Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Topic started by: citoyen on 27 December, 2009, 11:38:51 pm
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For whatever reason, I just don't want to go out on my bike at the moment. Absolutely no desire at all.
My excuse last week was that it was icy. I had a heavy fall on a slippery road not so long ago (albeit due to mud rather than ice), and a few dodgy moments on icy roads last week, and I don't mind admitting that it's made me feel a bit nervous.
But all the ice has gone, and it even looked quite nice out there this morning (chilly, but nice) and I still didn't fancy it.
Is it just the time of year?
Please at least someone tell me I'm not the only one who feels like this right now. It's too depressing otherwise. :(
d.
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No mate, you are not alone, by any means.
Crap weather, not much you can do now about this year's mileage, next season seems a long way off. What's the point?
Thing is, it'll be "next season" before you know it. Give yourself a break, you'll be fancying a ride before long. Just don't set yourself big targets, just go for a bike ride when you feel like it. Which you will. :)
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For whatever reason, I just don't want to go out on my bike at the moment. Absolutely no desire at all.
I'm exactly the same. Haven't even looked at the bike for nearly 2 weeks now (though it's still icy/slushy up here which is a good excuse). I am kind of enjoying wearing normal people clothes outside though. My friends are starting to notice I'm better dressed. ;D
Don't feel bad. Like Eck says, the hunger will return.
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2 weeks? Try months.
Apart from meeting Roger to collect the YACF top I've not been out since the YACF camping weekend. Combination of things. Hopefully resolved in a week or so time. Else I'll get fatter.
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I think the root of the problem for me - apart from the fear of ice - is that the only cycling I've done for the past several months is my daily all-weathers three-mile slog to and from the station on a rickety Brompton. It's all utility cycling, no recreational stuff. The prospect of more of the same when I go back to work after the Christmas break just makes my heart sink. Surely the idea of riding my bike should make me feel happy, not miserable?
But yes, I know I'll have forgotten all this by the time spring arrives. Ho hum.
Watching American Flyers (on telly right now) isn't helping. Oh to be out on the open road on a fast bike in nice weather with gorgeous female hitch-hikers smiling at you...
d.
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I've said it before on this forum - listen to what your body is telling you. Go with the flow.
Best advice I have - do something different. Go for an offroad jaunt along a forest track, take it slow and easy and rediscover the joys of just being out on the bike.
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I've said it before on this forum - listen to what your body is telling you. Go with the flow.
Valid point.
However - feeling a bit down can make you feel "meh", the cure is often excercise.
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My mojo is not lost:it's frozen over.It will thaw out soon
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God, this is interesting, and cheering. I've been pretty much off cycling ever since my DNF audax. I NEED to get back on the bike, but I'm scared of ice, so not yet. Thank goodness for the spinning bike!
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It's best to be slack at this time of year to ensure that you suffer sufficiently on the Gospel Pass in February. That's my plan.
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I've only cycled a couple of hundred miles since the beginning of November :'(
This is due to a couple of weeks holiday, decorating my flat and then finally snow and ice.
I use cycling as a tool to keep me slim, smiling and sane, so now i am a fat miserable depressed individual who is not much fun to be around.
I have been out over the last couple of days though, and loved every minute of it! ;D
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My observation, in myself and in others, is that for many people it is about objectives/targets or whatever.
When I raced (now over 10 years distant) there was a reason to go out on the bike. I had e.g. a training camp to be ready for and then some targetted events. I didn't want to go out, but I knew I had to.
Then I had a few years of "if I can tick over OK then once work allows I can get back to racing".
Now I'm increasingly convinced that this will never happen, and therefore there's no point to going out, unless it's a really nice day and I can go for a relaxed ride.
I know that others have different targets, and whatever works for them is good.
If, for you, completing an Audax, or doing x number of miles keeps you motivated, this is the thing to concentrate on and it will maintain your focus.
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It's the time of year. Seasonal depression. Set a target of say Easter to do something nice on your bike. Perhaps organise a forum ride or sign up to one, or a nice audax that you've done before or a ride with some friends or family. Something that will challenge you enough to mean you'll need to do some preparation. Don't worry about it though, let the weather pick up, let the sun rise earlier and set later. Time is a great healer.
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I has some scary moments last week, eventually fell off on ice - which actually made me feel a lot better, since it a) didn't hurt, b) didn't damage anything
However, today I was very nervous on some fairly heavy frost and I have to accept I really haven't got it out of my system yet.
I'd really suggest doign some exercise that isn't cycling. A long walk somewhere nice ending up in a pub can be very nice. Alternatively go swimming or do something you haven't tried before.
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The moment I got my 1km/hr average completed (8760km) in mid December I felt decidedly "meh" and struggled to get out after that. That was immediately followed by a week and a half of unrideable roads so I just sat on the couch and ate mince pies.
I went out for the first time this week (I really had to force myself out) and just followed my nose for 40 miles, up and down country lanes around Andover in Hampshire. You know what? It was bloody great, tough work at first, getting the legs movig again, but really nice just to ride again.
I don't think it's a bad idea having a week or two off, especially in Winter. Worrying about falling off on every corner is no fun and it's unusual for my body to get 2 weeks rest and recovery from the bike.
As Scumoftheroad says, "listen to your body", if you don't feel like it then don't do it, have a rest, eat some mince pies. It's supposed to be enjoyable.
Chances are you'll feel all the better for it when you get out there in some decent weather.
Just do what I did when the time comes, go out with no objective apart from looking down some interesting lanes for a few hours.
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I reached 6000 miles a couple of weeks back. That coincided with the onset of an unpleasant little vomiting bug and the start of the freeze. Since then I doubt I've done 100 miles in total.
I'm content to give the bike a rest. I'll plan some rides, reacquaint myself with the wife, order some blingy cycle stuff and eat the odd biscuit. I know that when the temperature rises and the days get longer, the urge to put a round of cheese sandwiches into a Carradice saddlebag and pedal off down the road will eventually become irresistable.
It's just the rhythm of life, you know. Nothing to worry about.
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Me too, only 3 rides totaling 100 miles in Nov and only one 30 mile ride in December (yesterday). Partly because of weather and seasonal family commitments but they can only be blamed for reducing cycling opportunities not for the fact that I've had no motivation to get out when the opportunity has been there.
I think I know what the root cause is but it's a bit illogical - I was unable to ride out to a club weekend away in early November that's one of my cycling highlights of the year and it really knocked me back.
