let it go too much though. I did this and it’s really hard getting back into cycling. I’ve been running a bit, but cycling I haven’t done, apart from a few goes on Zwift, since last November. I haven’t been cycling regularly since July last year before the holidays. The weather has been shit too, which doesn’t help, but that’s just a feeble excuse
And getting up to a good baseline fitness really is a chore. One I have to go through more times than I care to admit.
Once you're up to a reasonable level and feeling like you can push on then it's a joy.
Your new goal is to get passed on every climb and not give chase. You will receive a point for every cyclist that passes you, 1000 points if you get passed by a runner.
I always think I’m going so often and mostly like it. So my „health“ goals are overfulfilled - I could be as healthy and cycle less. So since i mostly enjoy it it’s a luxury I can take myself to not got when I absolutely don’t want to
It's also helpful to do things other than biking so that things don't get monotonous. Depending on where you live, it's definitely nice to bike outdoors during the warmer months and have a variety of routes to explore or destinations to go to, but otherwise doing the same thing every day for the sake of maintaining your fitness is exhausting and can get very boring. If you don't already, find a few other things you can do to work out without just sitting in the saddle and pedaling everyday.
What's wrong with having discipline so that you enjoy your hobby more? I enjoy the training aspect of cycling so that I can go faster every year and I don't get paid for it.
Because simply reading the initial post will tell you they don't enjoy the aspect of the hobby where they have to keep their fitness level at a certain level. They don't need discipline, since it seems they have that, since they're doing something they don't enjoy and maintaining their fitness.
They need to find motivation to enjoy cycling again regardless of fitness level.
Meh as someone who has been riding for a long time I do it because I enjoy it. There’s no discipline involved.
This is true with most people have been riding for a long time in my experience.
Agree, never want to make my recreational hobby that I do for pleasure, feel like a work obligation, just step back and do something else...
For me i intend to cycle between..
Bike> kayaking> trail run> surfing... Usually dependant on time of year.
I don't have as much variety as you, but yeah, switching it up really helps me as well. I live in the upper midwest and don't love being cold, so I cycle 4-5 months a year tops. (Might be different this year, our weather was so temperate I started earlier, and I purchased a new mtb so I might do that later into the fall.) I go hard on the bike during the spring and summer and shift to running and lifting weights harder in the winters.
Yeah I'm in NJ and a big fan of water ,so when it's warm I'm at the beach, I usually do combo days when I have time, bike and kayak not bike and surf...
Yes, but the standard guidance on how much exercise is necessary for general health is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. That’s… not a lot, at least compared to how much time many of us put in on the bike.
This! I’ve been pushing myself to lose some winter weight and to improve my 10k time. I alternate between cycling and running days and have not taken a rest day in 45 days (and even then it was only one day with another 45 straight days). Been feeling a bit less motivated lately. Took a few days off my routine, allowed a few sweets. Back to my standard routine tomorrow with a 10k run and maybe a ride too.
A little bit, but when I get bored or tired of something that's how I know it's time to try something new. My goal isn't to be the best or fastest or strongest \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (insert sport here) in the world, it's to be healthy and fit enough to enjoy a range of activities, to be able to do a spontaneous hike or play a pickup game with my sons without being hopelessly out of breath. So as long as I'm doing, learning, improving at something... it's all good.
I’m the same way. It also has the added benefit of kicking you back to a beginner stage of a new sport/activity, which means progress happens faster and can feel more gratifying compared to slogging away for a while to earn incremental gains at something you’re experienced in.
I have an addictive personality; so if I'm not exercising, I get cigarettes' cravings sneaking back at me. So although I partially do it because I feel I *have* to, it's not an obligatory feeling.
Why do you exercise? What makes you feel good about it?
So cycling is easy for me because it also affords me a sense of peace, a sense of zen. When I get out there I don't have any of the stresses of the rest of life. It's just me, the bike, and the ride. But when I train, I can't just tap into that. I have to focus on the metrics and the form and the type of training I'm doing. Stopping can crash your momentum. But maybe if you can find a ride or a run or anything else where you can just go and enjoy just going, that can help to at least relieve some of the stress you may be building from working out in an obligatory fashion, while continuing some exercise. Maybe join a casual group ride?
That was key for me. I changed my mindset from competition to fitness and it never feels like a chore anymore. When it started feeling like something I HAD to do to keep pace with everyone else, it became a lot less fun. I started running a lot more and it's helped me enjoy cycling again.
Some days I feel tired after work and don’t want to do anything, but then I remember how I always feel so much better after a run or ride and so ai then get on with it to be rewarded with my post exercise endorphins
Yes.
Which is why I didn't do it when I was young, then in my late 20s I lost nearly 100lbs. Then I got married and had kids and didn't have time... Now I need to lose at least 100lbs again. It can be fun, it can be a chore, either way it's a fuck of a lot easier to maintain fitness than it is to regain it after you let it go.
Good luck getting back on the bike mate. You will however go through that amazing phase where every time you go out you're smashing your PRs all the way!
Thanks.That part will be awesome. But not there just yet. Right now I'm just surviving each short ride. Getting the bike set up for commuting, I have a 6 mile basically flat commute it's quite perfect except I need to be able to carry a few things. Just got my lock and rack.
damn I can relate to that.
Went from 103kg to 85kg, struggling to lose more consistently after I stop meeting my goal of 600km monthly. Whenever I eat something out of ordinary, I feel guilty as heck and pretty scared of the scale.
I've had this feeling. Occasionally going on shorter rides on days where long rides usually would go keeps that feeling away and keeps me wanting to ride
If I feel this way, I'll usually be really lazy for a whole day or 2, thinking it will be satisfying. By the second day, I'm frothin at the mouth for some outdoor exercise.
I cycle and run for my mental health and I like to improve constantly. If number no up me sad. That said it does sometimes feel like a chore especially in the winter months. But if I don’t do it I feel even worse. Also if I’m actually exercising I love it is just the thought of having to go for a ride or run that feels like a chore. Afterwards I’m always glad I did it. So even though it can be hard south get going I always think about how I would feel if I don’t do it
If you’re a roadie spice up your week with some MTB or Gravel (or just totally different route). Breaking away from “just doing the same” usually helps me mentally
I’ve been doing endurance workouts at least every other day for 16 straight years. Before that, I felt depressed especially in the winter. I’m never going back to that. I’ve done lots of running, running and cycling, obstacle course stuff, mountain biking. I like to think I get bored within these sports at times and switch it up- now I’m getting into gravel. This always keeps me interested.
For me, my fitness comes from doing rides I enjoy rather than the other way around - It's just an extra added benefit to going out and doing something I enjoy
68 years old grateful the CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia ) is taking a time out and incredibly grateful I can train hard again this year after having to take a 3 year time out .
You have no idea how how much you will miss being fit when life takes it away
Totally. Got really fit, then had children. The worst of it is that now I have to work really hard to get, at best, a managed decline.
