|   fellow rider in need of a little inspiration... | ells
Nov 27, 2001 7:57 PM | | Well, I hate to say it, but it has been over a month since I have gone a on a good REAL ride. I am just not motivated to go. Maybe it is because I have been busy with work, but that is still no excuse for missing over a month. I also have a confession to make...I have actually thought about selling the ride to buy a vehicle. I know, I know...I must be crazy, but it is awfully tempting. So please, somebody, anybody...I am desperately in need of a little inspiration to get on that bike. I know it has to come from within, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks eh. |
| Inspiration....(sorry it got long and stupid) | hazem
Nov 27, 2001 8:26 PM | | I really understand where you are coming from. Although high school is equated with easy times and fun days, mine seem to be dominated by 5 college classes, cross country/track, and a load of extra activities. When sunday rolls around I think; "do i really want to bust my legs today and go hammer out a ride i have so much to do." Typically it is my procrastination that gets me in the garage...i never want to do homework, government essays especially lol. But when i get into the garage and look at my poor el-cheapo bike I tend to have a second thought. I think this is a waste of my time and everytime i ride my time to get hit by a car is coming (statuistics tells me these are completely independent events tho lol). Anyways i figure i will cruise around the yard and hit a trail or two for a 15 minute ride to make sure i don't forget what kind of bike i have. Roll down the driveway and drop a set of stairs and immediatly i don't care. It is the feeling once you are on the bike jumping over crap and flying through mud or dropping sets of stairs and going over some skateboard jump a kid left in the road. That feeling of complete release from all my crap i have to do and utter joy i get in riding always makes me very glad i decided to ride. Seemingly short lived, the 2 hour ride is carried with me throughout the next week. As stupid as such a concept sounds i find myself remembering the dicey turn i made or the creek i splashed through as i run laps on the track. Everything looks, at least to me, as a grest riding obstacle...the neighbors ditch has been tried many times. Although i am definetly rambling and the english literature teacher would kill me for the lack of a thesis, describing the feeling is difficult. So if you really need inspiration to ride, you can take my joy and give it a whirl. Look at your bike as a lottery ticket. Right in your garage may be something that is missing from your life. I think Herman Hesse said that experience is teh currency of life...if so a weekly ride is at least a $50. :o)
PS if riding isn't for you i will soon be a poor college student. Everyone feels better when they give away stuff! U don't believe me?!? just give me your bike and you will see how good it feels hehehe |
| re: fellow rider in need of a little inspiration... | "B"
Nov 27, 2001 8:48 PM | | Every time we Mt bikers fly down a trail the blood starts pumping to our heads and the adrenalin is floodig our bodys as we soar by trees, rocks, and all those other obstacles that are grazing our asses. The feeling we get when riding is like no other. Nothing can get us in a better mood. I get so much crap from my non mt biker friends because I spent more on my bike and still spend more on my bike then I did on my car. Theres no regrets. They just dont understand it. When Im soaring down a single track trail leaving my buddys to eat my dust as I come around a hair pin corner or better yet a swith back curve and the balls start flying when I realize that tree is coming up quick. "WHAT A RUSH!!!!!!" And for the rest of that ride, and every other ride, I feel like a Mountain bike god. I hope you can get this feeling back because I know you know what Im talking about
So keep the bike, you'll get through this.
LIVE AND RIDE RIDE AND LIVE
"B" |
| ells,ells... all you need is... | Stine
Nov 27, 2001 9:46 PM | | a good bike ride.
Seriously. We've all had slumps. I know when I have had them, I have had to force myself to go and then I realize again just how good it is for me.
I have only come close to selling my bike once though. So glad I didn't. It would have been a huge mistake.
You said yourself that you have been busy with work. That is a stress maker for sure, and stress needs release. Your bike is waiting to help you with that.
:)
Come on... just go for a ride and see! Be a kid again. |
| here's what you do... | SoCal MTB'r
Nov 27, 2001 9:50 PM | | Yes, you DO sell your bike, but not to buy a new "vehicle." No, you sell your current ride for a new, more exciting ride. THAT'LL get you motivated to ride again, and again, and again.
