Losing your mojo

^^ Got there just before 12 so I guess so, but I like their sausage rolls. Didn't take us long to get there though, dbr was excited about his new Look :)

sorry to go all Oliver Schick on you but I don't think the 'losing your mojo' thread is for people who've 'only' done their third century this year...

Er? Why would that sort of remark be one I would make?

This thread is for everyone, regardless of the level of their mojo. It's for those who have had to go from 1,265 centuries to a mere 1,264. It's for those who merely have to regain a certain level of shambolicity to go out riding again (although I can't for the life of me think of any examples of the latter tendency). And it is for those who are regaining their mojo, making everyone feel jealous and inadequate in the process.

I was referring to you as the hallowed gold standard of pedantry upon the forum Oliver, as is only right and proper.

Wrongcog - you may be forced to regain your mojo post-haste. Gav, Felix and I had a glorious bimble around the Essex lanes today and it excellent fun, but with a certain gleaming joyfulness missing thanks to your absence. I gather you had some piffling excuse to do with food or something, but really, it won't do you know.

I insist that the next time we have nice weather at the weekend you come out and play. I don't care one bit how slow you are, or how much you mew about it, you're just doing it. Do it!

Do it!

Do it!

etc.

sorry to go all Oliver Schick on you but I don't think the 'losing your mojo' thread is for people who've 'only' done their third century this year...

I'd thought I'd clicked on the "tell us about your weekend ride" thread by mistake.

sorry to go all Oliver Schick on you but I don't think the 'losing your mojo' thread is for people who've 'only' done their third century this year...

Well, actually, seeing as you're calling me out on it...

I didn't do three centuries, I did 41 miles (or something) fixed, 84 then the century today. All separated by three weeks because I didn't feel up to doing any rides in the weeks between.

This was because I picked up some kind of serious chest infection type thing in October (they never actually managed to work out exactly what it was, possibly bacterial bronchitis or walking pneumonia) which destroyed my lung capacity, made me massively wheezy and gave me a 'Joe Grundy from the Archers' style cough. And made me permanently knackered.

I only really started feeling properly better a few weeks ago, I had it for about six months. Some days I didn't have the energy to ride to work (and it's only four miles) and some days I had to work from home because I didn't even have the energy to go to the office on public transport.

So with all due respect, I do rather think I belong here :)

I was referring to you as the hallowed gold standard of pedantry upon the forum Oliver, as is only right and proper.

Then you should try to attach that sort of remark to a post which is actually pedantic. :)

Then you should try to attach that sort of remark to a post which is actually pedantic. :)

thankfully the post that followed it did the trick.

:)

I've evidently lost what mojo I had. Came back home really pleased with a (for me, recently) very fast 40miler, to find that half the people I follow on strava have smashed out epic hilly centuries today ;(

'the people I follow on strava'

You see where you are getting it wrong?

What Skully's saying is that you need to lead people on Strava. Nothing less will do.

I posted in another thread today about one ride to Land's End and back in five days and one ride to Exeter in one go I did in 2011 and 2012 respectively. I'm a grillion miles away from being able to do that now due to not having ridden much at all last year. So my crashing centuries now do feel pretty rubbish. But I see why I'm not helping by posting about them, so will shut up and get on with it :)

Seriously, fuck strava. Do riding for yourself.

I stopped riding due to injury and being so comfortable with things in other aspects of my life that I felt I didn't need riding. That hole had been filled by other things. I was working from home, too, so I didn't have the 'it'll be all right, I have my commute to fall back on' mindset.

Put on a bit of weight over Christmas (well, the 'new clothes time' culmination of a few months of weight gain), which I wasn't comfortable with, and the only way I know how to shed it is to ride, so I grudgingly got back on the bike again.
And it was horrible. Slow, unfit, cold, wet.

But it didn't matter, because time on the bike meant I was burning calories, and thus getting where I wanted to be. It was important for me, as someone who was used to being fit and fast and it all being easy, that I didn't focus on 'strava' this and 'speed' that, because no matter how you do, of course you're going to be be better on that ride you did at the end of that summer two years ago when you'd been riding non-stop and the sun was always shining. And of course that person who rides all the sodding time in all the interesting places is going to be going further and faster. But so what? Just get some time on the bike, get where you want to be.
And it's horrible and wet and rubbish, but you're getting there, so it's all good (repeat until you get home or the hail passes over).

And then the sun comes out, and mojo has returned. Huzzah.

Weird rambley pseudo-rant with a sort of undefined positive message there somewhere. Apologies.

I like the spirit of the above! But still no brooks saddle on the Dawes!!?

Yes! Good post.

There's nothing wrong with following people on Strava, but comparing yourself against other people never ends well. Not just with riding but in other areas of life.