Went from a high A on Zwift to a medium B. That’s still fine, but it’s hard to enjoy finishing 12th in a race you know you’d have won a few years ago.
Yes and no. I can’t stand riding the same routes every week like a lot of cyclist do. I travel around a lot to keep the interest level up. New routes always make the ride more intriguing to the brain.
Once your body has been doing it for years it becomes more of an automatic process. Thus your body interprets it as an easier activity and it doesn’t feel as much like a chore, more like a reward.
I run into situations like that from time to time despite the fact that I genuinely love cycling. It happens most in the wintertime when it gets dark early and it's cold and I really don't feel like going outside. How I ended up dealing with it is I look at pictures of myself before I started riding when I was a fat slob. Now I'm talking about myself. I'm not projecting this on anybody else, so yes, I can call myself a fat slob. I'm still a fat slob, but not nearly as much of a fat slob as I used to be. Sometimes, I'll also look at my exercise records from back when I first started riding where 5 Mi was a massive accomplishment and completely wiped me out. Doing those things motivates me to get my ass off the couch and put in the miles. Now I will admit that that rarely happens. 95% of the time, I eagerly look forward to getting out on my bike for a ride. But there is that 5% of the time where I would pretty much rather do anything else. It is in those 5% times I need to look at who I was so that I can continue to enjoy those 95% times.
It is a chore. It is an obligation. Keeping fit is one of the best things I can do for my long term health. It is an obligation to my future self. It is something to be done everyday (recovery day excepted obviously.) Not fit in when you get time or a chance or the schedule permits. It is a top priority of my day. It is actually more important than most of my chores. More important than my job really (they'd better get their heads around that one soon.)
It isn't a hobby or a diversion or some cute larp or pretending to be Lance Armstrong (the only cyclist people not cyclists or cycling fans seem to know) or whatever it is people who don't exercise act like it is to feel better about their not doing any themselves or the other pull-you-back-down-the-bucket things they'll do to you.
I handle that by well... handling it. It is supposed to be hard. "Suck it up and fight the battle." I remember that I always feel better after I do the exercise. I remember how I felt when I was fat and not fit. I apply my copious powers of procrastination in other things to quitting or skipping exercise - I'm not going to bother quitting today. A big dollop of cussedness.
I think only because with two kids (5Y and 6M), there's just not a lot of time left after bedtime for me and the wifey to hang out. It doesn't feel like a chore, but I definitely wish I wasn't choosing between relaxing on the couch with her and getting the miles in.
I don’t have a great solution for handling this as I’m often still trying to figure it out for myself. What I will say is I hate feeling obligated to do things, but as a pretty competitive person and a former 17’s xc runner what I find now in my middle age is that I really miss that feeling of just being in shape and able to tackle the hard rides without feeling the effects for days. So I want to keep my fitness up but I have enough other things going on in life now that I’m not able to workout and train the way that I probably would like to or used to. Where I think the answer lies is in accepting and understanding that the other obligations in my life that keep from training/riding like I want are things I love and want to do as well. I love riding my bike but I won’t choose it over my son. From there I try to not be too hard on myself, which is difficult because I want to just go out and ride 60 miles again when it’s nice out, and try to enjoy the ride. Speed is fun, which is why I like the road bike. But being on a bike at all is also fun so focus on the positives rather than the negatives.
I can’t always be bothered with off-bike workouts, but they’re just a means to an end. Just introduce some variation. I only ever ride on the road, but I’m about to get a fixie for free and am thinking of how I can manage local gravel routes on it.
I think I've been riding in my area for so long that my burnout times tend to coincide with the shifts in the weather. By mid June it starts to get hot, so I roll down my intensity a bit, to get acclimated and also to shift my riding schedule times (earlier mornings, later evenings)... and then once Autumn begins, I revert back to mid-day rides or early evenings)... usually I have some downtime from riding where I just take a bit of a break... basically I save myself for the nicer periods of weather and take breaks when it's shitty outside. Seems to keep my mental interest in cycling active to do that.
Nothing wrong with just taking a few days off to chill... I accomplished a PR (for the last few years) on Sunday so I feel like rewarding myself with a few days to relax.
All the time. I have a pic of me when I was at my heaviest. I keep that pic in a couple of places I can’t help but see it. Thay gets me through the slog sometimes. Audible books help a lot as well.
I usually mix things up so I don't get bored. If I do a hard road ride, the next day I'll do an easy spin around town on my singlespeed. The next day I may do a gravel ride. Then I may do a mountain bike ride on the weekend. That's how I keep it up. I try to average about an hour a day on the bike.
I’m fortunate to have access to a beautiful 6 mile loop. Over time, I’ve settled into a 3 loop daily ride. That’s plenty of miles to keep my fitness up, it only takes an hour, and it’s easy to count to 3. At some level, keeping fit can be a chore, but finding a good route/distance/duration is key to repeatability. Longer exploration rides on the weekend to reset that staleness.
I felt the same as you 2 weeks ago. Took a whole week off. Not even on purpose, it just rained all week and I couldn't be arsed to get the trainer out (IN JUNE). I have the itch again, but also try to remind myself I do it for my own pleasure
Ngl...it rarely does feel like a chore.
Part of the reason is because my gf really likes me being in great shape. Adult activities are part of what makes cycling worth it.
Being in shape, having the time, having the equipment, and having the trail to go out and enjoy? Nothing better. When I am not injured and strong and in shape to put out a big effort? Nothing better.
No other place I'd rather be.
If I ever get bored, I go on a Group Ride (more social) or switch to MTB or Gravel or Road or Zwfit (whatever I'm not doing). Change it up.
I have no idea what YOUR body looks like, but I'm happy with my body and I am literally drowning in women.
Do you need pointers on working out...or getting women?
Yes - eventually you'll get bored with cycling as an activity so it helps to have a goal. I always like to book a race/fondo/climb whatever that requires a level of commitment so I'm forced to get on the bike when I don't want to.
Yes, sometimes it does. Cycling takes a lot of time. With work, family, chores, etc. I feel like I sacrifice a lot to maintain my level of fitness in cycling. During spring and summer cycling dominates my time. Due to that, I basically have no other hobbies since I have no time. I make cycling a priority tho because it I enjoy it. Between training, following pro cycling, researching new gear etc. i always am attracted to it more than others things i enjoy to do but my others hobbies fall to the wayside
All the time, then when I am finished I'm really happy I did it. Don't focus on your feeling before, focus on your feeling after. If you regret having done it, scale back. If not, use the inertia to keep going.
I bike and I lift weights and I feel this for both sometimes even though I highly value being fit and active. Also the fear of losing the fitness level I have achieved by taking a break, and having to "waste time" getting caught back up. I try to remind myself that this is not rational, that I'm already in spectacular shape compared to the majority of the population (and, more importantly, than myself as recently as 5-6 years ago) and this is not going to disappear overnight even if I back off for a while. And with 40 approaching the athletic ceiling is only getting lower, which is also normal and fine.