Yesterday's 30 miles was all I could manage physically, now I have 3 weeks to get back to something approaching normal before the club run that I've volunteered to lead and a couple of weeks more before the first audax of the year.
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I've been reading this thread with a sense of relief. It's not just me, then!
A combination of needing the car for one reason or another and the ice have meant that I've only ridden three days in December and this year has been the lowest full years riding since I restarted back in 2003.
I may manage a short ride tomorrow, which would at least be a start.
S
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I've not ridden since about mid October.
I usally find that I loose my MOJO about the end of September having ridden quite a bit since Jan and especially during the club season. But the MOJO always returns... In fact, it has today and I've just come back from my first ride in ages... :thumbsup: It felt OK and I'm sure I'll feel the benefit of having had time off the bike.
Don't berate yourself, there's no point cycling if you're not enjoying it. The MOJO will return when it's ready.
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Obviously there's a lot of this about.
Cold weather riding never used to phase (faze?) me, and my annual / montly targets were always a great motivator, but this December - particulalry since the really cold weather set in, I have certainly lost my mojo!
Once I knew I'd hit my month's target (ie more k's this December than last) and knew that my year target (more k's this year than last) was a tricky-to-achieve-in-this-bloody-weather 100km away, I just gave up; on top of that I got a cold. So - here I sit munching mince pies :-\
I'm sure It'll all come right once the cold has gone and the weather brightens up a bit.
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I haven't done much myself lately with all this ice around.
I'm getting pretty unfit too.
But why worry? It's a good time of year to vegitate. The days are short and cold. The traffic is bad. Much better to stay in the warm I reckon. I was going to ride a 1000k and would be riding it now, but decided not to because of the ice (OK my lack of fitness was a put off too)
I don't feel bad or guilty though (no, really I dont! :'( ;D)
It's not worth beating yourself up about. I'm off for a walk and maybe a bit of a jog later on. It won't be as good a workout as cycling because my legs aren't used to jogging/running, so my legs will hurt before I get too much out of breath. It's just a bit of fun and when I get back on the bike it'll feel good.
When you get the chance, just go out for a leisurely plod. Even a few miles will do. Make sure you get home wanting more. Don't try and do a big workout or you'll get home feeling knackered after what you consider to be a poor ride and it'll be a bit of a knockback that you don't need, just have a bit of fun and get out and enjoy the ride. 8)
You have to have the down bit of the year, nobody stays up all the time. Wait for the good weather to get yourself fit. It's not much good being fit and fast when the road conditions dictate slow or even no riding.
I only rode 5 miles to the shops today, that was enough with the slippery roads. I rode easily, no rush and enjoyed it.
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Assuming none of the following apply
a) The roads are icy
b) You are ill or hungover
c) The weather is atrocious
d) You are motivated solely by an annual target you have already reached or are now never going to reach
e) You have family commitments
f) There are better things to do
(all of which are more likely to apply at this time of the year and are good reasons not to get on the bike) then sometimes all it takes is the will-power to get over the ‘meh’, don the appropriate gear, and get out onto the road with no particular objective in mind. Within a few pedal revolutions all becomes right with the world and you wonder why you hadn’t bothered earlier.
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Just about all of the above , plus a sorry collection of flattish tyres.
Snake
My Library (http://www.yudu.com/library/6690/Snakehips-s-Library)
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I've had a quiet year, only been out about 3 times since August. Don't worry about it, chances are you will get an urge to get out somtime in the future.
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me too.... Been off the bike for 3 weeks now! Looks like I won't get back on it until the 4th. Boo.
Today I was looking forward to a nice hour or two fettling & cleaning bikes, but couldn't even manage that :( :'( too cold & wet to spend any time out in the garage. In a way this was even more frustrating than the lack of cycling. (I spent a week skiing so not entirely without exercise, and my body is saying it needs a few more days rest anyway).
So we've still got several kilos of the South Bucks Winter Warmer stuck to the tandem, and she's off to JD's on Saturday to have some work done........ must find a way to get it clean before then!
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Yep, it's been a week since I was on the bike and I feel really lethargic, don't want to go out there at all.
I'm going to force myself now, it's only 9 degrees, wet but not icy, and I'm thinking about how when I come back from a good vigorous ride I always feel full of happy positive energy.
Let's see how that goes....
:-\
--Edit:
10 miles later, much better :thumbsup: Though I can't say I enjoyed it, it was a struggle all the way except the last straight home.
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Managed to get out for an 8.6 mile pootle. First time on the bike since 14th. And I've survived.
I went via the LBS to book the bike in for next week. There's a collection of horrible noises coming from the back and I can't sort out what's wrong. I will feel much happier riding once they've stopped!
S
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I think those horseflies have had off with mine (she says, missing a perfectly good FNRttC).
Think I need more camping and less Wythall. And working lungs.
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I suppose I should explain myself, being new on here, that I've been through something similar over recent years. But am back on bike, working part time preparing for retirement, so I do have time to go for rides. Not long ones, 15 to 20 miles maybe, ought to go more often. But the occasional short ride is better than no rides.
For a long time. months maybe years even, I could hardly face the bike, only got on it when I absolutely forced myslef to. I put it down to feeling bad about snobbery from other cyclists I'm afraid, I won't go in to details.
These things happen but it passes. Some sufferers may sell their bike. I didn't.
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Got all dressed up but didn't get myself out of the door yesterday. My mojo has taken a serious hit since July, and now I'm terrified of falling off and landing on my arm which is putting me off riding, especially if there's a chance of ice.
It's going to chuck it down here today but I have to get out there and do something.
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I've not been out much over the last two months. Running had something to do with that, so missed usual club runs etc. Also, like others, all my big cycling things had been done by October. Hampshire and Berkshire in dull December doesn't help to overcome memories of the Alps in the summer.
Wonder if Mrs CET will notice that I've not been on the bike over the Christmas period.
Lethargy will come to a rude stop on Saturday with the Poor Student
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My observation, in myself and in others, is that for many people it is about objectives/targets or whatever.
When I raced (now over 10 years distant) there was a reason to go out on the bike. I had e.g. a training camp to be ready for and then some targetted events. I didn't want to go out, but I knew I had to.
Then I had a few years of "if I can tick over OK then once work allows I can get back to racing".
Now I'm increasingly convinced that this will never happen, and therefore there's no point to going out, unless it's a really nice day and I can go for a relaxed ride.
