Fredo76

What motivates me now is simply feeling much better when I go for a ride than when I don't. I used to race as a teenager in the '70s, and spent a lot of time in the outdoors in the '80s, but injuries (back and knee) took me away from exercising for three decades. I finally started riding the bike I had bought after my first hip surgery, when the doctor gave me permission after the other hip was done. I was lackadaisical about it until the pandemic, when I realized this might literally be my last chance to get in shape. I always kept a training log when I raced, and on July 1, 2020, started keeping one again. I knew that if I started writing it down, I'd be more serious about it, and it worked.

50PlusCycling

Riding is how I meditate. I run a business from home, have young kids despite my age, have a wife who also works from from, and all of us live in the middle of a rather large and noisy city. Between work, helping the kids with their school work, music, swimming, ballet, art, and other classes, and helping the wife around the house, I have little time to myself. I don’t ride enough for it to be monotonous, so when I do get on the bike, it is something of a treat. I don’t ride so much for fitness, I play squash every morning, which gives me a pretty good workout, riding is just for settling down.

Altair 4

I ride for the joy of it. That feeling begins when I first stand up on the pedals when starting out on a ride. It does wonders for my peace of mind and drains away my thoughts and problems that cause anxiety. I keep track of distances (mostly for maintenance reasons), but I don't really worry about my speed or any other number.

Starting out on a ride makes me feel like I'm 14 years old again.

obrentharris 

Hello. My name is Brent and I'm an endorphin junkie.

rsbob 

Hello Brent. How many years have you been….uh clean…uh I mean….not so clean? Never mind.

Bassmanbob

What motivates me:
1. I feel like I'm 15 years-old again when I'm on my bike... when I'm not climbing, at least.
2. I love the idea that I'm getting from point A to point B with only my power. The bike may make me significantly more efficient, but it is still my power.
3. Commuting to work (two days a week) is green and refer back to # 2 as well.
4. I don't want to die young.
5. It's my quiet time/ alone time when I ride solo.
6. The comradery when I ride with a group.

And that's just off the top of my head. Enjoy.

exercion

For me it's a few things. One, I always loved biking. It's also the only form of exercise I truly enjoy. More importantly riding helps me with some issues, specifically depression. Not sure that's a healthy way to deal with it. But it does work for a couple reasons, so I do it.

takenreasy

Cars suck and bikes are the epitome of simplicity - ride on!

mattswabb

Reclaiming my passion and beating the”kids” motivates me.

HookUp

I like beer

rsbob 

Having a significant amount of education in mental health, I can assure you cycling is a very healthy way to deal with depression other than seeing a licensed professional. There are so many destructive ways to deal with it, I am very encouraged you found a method which is mentally as well as physically healthy. Keep it up - and even if you are feeling very blue, force yourself to jump on your bike and commit to at least a 15 minute ride and just see how it can turn things around. Of course if severely depressed, seek professional help.

I started running in high school due to high levels of anxiety and ran all through college, grad school and well into my professional life. It helped a great deal especially if I ran myself to the point of total exhaustion (not advocating that for you). Only after repeated injury’s did I switch to cycling and never looked back. The anxiety has lessened with age but then the cycling has also increased.

As an aside, one time while competing a 6 mile run, I passed a guy waiting at the bus stop. He yelled at me, “You can’t run away from your problems”. My reply to him (being fully licensed) was, “If you only really knew.” Cracked me up but also rang true.

rsbob 

What motivates me? Not going to an early grave. Experiencing nature. Being able to think uninterrupted. Pushing limits.

bruce19

For me it's about the mechanics of the bike and the "mechanics" of the rider. I like to play with shifting and different techniques for climbing or pacing. I am interested in the variable of a ride and how they affect the ride.

rm -rf

I used to ride and lead club rides. When covid arrived, I kept sane by riding with a small group, usually 3 to 6 riders. We went exploring, finding new rural areas with smooth roads, essentially no traffic, and more hills than I'd attempt with a larger group. It's just a way better experience, and now I've continued doing this. My tolerance for traffic has gone way down. There's better places to ride. With such a small group, we'll pull over to let a car go by on climbs, then enjoy the rest of the quiet climb in peace. That's not practical with bigger groups.

Tomorrow, we are heading to one of our favorite areas, and will probably see less than a dozen vehicles in 40 miles.

I do like seeing PRs and hard efforts ranked, but only after the ride. I'm rarely targeting a Strava PR, but it's interesting to see how they compare to my older history.

irwin7638

The simple, childish joy of riding my bike from place to place.

djm1834 

I started riding again at age 55 for the exercise, but now (18 years later) I keep doing it for the fun of it.

VegasJen

I'm getting back into riding now in a big way. I used to ride just for fun as a kid, but that was just a kid doing kid stuff. I was stationed in Okinawa for a year and got into riding a lot there rather than buying a car and driving on the wrong side of the road. After I got back, I kind of let go of riding in favor of other hobbies. Now that I'm getting older, and more arthritic, the joints can't take the beating they used to from running. I've switched back to biking as my primary means of staying in shape. I don't count my annual miles or anything like that, but I do have certain rides that are a defined distance and I ride them for time. Just my own personal best, not any sort of competition.
Although I have recently started participating in triathlons. Notice I said "participate" and not "compete". At my age, the only competition is finishing before the course closes.
I tell people about my workout regimen and, especially at my age, a lot of people are shocked. I tell them I don't work out like I work out because I like to work out. I work out like I work out because I like to eat!

BobbyG

There is an old, familiar place both physical and mental. Only cycling gets me there.

sean.hwy

I ride to just to get out of the house. If the weather allows it I ride 5 to 7 times a week. I have an indoor trainer but I get so bored on it I have not set it up since I put away back in april.

A few times a year there's 37 mile flat loop that I like to try and avg 20 mph just as a bench mark to see if I am getting any better.

IronM

I used to race; my motivation was for the adventure and challenge & I got a kick out of the competition. Now that no longer race, my motivation remaining unchanged; still adventure and challenge. It's just taken a new form in bikepacking. Still very demanding physically, but even more rewarding spiritually.

Flip Flop Rider

cold and dark are motivating me to not ride