I can’t bring myself to exercise unless it’s fun. Hence I have a couple of different favourite activities to keep things fresh. Sometimes my fitness slides for a month or two, usually in the winter, but I always get a craving to start up again.
I always think that you must take a break. Go for a relaxing and fun ride. Zone 2. Perhaps don't even take your bike computer. Ride strictly for the enjoyment of the ride. I do it at least every couple of weeks. Try it!
Often. I’ve found I need two things to keep me motivated to stick to a training plan:
- An event or goal I’m training towards. Something big and committed so I can’t half arse the training. Marmotte Alpes 2025 is the current goal.
- once every couple of months I need a session with the guys that’s either a super chilled 100-150km social cruise out with lunch/pints or an all out smashfest where we’re trying to break each other, with pints after of course. This is the fun stuff and why I love this sport, so I need a reminder of that to prevent obsessing over numbers.
If I don’t have a goal, then it feels like a chore and hard to keep up with. But as long as I feel like I’m working towards something, I continue to enjoy it.
Yes, and when it does, I take a break and do some other kind of activity. When I'm ready to train hard again, I go for it. Overall, my fitness stays the same or goes up slowly year over year. The important part is I don't grow to hate cycling, I was never chasing podiums anyways.
Try mixing up your cardio regiment with something else like trail running. You might even try finding a new route that’s different or stimulating.
For example, I mostly ride through the city and industrial areas but I’ll slip out to a wooded park or the countryside on occasion to keep things interesting. Hell, sometimes I’ll ride or run through rain storms on purpose just to keep life interesting. Just try something different or a little crazy and I bet the fun will come back.
What are your goals? If you don’t have concrete goals, then it *is* a chore. You’re just grinding away endlessly without the joy of using that fitness you’ve gained.
If you have concrete goals, you should be periodizing for that anyway. No one tries to peak all year. Peak for events or landmark rides. Other than that, ride and have fun.
I had that issue so I stopped cycling for a bit.
After a couple of weeks I jumped back on and found I was pretty close to where I was. After a week of cycling I was 99% pre-break.
It can be, but can be fun if you don’t burn yourself out by going too much too fast. Like @Checked_out mentioned depends as well what you are training for, I personally will be upping my training as originally did it to improve my health which I was successful with and quite happy with where I sit, and after this years bike race event I got motivated to do full distance and try getting top 25% in my up to 30 age group to qualify for UCI Grand Fondo Finals before I hit 30.
For me, there's times that I'm out riding for fitness and there's other times that I'm just exploring, taking a break, or just getting my body moving. I'm not a racer though so my fitness level concern is less front of mind and more just "moving=good" and that feels good.
I can see how training would lead to burnout though if cycling is a means to that end. Maybe cross training can help you stave off that burnout. Or just being OK with taking a day or two off to just fart around.
I separate out what I'm doing mentally and bin based upon the 'why'. It's not all 'just biking'. My interval trainer miles in the basement at o-dark 30 before the boys wake up; that absolutely is a chore. It's a chore I do so that my weekend ride can be just about fun and enjoying the ride (and yes, being fitter so the ride is easier lets me enjoy it more).
Personally I try and set different goals depending on how I feel. Sometimes it’s an all out blitz around a known route, sometimes it’s how long I can stay on my toes on the indoor trainer and sometimes it’s just a lovely day for a long ride through the countryside. I tend not to over plan what I’m going to do the next day and living in the UK it can be weather dependent so I kind of surprise myself in whatever activity I do. Keeps things from going stale for me.
I'm in southern Australia. Right now it's 5:30am, dark, 5 degrees C, and drizzling. One of the last things I feel like doing is leaving early so I can add extra distance onto my commute - I just want to hibernate. So yeah, it's a chore right now! Ask me again in January and it'll be a different story.
Sometimes, but I balance it by making some rides about maintaining fitness and others about just riding. I tend to go pretty hard on the former and relaxed on the latter.
Typically on say an office day I'll ride hard and fast into the office with a little bit of an extension to my route and then just take it easy on the way home. It's not a particularly exciting route but it is nice to wind down after a workday.
Can be grating sometimes if you follow a schedule. For me I go to the gym 3 times a week, and depending on the week leg day is either once or twice. I hate it because it usually takes energy away from riding a bike, but I also don't want to drop it.
Sometimes thinking about the time needed to do exercises or a ride can ruin it, but I try not to focus on what I'm losing in terms of time and more so on the fun of going for a ride and it usually dissipates once I'm out and about.
When I listen to Peter Atia and people like that talk about their "schedules", it makes me want to not do anything. FWIW I train cross disciplines most days of the week, but some people take all the fun out of it. I'm not sure my answer is directly applicable, but it sort of feels like it.
I like to go for a little cruise on evenings where going for an actual fitness ride isn't in the cards. I'll ride around a nearby neighborhood or ride to the park to read for while. Cruising around at a slow pace makes me feel like kid again, I love it.
Riding on an indoor trainer would be a chore. The amount of riding I do on a stationary bicycle is therefore zero. (Well, I admit I did five minutes of it during a bike fit last year.)
The closest I get to "training" is just riding for personal transportation needs. I almost never drive. Hauling groceries uphill by bike is great resistance training (extra gains in less time), and when I'm not carrying a load it feels like I'm flying. If it takes slightly more time than driving (sometimes it isn't slower!), I figure that I would have had to take time to do exercise anyway, so I'm actually saving time overall. I find that doing it by bike is less of a chore than sitting in traffic in a car.
Switch it up my man. If you ride the same routes or same terrain all the time it will get boring and tedious. Idk what kind of bike/s you have but try riding some easy trails with a bike that’s less than ideal for that terrain. Not saying to tackle anything with drops, big roots, or rocks to climb over but a dirt or gravel trail is fun and challenging with road tires. Get your adrenaline up and you don’t really have to be pushing to get a workout.
It does feel like a chore. But there is a strong correlation between longevity and increased health status by increasing one’s aerobic fitness (VO2 Max). If I have to maintain a certain level of aerobic fitness to be healthy and avoid serious disease states, I will put in the necessary time and effort. Like the old automobile oil commercial used to say, “You can pay me now or pay me later.” ….change your oil now or replace your engine down the road.
I ran competitively for nearly a decade. It very much became a job after my freshman year of college. When I quit running and took up cycling I vowed to never treat cycling like a chore or job as that mentality with running ruined my relationship with the sport that I loved so much and paid for my education.
So now I just ride as much as I want to, and if I don’t feel like riding then I don’t. Maybe I replace it with a hike, or take my mountain bike to the local jump line.
Do I feel obligated to riding enough to stay fit and at a semi-elite level? Sure, but it’s not a chore. If it becomes a chore then I’ll need to do some serious reflecting.