I know that others have different targets, and whatever works for them is good.
If, for you, completing an Audax, or doing x number of miles keeps you motivated, this is the thing to concentrate on and it will maintain your focus.
I've just found this - 5 years on!
In 2012 someone passed onto me a message inviting previous riders to a 30 year anniversary race weekend in Belgium. It sounded attractive, so I set to trying to get fit enough to ride it. I knew it would be a long haul.
In 2013 I got fit enough to "get round" 50+ races (I'm an over 60, but little racing for just that age group)(on the right courses!). I rode the Belgian event and "got round" the time trial and road race (just)
In 2014 I did 4 weeks in Mallorca, rode quite a lot of racing, rode the anniversary edition of the race in Belgium and got into the money (50-65 group), and rode the Duo Normand.
In the course of this I have started riding smarter (power meter etc), using a Wattbike a lot, especially over the winter, and have lost nearly 5 stone.
In 2015 there will be 6 weeks in Mallorca, plans for Belgium and the Duo, and other UK and European events. I'm enjoying being able to ride more effectively again!
Like I said back in 2009 - it's about having an objective - for me at least! Without that initial interesting invitation to Belgium I doubt I'd have the motivation to try to get back to cycling as I enjoy it.
So I guess it is about determining what it is about cycling that is key to your enjoyment, and then setting some SMART (management speak, but useful) objectives that will work for you AND be understood and supported by those around you.
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Like I said back in 2009 - it's about having an objective - for me at least! Without that initial interesting invitation to Belgium I doubt I'd have the motivation to try to get back to cycling as I enjoy it.
according to one famous life coach "it's in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped" :thumbsup:
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Motivation low here too. OK in November, nothing startling but a comfortable number of 100k runs. Then in November one of our dogs needed the vet and I strained my fragile sacroiliac holding him (the dog) on the examination table. Two weeks off, then a 30k loop, a 50 and another 30, then down came the rain, the snow and Christmas. Indoors is oh so comfy now...
Still, I've had lay-offs like this before, and 2015 had its own attractions. I'll be back.
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Thank goodness for this thread :thumbsup: I`ve really had to force myself to get out at times; BUT I find that if I don`t get out cycling I feel worse-----so having various targets has helped me to get out (eg completed the 500 miles / month today). But am questioning whether this is sensible, if I`m not enjoying cycling why do it? `spose answer is if I don`t I feel worse for not doing so !
I guess it`s a lot to do with time of year / SAD / having to put lodsa kit on for weather, getting cold, wet etc when in particular this summer in UK was joy to be out and cycling ;D . However the old adage `winter miles , summer smiles` keeps me motivated to continue when it isn`t all sunny and warm.
And so on towards the 200km jan sale this Saturday....how many layers, what waterproof, spare gloves, all slightly depressing to contemplate ::-)
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Decided to face up to the falling off hang up and go off road today. Took a while to get out of the door but once I was out I started to enjoy myself. Didn't fall off and feel a little better I think.
So now I need to work on getting out to start with.
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I know what you all need! A reason. !
next time you need a pint of milk, or something from the diy store, or even a paper, tell yourself its a utility ride, not for pleasure. I guarantee, that once the ride / errend is completed, you'll start to fettle a tad, may be clean a tad also, BUT THIS WAS NOT FOR PLEASURE , YOU UNDERSTAND, IT WAS JUST A SHORT UTILITY RIDE.!!!
Works for me every time. ;D
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That, Blodwyn, and GREAT friends who change there plans so as to encourage you to go out on a bike ride.
Good friends, everyone should have them, I know I do.
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It's nice cycling on winter nights if you dress appropriately.
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First properly sunny and warm day of the year, and I'm completely mojo-less.
I'm knackered from going out yesterday, so perhaps barakta's right and I'm still not over the lingery lurgy we've both had.
I'm failing to fettle, too, which doesn't help.
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Time to resurrect this thread...
I haven't been on my bike for a week. I just can't be bothered. Was supposed to be out tonight but a combination of tiredness (bad night's sleep) and mislaying my Garmin (I need it to navigate to the meeting point; at least I hope it's just mislaid rather than lost!) means I'm just vegetating instead. :(
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Perhaps you just need a rest.
A week? I can go much longer than that, particularly when the weather is not brilliant.
Might show you do not have an addiction.
I note you are still attracted to a cycling related forum, so I would not worry too much.
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Only just managed to get past the 1000 mile mark for the year (normally by this stage of the year I would have
cycled between 3500 - 4500 miles). Fear of embarrassing myself in our local orchestra means I'm driven to practice
a lot at home, thus this takes precedence in my free time. Added to that, I'm working 12 hr shifts (inc nights),
which means my body-clock is out of sync for a few days, hence me feeling tired quite often.
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Finally dragged myself out on my bike this morning - only 30 miles and it started pissing down pretty much as soon as I left the flat. Wasn't particularly enjoyable because of the rain, and my bike is all mucky now. Still, at least I got out - was worried it was going to be a zero-miles week.
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When it happens to me, its usually at this time of year, after a long summer of good miles. I should try taking an actual break rather than half heartedly planning to go out and failing. Work is also a factor for me at this time of year :-(
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I'm t'other way round just now - done 3 rides of around 75 km this week & shaping up to go tomorrow (or maybe Monday). My problem is that in between I do SFA. Got a bunch of guitars I can't be bothered to play and a workshop full of tools to make them but all I feel like doing is bloody nothing. :(
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It happens to most of us from time to time. I suggest you get a black cat bone. Maybe a John the Conqueroo too. Then it will all come back and nobody will mess with you :P
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..,.I suggest you get a black cat bone. Maybe a John the Conqueroo too. Then it will all come back and nobody will mess with you :P
No idea what this means, or to whom it was directed.
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It was directed at anyone who has lost their "Cycling mojo". And obvioulsy those who have ever listened to a Muddy Waters song....
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I am now trying to picture Muddy Waters on a bike.
I am failing.
(Goes back to sleep in hollow log)
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Sorry this is a bit of a whinge, but I'm another one for the club. I've had a few aborted rides recently.
