What motivates you?

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Honestly not sure people manage to ride so much during the months when it's dark out for so much of the day. Even if I REALLY wanted to ride at 5am in January (I don't), it's dark out. I don't trust drivers not to kill me when it's daylight let alone early morning, mid-winter, in the dark. I suppose there are those that ride in the woods with lights, but I'm not sure that's going to be a "several day per week" kind of thing. So I ride the trainer a handful of times per week, XC ski when there's actually snow, and try to ride when I'm off from work and the weather isn't too miserable (cold is ok, but cold and wet...no thanks). Guess I'm just not that hardcore :)
 

Mahnken

Well-Known Member
I agree. The pandemic has put a damper on my motivation for sure. Most times if I can get home and get a workout in right after work and before dealing with the kids then I'm ok. It's after a long day of work and dealing with the family that I'm finding it harder to get motivated. I just need to push myself out the door and get going. I have never regretted getting on the bike once I'm there. It's getting to the point of throwing the leg over the bike that's the hard part.
Yea, so far this year all my workouts have been after the kids go to sleep, it's very tough to get going at the end of the day. Lately I just haven't been able to get out of bed early enough to get it in before they wake up. Though that'll have to change when I start swimming again and want to be at the pool by 5am.

Yea morning rides are out. I'm up at 5 and out the door by 6 to start work after 7. I wish I had that window in the morning but not possible teaching.
How far from work are you? I love commuting to work by bike, it's my favorite part of working. For a while I was getting up 4/430 everyday to either work out before work or ride to work (I gotta be there by 645). When this is my routine I go to bed at the same time as the kids though, so 8pm or 9 the latest, otherwise it doesn't work. I also like to just throw the bike in my car and sneak in some trail rides on the way home from work.
 

Mahnken

Well-Known Member
Honestly not sure people manage to ride so much during the months when it's dark out for so much of the day. Even if I REALLY wanted to ride at 5am in January (I don't), it's dark out. I don't trust drivers not to kill me when it's daylight let alone early morning, mid-winter, in the dark. I suppose there are those that ride in the woods with lights, but I'm not sure that's going to be a "several day per week" kind of thing. So I ride the trainer a handful of times per week, XC ski when there's actually snow, and try to ride when I'm off from work and the weather isn't too miserable (cold is ok, but cold and wet...no thanks). Guess I'm just not that hardcore :)
Lights. I actually feel safer in the morning when it's dark and there are less cars on the road. I feel like people are going to see the bike lights quicker when it's dark out, and I think people generally try to pay a little more attention when it's dark.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Riding with others motivates me and going to different parks. Fortunately I'm able to do this, otherwise it would be harder for me to ride regularly every month of the year. I don't need to worry bout fitness because I'm a bad mofo.