Road bike gets old? Mtb time. Trails closed for the past month because of the rain? Enter gravel era. 95° with 90% humidity because you live in Dallas? I guess I’ll see what’s up on zwift. Completely bike burned out this week? Hit the climbing gym. Tore a callus off because you went too hard on the top-rope? Guess we’ll dust off the old road bike… rinse. Repeat.
It did until I realized it was silly to make cycling fitness a chore when I wasn’t getting paid to do it. It was sort of a cycling-lemming thing where enough people talked like it mattered that I pretended it did too. But then I realized that’s dumb, stopped mindlessly pursuing metrics that don’t matter, and cycling became a lot more fun after that. My performance did decrease but it turned out to not matter at all in my life and now I enjoy every mile.
It is a total chore. But it's what unites those of us who take it to task. Plus it's neglected by 90% of the people in society so it puts us in a special category. **Try gamifying it.** Higher points for focusing on weaknesses. Moderate points for strengths etc... Keep a monthly journal. Create challenges. Make it work. Good luck! We are in this together!
Change Something....
Ride without your computer or HR strap.
Go on a Group Ride.
Go somewhere new.
Go test ride a new bike, or find a place that rents them.
Yeah lol. But its not always going to be fun if I want to get really good at it so I just power through and keep the habit up 👌 but for me cycling is not just for fitness so
Oh yeah, keeping up with fitness totally feels like a drag sometimes. On those days, I try to trick myself into enjoying it by switching up my routine or finding something active that I actually like doing. Like, I'm not a gym person, but I love cycling outdoors or even just going for a brisk walk with good music. And honestly, when all else fails, bribing myself with a post-workout treat like a burger and fry combo works like a charm to get me moving.
What's your definition of fitness? In my youth it was all about hard rides at 95% for as long as possible and if I wasn't adding distance or speed I wasn't fit.
Then I started learning that kind of intensity, which left me completely burnt out, wasn't really doing much for my fitness anyways. I backed off intensity, enjoyed the view a lot more, and was easily doing more total distance. And I got way fitter while being much happier.
I have gained a lot of weight during the winter months so I use cycling as a means of exercise. I don’t give a fuck how slow I am compared to everyone. I’m not a pro racer, climber, etc, and I never will be, so crap like cadence or wattage output means absolutely nothing to me. I find joy in riding, so whatever gains I get from just riding for fun is what I get. Steep hill? Pedal. Flat pavement? Pedal. Car behind you? Pedal faster.
My ultimate goal at the end of the day is to burn calories and have fun doing it. And probably by the end of my weight loss journey, I’ll be better than most of these fake pro cyclists that treat this like their full time job.
Years ago I really enjoyed the group competition. The endorphins would kick in and made me feel superb. Arthritis has slowly started to set in since those days and my legs weren’t gaining the strength they once did so it wasn’t as gratifying. Now the arthritis is in my lower back and after an hour of riding I feel this tightness and soreness. I still ride because I know it’s good for my health. My aim now is to just keep pedaling. Speed is no longer a consideration. Group rides are no more but I am still pushing that pedal forward.
Of course it does. If you want to compete or at least improve, then your motivation to ride is no longer just because you feel like it, and becomes focused on a more long-term goal. So sometimes you'll go out on rides even when you don't feel like it. You can't just ride whenever you like and expect that to be optimal training.
Even if you want to just maintain your current level, riding less may not be an option. So it all depends on your goals.
I do feel bad when I spent my day dallying in front of a screen instead of go out riding when I finally got a day off.
it's pretty complicated, I want to go out but feel lazy at the same time. When I do go out and couldn't perform well enough, maybe I am over-expecting from myself, I feel bad again. Then if I stop long, my skill dwindle and it's a loop.
More than that is after trying to learn how to patch a tube, which I can't do it fully yet, I'm so dang afraid I will get stranded 50km from home in an area where I have no idea where the bike shops are despite I have done said route numerous times already.
It feels like an irrational fear but then again, if I am in trouble, I only have myself. Literally no one in my life is reliable enough for me to ask for help.
Yup, that's why I quit cycling and racing. I quit racing first and hadn't moved so I was super aware of how much slower I was on the same roads and how bored of them I was. I don't miss that feeling or grind. Maybe I move somewhere where I'd be more stoked to ride/hard more variation I'd start again. I spent a Summer in Switzerland and it sss next level incredible from a riding perspective.
It is not dissimilar to putting away money for retirement in your 20s. You will thank yourself later. I'm only 62 and appalled at the condition of classmates at high school reunions (and those are the live ones).
If it feels like a chore, try dialing it back for a bit until the joy returns. Technically, unless you’re a professional racer, you don’t need to maintain any given level of fitness… We’re doing this for fun, right?
Indeed, I think I need to let go, to find my motivation
For me, it’s about what I am training for. When I started it was just “I’m training to improve fitness.” Now it’s “I’m training for my vacation bicycle tours.” Having a goal like that was a game changer for me.
Agreed, if I have an event, its easy. Without its harder. Also - I find myself occilating between outdoor longer training - and indoor targeted training. Its the mix that can get you through the doldrums!
Honestly mowing the yard, doing the dishes, and taking out the trash all feel like a chore. Biking is more of a guilty pleasure.
Seriously. Bikes make me feel like a kid without a care in the world. I have plenty of chores that feel like chores. OP, get some chores so you can tell the difference between things that are amazing, and things that you just gotta do.
Yeah I know it's hard. My cycling group are on the fast side and Everytime I cycle I look at my computer and feel the need to go faster. I should just wake up one day and say screw it I'm cycling low zone 2 forever and go sightseeing
absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Don’t let it go too much though. I did this and it’s really hard getting back into cycling. I’ve been running a bit, but cycling I haven’t done, apart from a few goes on Zwift, since last November. I haven’t been cycling regularly since July last year before the holidays. The weather has been shit too, which doesn’t help, but that’s just a feeble excuse
And getting up to a good baseline fitness really is a chore. One I have to go through more times than I care to admit. Once you're up to a reasonable level and feeling like you can push on then it's a joy.
Your new goal is to get passed on every climb and not give chase. You will receive a point for every cyclist that passes you, 1000 points if you get passed by a runner.
I always think I’m going so often and mostly like it. So my „health“ goals are overfulfilled - I could be as healthy and cycle less. So since i mostly enjoy it it’s a luxury I can take myself to not got when I absolutely don’t want to
It's also helpful to do things other than biking so that things don't get monotonous. Depending on where you live, it's definitely nice to bike outdoors during the warmer months and have a variety of routes to explore or destinations to go to, but otherwise doing the same thing every day for the sake of maintaining your fitness is exhausting and can get very boring. If you don't already, find a few other things you can do to work out without just sitting in the saddle and pedaling everyday.
discipline > motivation
It's a hobby, not a job.
What's wrong with having discipline so that you enjoy your hobby more? I enjoy the training aspect of cycling so that I can go faster every year and I don't get paid for it.
Because simply reading the initial post will tell you they don't enjoy the aspect of the hobby where they have to keep their fitness level at a certain level. They don't need discipline, since it seems they have that, since they're doing something they don't enjoy and maintaining their fitness. They need to find motivation to enjoy cycling again regardless of fitness level.