Yesterday for example should have been perfect. It was a sunny dry day with little wind. I sorted out a long ride to do, which could have finished my one of the AUK awards* off on the last day of the season if I had submitted it, and brought me back up to pace for my annual distance target. I had a decent night's sleep, woke up early ready to go - and didn't even manage to leave the house. For some reason I couldn't mentally face the time on the bike needed for a DIY 200, and then got annoyed with myself for not riding it so ended up not riding at all. :-[
I need to try something different I think. That might be playing in the mud on my hardtail, going for a short tour or maybe going back to hill walking for a while. Whatever I do, I need to change how I think about riding a bike. I've got myself into the position of putting pressure on myself to ride long rides, and doing that can make them start to feel like a chore, which is silly because I know I enjoy riding my bikes and that should be more important than any self imposed targets.
*Ok a minor award for many on here, but I would have been quite satisfied personally
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I've got myself into the position of putting pressure on myself to ride long rides, and doing that can make them start to feel like a chore, which is silly because I know I enjoy riding my bikes and that should be more important than any self imposed targets.
I was feeling rubbish after PBP 2015 and had no real interest in cycling. Relatively short tour with low daily miles and a variety of accommodation that guaranteed a bed and hot showers made an awful difference. No pressure worrying about control times and all that stuff.
Suddenly remembered l like riding a bike rather than I like riding a bike to gain points.
Go and just have fun!
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I think the perceived need to do long rides does create unnecessary pressure which becomes self-defeating. I have a monthly target of 300 miles and an annual target of 4000 miles. It doesn't matter how I get there. Long rides, short rides, they all count.
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It was directed at anyone who has lost their "Cycling mojo". And obvioulsy those who have ever listened to a Muddy Waters song....
It's a great suggestion. I might look into getting some ahead of my next long ride.
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I've probably said this before, try ditching the cycle computer/speedometer, whatever.
I find, for me, it lets me enjoy the ride more. However long or short I find that the numbers distract me in ways I didn't realise until I ditched it a few years back. Not a perfect cure for Mojo resuscitation, but it helps. You don't beat yourself up "I'm not as fast as I was/should be" etc etc
Obv, each to their own.
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Thank you for all the replies :)
In truth I was mainly having a whinge, and having had a think about it there may be other factors. I've had a few autumns/winters where I seem to feel a bit fed up (could be light, could be weather - it's windiest/wettest here in October), and I also have had motivational bad patches after achieving my main objectives for the year in the past. This year my main highlight was a tour in July, and along with being ill last month, I cut back cycling mainly to just commuting.
Also the distance target was based on last year, which was the best year I've had in that respect. With the gap over the summer I'm a good 1000km behind where I was this time last year, so trying to achieve the same target by the end of December was probably rather ambitious.
I'm not keen on losing the GPS - I like adding to my heat map and the nerd in me likes playing with numbers while riding (along with the calorie counting for MFP). I have just got rid of my Strava goal for the year though.
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How about this? You're hardly in the ideal location, mind:
http://blog.veloviewer.com/veloviewer-explorer-score-and-max-square/
There's also the cluster (http://blog.veloviewer.com/introducing-the-explorer-cluster-and-configurable-explorer-visuals/), and I'm working on mine until I find a window where they're not blowing shit up on the local army ranges (I have lots of those, being 10 miles away from Europe's largest army base (http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/5007355.Changing_attitudes_a_sign_of_the_times/?ref=arc)).
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I'm well down on last year's mileage, too - but I expected to be (2016 was my biggest mileage ever), and deliberately didn't set any sort of mileage target this year. I've not really had any goals to aim for, though - just riding my bike when I feel like it. I do wonder whether I should set some sort of goals for 2018, because I end up just pootling about, or worse, not cycling at all. :-\
Anyway, today I dragged myself out for the second consecutive day, whoopee! Wetter than yesterday, but at least it was forecast today so I was appropriately dressed and on the winter bike, and had company as it was the club run. I think I'll try to keep at the Sunday club runs through the winter, as having a time and a place to meet gets me out and about when I lack the motivation to go out for a ride on my own.
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(2016 was my biggest mileage ever)
Watching you on Strava was making me quite depressed!
2016 was a bad year for me and 2017 has been worse. On to 2018 ...
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How about this? You're hardly in the ideal location, mind:
http://blog.veloviewer.com/veloviewer-explorer-score-and-max-square/
There's also the cluster (http://blog.veloviewer.com/introducing-the-explorer-cluster-and-configurable-explorer-visuals/), and I'm working on mine until I find a window where they're not blowing shit up on the local army ranges (I have lots of those, being 10 miles away from Europe's largest army base (http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/5007355.Changing_attitudes_a_sign_of_the_times/?ref=arc)).
I might have a look at that, although I might need to take up scrambling and/or sea kayaking to get some of them round me :D
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You say that almost as though it's a bad thing.
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I need to try something different I think. That might be playing in the mud on my hardtail, going for a short tour or maybe going back to hill walking for a while. Whatever I do, I need to change how I think about riding a bike. I've got myself into the position of putting pressure on myself to ride long rides, and doing that can make them start to feel like a chore, which is silly because I know I enjoy riding my bikes and that should be more important than any self imposed targets.
I now hardly ever enjoy riding a bike. This year has been appalling. We DNF'd a 200 on Saturday- which I had been looking forward to- after only 20km. I was sitting on the back of the tandem virtually in tears, the idea of riding all day was so depressing.
I've done some walking, me & No1Daughter have hauled (me) skipped (her) over the 3 peaks, I have a New! Pink! hardtail, and I'm still commuting at least a couple of days most weeks.
I'm just in a holding pattern until the fun returns. :-\
My interest was picqued by the explorer thing though. I love new roads.
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I need to try something different I think.
This has worked for me in the past. Looking back to when I started this thread, I think it was taking up riding fixed gear that got me out of that particular spell in the doldrums.
Cyclocross is another good thing to try - ideal for this time of year, when bashing out yet another 200km audax on the roads is far less appealing than an hour of fast, high-intensity racing in the mud. I eschewed the local 200 to do my first cross race of the season yesterday and it felt hugely invigorating. Yeah, it's not going to make any meaningful contribution towards my annual mileage target, and I can kiss goodbye to that RRTY, but on the other hand, cycling is meant to be fun.
I'd love to get an MTB and get properly gnarly but the budget doesn't stretch to n+1 at the moment.
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There seems to be a lot of it about. Apart from wearing grooves in the road on the commute I've hardly ridden this year, less than a dozen short rides really, cycling has become a bit of a chore really, once I can drag the bike out I still enjoy it but I've had little to no desire to actually get out. It'll come back at some point (hopefully), I do think commuting doesn't help, but the alternatives don't appeal.
