i've only been out on my bike maybe 10 times this summer and only like 3 times since july. i bought a house which requires quite a bit of work, wife and i are trying to have kids, finishing my masters degree, along with work there just isn't much time for riding so when i do ride i don't go and suffer. because you're burned out, when you do ride, ride somewhere which is really fun. not somewhere that you have to say, "i've got to go ride."
For me, it's mountain creek. with limited time to ride, i don't want to spend that time suffering on trails that I don't feel like riding. I like all the XC trails (there are many more than what is on the map) at mountain creek and all the DH trails. I grab an XC ticket (jorba membership takes some $$ off) and hop on the lift to the top. I do a loop on some of the XC trails. If I feel like doing another loop or riding a specific trail, I do. If I get bored and feel like doing some DH runs, I ride back to the lift and do a DH run and grab another XC ticket if I want to do another DH run. Usually at that point I have to leave but I know if I go to mountain creek, i'm guaranteed to have a good time in the short time that i'm there.
What also helps with burnout is riding in fun events. I really liked going up for the Thursday night XC rides and DH races at creek. I also like going to enduros with no intention of winning or doing well but with full intention of having a great time. I like to find new people to ride with and watch other peoples' stage starts. I generally try to spend the entire allotted time for the race out on the course- my goal is to finish the last stage 2-5 minutes before the sweeper rolls in. During the transfers, if I see something fun, I ride it twice. I bring food and have lunch in between a stage. my theory is that i paid to be there, i'm gonna have a good time.