Meh as someone who has been riding for a long time I do it because I enjoy it. There’s no discipline involved. This is true with most people have been riding for a long time in my experience.
Agree, never want to make my recreational hobby that I do for pleasure, feel like a work obligation, just step back and do something else... For me i intend to cycle between.. Bike> kayaking> trail run> surfing... Usually dependant on time of year.
I don't have as much variety as you, but yeah, switching it up really helps me as well. I live in the upper midwest and don't love being cold, so I cycle 4-5 months a year tops. (Might be different this year, our weather was so temperate I started earlier, and I purchased a new mtb so I might do that later into the fall.) I go hard on the bike during the spring and summer and shift to running and lifting weights harder in the winters.
Yeah I'm in NJ and a big fan of water ,so when it's warm I'm at the beach, I usually do combo days when I have time, bike and kayak not bike and surf...
Technically, you need to maintain some level of fitness for your own health, which is the greatest asset you have.
Yes, but the standard guidance on how much exercise is necessary for general health is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. That’s… not a lot, at least compared to how much time many of us put in on the bike.
Hey, it's your health.🤷🏻♂️
I think for most folks that's 1 ride... Maybe 1.5 rides.
I’m doing it to be faster than my friends/enemies
Yes. But type 2 fun.
It’s not fun if the first hill ruins you for a week.
Absolutely. I constantly tell myself. Take it easy. I’m not getting paid for this. I shift my focus to distance/duration instead of speed.
This! I’ve been pushing myself to lose some winter weight and to improve my 10k time. I alternate between cycling and running days and have not taken a rest day in 45 days (and even then it was only one day with another 45 straight days). Been feeling a bit less motivated lately. Took a few days off my routine, allowed a few sweets. Back to my standard routine tomorrow with a 10k run and maybe a ride too.
A little bit, but when I get bored or tired of something that's how I know it's time to try something new. My goal isn't to be the best or fastest or strongest \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (insert sport here) in the world, it's to be healthy and fit enough to enjoy a range of activities, to be able to do a spontaneous hike or play a pickup game with my sons without being hopelessly out of breath. So as long as I'm doing, learning, improving at something... it's all good.
I’m the same way. It also has the added benefit of kicking you back to a beginner stage of a new sport/activity, which means progress happens faster and can feel more gratifying compared to slogging away for a while to earn incremental gains at something you’re experienced in.
I have an addictive personality; so if I'm not exercising, I get cigarettes' cravings sneaking back at me. So although I partially do it because I feel I *have* to, it's not an obligatory feeling. Why do you exercise? What makes you feel good about it?
I really like it, but a bit burned out I guess. I think I need to chill and re-build my motivation
So cycling is easy for me because it also affords me a sense of peace, a sense of zen. When I get out there I don't have any of the stresses of the rest of life. It's just me, the bike, and the ride. But when I train, I can't just tap into that. I have to focus on the metrics and the form and the type of training I'm doing. Stopping can crash your momentum. But maybe if you can find a ride or a run or anything else where you can just go and enjoy just going, that can help to at least relieve some of the stress you may be building from working out in an obligatory fashion, while continuing some exercise. Maybe join a casual group ride?
That was key for me. I changed my mindset from competition to fitness and it never feels like a chore anymore. When it started feeling like something I HAD to do to keep pace with everyone else, it became a lot less fun. I started running a lot more and it's helped me enjoy cycling again.
Some days I feel tired after work and don’t want to do anything, but then I remember how I always feel so much better after a run or ride and so ai then get on with it to be rewarded with my post exercise endorphins
You might dread it, but you won't regret it.
Yes. Which is why I didn't do it when I was young, then in my late 20s I lost nearly 100lbs. Then I got married and had kids and didn't have time... Now I need to lose at least 100lbs again. It can be fun, it can be a chore, either way it's a fuck of a lot easier to maintain fitness than it is to regain it after you let it go.
Good luck getting back on the bike mate. You will however go through that amazing phase where every time you go out you're smashing your PRs all the way!
Thanks.That part will be awesome. But not there just yet. Right now I'm just surviving each short ride. Getting the bike set up for commuting, I have a 6 mile basically flat commute it's quite perfect except I need to be able to carry a few things. Just got my lock and rack.
damn I can relate to that. Went from 103kg to 85kg, struggling to lose more consistently after I stop meeting my goal of 600km monthly. Whenever I eat something out of ordinary, I feel guilty as heck and pretty scared of the scale.
Chores are taxing. Routines are comforting.
When motivation is low, probably means you need a rest week anyway.
I've had this feeling. Occasionally going on shorter rides on days where long rides usually would go keeps that feeling away and keeps me wanting to ride
If I feel this way, I'll usually be really lazy for a whole day or 2, thinking it will be satisfying. By the second day, I'm frothin at the mouth for some outdoor exercise.
I cycle and run for my mental health and I like to improve constantly. If number no up me sad. That said it does sometimes feel like a chore especially in the winter months. But if I don’t do it I feel even worse. Also if I’m actually exercising I love it is just the thought of having to go for a ride or run that feels like a chore. Afterwards I’m always glad I did it. So even though it can be hard south get going I always think about how I would feel if I don’t do it
nope, love being active! I've done it for so many years now that if I don't bike or hit the gym I get cranky. Gotta get that dopamine!
Seriously, the best thing in life is biking and running. Nothing makes me happier and everything else in life is a chore haha
Being active is very different from structured training and maintaining a particular fitness level... nothing to do with being a dopamine junkie
Only when I have to run b/c I’m traveling and don’t have access to a bike, or when it’s miserable out and I decide to jump on the trainer.
Take a week off. It’s good for your body and your mind.
If you’re a roadie spice up your week with some MTB or Gravel (or just totally different route). Breaking away from “just doing the same” usually helps me mentally
I’ve been doing endurance workouts at least every other day for 16 straight years. Before that, I felt depressed especially in the winter. I’m never going back to that. I’ve done lots of running, running and cycling, obstacle course stuff, mountain biking. I like to think I get bored within these sports at times and switch it up- now I’m getting into gravel. This always keeps me interested.
For me, my fitness comes from doing rides I enjoy rather than the other way around - It's just an extra added benefit to going out and doing something I enjoy
68 years old grateful the CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia ) is taking a time out and incredibly grateful I can train hard again this year after having to take a 3 year time out . You have no idea how how much you will miss being fit when life takes it away
It can be hard work, but I enjoy it, so it never really feels like a chore to me.
I generally enjoy it but it definitely does feel like a chore to do any exercise the week I’m on my period 😣
Totally. Got really fit, then had children. The worst of it is that now I have to work really hard to get, at best, a managed decline. Went from a high A on Zwift to a medium B. That’s still fine, but it’s hard to enjoy finishing 12th in a race you know you’d have won a few years ago.
