Help me get my mojo back

[CrinklyLion]

Riding somewhere that isn't within about an hour's cycling distance of central Birmingham does wonders for my mojo.  We once organised a successful forum ride on that basis.

I just re-read that whole thread.  Wasn't that a lovely day out on bikes!

[Planet X Paul]

A bit the same myself.  Only ridden 30% of the Kms I'd done this time last year.  Longest ride since the beginning of last November is 115 Km, and that was only last week.  There have been several 200's I've not done this year, either blaming it on the weather or couldn't be arsed setting the alarm for 5am on a Sunday morning. I'm supposed to be riding the 400 populaire on TINAT in less than 2 months, and I was looking forward to this adventure and thought that this would give me some incentive, but in reality I can't see it happening for me now  .  Could be post-LEL (failure) blues.  As others have suggested, an interesting ride in unfamiliar territory may help....

[wilkyboy]

Go fixed and ride 100s 

Fixed-gear riding, if you've never done it, is like a breath of fresh air (or at least it was for me).  A very different way of riding to the way most people ride with gears and a freewheel and forces you to rethink your approach to situations.

And 100s are simply brilliant, because they're definitely still a "long ride"*, but you can be home by lunch and so squeeze more of them into odd nooks and crannies of your week while also doing all the other things you want to do.  Long enough to get away from home; short enough to be back by lunch.


* we could debate that if you wanted, as some may disagree, but I think they're quite long

[Exit Stage Left]

I'd tend see this problem from the other direction. Audax filled a goal-setting shaped hole, and with those goals achieved, it takes on an everyday character.

It is possible to extend interest through 'add ons'. Mastering GPS, or through blogging, but at some point the novelty dissipates.

There's a substantial skillset underpinning riding the likes of LEL and PBP, and a lot of satisfaction can come from mentoring newcomers. LEL showed that there is a groundswell of interest, so there'll be a lot of new recruits trying to get to PBP.

One problem of hanging out on this forum is that it diminishes the 'wow factor'. Mixing with a wider range of cycling enthusiasts might bring some of that back. Once you've done LEL and PBP a few times, family and friends take these feats for granted.

I need to refresh my own Mojo. At present I'm not looking much beyond a cataract operation on Friday. It's my second such procedure within three years, and it's made me feel older than my 59 years. I feel I should  do something that impresses myself. I wonder if PBP might fit the bill, but it would mean doing a long ride this year, and I don't know if I can or want to do that.

In the meantime I've booked onto Semaine Federale. which is PBP without the pain. If you've never been, I'd suggest that. The first time is packed full of novelty. I've been trying to make sense of the booking arrangements, and even that's provided some stimulation.

[tonyh]

Just to say: what a fine string of top-class posts. Typical of yacf!

Thanks all, and best wishes to Mojo-Seekers...

... of which group I'm a member (somewhat envious of youths of eg a mere 59).

ESL: all the best with the cataract op. My ones went well 10 years ago (at a mere 66); RRTY survived, though I felt a bit battered just after the ops.

[Kim]

Go fixed and ride 100s 

Fixed-gear riding, if you've never done it, is like a breath of fresh air (or at least it was for me).  A very different way of riding to the way most people ride with gears and a freewheel and forces you to rethink your approach to situations.

Same could be said for recumbent, or tandem^[1], or tricycle, or elliptigo.  Or even electric assist.  A different way of riding, and a bit of a challenge if you haven't done it before.


_{[1] Perhaps teaming up with a disabled stoker could prove to be a source of mojo?}

[TigaSefi]

Seriously lost a lot of fitness and mojo for long distances this year with crappy health so i went back to basics and did short club rides and easy rides with a lot of indoor training capped at 1 hour maximum. I just completed Man of Kent 200 last week which is my longest ride in 4 months. Looking forward to the rest of the year. My point is that do shorter rides, more fun rides, more social and it'll come back

[citoyen]

To echo what everyone else has said already: Do Something Different

I think ESL makes a good point - it sounds like you've ticked most of the boxes that need to be ticked so you need a new challenge, something that you can get excited about. Like wilkyboy, I found taking up fixed-gear riding revitalised me when I was in the doldrums a few years ago. But maybe it's a total break from all kinds of cycling that you need.

If you need to add a bit of spice to your life, there's always Tinder...