The most important thing to bring on a ride...Your buddies. Amirite @Mitch
View attachment 148553
Ahhh, as much as buddies are important being able to do your own thing solo is equally as important. I love riding with all my buddies, but equally I love to free my mind at my pace when the time comes.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Oof, 2 hours between up and at work is rough. Can you fit in a ride between work and going home?
Yes that's usually the main goal but it's a tight window. Wednesday and Thursday I have 2 hours which I can use that's not a problem. Monday and Tuesday are the hard ones. One of those is usually an off day and the other is a night ride/zwift day and fails sometimes as you see.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Lights. I actually feel safer in the morning when it's dark and there are less cars on the road. I feel like people are going to see the bike lights quicker when it's dark out, and I think people generally try to pay a little more attention when it's dark.
This^^^. You can see the lights coming much better and zero to very little traffic at 4-6am. Obviously don’t ride main roads even during the day. Garmin varia radar helps alot. On another note, I can get up early if I am gonna work out at the gym but usually can’t in my home gym. Maybe it’s the quiet, the change of routine...not sure, but definitely easier for me to motivate in the am outside or at the gym.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
How far from work are you? I love commuting to work by bike, it's my favorite part of working. For a while I was getting up 4/430 everyday to either work out before work or ride to work (I gotta be there by 645). When this is my routine I go to bed at the same time as the kids though, so 8pm or 9 the latest, otherwise it doesn't work. I also like to just throw the bike in my car and sneak in some trail rides on the way home from work.
I'm far enough for it not to be a viable regular option. It's 25 miles of busy/hilly road to get to work so it's not the best. I try to do it a few times a year. Actually this Friday I'm thinking of doing it as my penance for missing my ride last night.
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I ride with lights even during the day and may pick up the Garmin radar at some point. So maybe it boils down to not wanting to get up at 5am.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I’m trying to adopt a “constant improvement” frame of mind. I don’t make too many drastic changes because I think consistency is super important, but I’m always trying to find ways to get the most out of riding. That goes for just having fun in addition to improving fitness and efficiency. (To me, going fast is fun)
I’m an early morning Trainer rider mostly. (I am trying to change that though and get at least 2 rides a week outside)
The night before I make sure I am prepped by:
1. Having the nespresso locked and loaded. (This is the quickest and quietest caffeine method)
2. Have the trainer setup. Socks, bibs, towel, iPad, fans, etc.
3. Have a bottle with mix ready and in the fridge. For a harder workout I’ll put a Gu next to the bottle.
4. Depending on the workout, I’ll have a playlist/show/movie queued up and ready to go.

Doing this prep really cuts down on the barriers to get the work done.

I say all this, and I do practice what I preach, but we all have vices and shit happens. These past 10 months taught me to not be too hard on myself if I’m not staying focused. Shit is bananas nowadays and piling on additional stress is just not worth it. If you’re looking for motivation, maybe you just need a few days off. It works for me when I find myself asking the same questions.
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I’m trying to adopt a “constant improvement” frame of mind. I don’t make too many drastic changes because I think consistency is super important, but I’m always trying to find ways to get the most out of riding. That goes for just having fun in addition to improving fitness and efficiency. (To me, going fast is fun)
I’m an early morning Trainer rider mostly. (I am trying to change that though and get at least 2 rides a week outside)
The night before I make sure I am prepped by:
1. Having the nespresso locked and loaded. (This is the quickest and quietest caffeine method)
2. Have the trainer setup. Socks, bibs, towel, iPad, fans, etc.
3. Have a bottle with mix ready and in the fridge. For a harder workout I’ll put a Gu next to the bottle.
4. Depending on the workout, I’ll have a playlist/show/movie queued up and ready to go.

Doing this prep really cuts down on the barriers to get the work done.

I say all this, and I do practice what I preach, but we all have vices and shit happens. These past 10 months taught me to not be too hard on myself if I’m not staying focused. Shit is bananas nowadays and piling on additional stress is just not worth it. If you’re looking for motivation, maybe you just need a few days off. It works for me when I find myself asking the same questions.
this... prepping the night before for early morning rides/trainer rides is key.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
I find motivation in figuring out how to dress each day for the weather that morning.
Calculating for wind speed, temp, rain, all those factor into my how to dress to be comfortable,
not too hot, not too cold. Which bottoms, base layer, top layer, jacket, gloves, shoes.
What works best at 21° or best at 33° with which wind speed. It's kinda fun to get it just right.
 

knobbyhead

Next off the Island.
A few things:
I knew this pandemic could cause me to be a sloth. So I made a decision to track my rides, stretching and push up routine. Writing it down really really helps. I've been slipping lately and I got to get back to my schedule.

I work 2nd shift, so I can ride all year.

I'm not a spring chicken, and I want to keep riding and enjoy it. So I ride. Also Rick motivates me.

There was nothing else to do this year except home projects.

Riding different parks helps, but this year has been bad. I think I've only rode my local parks lately.

Like others said, make a decision and stick to it.

