Motivation anyone?

[Cat]

I have never riden seriously but have been coaxed into it from a young age. Last year I got my first road bike and set myself the measly target of 1000 miles. I didnt make it mostly due to being overloaded with coursework and hockey matches. This year I realy want to try again and possibly go further but now I work on saturdays and finding the motivation and energy to go every sunday is a bit hard. Has anyone got any suggestion on what I can do to get myself going? What does everyone do on those days when you just cant be bothered?

[Greenbank]

Log your miles on bikejournal.com

[toekneep]

Where abouts in the country are you Cat (if indeed you are in the UK at all)? Getting out with other riders is a major motivator, once a ride is arranged you feel much more committed to turn up. Other than that there may be a CTC group in your area, they usually welcome new riders and should accommodate you if your speed or distance are limited.

[gordon taylor]

Get a train to somewhere so you have to ride home. That's a good way to get a decent ride in on a weekend.

[alan]

I would endorse the comments made by Toekneep & Gordy & add

welcome to the forum.

Keep a watch on the Rides & Touring board for anything happening in your area,arranged by forum members.Please note that you do have to be mad to get the best out of it

[blackburnrod]

Give up.You are too late at your age as in profile!

[Really Ancien]

Nice one Rod.

Damon.

[Scoosh]

You're talking of 20 miles/week.  Put like that, it doesn't sound so unobtainable.

Can you cycle to your course (college, uni - whatever) ?
Can you cycle to your hockey practices ?
Can you cycle to the shops ?
Can you cycle to the pub  ?
Can you think of any other occasions you could use your bike during the week ?

These could be 'bonus' miles or 'bonu '.

Your 1000 miles don't necessarily have to be in big blocks, do they ??  Even 5 miles/day would give you the distance.

As Rod said, if you have been coaxed into it from a young age .......... you've taken your time  but it's never too late 

[Lucky]

Presumably, if you want to motivate yourself to get out on your bike, then you must find some pleasure in cycling? You may simply enjoy riding your bike, or maybe you like the satisfaction of being able to ride further and faster as a result of training.

Work out what it is that makes you want to ride your bike, and focus on that. You'll ride a lot more miles this year if you stop thinking "I ought to go cycling" and start thinking "I want to go cycling". 

[gonzo]

Or taking things to the other extreme, just do a 3 or 4x 12 hour TTs and a 24 hour. You could knock off all the miles with 5 days of riding!

[teethgrinder]

Or taking things to the other extreme, just do a 3 or 4x 12 hour TTs and a 24 hour. You could knock off all the miles with 5 days of riding!

Or Cat can do it in one go.
Shall I invite Cat on a ride?

But yes, little and often is better. Popping to the shops and using you bike for transport.
I like to see new stuff. That's what motivates me the most.
Social rides are good too.

[toekneep]

We seem to have driven Cat away already. 

[Cat]

I would just like to point out that I was being sarcastic when I did my profile age. Im still at school. 

Last year I wrote down all my distances which did help I think. Where I live its pretty rural but Im a bit hemed in by major roads. I know a couple of people who ride to school but my parents arent keen on letting me ride because the roads arent great. It also doesnt help that one of my dads friends got hit by a car when out riding the other week and spent a night in hospital.

As for being mad - I am told on a regular basis by my friends that I should be in a metal home.
As for going to the pub - its almost quicker to walk and I cant drink so theres not much point.

[Wowbagger]

Welcome to the Forum, Cat!

I think that you will find lots of different reasons for people to cycle. In my case it's because I was diagnosed with arthritis about 3 years ago. Then Nuttycyclist introduced me to this place, or at least its predecessor, and I've gone mental too.

How "major" are the major roads? There must be places to cross them. Is there anyone you can cycle with? The best rides are those with good company.

[teethgrinder]

How "major" are the major roads? There must be places to cross them. Is there anyone you can cycle with? The best rides are those with good company.

Maybe look into your local CTC DA (Cyclist Touring Club, who have local groups called District Associations) They tend to vary from DA to DA. But you might have one that will help you get started and your parents might be a lot happier about you being in a group of experienced riders. They are well woth a try.
Try googling "CTC (your home county) DA" and you should come up with something.
Or you could try a local cycling club. But they tend to be all about racing. Could be worth a try though.
Keeping the parents happy was an issue for me when I started. I used to secretly stash pocket money to buy my food and drink when I had a big ride planned. I left just after they went to work and made sure I was home before they got back. If they knew how far from home I was riding, my bike would have been locked in the garage for the rest of my school holiday!

[gonzo]

Maybe look into your local CTC DA (Cyclist Touring Club, who have local groups called District Associations) They tend to vary from DA to DA. But you might have one that will help you get started and your parents might be a lot happier about you being in a group of experienced riders. They are well woth a try.

CTC require a beard for entry don't they?

Look into your local club first - if you're lucky you'll have a very good one locally. My local club has riders on the regular runs who are 13 or 14.

[ludwig]

Cat I would just like to congratulate you on discovering cycling while you are still at school. If you keep up even gentle cycling into adulthood you will feel better, look better and have a better life. Just concentrate on the elements of it that you enjoy and you'll find eventually that finding any motivation to stop cycling will be your biggest problem.

[vorsprung]

Cat,
what I do is

1) Have an aim in mind for the year.  Some event or tour or race.  Then you can build up to it.  Just saying "1000 miles" is a start but I find it's better to be aiming for a particular day and distance.  I am aiming to do London-Edinburgh-London 1400km ride in July.  As sub goals I hope to do the Elenith 300km in April, the Bryan Chapman 600 in May, the Kernow &SW 600 at the end of May etc etc
This might not be what *you* want to do but the principle is sound of building up to a main event.

2) Commute to work.  Or school or whatever.

3) There are lots of opportunities to ride your bike.  So take them.   For example we often go away for the weekend on the coast.  The places we like to go are about 50 miles away.  In the summer if there is a family meal at a pub in the evening I will ride there and get a lift back etc etc

4) Look at training plans and see if you can use them.   There are lots of books in your local library and sites on the internet.