Once you've re-established this regular riding pattern, it should take hold and you won't have to post here about having the mtb'ing blahs. No, instead, you'll be singing me praises about how right I was, how easy a solution I provided you that has durable, long-lasting effects on your physical and mental health, etc.
What do you ride? If looking at it in your garage doesn't get you hard, buy a new bike that does.
Pay the clerk at the front desk please. |
| Get on your bike and ride, or we will kick your ass. | Joe Blow
Nov 28, 2001 12:25 AM | | Nuff said. |
| A suggestion or 2(from a tech-head)... | ®andyA
Nov 28, 2001 5:13 AM | | You haven't ridden in a month, pfffft!!! I haven't have a good ride since Labor Day. A job transfer/promotion, house work, and coaching b-ball at my old grade school (which many of the parents read as: *free babysitting* >:-/ ) all have schemed to keep me off the trails in an otherwise warm autumn in MI.
My saving grace has been a couple things:
1) A bike trainer: Helps keep my legs going and helps me de-stress.
2) Bike maintenance/upgrades: I've been planning on a few mods to a couple of my rides. I've been researching and taking steps to get info and parts for a couple of my bikes. Nothing major, just some little mods that I'd like to make on them. Plus, doing some year-end maintenance on my bikes helps to keep me "in-tune" with my bikes' conditions.
Randy |
| Sell it | cleatgrrl
Nov 28, 2001 6:05 AM | | If you can get a whole vehicle for the used sale price of your vehicle, then do it! Your bike has started to weigh you down. Then after you sell it, buy a used $60 pink schwinn frame/fork from a flea market or swap -- get one with horizontal drops and build up a project bike--SS or otherwise. Go retro and you'll be amazed at what you can ride without suspension of any kind, and even without gears. Maybe you'll regain the passion. |
| re: fellow rider in need of a little inspiration... | BlizzardPaPa
Nov 28, 2001 8:14 AM | | A few things that ususally get me riding again:
1. A good ride. Call out you riding buddies and go for a ride. work Can wait.
2. cycling Videos. Just rent or borrow a couple of them. Pop them in the idiot box. within minutes, you will want to ride lik the pro.
3. Go to the bike shop and see what do they have on sale. a new tire, new grips, new handle bar, seat, drive train, or just a couple of stickers may do the trick.
4. Find a new place to ride. If you are an exclusive mountain biker, go for a road ride.
raphael |
| Don't lose the bike. Selling the bike is selling your spirit. | Sport
Nov 28, 2001 12:19 PM | | Don't do it. I make that mistake once in my life and will never do it again. Riding isn't just riding it's a lifestyle. There is something magical about being on a bike. When I sold my ride I was into mountain biking a good 6 years. The ride I sold was a Merlin titanium that took me a year to build up. It was supposed to be my ultimate bike. Why I sold it? I got married and into debt. I went without riding a good 3 years. It hurt. I would stare at passing hills and look for a hint of a trail. My brother told me that he could see me selling anything else but my bike. It was wrong, so wrong. Riding is in the spirit. I ended up moving from California to Washington state due to a job prospect. As a going away present my family got me a brand new Klein. I used to own a Klein Rascal once and loved it. I didn't ride the bike in CA but boxed it up and shipped it with my other stuff to Washington. Why? The bike was born and bred in Chehalis, WA. This was the year Klein took control back of it manufacturing from Trek and were building their frames again in WA. I christened my bike in Washington state. It felt right. I'm not as hardcore of a rider I use to be but whenever I can get a chance on my bike I do so. I commute to work on my bike, explore new places in the Seattle area and even run a simple errand. Don't sell the bike unless you really have to. I did and learned to regret it. Get on your bike and ride. Go on a favorite trail and ride it slower than you usually do and appreciate where your bike takes you. If you lose the bike it wouldn't be the bike you sold it would be your spirit. |
| thanks guys... | ells
Nov 28, 2001 1:45 PM | | i just forced myself to go out for a ride, and now remember how great it feels. thanks a lot! |
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