Motivation Needed.

RidleyRider

I need motivation to get up and out on the bike in these miserable days. I know it has to be done for what I'd like to achieve but if i don't get my as5 on the bike these won't become achievable by any stretch of the imagination.

So, I ask, what do you have that motivates you to get your ass outta the house, up on the saddle and allows you to ride for a few hours?

The new season is approaching- fast and I'm not in any shape for group riding never mind being competitive in races!

Dermot Illogical

RidleyRider wrote: »

I need motivation to get up and out on the bike in these miserable days. I know it has to be done for what I'd like to achieve but if i don't get my as5 on the bike these won't become achievable by any stretch of the imagination.

So, I ask, what do you have that motivates you to get your ass outta the house, up on the saddle and allows you to ride for a few hours?

The new season is approaching- fast and I'm not in any shape for group riding never mind being competitive in races!

Looking forward to being dropped by newbies?

RidleyRider

Dermot Illogical wrote: »

Looking forward to being dropped by newbies?

That helps the morale boost:pac:

Realistically though, when the wind is blowing a gale and the rain is pounding out how is it possible to get the motivation to get yourself out on the bike?

CaoimH_in

You have to want success more than being cold, wet, and miserable for 4 hours a day, basically. That's how you should phrase the question in your head.

RidleyRider

CaoimH_in wrote: »

You have to want success more than being cold, wet, and miserable for 4 hours a day, basically. That's how you should phrase the question in your head.

In my heart I want it. I just can't bring my head too head it:p

I know what I want next season, I know my targets are realistic based on 2011's season when I put in the work needed. I never really got going this season due to my frame breaking when I got a new groupo and then a fall which I'll admit shook me for quite a period. Then there was the LC which threw things right back. My plan was always to put it in over the winter and that started well in Sept/Oct but never continued and now I find myself not cycling for periods of time which basically put me back to square one.

Cookie_Monster

RidleyRider wrote: »

I need motivation to get up

you're fat and procrastinating doesn't burn calories!

Cookie_Monster

or an actual serious alternative, go running. It's far easier in the cold and wet than being on the bike for hours, can get just as tired in 45mins as you would in 4 hours on a bike and it'll all be over quicker.

C3PO

Join a club! Much more difficult to skip spins if you've committed to other people to be there. It's never as bad as you think it's going to be!

Seweryn

RidleyRider wrote: »

So, I ask, what do you have that motivates you to get your ass outta the house, up on the saddle and allows you to ride for a few hours?

I do not race and I do not train. I ride my bike every day to work (with very few exceptions, when the car is needed). I just finished my breakfast. It is windy, wet, dark and miserable out there and I have almost an hour of riding ahead of me. What motivates me, I do not know. I like it... Otherwise, I wouldn't do it. And I have nothing to achieve, no one to compete against, except for beating one man I meet every morning when looking at the mirror...

We used to have two cars at home before I started cycling regularly, so I sold one and the bike became my main form of transportation. I know that in your case, this may not be an option. But if you can cycle to work, then why not? By doing it you manage your spare time, by using the commuting time, which is normally wasted. I would consider that option .

smacl

RidleyRider wrote: »

So, I ask, what do you have that motivates you to get your ass outta the house, up on the saddle and allows you to ride for a few hours?

Knowing that even in the crappiest weather; wind, hail and the rest, it will still end up being more enjoyable than the turbo.

Jawgap

Medals are won in December and January, but picked up in June and July.......

Hmmzis

Jawgap wrote: »

Medals are won in December and January, but picked up in June and July.......

Well, here in Ireland it's more like March-May for cycling, but that might be a bit off topic.

Seweryn

Hmmzis wrote: »

Well, here in Ireland it's more like March-May for cycling, but that might be a bit off topic.

Let's be more optimistic. I hope we get better summer in the new year that this year. I can't be worse that this year.

Swamp3

All I can add are the words of wisdom given to me by a friend about this time last year...
HTFU !!!
Get on the bike, put the head down and pedal like feck.

It worked.
Miserable weather? After 5 minutes out in it, you won't get any wetter.
Go on and enjoy your cycle.

Jawgap

Hmmzis wrote: »

Well, here in Ireland it's more like March-May for cycling, but that might be a bit off topic.

Seweryn wrote: »

Let's be more optimistic. I hope we get better summer in the new year that this year. I can't be worse that this year.

Spare me your parochialism......I operate on a different plane to you little islanders.......

"Running from Saturday June 29th to Sunday July 21th 2013, the 100th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,360 kilometres"

manwithaplan

Develop the OCD part of your personality. Convince yourself that your family will die horribly unless you do 10 hours a week on the bike, that sort of thing.

petethedrummer

RidleyRider wrote: »

I need motivation to get up and out on the bike in these miserable days.