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Well, my mojo has gone completely to the point that I booked a couple of days off last week with the idea of doing a big one (200 miles). Got up at 4:30, breakfast, readied the bike, then went back to bed. Eventually started the ride at 7 and managed 50 miles before realising that I was not bothered about the ride and going home was preferable. So I did. That just about sums up my head at the moment, I can't be bothered.
Hoping to get a new bike soon, a cyclocross bike to use as a winter stead. Going to try something different to see how this goes before I "winterfy" it. So maybe ride a bit on the canal or maybe a forest track. I just want to see if I can have fun on a bike again.
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Been affected by a large dose of CBA for the last couple of years and haven't done much riding at all. This year, without a lot of success, I've been forcing myself out as I'd agreed to a reunion trip with some cycling buddies and couldn't really go with no miles in my legs.
The reunion was in Mallorca, which must be close to cycling heaven. Silky, smooth tarmac, a wide variety of terrain and lots of sun. Generally, the roads were busy but the drivers were very courteous.
Did 320 miles in 6 days (which is my highest weekly mileage since 2014) including the ride out to Cap Formentir and the descent/ascent to and from Sa Calobra.
Got my mojo back and would recommend a trip to Mallorca for anyone who needs to do the same.
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I am surprised that no-one has suggested Seasonal Affective Disorder. This happens to me every Autumn/Winter so it was suggested that I invest in a 'lightbox' which I did. Not cheap (around £100) but it definitely works for me.
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(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4464/37621890932_453a691c42_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Zjw2rW)
It's great when you're out there but it is sometimes so difficult to get started.
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I'm just getting back into riding. Been off the bike for several years. Done my first little pootle to the shops this afternoon. I remember that area where your picture is taken, Cudzoziemiec - I used to live in Posset (Portishead) as a teenager and used to ride around Kenn Moors and that area regularly.
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hello stranger!
I should perhaps pay that same signpost a visit next time I am in Nailsea with a bike (possibly the end of Nov). Or even without, it's not exactly a long way and will give me somewhere to aim for when I get my helping of fresh air.
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I'm just getting back into riding. Been off the bike for several years. Done my first little pootle to the shops this afternoon. I remember that area where your picture is taken, Cudzoziemiec - I used to live in Posset (Portishead) as a teenager and used to ride around Kenn Moors and that area regularly.
Ah, Port Zed!
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When we lived there - in the 60s - the local rag - published in Nailsea - had a page called 'Posset Pie' with yokel news from the little village of Posset.
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First time out on the bike since my fall at Wing in July. Only a very short pootle with Peter for a coffee. More an extended chat than a serious bike ride. Need to rinse & repeat.
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When we lived there - in the 60s - the local rag - published in Nailsea - had a page called 'Posset Pie' with yokel news from the little village of Posset.
I think Portishead's grown quite a bit since the 60s! At a rough guess, I'd say it was bigger and livelier than Nailsea now.
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The autumn leaves are beautiful right now, a little pootle to splosh through them is enjoyable.
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The autumn leaves are beautiful right now, a little pootle to splosh through them is enjoyable.
They're also really slippy and mushy. :-\
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The autumn leaves are beautiful right now, a little pootle to splosh through them is enjoyable.
They're also really slippy and mushy. :-\
They haven't quite reached that stage here yet (otherwise yesterday's NCN mystery tour on inappropriate tyres would have been much more fraught), but it can't be long...
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There was something weirdly exciting about surfing the gales home today :)
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Went out today for a couple of hours in the sunshine. Not easy to get out of the door, but I managed. After the initial shock of the cold (where did that come from all of a sudden), I realised that I was actually enjoying the ride. No pressure, Garmin wasn't even recording. A couple of hours of fresh, clean, crisp air that felt really good.
I entered an audax a month or so back, Mr Pickwick's Crych Cymraeg. At the time I wasn't sure if I would bother to ride but I do enjoy Mr Black Sheep's rides so I entered. After the ride today, I find I have some of my old enthusiasm for it and I have to say that I am looking forward to the day out. The weather looks like it will be ok so we will see.
Please don't turn the light off before I get to the end of the tunnel.
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[this post brought to you by Resurrect-o-Rama]
I realised at the weekend that I'd not been on a bike since, erm, probably late last summer. The demise of commuting and that fact my wife is always around have curtailed most opportunities to get on two wheels (my wife doesn't like cycling; she'll join me occasionally, but I know she's doing it on my behalf). Now I'm not one of you rufty-tufty proper cyclists, but I enjoy a day in the saddle, usually pottering around London or somewhere.
At the weekend, I had the opportunity to go for a ride and I couldn't be bothered. I made the excuse that I'd have to pump up the tyres and put some oil on the chain, and that it was cold, it might rain, etc. but I was aware I was making excuses and in the end I went for a hike instead. The issue is really that low-level stress of cycling on roads. When I'm doing it most days, tolerance becomes habitual but after a long break, it's just off-putting. The obligatory close-passes and that faint background whiff of aggression, and to get anywhere sensible involves a ride along roads clogged with potentially belligerent drivers (those roads start at the bottom of the street with a narrow rat-run). Even out in the country, enjoying a lane, you know at some point that car will come speeding behind you, demanding to get by. I can't shake that feeling that any placidity is temporary. Maybe things will look up once the weather turns, but really at the moment, it's just not enticing. This is a shame because I'd really have liked to go for a big ride and I hope I cycle again one day.
No point to this, really, but I may have to hand in my YACF pass and shamefully exit via the back door.
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You know what you need? A unicycle.
Seriously. Just try something different. It's been the cure for my previous down times. Fixed gear, cyclocross, MTB - all have been sources of cycling inspiration at times when I've most needed it. I do have a unicycle as well, but I've never mastered it. Veloviewer tile-bagging has also been a great motivator in the last couple of years, but that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
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What I need is some nice April weather. Just now the thermometer gets up to 11 or 12°C every afternoon but the wind-chill brings it down to ~5° and cycling into it feels like a 5% hill.
This year I've only just done ~30 km more than during the first day of PBP 2015.
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I'm hoping warmer weather and my wife starting to disappear again (sounds harsh, but she was a habitual traveller so I often got weekends to myself) will free up some weekend opportunities, but I'm conscious really that it's the roads and that traffic-related anxiety. There's no hassle if I'm hiking, everyone says hello, and other than the occasional unleashed Cujo, it's all pretty chill. Roads are teeth-gnashy tales of what's-gonna-happen? I'm a bit familiar with this, it was always there when I got back from travels and got on the bike for the first time, but after several months, it's a bit of a mountain and I'm not entirely sure I want to climb it.