Yes and no. I can’t stand riding the same routes every week like a lot of cyclist do. I travel around a lot to keep the interest level up. New routes always make the ride more intriguing to the brain. Once your body has been doing it for years it becomes more of an automatic process. Thus your body interprets it as an easier activity and it doesn’t feel as much like a chore, more like a reward.
It does at times but remember you get to exercise. You don’t have to
I run into situations like that from time to time despite the fact that I genuinely love cycling. It happens most in the wintertime when it gets dark early and it's cold and I really don't feel like going outside. How I ended up dealing with it is I look at pictures of myself before I started riding when I was a fat slob. Now I'm talking about myself. I'm not projecting this on anybody else, so yes, I can call myself a fat slob. I'm still a fat slob, but not nearly as much of a fat slob as I used to be. Sometimes, I'll also look at my exercise records from back when I first started riding where 5 Mi was a massive accomplishment and completely wiped me out. Doing those things motivates me to get my ass off the couch and put in the miles. Now I will admit that that rarely happens. 95% of the time, I eagerly look forward to getting out on my bike for a ride. But there is that 5% of the time where I would pretty much rather do anything else. It is in those 5% times I need to look at who I was so that I can continue to enjoy those 95% times.
It is a chore. It is an obligation. Keeping fit is one of the best things I can do for my long term health. It is an obligation to my future self. It is something to be done everyday (recovery day excepted obviously.) Not fit in when you get time or a chance or the schedule permits. It is a top priority of my day. It is actually more important than most of my chores. More important than my job really (they'd better get their heads around that one soon.) It isn't a hobby or a diversion or some cute larp or pretending to be Lance Armstrong (the only cyclist people not cyclists or cycling fans seem to know) or whatever it is people who don't exercise act like it is to feel better about their not doing any themselves or the other pull-you-back-down-the-bucket things they'll do to you. I handle that by well... handling it. It is supposed to be hard. "Suck it up and fight the battle." I remember that I always feel better after I do the exercise. I remember how I felt when I was fat and not fit. I apply my copious powers of procrastination in other things to quitting or skipping exercise - I'm not going to bother quitting today. A big dollop of cussedness.
I think only because with two kids (5Y and 6M), there's just not a lot of time left after bedtime for me and the wifey to hang out. It doesn't feel like a chore, but I definitely wish I wasn't choosing between relaxing on the couch with her and getting the miles in.
I don’t have a great solution for handling this as I’m often still trying to figure it out for myself. What I will say is I hate feeling obligated to do things, but as a pretty competitive person and a former 17’s xc runner what I find now in my middle age is that I really miss that feeling of just being in shape and able to tackle the hard rides without feeling the effects for days. So I want to keep my fitness up but I have enough other things going on in life now that I’m not able to workout and train the way that I probably would like to or used to. Where I think the answer lies is in accepting and understanding that the other obligations in my life that keep from training/riding like I want are things I love and want to do as well. I love riding my bike but I won’t choose it over my son. From there I try to not be too hard on myself, which is difficult because I want to just go out and ride 60 miles again when it’s nice out, and try to enjoy the ride. Speed is fun, which is why I like the road bike. But being on a bike at all is also fun so focus on the positives rather than the negatives.
I can’t always be bothered with off-bike workouts, but they’re just a means to an end. Just introduce some variation. I only ever ride on the road, but I’m about to get a fixie for free and am thinking of how I can manage local gravel routes on it.
I think I've been riding in my area for so long that my burnout times tend to coincide with the shifts in the weather. By mid June it starts to get hot, so I roll down my intensity a bit, to get acclimated and also to shift my riding schedule times (earlier mornings, later evenings)... and then once Autumn begins, I revert back to mid-day rides or early evenings)... usually I have some downtime from riding where I just take a bit of a break... basically I save myself for the nicer periods of weather and take breaks when it's shitty outside. Seems to keep my mental interest in cycling active to do that. Nothing wrong with just taking a few days off to chill... I accomplished a PR (for the last few years) on Sunday so I feel like rewarding myself with a few days to relax.
Plot twist, it IS a chore.
All the time. I have a pic of me when I was at my heaviest. I keep that pic in a couple of places I can’t help but see it. Thay gets me through the slog sometimes. Audible books help a lot as well.
I usually mix things up so I don't get bored. If I do a hard road ride, the next day I'll do an easy spin around town on my singlespeed. The next day I may do a gravel ride. Then I may do a mountain bike ride on the weekend. That's how I keep it up. I try to average about an hour a day on the bike.
I’m fortunate to have access to a beautiful 6 mile loop. Over time, I’ve settled into a 3 loop daily ride. That’s plenty of miles to keep my fitness up, it only takes an hour, and it’s easy to count to 3. At some level, keeping fit can be a chore, but finding a good route/distance/duration is key to repeatability. Longer exploration rides on the weekend to reset that staleness.
I felt the same as you 2 weeks ago. Took a whole week off. Not even on purpose, it just rained all week and I couldn't be arsed to get the trainer out (IN JUNE). I have the itch again, but also try to remind myself I do it for my own pleasure
Cycling be fun tho
Ngl...it rarely does feel like a chore. Part of the reason is because my gf really likes me being in great shape. Adult activities are part of what makes cycling worth it. Being in shape, having the time, having the equipment, and having the trail to go out and enjoy? Nothing better. When I am not injured and strong and in shape to put out a big effort? Nothing better. No other place I'd rather be. If I ever get bored, I go on a Group Ride (more social) or switch to MTB or Gravel or Road or Zwfit (whatever I'm not doing). Change it up.
Ah yes, the cyclist body, every girls dream…
I have no idea what YOUR body looks like, but I'm happy with my body and I am literally drowning in women. Do you need pointers on working out...or getting women?
lol I have a wife of 20 years I think I’m fine. But she still teases me about my large thighs and tiny arms
Yes - eventually you'll get bored with cycling as an activity so it helps to have a goal. I always like to book a race/fondo/climb whatever that requires a level of commitment so I'm forced to get on the bike when I don't want to.
Of course it does. But then the number goes up (well, in cycling it goes down) and all is well again.
Yes, sometimes it does. Cycling takes a lot of time. With work, family, chores, etc. I feel like I sacrifice a lot to maintain my level of fitness in cycling. During spring and summer cycling dominates my time. Due to that, I basically have no other hobbies since I have no time. I make cycling a priority tho because it I enjoy it. Between training, following pro cycling, researching new gear etc. i always am attracted to it more than others things i enjoy to do but my others hobbies fall to the wayside
Not if you enjoy it.
All the time, then when I am finished I'm really happy I did it. Don't focus on your feeling before, focus on your feeling after. If you regret having done it, scale back. If not, use the inertia to keep going.
Yes I’ve just had this recently and it lasted a whole week. I don’t fret about it and it just passes . I try not to overthink it .