Rowhan if you were happy with what you did because it compared well against what you did before just be happy with it.

Don't even compare it against what you did before.

How did you feel when you'd finished the ride?

Came back home really pleased

How was the ride itself?

(for me, recently) very fast

You felt good, it was sunny.
Full stop.

Full. Stop.

The full stop's right there, sonny. Nothing further. Do it, enjoy it, do it again. Why spoil 2 hours of exertion (on a truly glorious spring day) in some arbitrary way by thirty seconds of tapping on a screen in a darkened room? You've got the balance way off.

Who else wants to be shouted at? I've got loads of this tonight.

Don't even compare it against what you did before.

How did you feel when you'd finished the ride?

How was the ride itself?

You felt good, it was sunny.
Full stop.

Full. Stop.

The full stop's right there, sonny. Nothing further. Do it, enjoy it, do it again. Why spoil 2 hours of exertion (on a truly glorious spring day) in some arbitrary way by thirty seconds of tapping on a screen in a darkened room? You've got the balance way off.

All of this x1000. Repped for talking proper sense.

Although the bit about not comparing it to what you have done before: that's kind of a basic tenet of cycling (and sport more widely) for many.

If Rowhan has an objective of getting faster there is nothing wrong with that. Although I agree that (to me) there is no point going faster if you're not having fun at the same time.

@bothwell I feel your pain. You were clearly much more ill than me but I found my head wanting to ride but my body not playing ball really frustrating.

The whole thing of comparing my previous riding AND other people's current riding to what I'm currently doing is essential to spurring me on though!

Getting back to my previous form is a target my life will likely depend on this year, and at least attempting to match a few people I know on roughly the same distance and/or speed over that distance - it's one of the few things I have at the moment that might give me some vague sense of being back to normal. I don't really expect anyone to get exactly what I mean, but basically I can't just accept a 40 mile ride in the sun as being a good lark, and "well wasn't that a nice day out" etc. If I realize I could have done another 10 miles on the end of a ride after the fact, I'm going to feel shit about it.

I have to push myself and push myself, and say fuck you to the weather, fuck you to the pain, fuck you to being delirious from exhaustion all the time, and use the very finite and indeterminable amount of time there may/may not be before I potentially get ill again like last year, to get myself as strong as possible for a potential 2nd round of what nearly killed me last year.

It's sucking most of the enjoyment out of riding, but I have to plough on. If I had my mojo I would have done 70 miles yesterday, not 40, and I'm pissed off about it.

The whole thing of comparing my previous riding AND other people's current riding to what I'm currently doing is essential to spurring me on though!

It shouldn't be essential. Especially coming back from what you've gone through. Finding a way to spur yourself on without hating yourself will take you to the same destination in a better headspace. You're going to get there because you want to get there (really really want to get there), and these things take a lot of time so don't beat yourself up about how long the journey is.

I've been riding ('proper' riding, not commuting) a lot since the beginning of January in an attempt to undo 18 months of off-the-bike. It has taken a huge investment of time, energy and potential (sometimes actual) misery to get to the point that I can ride without hating how rubbish I am at it, for it to be comfortable and, soon (I hope), easy.

So. Smile, breathe, ride your bike. In a month or two you'll wonder what the problem is as your blitz around your favourite loops at the speed you used to.

attempting to match a few people I know on roughly the same distance and/or speed over that distance - it's one of the few things I have at the moment that might give me some vague sense of being back to normal. I don't really expect anyone to get exactly what I mean, but basically I can't just accept a 40 mile ride in the sun as being a good lark, and "well wasn't that a nice day out" etc. If I realize I could have done another 10 miles on the end of a ride after the fact, I'm going to feel shit about it.

Every ride in January I was comparing my average with my possibly-rose-tinted-memory of how I used to ride.
This is fruitless.
Doing this doesn't make you faster. It makes you feel worse about being unable to overcome barriers that are impossible to overcome. You don't gain a mph on your average by knowing you used to be able to do it and hating yourself, you get it by riding, riding and riding some more. And the way to do that is to not hate riding your bike.

I have to push myself and push myself, and say fuck you to the weather, fuck you to the pain, fuck you to being delirious from exhaustion all the time, and use the very finite and indeterminable amount of time there may/may not be before I potentially get ill again like last year, to get myself as strong as possible for a potential 2nd round of what nearly killed me last year.

Yes. This bit is acceptable. Having some fight is good. Desire to get back on top is good.

It's sucking most of the enjoyment out of riding, but I have to plough on.

Necessity kills fun, but can be unavoidable. Good luck.

40's good dude. I'd be happy with that right now.

6pt on point this morning! Good posting sir!