Maybe I could unicycle around the garden; that said, I have a pogo stick and the garden fence fears me.
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Take your bike on a train (I've heard tales of such contraptions) or in the car to somewhere more peaceful?
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...Veloviewer tile-bagging has also been a great motivator in the last couple of years, but that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Second this. Get free Strava, pay the £10 pa for veloviewer, away you go on a mission to explore (while bagging OSM tiles). I've lost count of the number of times I've been somewhere new, that I'd previously 'disregarded', and had a great ride. Does require logging rides & navigation, but this is not hard, and planning new routes - which is part of the interest. Starting with city riding most probably comes with a different 'vibe' - remembering my London cycling days, but I've 'done' Reading & nearly Swindon. Worth a go. :) I wasn't able to do much any in lockdown, so it will be good to restart soon.
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I can't see ian being a tile-bagging kind of person, to be honest. But the most important thing about Veloviewer tiles is that it gives you somewhere to go - so you're not just riding round in an aimless loop on roads you've ridden a million times before.
You can apply the same principle in different ways - so for example, yesterday evening my motivation for getting the bike out of the garage was to ride through the woods to the pub. Really, you just need to have a purpose for your outing.
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[this post brought to you by Resurrect-o-Rama]
I realised at the weekend that I'd not been on a bike since, erm, probably late last summer. The demise of commuting and that fact my wife is always around have curtailed most opportunities to get on two wheels (my wife doesn't like cycling; she'll join me occasionally, but I know she's doing it on my behalf). Now I'm not one of you rufty-tufty proper cyclists, but I enjoy a day in the saddle, usually pottering around London or somewhere.
At the weekend, I had the opportunity to go for a ride and I couldn't be bothered. I made the excuse that I'd have to pump up the tyres and put some oil on the chain, and that it was cold, it might rain, etc. but I was aware I was making excuses and in the end I went for a hike instead. The issue is really that low-level stress of cycling on roads. When I'm doing it most days, tolerance becomes habitual but after a long break, it's just off-putting. The obligatory close-passes and that faint background whiff of aggression, and to get anywhere sensible involves a ride along roads clogged with potentially belligerent drivers (those roads start at the bottom of the street with a narrow rat-run). Even out in the country, enjoying a lane, you know at some point that car will come speeding behind you, demanding to get by. I can't shake that feeling that any placidity is temporary. Maybe things will look up once the weather turns, but really at the moment, it's just not enticing. This is a shame because I'd really have liked to go for a big ride and I hope I cycle again one day.
No point to this, really, but I may have to hand in my YACF pass and shamefully exit via the back door.
Exactly this. This is why I was whingeing on the other thread about just missing the cut off for a vaccine. What I really, really want is to be able to comfortably get on a train and go for a walk somewhere because it's pretty much guaranteed that no one will try to kill me.
I didn't cycle for years after changing from a job that demanded it for site visits; I felt utterly burned out by the behaviour you describe. I started again last year due to Covid. In many ways it's been great, and we were lucky we already had everything we needed to start again, but enough crap has happened that I started getting pretty unpleasant anxiety before a ride, which starts earlier and earlier. Hence my yearning to just go for a walk somewhere that isn't Croydon, and hanging around vaccine clinics looking for spares.
On Sunday I've got a foraging course near Caterham to cycle to and I know I will just get on with it as it's not a long cycle there, but not without a feeling of dread beforehand and charging up the bloody handlebar cams. They've got somewhere secure to leave the bike though so I will be able to have a nice walk in the woods without worrying about it.
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I can't see ian being a tile-bagging kind of person, to be honest. But the most important thing about Veloviewer tiles is that it gives you somewhere to go - so you're not just riding round in an aimless loop on roads you've ridden a million times before.
You can apply the same principle in different ways - so for example, yesterday evening my motivation for getting the bike out of the garage was to ride through the woods to the pub. Really, you just need to have a purpose for your outing.
In the absence of veloviewer excursions end of last year, and needing to keep to very familiar roads, I started trying some riding every day - in the end, from late Dec to early April. So I've recently stopped, and I didn't really do the intensity/distance for it to get me very fit, but it got me out everyday if even if just a short ride. Also did quite a few utility rides to pick up food. What was interesting was having built up quite a 'max streak' was the desire/compulsion to keep it up, and not to stop. There was a kind of 'normalising' of cycling effect too, I think, as part of the daily activities...
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I don't think I'd ride much if I live in Surrey. Or Croydon. I suppose you(one/I) don't hear about the millions of uneventful journeys, nor do you remember them, but you remember the close passes, the aggression, the sheer volume of impatient people in weapons while you're trying to go about your business.
Drive somewhere else and go offroad/ traffic free, would be my recommendation, and then when you've re-remembered the enjoyment, you can start getting out from your front door.
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Yeah, you need to move out of Surrey. Everything between Morden and Dorking is rat run gnarl.
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From my time in SW london (no car), I remember some good rides, with bike on train to places like Petersfield, then east and back up to e.g. Haslemere stn for rtn to big smoke.
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Nah, I'm not a tile bagger (sounds a bit like an obscure sexual practice), I practice an art known as randomeering, which I basically have no plan or destination, I just go. I'm fine with that. In pre-COVID times I was used to avoiding local roads by taking the train somewhere sensible, but there's still that baseline anxiety at the end. The south-east is a bit crowded so finding a lane that's guaranteed not to have a local hammering down like a bullet in their Corsa is never guaranteed and at some point you'll find yourself laid out like a sacrifice on the tarmac altar of some dreadful A road.
It's not like I'm terrified of traffic, I used to often commute home via the A23, but inner London traffic isn't quite as bad as local traffic, it's predictably unpredictable. But still not really a measure of fun. And it gets more Mad Max the further you head out towards the Croydon traffic dystopia.
There is a recent incident that sticks in mind, finishing my ride home, I had the usual van revving behind me on the narrow road, some shouted abuse, that kind of thing (and the worst thing is that it's not atypical, this is something that as a cyclist, you're habituated to entertain), and it was somehow worse because it was around the corner from where I lived. Then, as I turned into my street, a beer bottle sailed by my head. Terrible aim, so it more symbolic than an actual threat, but I'm conscious that really there is no other activity I undertake which comes with the regular threat of an actual physical assault. And the knowledge that if something does happen, then I'm powerless, I don't even have much expectation the police will do anything.
