Losing your mojo

I did my hill climb, did alright (mid table but a minute off the winner) then took 3 days off.

Today I did a chilled group ride, was enjoying myself so tacked on some extra hills, just riding 'til I felt done. I was heading for hypoglycaemia / #midgetprolapse at the string of red lights back into town... but overall it was a total mojo re-up.

I got in a fairly decent 6 hour ride in the Chilterns yesterday and did a little bit this morning and a turbo session tonight. I still don't really feel like riding the TT bike but it was a much better weekend than sinking piss moaning about what might have been.

I went out and pootled round the ROTFL course with an old friend and the Mrs, it was a truly beautiful day, and not pushing myself meant I had a chance to actually take in the countryside.

I drank an excessive amount of alcohol, followed it up with fast food at 3a.m, slunk home in a taxi, woke up at 11am on the nicest day in weeks having missed club run, and crept about like an old man with my sunnies on eating ice cream and drinking coffee all day.

#sopro

I just can't be arsed. That added to the fact that if I'm not asleep I'm working much of the time at the moment. Life tiredness is a massive mojo breaker I think.

I had three days of 'woo normal bikes are amazing. whoooosh!' post-tour, and now everything just feels rubbish and I can't be bothered. combination of weather, post-holiday comedown and workload. miserable.

give yourself a break @6pt ...

@hippy

Want to come mountain biking for a change?

give yourself a beer 6pt ...

Its Tuesday! - fixed for you :)

give yourself a break @6pt ...

But I don't want to lose my megalegs! I want them to be ready for when my mojo is. Taken enough early-year grind to get them to this stage, don't want to have to repeat it all again in January, don't think I have the strength of character for it.

@6pt IME you'll keep strength if you do a few short/hard efforts ( 5 x 90s every day or two – for example, and a couple of proper rides a week ). CX or mtb would be ideal. #badscience

You'll still have to do it all again in January though... unless you just want to 'win' at winter.

Nice thought, ta. But with my residual fitness + self-losthing I'd break bones quicker than you could say 'track!'. ;)

Are you doing any night rides at the moment? Reckon I could borrow your front light again? Maybe next week. No bother if not.

I had lost my mojo since June but a week in the Pyrennees has sorted that right out. I cant wait to get back out on the bike and even dusting off my MTB for some extra weight for the legs.

@hippy

Of course you can borrow a light.

Thought you were all Shimano metal anyway?

Mines been gone for 2 weeks. On the back of a chest infection, which just wouldnt clear...
Now I've got this unbelievable pain in the origin of soleus/ gastrocnemius. Don't really know what I've done but I rested it for a week and its still there.
Fuck's sake.

To say I've lost my mojo would be an understatement. It's a crippling lack of self confidence, all faith in my ability to ride a bike has gone, I don't even know if I can get to work. This is shit.

Hats- take a break from it. Especially the commuting aspect. I feel that (sometimes) commuting makes me less excited about riding my bike for fun...

Eventually it will return. I promise.

^agree
Don't know what your non-bike commute might be like, but I've found that if I have enough money to do a couple of weeks of commuting on the train, it helps to sort me out a bit. And think ahead to the IoW randonnee and how you're going to show the choppers how a bike should be ridden.

Thanks @eyebrows and @Ludd. I took the train today as the thought of getting on my bike was making me feel panicky. Yesterday on the way home I freaked out in the middle of a junction. It's dangerous and stupid, and entirely counter-productive as it just makes me feel MORE anxious. I don't know where this all-consuming fear has come from but it's making me really unhappy (am I a chopper now??).

That's the classic Anxiety cycle. It is random, and brutal, and completely normal.
Just leave the bike commuting out for a bit, consider a fun ride next weekend (or this if you feel up to it). Nothing serious, and ideally somewhere traffic free (like a goof around a common or something) or at least very low traffic (difficult in London!)- so you trust the bike and yourself again.
Then trial the commute at some point in the future, and if still no good, just pack it in for as long as you need, because London is a shit place to cycle at the best of times, and December is just about one of the worst.

I've started to piss about on my CX bike in Wimbledon Common. Its great. Mud, no traffic, much quieter than Richmond-Park-Full-of-Tossers.

So, take the Tube for a bit. You might just need a rest. Everyone needs a reset now and then.

I want an MTB..