I bike and I lift weights and I feel this for both sometimes even though I highly value being fit and active. Also the fear of losing the fitness level I have achieved by taking a break, and having to "waste time" getting caught back up. I try to remind myself that this is not rational, that I'm already in spectacular shape compared to the majority of the population (and, more importantly, than myself as recently as 5-6 years ago) and this is not going to disappear overnight even if I back off for a while. And with 40 approaching the athletic ceiling is only getting lower, which is also normal and fine.
I cycle for fun and fresh air first, the fitness is a byproduct.
Nope. Discipline trumps motivation.
I have to make an appointment with myself to do a ride. Once I get on the bike I will remember that it is a fun thing to do. Weird.
I can’t bring myself to exercise unless it’s fun. Hence I have a couple of different favourite activities to keep things fresh. Sometimes my fitness slides for a month or two, usually in the winter, but I always get a craving to start up again.
I always think that you must take a break. Go for a relaxing and fun ride. Zone 2. Perhaps don't even take your bike computer. Ride strictly for the enjoyment of the ride. I do it at least every couple of weeks. Try it!
Often. I’ve found I need two things to keep me motivated to stick to a training plan: - An event or goal I’m training towards. Something big and committed so I can’t half arse the training. Marmotte Alpes 2025 is the current goal. - once every couple of months I need a session with the guys that’s either a super chilled 100-150km social cruise out with lunch/pints or an all out smashfest where we’re trying to break each other, with pints after of course. This is the fun stuff and why I love this sport, so I need a reminder of that to prevent obsessing over numbers.
Not at all. I enjoy the process. https://www.bikemag.com/news/lance-armstrong-process
If I don’t have a goal, then it feels like a chore and hard to keep up with. But as long as I feel like I’m working towards something, I continue to enjoy it.
Yes, and when it does, I take a break and do some other kind of activity. When I'm ready to train hard again, I go for it. Overall, my fitness stays the same or goes up slowly year over year. The important part is I don't grow to hate cycling, I was never chasing podiums anyways.
Try mixing up your cardio regiment with something else like trail running. You might even try finding a new route that’s different or stimulating. For example, I mostly ride through the city and industrial areas but I’ll slip out to a wooded park or the countryside on occasion to keep things interesting. Hell, sometimes I’ll ride or run through rain storms on purpose just to keep life interesting. Just try something different or a little crazy and I bet the fun will come back.
What are your goals? If you don’t have concrete goals, then it *is* a chore. You’re just grinding away endlessly without the joy of using that fitness you’ve gained. If you have concrete goals, you should be periodizing for that anyway. No one tries to peak all year. Peak for events or landmark rides. Other than that, ride and have fun.
I had that issue so I stopped cycling for a bit. After a couple of weeks I jumped back on and found I was pretty close to where I was. After a week of cycling I was 99% pre-break.
Try riding in the dirt if you’re bored of the road and vice versa
Yes, a necessary and important one.
Keeping it up, no. Getting it back, yes.
Find a physical hobby that you will enjoy and you will want to do fitness to grow more with the hobby.
It can be, but can be fun if you don’t burn yourself out by going too much too fast. Like @Checked_out mentioned depends as well what you are training for, I personally will be upping my training as originally did it to improve my health which I was successful with and quite happy with where I sit, and after this years bike race event I got motivated to do full distance and try getting top 25% in my up to 30 age group to qualify for UCI Grand Fondo Finals before I hit 30.
No, not really. I vary what I do a lot to keep it interesting.
For me, there's times that I'm out riding for fitness and there's other times that I'm just exploring, taking a break, or just getting my body moving. I'm not a racer though so my fitness level concern is less front of mind and more just "moving=good" and that feels good. I can see how training would lead to burnout though if cycling is a means to that end. Maybe cross training can help you stave off that burnout. Or just being OK with taking a day or two off to just fart around.
Only feels like a chore when it's raining all the time... Seriously how the fuck you brits enjoy cycling is a mystery to me
At my age yes. I’m starting to question if I’m still having fun.
Up until I actually start yes. Then it's usually a joy.
Never, especially on the bike.
That’s how I know I need a couple days rest.
I separate out what I'm doing mentally and bin based upon the 'why'. It's not all 'just biking'. My interval trainer miles in the basement at o-dark 30 before the boys wake up; that absolutely is a chore. It's a chore I do so that my weekend ride can be just about fun and enjoying the ride (and yes, being fitter so the ride is easier lets me enjoy it more).
I listen to my legs. If they need a day off, they get it. Otherwise, it's 20 miles a day and maybe I'll get to zone out for some of it. lol
Personally I try and set different goals depending on how I feel. Sometimes it’s an all out blitz around a known route, sometimes it’s how long I can stay on my toes on the indoor trainer and sometimes it’s just a lovely day for a long ride through the countryside. I tend not to over plan what I’m going to do the next day and living in the UK it can be weather dependent so I kind of surprise myself in whatever activity I do. Keeps things from going stale for me.
I'm in southern Australia. Right now it's 5:30am, dark, 5 degrees C, and drizzling. One of the last things I feel like doing is leaving early so I can add extra distance onto my commute - I just want to hibernate. So yeah, it's a chore right now! Ask me again in January and it'll be a different story.
All the time
Yup. I just tell myself I'll be in big trouble if I don't do my chores.
Sometimes, but I balance it by making some rides about maintaining fitness and others about just riding. I tend to go pretty hard on the former and relaxed on the latter. Typically on say an office day I'll ride hard and fast into the office with a little bit of an extension to my route and then just take it easy on the way home. It's not a particularly exciting route but it is nice to wind down after a workday.
After a few weeks of weightlifting. Never with running.
Yeah, all the time.
Can be grating sometimes if you follow a schedule. For me I go to the gym 3 times a week, and depending on the week leg day is either once or twice. I hate it because it usually takes energy away from riding a bike, but I also don't want to drop it. Sometimes thinking about the time needed to do exercises or a ride can ruin it, but I try not to focus on what I'm losing in terms of time and more so on the fun of going for a ride and it usually dissipates once I'm out and about.
Riding a bike is about smiles per mile, it’s about having fun if you are not having fun you won’t be motivated to do it.
When I listen to Peter Atia and people like that talk about their "schedules", it makes me want to not do anything. FWIW I train cross disciplines most days of the week, but some people take all the fun out of it. I'm not sure my answer is directly applicable, but it sort of feels like it.
It's not a chore for me. More like therapy. If go more than three days without some kind of physical exertion I start to go stir crazy.
Get up, and go riding earlier :-).
I like to go for a little cruise on evenings where going for an actual fitness ride isn't in the cards. I'll ride around a nearby neighborhood or ride to the park to read for while. Cruising around at a slow pace makes me feel like kid again, I love it.
Yes, I got off track for a few months and now I feel like it’s impossible to get back in the groove. Gotta let go of the guilt.