Even then though, it's the minor stuff, the litany of close passes and minor aggression and ignorance, coupled with the knowledge that a lot of people in those cars hates me for no reason than I'm a 'cyclist.' It annoys me that I have to rationalise this as something that happens and should be expected to happen and I just have to deal with it just to undertake an activity that I enjoy. Actually, that's a lot more than an annoyance.
Oh, I'm just musing on a feeling that's been growing for a while and I guess a lack of cycling during the last year has brought it to the fore, maybe I'll get a sunny weekend free and think fuck it, let's go.
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[this post brought to you by Resurrect-o-Rama]
I realised at the weekend that I'd not been on a bike since, erm, probably late last summer. The demise of commuting and that fact my wife is always around have curtailed most opportunities to get on two wheels (my wife doesn't like cycling; she'll join me occasionally, but I know she's doing it on my behalf). Now I'm not one of you rufty-tufty proper cyclists, but I enjoy a day in the saddle, usually pottering around London or somewhere.
At the weekend, I had the opportunity to go for a ride and I couldn't be bothered. I made the excuse that I'd have to pump up the tyres and put some oil on the chain, and that it was cold, it might rain, etc. but I was aware I was making excuses and in the end I went for a hike instead. The issue is really that low-level stress of cycling on roads. When I'm doing it most days, tolerance becomes habitual but after a long break, it's just off-putting. The obligatory close-passes and that faint background whiff of aggression, and to get anywhere sensible involves a ride along roads clogged with potentially belligerent drivers (those roads start at the bottom of the street with a narrow rat-run). Even out in the country, enjoying a lane, you know at some point that car will come speeding behind you, demanding to get by. I can't shake that feeling that any placidity is temporary. Maybe things will look up once the weather turns, but really at the moment, it's just not enticing. This is a shame because I'd really have liked to go for a big ride and I hope I cycle again one day.
No point to this, really, but I may have to hand in my YACF pass and shamefully exit via the back door.
I find London suburbs are the worst places of all to ride - and the commuter towns around worse.
If you want interesting, stress free cycling - head into the centre of London at the weekend. It is empty, peaceful, and full of surprises. And when I mean empty, I mean some streets have NO cars at the weekend - it is uncanny.
I've swapped my regular long rides into the Chilterns for shorter rides around different parts of London: It is so relaxing.
I only discovered this by bagging velo-viewer tiles when we went into Tier4.
I'll still do a long monthly ride out to the chilterns - but that's for the challenge rather than the joy of cycling: Which surprisingly is easier to find in the centre of one of the worlds busiest cities, at the weekend.
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My mojo evaporated with the onset of winter. I've been forcing myself out every other day or so to maintain some fitness, but it's a slog when it's miserably cold and the roads are full of the sort of drivers that make you miss London.
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I find London suburbs are the worst places of all to ride - and the commuter towns around worse.
If you want interesting, stress free cycling - head into the centre of London at the weekend. It is empty, peaceful, and full of surprises. And when I mean empty, I mean some streets have NO cars at the weekend - it is uncanny.
I've swapped my regular long rides into the Chilterns for shorter rides around different parts of London: It is so relaxing.
I only discovered this by bagging velo-viewer tiles when we went into Tier4.
I'll still do a long monthly ride out to the chilterns - but that's for the challenge rather than the joy of cycling: Which surprisingly is easier to find in the centre of one of the worlds busiest cities, at the weekend.
It's a truism the outer boroughs and the areas just beyond the London pale are the worst. Crossing over the border into the London Borough of Croydon always comes with a sinking feeling. Surrey should append its sign with 'abandon all hope, ye cyclists.'
I generally do like cycling around London at the weekend, it's my usual haunt when I get some free time. There's beer (oh, The Experiment, how I miss you) and street food and I can wobble around and see interesting things. It's prime randomeering, even after years, I still stumble across new things. I might get back to that when the trains become more amenable and less plaguey, I suppose. I mostly don't mind the inner boroughs, most of whom – with the notable two exceptions – have made some efforts to promote and encourage cycling. There are other cyclists, you feel less like a stranger in a strange land, and it's not pavement-to-pavement 100% hate.
I remember several years back, we were cycling around bits of Vancouver Island near Victoria and at a junction, a car pulled up next to us, down came the window, and we both just bristled for what would surely be the usual vitriol.
"Lovely day, eh? Going somewhere nice?"
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On Sunday I've got a foraging course near Caterham to cycle to and I know I will just get on with it as it's not a long cycle there, but not without a feeling of dread beforehand and charging up the bloody handlebar cams. They've got somewhere secure to leave the bike though so I will be able to have a nice walk in the woods without worrying about it.
I've not finished the Surrey Bear Census, but be warned, the woods between Woldingham and Caterham are the epicentre of bear activity.
(If you're not in a hurry and don't mind hills, the back route along Old Lodge Lane, across Kenley airfield, and the edge of Caterham-on-the-Hill and down into the valley via Waller Lane is probably the most pleasant way to avoid the A22. Or grind up to Warlingham via the 'official cycle route' and down Bug Lane. Or mountain bike, you'll need it, along Sustrans route 21. You probably know all this. But not the bears).
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On Sunday I've got a foraging course near Caterham to cycle to and I know I will just get on with it as it's not a long cycle there, but not without a feeling of dread beforehand and charging up the bloody handlebar cams. They've got somewhere secure to leave the bike though so I will be able to have a nice walk in the woods without worrying about it.
I've not finished the Surrey Bear Census, but be warned, the woods between Woldingham and Caterham are the epicentre of bear activity.
(If you're not in a hurry and don't mind hills, the back route along Old Lodge Lane, across Kenley airfield, and the edge of Caterham-on-the-Hill and down into the valley via Waller Lane is probably the most pleasant way to avoid the A22. Or grind up to Warlingham via the 'official cycle route' and down Bug Lane. Or mountain bike, you'll need it, along Sustrans route 21. You probably know all this. But not the bears).
Thanks ian. The organisers have now sent me full details and they're actually near the church at Chaldon, so going through Purley and Coulsdon to go over Farthing Downs makes most sense. At least the Downs are nice. Of course I am aware of the Surrey Bears (though recently I read that there are or were bears in Hackney upon stumbling across a very strange 'Cryptid creatures' website while looking for something else).