Don't bother. you obviously dont enjoy it. take up something else instead.

killalanerr

enjoyment and winter training are hard to put together did i enjoy rideing for hours in the fog yesterday will i enjoy goin up hill in the wind and rain today its a tin line put i will do it .the motivation should come from the will to succeed and or the will not to fail

RidleyRider

petethedrummer wrote: »

Don't bother. you obviously dont enjoy it. take up something else instead.

I'd beg to differ tbh. I love my cycling but motivation is hard found when all it does is rain here.

petethedrummer

RidleyRider wrote: »

I'd beg to differ tbh. I love my cycling but motivation is hard found when all it does is rain here.

Not enough to go out cycling in the rain though.

You have 2 choices....
a) go out for a cycle
b) not go for a cycle

Pick one the night before and stick to it the next morning.

I am a former very bad procrastinator and what I found is that I was not upholding my word to myself and to other people in all manner of areas. You decide you are going to do something and you do it or you don't. No fannying around.

ROK ON

Its a matter of perception.

I hate heading out into the wind and rain for a cycle. However if one is caught in a bad rainstorm while out it can be exhilarating.

chakattack

(1) Have a plan and some proper goals - short and long term. Plot out the training needed week by week to get there and take satisfaction from ticking off the workouts as you do them.

(2) Put your gear on, have a coffee, arse around for a bit, it's unlikely you'll change again until you've come back from a spin.

(3) Get a rain jacket, lights and grow a pair..it's only water

Stop wasting time ....you're not allowed post here or oogle new sexy parts unless you're cyclist who actually rides his bike

RidleyRider

i know that once I hit some sort of rhythm I'll be fine but its just starting..

Myksyk

If positive motivational factors like 'Success' don't do it for you, rely on the good old motivational tool of 'vanity'. This can be summed up as a motto ... "I don't care if I win, but I want to look good"!!!

colm_gti

Just get out there, the first 10 minutes are the hardest ones, it's very enjoyable after that!

Icyseanfitz

get a mtb to change things up a bit, its nice to have 2-3 disciplines of cycling to switch between to keep motivated

kumate_champ07

RidleyRider wrote: »

I'd beg to differ tbh. I love my cycling but motivation is hard found when all it does is rain here.

sounds to me you like cycling, not love it

RidleyRider

Well the good news is I went out this afternoon for an hour and a half. Not much but it did tell me that yes I'm sh!t that I'm not hopeless and I can still explosively climb just that my recovery is awful.

12 sprocket

RidleyRider wrote: »

Well the good news is I went out this afternoon for an hour and a half. Not much but it did tell me that yes I'm sh!t that I'm not hopeless and I can still explosively climb just that my recovery is awful.

Sounds like you would get a lot of benefit from working with a coach.

Leroy42

When you get up and are contemplating whether to go for a spin are not, simply quote these words to yourself in the mirror (taken from Full Metal Jacket and amended slightly!)

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are you quitting on me? Well, are you? Then quit, you slimy fu*king walrus-looking piece of sh*t! Get the fu*k off of that bicycle! Get the fu*k down off of that bicycle! NOW! MOVE IT! Or I'm going to rip your balls off, so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world! I will motivate you, Private Pyle, IF IT SHORT-DICKS EVERY CANNIBAL ON THE CONGO!


and then decide!

mp31

[URL=/http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#6] Rule #6 [/URL]
// Free your mind and your legs will follow.

Your mind is your worst enemy. Do all your thinking before you start riding your bike. Once the pedals start to turn, wrap yourself in the sensations of the ride – the smell of the air, the sound of the tires, the feeling of flight as the bicycle rolls over the road.

RidleyRider

Leroy42 wrote: »

When you get up and are contemplating whether to go for a spin are not, simply quote these words to yourself in the mirror (taken from Full Metal Jacket and amended slightly!)

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are you quitting on me? Well, are you? Then quit, you slimy fu*king walrus-looking piece of sh*t! Get the fu*k off of that bicycle! Get the fu*k down off of that bicycle! NOW! MOVE IT! Or I'm going to rip your balls off, so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world! I will motivate you, Private Pyle, IF IT SHORT-DICKS EVERY CANNIBAL ON THE CONGO!


and then decide!

Your motivation quote frightens me :P

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'm in the same boat however i have been out 3 out of the last 5 sundays for about 1.5hrs each time. If its raining then I simply wont go out, however if i know its going to rain in 10 minutes it doesn't bother me and i'll head out anyway. I cant get out during the week as I work 9-5 and its dark when I get home and I live on an extremely busy stretch of road and it simply isn't worth risking my life as no amount of lights would make it safe. My level of fitness has dropped but hopefully i can get back into it quickly when the evenings start to get a little longer (and warmer)

del88

Heard an interesting statistic the other day... If a bike commuter has a 20 minute commute to work every day then he will only get rained on 10 days in a year...I commute from saggart to glasnevin every day and would have to go along with that ....so grow a pair and start peddling...:-)

Seweryn

CJC999 wrote: »

I cant get out during the week as I work 9-5 and its dark when I get home and I live on an extremely busy stretch of road and it simply isn't worth risking my life as no amount of lights would make it safe.