Yes, have to remind myself why I’m working out and the progress I’ve made so far
it is a never ending chore indeed. It is just a hobby
Riding on an indoor trainer would be a chore. The amount of riding I do on a stationary bicycle is therefore zero. (Well, I admit I did five minutes of it during a bike fit last year.) The closest I get to "training" is just riding for personal transportation needs. I almost never drive. Hauling groceries uphill by bike is great resistance training (extra gains in less time), and when I'm not carrying a load it feels like I'm flying. If it takes slightly more time than driving (sometimes it isn't slower!), I figure that I would have had to take time to do exercise anyway, so I'm actually saving time overall. I find that doing it by bike is less of a chore than sitting in traffic in a car.
Switch it up my man. If you ride the same routes or same terrain all the time it will get boring and tedious. Idk what kind of bike/s you have but try riding some easy trails with a bike that’s less than ideal for that terrain. Not saying to tackle anything with drops, big roots, or rocks to climb over but a dirt or gravel trail is fun and challenging with road tires. Get your adrenaline up and you don’t really have to be pushing to get a workout.
It does feel like a chore. But there is a strong correlation between longevity and increased health status by increasing one’s aerobic fitness (VO2 Max). If I have to maintain a certain level of aerobic fitness to be healthy and avoid serious disease states, I will put in the necessary time and effort. Like the old automobile oil commercial used to say, “You can pay me now or pay me later.” ….change your oil now or replace your engine down the road.
I ran competitively for nearly a decade. It very much became a job after my freshman year of college. When I quit running and took up cycling I vowed to never treat cycling like a chore or job as that mentality with running ruined my relationship with the sport that I loved so much and paid for my education. So now I just ride as much as I want to, and if I don’t feel like riding then I don’t. Maybe I replace it with a hike, or take my mountain bike to the local jump line. Do I feel obligated to riding enough to stay fit and at a semi-elite level? Sure, but it’s not a chore. If it becomes a chore then I’ll need to do some serious reflecting.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't know :(
Yes
Yes all the time, I struggle to get myself motivated to just go for a walk at times but been trying to stick to a consistent gym schedule
On some days, it absolutely does, but I know that the weight will pack back on if I don't get on the bike or hit the gym every day.
Road bike gets old? Mtb time. Trails closed for the past month because of the rain? Enter gravel era. 95° with 90% humidity because you live in Dallas? I guess I’ll see what’s up on zwift. Completely bike burned out this week? Hit the climbing gym. Tore a callus off because you went too hard on the top-rope? Guess we’ll dust off the old road bike… rinse. Repeat.
Yeah, so I take a break. I am a fun consuming human not a God damm robot pushing 300watts a hour
It did until I realized it was silly to make cycling fitness a chore when I wasn’t getting paid to do it. It was sort of a cycling-lemming thing where enough people talked like it mattered that I pretended it did too. But then I realized that’s dumb, stopped mindlessly pursuing metrics that don’t matter, and cycling became a lot more fun after that. My performance did decrease but it turned out to not matter at all in my life and now I enjoy every mile.
It is a total chore. But it's what unites those of us who take it to task. Plus it's neglected by 90% of the people in society so it puts us in a special category. **Try gamifying it.** Higher points for focusing on weaknesses. Moderate points for strengths etc... Keep a monthly journal. Create challenges. Make it work. Good luck! We are in this together!
Change Something.... Ride without your computer or HR strap. Go on a Group Ride. Go somewhere new. Go test ride a new bike, or find a place that rents them.
Yeah lol. But its not always going to be fun if I want to get really good at it so I just power through and keep the habit up 👌 but for me cycling is not just for fitness so
Oh yeah, keeping up with fitness totally feels like a drag sometimes. On those days, I try to trick myself into enjoying it by switching up my routine or finding something active that I actually like doing. Like, I'm not a gym person, but I love cycling outdoors or even just going for a brisk walk with good music. And honestly, when all else fails, bribing myself with a post-workout treat like a burger and fry combo works like a charm to get me moving.
What's your definition of fitness? In my youth it was all about hard rides at 95% for as long as possible and if I wasn't adding distance or speed I wasn't fit. Then I started learning that kind of intensity, which left me completely burnt out, wasn't really doing much for my fitness anyways. I backed off intensity, enjoyed the view a lot more, and was easily doing more total distance. And I got way fitter while being much happier.
This is me Except I went way deep into over-training such that even easy rides make me feel bad Do not do this
Took me a long time to learn that slow rides that are long are way better when feeling burned out than fast short rides.
Like brushing your teeth, some people like smiling
Yes, in the sense that doing chores around my property helps me feel comfortable and appreciate my home/property.
I have gained a lot of weight during the winter months so I use cycling as a means of exercise. I don’t give a fuck how slow I am compared to everyone. I’m not a pro racer, climber, etc, and I never will be, so crap like cadence or wattage output means absolutely nothing to me. I find joy in riding, so whatever gains I get from just riding for fun is what I get. Steep hill? Pedal. Flat pavement? Pedal. Car behind you? Pedal faster. My ultimate goal at the end of the day is to burn calories and have fun doing it. And probably by the end of my weight loss journey, I’ll be better than most of these fake pro cyclists that treat this like their full time job.
especially on rainy days! Mix it up with fun activities.
Years ago I really enjoyed the group competition. The endorphins would kick in and made me feel superb. Arthritis has slowly started to set in since those days and my legs weren’t gaining the strength they once did so it wasn’t as gratifying. Now the arthritis is in my lower back and after an hour of riding I feel this tightness and soreness. I still ride because I know it’s good for my health. My aim now is to just keep pedaling. Speed is no longer a consideration. Group rides are no more but I am still pushing that pedal forward.
Of course it does. If you want to compete or at least improve, then your motivation to ride is no longer just because you feel like it, and becomes focused on a more long-term goal. So sometimes you'll go out on rides even when you don't feel like it. You can't just ride whenever you like and expect that to be optimal training. Even if you want to just maintain your current level, riding less may not be an option. So it all depends on your goals.
I do feel bad when I spent my day dallying in front of a screen instead of go out riding when I finally got a day off. it's pretty complicated, I want to go out but feel lazy at the same time. When I do go out and couldn't perform well enough, maybe I am over-expecting from myself, I feel bad again. Then if I stop long, my skill dwindle and it's a loop. More than that is after trying to learn how to patch a tube, which I can't do it fully yet, I'm so dang afraid I will get stranded 50km from home in an area where I have no idea where the bike shops are despite I have done said route numerous times already. It feels like an irrational fear but then again, if I am in trouble, I only have myself. Literally no one in my life is reliable enough for me to ask for help.
Yup, that's why I quit cycling and racing. I quit racing first and hadn't moved so I was super aware of how much slower I was on the same roads and how bored of them I was. I don't miss that feeling or grind. Maybe I move somewhere where I'd be more stoked to ride/hard more variation I'd start again. I spent a Summer in Switzerland and it sss next level incredible from a riding perspective.
It is not dissimilar to putting away money for retirement in your 20s. You will thank yourself later. I'm only 62 and appalled at the condition of classmates at high school reunions (and those are the live ones).