DonkeyShow

Lack of sobriety and desire to ride all the hills around my house.

Also got my nuts snipped this month, haven't been on a bike since.

schwim

A destructive combination of ridiculous health-related hurdles and lack of ambition.

wolfchild

Weather has never been an issue for me. Rain, snow, blizzards, ice no problem I enjoy them all....I was a daily all year round commuter for 12 years and I lived car-free voluntarily for 4 years plus I would do recreational rides on the weekend after commuting all week, so there is really nothing that prevents me from riding more. Right now I put commuting on hold and I only ride twice per week for recreation and fun, mostly a mix road, gravel and singletrack trails. I am really looking forward to this winter season and I hope that we get a lot of snow an ice.... It's just my own decision to ride less than before. Maybe some day I will go back to riding 7 days per week like I used to before.

delbiker1 

For me, it is almost always physical health issues that keep me off my bikes. I barely rode the first 4 months of this year due to acute prostatitis and shoulder issues. Since mid September, I have only about 200 miles, due to lower back and left hip pain, with limited range of motion. I did get in a 15 mile ride today, I need 300 more to hit my 5000 for 2022. From May 1st to mid September, close to 4000 miles.

Bald Paul

My condolences to you both. Believe me, I know how hard it can be. My wife passed away after a long battle with cancer earlier this month. She was in home hospice, and I was her primary caregiver, so I haven't had much time at all to get out on the bike this year.

Inusuit

Weather, wind mostly, and competing hobbies and interests. I logged 88 hours of volunteer time at the local museum in September.

rsbob 

Very sorry to hear about the personal losses. There is the inevitable pain but also the seemingly endless paperwork and if emptying and selling a house is involved…. Thoughts go out to you and your families.

PaulH

Used to commute every day, regardless of weather. My office switched to remote work during COVID. Now, I have much less need to ride. A few lunch or shopping trips a week is all I do,

Bassmanbob

*Work
*Wife
*Sleep
Those are my top three

Random11

Weather rarely interferes with my riding. For me, I just don't have more time to devote to riding.

rumrunn6

working 6 days a week plus 2 night shifts & traveling out of state, every other weekend for family

rumrunn6

you're doomed jk

rumrunn6

so many parts of the last 2-3 years has cut down my cycling for one reason or another & skipping all of spring & summer my quads have shrunk

rumrunn6

good thing you still have your sense of humor

mschwett 

work, work, family, work, health, work, and family.

i have gotten pretty good st squeezing rides around work / during breaks in work. averaging a bit over 500 miles/month for the last two years. would probably do double that if i was single or unemployed. weather isn’t much of a factor here, although i do avoid any days >80 degrees.

Koyote

You need to 'man up.' I was back in the saddle just a couple days after the snip-snip.

Here's an issue that has not been mentioned, though indyfabz and I have alluded to it: plenty of posters have noted that their jobs keep them from riding as much as they want to...And this is on a forum with plenty of members who also regularly discuss their newest uber-expensive bikes. I'm guessing that some people with such machines might also be into swanky autos, boats, etc -- in fact, sometimes, when people post pics of their bikes, you can see their sports cars in the background. There is a push-pull between buying the gear (which requires working) and finding the time to actually use it. I am sometimes amazed to read posts from people who've been riding a short time and have already bought more bikes than I've purchased in twenty years of fairly serious riding. I could've bought more bikes, and more expensive bikes, but living a relatively modest material lifestyle has helped me to drop to <1/2 time work at 54 and full retirement at 59. I'm now happier than I've been in decades -- even riding on my twenty-year old LeMond with 9 speed components.

Granted, along with those choices, I had some other advantages -- most notably, a much younger wife who is a good earner and carries me (at no cost to us) on her work health insurance. But lifestyle choices have played a role.

Life is about tradeoffs, and I'd rather have less cool stuff and more time to enjoy the stuff I do have before I'm too old.

mschwett 

no doubt some work long hard hours at jobs they dislike in order to keep up in the rat race, have the latest things and so on. but there is another possibility, which is working long hard hours at something because you enjoy it, believe it to be important or fulfilling, can’t be successful at it without pushing hard, etc. i find cycling immensely satisfying and rewarding but it’s also pretty self-indulgent for me. most other things i could do with my time are of more benefit to someone else.

PeteHski

My limitations:-

1. Family committments (2 demanding young girls, 4 demanding pets and 1 very demanding wife!)
2. Poor weather (for outdoor rides)
3. Fatigue. 50+ year old bones need plenty of rest & recovery!

What could I do about them:-

1. Divorce
2. Move to Mallorca
3. Get more sleep

phedge

Recovery.

Now that we've made it through our careers, losing 4 parents and one brother the last decade, couple minor health issues, kids early adulthood traumas and a myriad of other issues standing in the way I find I can no longer ride hard endlessly like before. Ironic how life works but I'll take the trade off any day, when you've won, you've won.

Reflector Guy

Not mentioned yet is that old October-November bugaboo, at least for many of us here.... The annual cleanup of leaves. Despite living on a narrow urban lot, I get about eleven billion leaves each season and I'll be picking them up until December. It's harder work than bike riding and it sure is time consuming!

big john

I always thought when I retired I would ride a lot more than I actually do. The last few years of working took a huge toll on my fitness and when I retired in 2019 it took some time to get back to feeling good on medium length rides. Then came other physical challenges.

Trying to keep up with riders who are younger, lighter, and faster is fun until after the ride. 2 group rides per week and 2 solo for a total of 150 miles feels like a lot now.

We have high temps here but can ride all year and Mrs John doesn't object and there isn't anything keeping me from riding more besides my own decrepitude.

05 fuji

Cancer, radiation, stroke, cancer returned, radiation again, kidneys damaged by radiation. I thought upon retirement I was going to do some serious biking but some things required that I would be limited on my ability to ride. I can tell you this - on the good days when I can ride - it is never "just another ride". It is an experience and I am back to being young again!

Broctoon

Years ago I heard someone make the following observation.

There are three things that fluctuate throughout our lives: Time, Money, and Health. At each stage of life, one of them will usually be lacking, and that is the thing we will value and desire most.

When we're young, we have plenty of time and good health, but no money. In adulthood, we have money and health but lack free time. In old age, we have lots of time and enough money, but our health fails.

This is generally true. (There are exceptions, of course.) It may not be profound, and I'm not sure what to take from it, but I find it interesting. I think one thing to learn from it is the importance of recognizing and appreciating the things we have plenty of, instead of focusing on the ones we lack.

Chuck Naill

I only mulch leaves using a lawnmower. This way I am building top soil.

Koyote

Having lived on a lot with many mature trees, and which was surrounded on two sides by dense forest, I can confirm that this does not always work. When you can scoop the leaves with a snow shovel, the lawnmower ain't getting through.