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  • I've been finding it really hard to find motivation to ride this month, it's partly the standard viscous cycle of depression/anxiety - cycling remedies - not cycling - depression/anxiety makes it hard to cycle but it's also this obligation of needing to train and an anxiety of am I doing enough? Am I going to be able to complete the races I want to? I then find the anxiety about these things a bit debilitating and just try to distract myself. I rode a 300km at the beginning of this month then had a little knee pain, then a bunch of mechanical issues including snapped saddle rails exacerbated this knee pain and now I'm just, I don't know, scared I guess? I'm terrified that I won't be able to hit the targets I've set for myself and that's making it hard to ride at all.
    I was supposed to ride a 160km today, then I stayed in bed, then I said to myself that I'd still head out for a 100km, and now my landlady is coming over tomorrow so I've had to clean (but I'm secretly kind of glad for the excuse to not be riding?).
    /csb / #htfu etc etc I know. (same old fucking boring epping routes don't help either. I like cycling partly for the sense of adventure and discovery and wholly missing that when I know every loop like the back of my hand)

  • I tend to find that going out without setting any sort of target can get things moving in this situation. Go on one of those adventures, leave the Garmin behind, sit up, take in the view, maybe try to have a destination for the ride rather than just a loop where you don't stop until you're back home.

    If you're anything like me, that was the sort of ride which made you enjoy cycling and decide to formally train and get fitter, eventually leading to racing as motivation for training, and then racing as an end in itself. I find now, approaching my third season time trailing, and having had some success last season that the pressure seems great, which is silly because I / we got into this because we enjoyed it.

    I would advise stripping it all back, forget training - I always say training is riding minus joy, and just go for a 20 miler. If you're feeling depressed about it then obviously that is easier said than done, but if you can get yourself out of the door it will almost certainly remind you why you like cycling and you'll likely pick the training up again. Hope this is some motivation.

    Edit; What Skully said!

  • /\This/\ I had a day off the other week and bought a copy of Lost Lanes in the hope it'd inspire me to go for an afternoon adventure/explore. It arrived on Friday, went for one of the rides on Sunday. A short train journey to God knows where in Essex. Saw hardly any other cyclist, hardly any cars. Even with the evil headwind it was great being out away from everything for an afternoon and just taking my time. Took a flask of tea, some sandwiches and stopped a lot. Haven't been on the bike since but started to get the fun / freedom feeling back.

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