At some point we'll leave Croydon, certainly after it's become clearer whether the WFH thing is going to stick, or whether employers will revert to lots of in person meetings for meetings' sake. Can't do it just yet though.
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Ah, enjoy the church, they painted it in the thirteenth century and have yet to get it redone (some mishap with the contractors). The wall paintings are quite impressive, but I secretly think it would look even better accessorized with glitter (it should be open, it was last weekend, but the vicar watches me like a hawk).
Also, try saying Chaldon with a faux French accent. O Chaldon, Chaldon... it makes me happy. I do it in the car every time we drive through. My wife loves me doing this so much that she's making a special note of the fact on the divorce papers.
Croydon's not so bad, it got better after I left. It even has places where you can drink now. Crazy times.
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I mojo'ed myself into an actual ride today. Ninety kilometres on the Brompton. I think someone resurfaced the seat with sandpaper while I was away. It's a good job I don't want children because it doesn't feel like that will be an option from now on. The powers that be organized a special headwind to celebrate my tour of south London's favourite flytipping spots. For bonus points, I was in the wrong gear for the big hill I live on, but because I am a man, and thus mostly idiot with a bit of stupid, I didn't give up. Now I have jello legs.
The nurse is administering beer.
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:thumbsup:
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Ninety kilometres on the Brompton.
That counts the same as 150km on a proper bike. Good work.
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Saturday miles count double, so it's 300km. Award yourself a badge. :D
(I rode to Tesco and back yesterday. That's a fraction over a mile each way. Yebbut it's up hill with full panniers on the way back and and and... )
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Good stuff, Ian - get the seat sorted out, or you may not be a man much longer!
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If you're going to regularly do that sort of distance and given your known aversion to Cycling Gimp Wear, maybe invest in padded pants. These are a thing and I'm assured nobody can tell from the outside and no, they don't have a dual function for senior citizens. Never used them myself though.
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Having been cycling for well over 50 years, I have, not surprisingly seen a lot of changes. At one time, I loved riding through the Winter and often clocked over 1000 miles in January and again in February. As I have got older though, I am not as keen as I once was and hardly touched my bike at all during last December and January.
For many years I worked in Birmingham City Centre and cycled to work and back daily. I got a thrill from riding down the Queensway Tunnel on my way home each night, completely oblivious to the risk I was putting myself at as this was one of the main routes in and out of the City. I was also well into Time-Trialling and would often ride out to Lichfield and then go training on the A38 between Lichfield and Derby and never had any problems.
Some years ago, I attended a "Risk Assessment" course and it definitely changed my whole outlook on where I went cycling from then on. Looking back on where I had ridden in the past scared me and I suppose I was just "lucky". Motorists today appear to be just impatient and will often do silly things just to save a few seconds but I am slowly discovering new ways to enjoy my cycling again as in the thread above and part of the enjoyment for me is in the creating and planning of a suitable route to somewhere.
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Jethro - we are very alike. I too have been cycling for around 50 years, and enjoyed tours in the UK and continental Europe. I commuted when I last worked (in Leicester) and used to cycle all year round, day and night, snow, ice & distance held no fears for me.
My last job included a lot of elements of risk management (and I still do some of that voluntarily, occasionally) but my professional understanding of Risk never dulled my enthusiasm for cycling. I learned to contextualise the nature of the risks and mange them. We are all different, and I respect your feelings.
But- I have barely ridden at all this year. My mojo has well and truly departed. I have a number of excuses, but I think there are two root causes (1) boredom with my local roads - whichever way I go, I've got to negotiate suburban Leicester before I get to the countryside; (2) I suspect that the last year has left me on the edge of depression.
I intend to deal with (1) as soon as I can drive to somewhere with a cafe where I can leave Mrs M (who is increasingly immobile) while I go cycling for an hour or two while she drinks tea & eats cake - this approach might help deal with (2) - I certainly hope so!
I also have the sense that past cycling glories are - somehow - holding me back. It's become painfully obvious that my body is coming up to 66, but my head still believes I am 30 and capable of the physicality of a 30 year old. I hate the knowledge that I cannot (realistically) do those 200k rides any more, and despise my body for letting me down every time I'm knackered by relatively simple physical tasks! (and yes, that's the depression seeping out!)
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If you're going to regularly do that sort of distance and given your known aversion to Cycling Gimp Wear, maybe invest in padded pants. These are a thing and I'm assured nobody can tell from the outside and no, they don't have a dual function for senior citizens. Never used them myself though.
It was more a case that several cycle-free months of gentle soaking of my loins in steamy Badedas-scented bathwater had led to a delightful yet impractical softness of the nethers.
I doubt it will be regular until my wife starts travelling again and frees up some weekends, but I may try and entice her on tour de Kent this summer. We did do the entire coast the other year (and the bit through Canterbury) as a series of day trips (a good excuse to finish with fish and chips and a beer or three) and she didn't complain that much. We nearly did it last year, but she wanted a Brompton to throw in the car and they were unobtainium.
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Most unusually I actually turned back home early on a ride yesterday after just a few miles. I was out with a group, the majority of which were riding electric bikes. The prevailing wind was gusty and the group started off at an fairly uncomfortable rate of knots for me. I just knew I would not be able to keep up with the group later, particularly on some lumpy bits and the appeal and enjoyment of the ride just disappeared. I have only ever done this once before. Getting old I suppose, however spending some months in the house has not helped. Ho hum. Tomorrow is another day.
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Most unusually I actually turned back home early on a ride yesterday after just a few miles. I was out with a group, the majority of which were riding electric bikes. The prevailing wind was gusty and the group started off at an fairly uncomfortable rate of knots for me. I just knew I would not be able to keep up with the group later, particularly on some lumpy bits and the appeal and enjoyment of the ride just disappeared. I have only ever done this once before. Getting old I suppose, however spending some months in the house has not helped. Ho hum. Tomorrow is another day.
That doesn't sound like a particularly courteous group to ride with. You should always ride to speed of slowest, or split group in two if there a big variance in ability. Folk on eBikes not waiting on a tough ride sadly doesn't surprise me in the least. If you have a medical reason, are well past retirement age trying to keep up with younger club mates or are an occasional rider trying to keep up with your other half who is a very keen and much stronger rider, an eBike makes a lot of sense. However that's not the typical customer who no matter how they try and justify an eBike, the TL:DR version is always that they are lazy and can't be bothered getting fitter. Folk with lazy attitudes who don't want to put work in don't tend to put effort in other ways too. :/