Last, riding and stretching and push ups make me feel so much better in all aspects of my life. But it's not just one day and it changes, for me its a slow positive culminative on my life. But it's not instant gratification, but a slow burn.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I’m trying to adopt a “constant improvement” frame of mind. I don’t make too many drastic changes because I think consistency is super important, but I’m always trying to find ways to get the most out of riding. That goes for just having fun in addition to improving fitness and efficiency. (To me, going fast is fun)
I’m an early morning Trainer rider mostly. (I am trying to change that though and get at least 2 rides a week outside)
The night before I make sure I am prepped by:
1. Having the nespresso locked and loaded. (This is the quickest and quietest caffeine method)
2. Have the trainer setup. Socks, bibs, towel, iPad, fans, etc.
3. Have a bottle with mix ready and in the fridge. For a harder workout I’ll put a Gu next to the bottle.
4. Depending on the workout, I’ll have a playlist/show/movie queued up and ready to go.

Doing this prep really cuts down on the barriers to get the work done.

I say all this, and I do practice what I preach, but we all have vices and shit happens. These past 10 months taught me to not be too hard on myself if I’m not staying focused. Shit is bananas nowadays and piling on additional stress is just not worth it. If you’re looking for motivation, maybe you just need a few days off. It works for me when I find myself asking the same questions.
You nailed it with most of these. I think consistency is good when it comes to volume but not routine. If you do the same thing for the same amount of time, day in and day out you will plateau. I find what works for me is being consistent with the 3 training peaks metrics. Same amount of tss but go about different methods to achieving that.

Being prepared the night before is a nobrainer. I have a coffee pot with autostart. I keep my clothes over the heat vent, have bottles/nutrition ready etc. i even use aftershokz headphones and spotify on my garmin watch to keep it simple. I can wake up at 5, drink coffee, eat a slice of toast with jam, crap and be ready and on the road for a long ride by 5:20-5:30.(This is my weekend routine). During the week it’s easier as I eat breakfast/drink coffee after my ride/run etc.
 

gpTron

Well-Known Member
I run almost every morning regardless of temperature so it isn't a big deal. Sometimes the thought of having to drive to go bike is a turn off and if I'm doing a Clayton Park ride I need to time it almost to the second of when the ranger opens the gate or else I'm driving up and down the road waiting for him and cutting into the amount of time I can ride (which isn't much if it's a weekday). When I do decide to go, I prep my car and get all my gear ready while wearing shorts and short sleeves usually to get ready for the cold. But outside of that, talking purely about winter -

1) Having all my riding clothes clean and ready and knowing where my water bottles are the night before
2) Actually getting out of bed. This is really the biggest hurdle. Even when I don't want to do shit, all I need to do is get up and go pee and then it's like "ok, I'm up, lets ride/run"
3) The colder and earlier it is, the less people I will potentially encounter on the trails
4) Between now having 8:30 meetings (ugh), my wife's schedule and now having to go back into school on the two week days I would ride (tues/thurs. M/W/F are out of the question), having to be the one to deal with the kids' virtual learning, and weather, the morning I'm planning on riding might be the ONLY day I get to ride for a while
 

pkovo

Well-Known Member
Lately for me my motivation is my 10 year old daughter. My schedule has been terrible since Covid came around, so it;s all too easy for me to just give in and not ride and blame it on that, but she forces me. It's one thing to disappoint myself, but way worse to disappoint my kid.

M-F is out unless I night ride or get a trainer, but she has been getting me out riding every weekend, both days weather permitting. She forces me to do calisthenics and dumbbell work during the week and having a 10 year old girl do twice as many push-ups as you is some good motivation to get after it.

Her interest in BMX Racing has gotten me out to some pump tracks with relative frequency which is nice when the trails are wet anyway. It's a different kind of workout, but man if you've never done laps on a pump track, it's way more exhausting than it looks.

I also see the writing on the wall, if I don't get/stay fit and she keeps at it, in a few years there will be a role reversal and she'll be waiting up for me.
 
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