zstjohn

Long story short i started riding in April. Crashed in May. After recovering started riding again in June with a non broken in half bike.

So now i'm here. Put in 898 miles in July and about 400 at this point in august. I'm in a bit of a rut. Most of my riding buddies have been flaking out and i do ride with a group on the weekend but i'm needing more group riding (if i can find it)

How do you motivate yourself solo? I feel like i start powering then my mind says. why the hell are you pushing yourself this hard. You're not racing anyone you have a good base just ride a little above your base and keep this ride comfy.

That's not what i want though. I want to push and push and push.

Any advice?

canthidefromme

Well if you want to push, then push.

zstjohn

well, part of me doesn't want to. I'm looking for tips to help push aside the laziness. Like ways to change your rides that will make things interesting or reasons for wanting to push.

RT

Whenever I get lazy, I think of my sister who is unable to ride a bike (Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy). That's all I need is to know I am able to do something I love while others close to me cannot. I ride solo 99.9% of the time.

ModeratedUser01102018

You can get a program on your phone or computer that keeps time of your route. Keep doing the same route, and try to get lower times.

or

Think of something you want really badly, and ride for that.

or

Music

Sprocket Man

I ride because I enjoy it. When I stop enjoying it, I'll stop riding. I'm not making a living off of it, so I don't really feel the need to push myself.

canthidefromme

Well, think of your goals. If you are riding for fun, just have fun. If you are riding to get fast, then HTFU and then HTFU some more. Then when that doesn't work, think of how everyone on internet forums is going to tell you to HTFU. When that doesn't work, buy a power meter and post your rides on internet forums. Then you really have to HTFU.

zstjohn

I need a powermeter. this is true. Blew all my money on a force group and then got laid off at work. hopefully work picks up again and i can pick one up

Chef151

Set goals. Achieve them. Feel good.

bikeride

Find something else to do.

ADSR

I guess I feel fortunate to have all that fat kid rage built up inside. Weird.

BigSean

You really have'nt been riding long. My advice is just go ride and enjoy it. You wanna go harder? Then go real hard, for like 1-5 minutes then relax and pedal easy for 10 minutes. Make up things to do, sprint, chase, what ever. Just make it fun.

Creatre

Seems like you do a lot of distance if you have 400 miles in 11 days. Try mixing it up with short, but tough days. Make sure to take days off too. If you are tired, and unmotivated, just take a break for a day or two. If you are still tired and unmotivated, take a week off. Your body is telling you something, you need to listen. I personally stay motivated by having a diverse training schedule with long and short but interval days, as well as making sure I have plenty of rest. I don't do near the mileage you do though, but it works for me.

10 Wheels

Take 10 days off the bike.

zstjohn

I'll have to give the short but more intense route a shot. I do take days off, normally at least one a week. I was considering taking a longer period of time off but i'm not sure if that would have a positive or negative effect. i guess as a follow up question, Could a weeks off the bike make for improvements physically on your return to the bike or just mentally?

tortugaflats

ipod or radio for the solo rides.

Creatre

If you are overtrained, your body is not making any improvements if you keep on putting the miles on anyways. From what it sounds like, you would almost definitely benefit from some days off the bike. You can usually take a week off the bike without any adverse effects to fitness. FYI, if you take 4 weeks off, it usually takes 8 to 12 weeks to regain the fitness you had before you stopped. You should feel completely regenerated and motivated, as well as physically ready to keep on pedaling, even if you take a week to 10 days off the bike. I would also in the future maybe ride 5 days a week, or at least every 4 weeks cut back on your mileage for one week to try and let your body catch up.

Chef151

I've found that I see more improvements when taking 2-3 days off a week from hard riding. (I might go out for a slower ride with my wife on an 'off day'). Granted, I'm still building a base and have just under 1k miles on my legs, so that much rest may not be necessary for you.

Velo Vol 

Really. You're riding 200 miles a week and asking about motivation?

Bacciagalupe

Echoing other comments...

• You need a specific goal or event -- a century, a race, a tour etc. Otherwise you are grinding away for no particular reason.
• Mix it up. Try running, swimming or some other form of exercise every once in awhile.
• If you're doing one week on, and one week off, you're not likely to improve.
• Google "bicycle club" and your region, I'm sure something will turn up.

I_Like_Bike

Wait have you only been riding for a few months? You are killing in on miles. You may be headed for overtraining. Maybe your lack of motivation is a symptom of overtraining already.

zstjohn

well i want to be around 300 a week but maybe i'm trying to much for how little time i've been riding. It's my personality though if i find something i enjoy and succeed in i go all out. I sucked at every sport i tried growing up. Cycling has been entirely different.

Yeah i've been riding about 3 months if you take out the time i was injured/without a bike. The idea i've been overtraining/trained has crossed my mind. I just told myself that was laziness. maybe it's my body telling me something...

zstjohn

I do have a goal in mind the High pass Challenge. 115 miles, 7500 feet of climbing near Mt Saint Helens. It's a timed race. Complete it under 7 hours and you get a gold medal. Oooo

f4rrest

This will help a lot.

Carbon Unit

Don't concentrate on riding faster or harder just get on the bike and ride. Persistence is half the battle. Once your routine because a habit, you won't have to push your self so hard to ride, it will be second nature.

I know that every Tuesday and Thursday, I will do an after work ride. During the winter when it gets dark earlier, I put lights on my bike and ride (it doesn't get that cold in Southern California).

Developing a habit of doing something is the most important part.