How long is your commute to work? You can probably bypass the main road and cycle on back roads to feel safer.

smacl

del88 wrote: »

Heard an interesting statistic the other day... If a bike commuter has a 20 minute commute to work every day then he will only get rained on 10 days in a year

A quote no doubt translated from the original Spanish

BailMeOut

do not plan ahead, just go whenever the weather looks good and you have a spare hour or two. You are home, it is not raining then just get your gear on and cycle. You are sitting on the couch and notice the sun is peaking out then get up and get out. Your incentive not wasting good windows of opportunity in your day when you can get out for a sneaky quick 20/25 kms runs. This is what I do and my average spins are usually an hour (or 20/25kms) but I do this 3 - 4 times a week. Then if Saturday or Sunday morning is nasty I do not feel too bad about missing my longer weekend run.

Billycake

Do you have a turbo? I get out as much as I can on the road but I can do 3 hours on the turbo without much bother if I have to. Weeknights I'd train 3 nights but by the time I get in from work it's all turbo based but it's very specifically targeted so max during the week would be 1.5hrs per session.

I know a lot of people hate the turbo but if I want to keep my training going I do it. Good music, a fan (the type that keep you cool not the flag waving type!!) and a towel do the trick for me.

manwithaplan

Billycake wrote: »

I can do 3 hours on the turbo without much bother if I have to.

That's beyond the limits of my motivation. I will ride in the rain, the wind and the pitch black but I cannot get much beyond an hour on that infernal machine. All that sweaty, unhealthy, artificial drudgery is not what I took up cycling for.

I have done four sessions on the turbo this week. I think I prefer losing.

C3PO

CJC999 wrote: »

I cant get out during the week as I work 9-5 and its dark when I get home and I live on an extremely busy stretch of road and it simply isn't worth risking my life as no amount of lights would make it safe.

Hope I'm not being rude but I really don't buy this! With a couple of decent lights on your back/back of bike you will be just a visible as on a brighter evening. I regularly ride on the N11 at night and I'm convinced that motorists give me more space during winter darkness because of the 3 flashing lights on my back!

petethedrummer

This thread needs a montage.

petethedrummer

MONTAAAGGE

Cee-Jay-Cee

C3PO wrote: »

Hope I'm not being rude but I really don't buy this! With a couple of decent lights on your back/back of bike you will be just a visible as on a brighter evening. I regularly ride on the N11 at night and I'm convinced that motorists give me more space during winter darkness because of the 3 flashing lights on my back!

I live on the N13 in donegal which is a single two way carriage way with no lighting, as far as i can remember the N11 is a dual carriageway. The road is simply too busy and fast to be worth the risk. There are also a few junctions where the hard shoulder on the approach disappears and it becomes a turning lane, even in daylight they are dangerous as cars have very little room for themselves without having to allow lee-way for cyclists. Its possibly more to do with driver behaviour and attitude than the volume of traffic, god knows how many times i have driven the same stretch of road at night and the glare from oncoming lights make it impossible to see anything on the side of the road. I have 20/20 vision and correctly aimed HID lights on my car and i find it difficult to see whats on the hard shoulder at times due to the ignorance and/or poorly aimed headlights of other drivers.

Lastly my wife would have heart failure if i said i was going out on the main road at night.

piston

CJC999 wrote: »

I live on the N13 in donegal which is a single two way carriage way with no lighting, as far as i can remember the N11 is a dual carriageway. The road is simply too busy and fast to be worth the risk. There are also a few junctions where the hard shoulder on the approach disappears and it becomes a turning lane, even in daylight they are dangerous as cars have very little room for themselves without having to allow lee-way for cyclists. Its possibly more to do with driver behaviour and attitude than the volume of traffic, god knows how many times i have driven the same stretch of road at night and the glare from oncoming lights make it impossible to see anything on the side of the road. I have 20/20 vision and correctly aimed HID lights on my car and i find it difficult to see whats on the hard shoulder at times due to the ignorance and/or poorly aimed headlights of other drivers.

Lastly my wife would have heart failure if i said i was going out on the main road at night.

That road is nuts. I wouldn't ride a bike on the N13, even in broad daylight.

Ole Rodrigo

CJC999 wrote: »

Donegal N13

I was on it last year during the day, from Derry through to Ardara, and found it pretty bad. But I found that to be the case generally in the Northern counties, for some reason. The driving tends to be fast and often leaves you little space when passing.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I live on the stretch from letterkenny to ballybofey and i have no problem with it during daylight hours but night time simply isnt an option.

I'm going to buy myself a set of tacx rollers in the new year which will hopefully keep me going till the evenings get brighter.