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how do you motivate yourself to ride in rubbish weather?

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  • November 15, 2012 at 7:03 pm #17280
    racefaceec90

    i admit that i am a lightweight when it comes to riding in bad weather.can always make excuses (blame it on my depression why i don’t go out in the rain/unfit/lazy e.t.c)

    the annoying thing is that i will finally be getting my first proper road bike next week (a lovely specialized tarmac sport).

    have wanted a road bike for a long time.

    obviously next week’s weather looks pretty dire all week in wiltshire X(

    i really don’t want to take my new bike out in the crap weather on it’s first outing (i know :\”>

    how do you deal with riding in bad weather/get motivated to ride?
    i know it’s a stupid question to ask,but i do suffer with depression and it really does put the dampeners on things X( thanks in advance đŸ™‚

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  • November 16, 2012 at 3:09 pm #706589
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    andyp

    Whenever I look outside and
    Whenever I look outside and start to wonder about whether I should give the ride a miss, I tell myself ‘this time tomorrow/monday/in 2hrs time, I’ll be sitting at a desk wishing I was on my bike’. Never fails.

    November 16, 2012 at 12:26 pm #706587
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    Farky

    Sounds like youve got in
    Sounds like youve got in under control already!

    Planning and preperation always overcome procrastination!

    I do actually enjoy riding in the rain and feel great for the achievement afterwards knowing mere mortals would never do such a thing but I hate the idea of it the night before and especially the morning I have to get up out fo my cosy bed and leaving my wife there on her own…stealing all the quilt!

    Plan your route…DONE
    Organise your gear:
    Bike….Sounds like youve sorted it, condsider lights/mudguards etc but all extras.
    Gear….Just have the basics covered at least, anything WProof top and bottom, warm layers and base layers so you dont get all sticky/sweaty.
    Reward…youve got a cafe stop in there, great…what about afterwards? I love planning a long hot bath and usually sort the bath out the nite before (remove the clothes hung out to dry etc).
    Food…you need to eat prior, during and after or else you will drain yourself to the point that your conditions will take over completely, before, during and after. Decent dinner and some supper the day before, brekfast/wakeup coffee prior, cereal bars/coffe stop during and have something ready for your return home.

    Reasoning: Give yourself a reason to do it, fitness, health, fun, whatever it means to you..and remember that somehow whether it be pictures or books, or even eurosport/dvds. It all helps you to visualise it and plant that seed deep down.

    I love cycling in a group….I hate getting out of bed early when I have the option as I so often dont.

    Ive only just managed, last week, to get out with my local club for the very first time in 18mths and now im kicking myself I didnt do it sooner.

    Still hate getting out of bed early though!

    Plan and prepare.

    November 16, 2012 at 11:52 am #706585
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    aende

    Motivation In:
    I have to get
    Motivation In:

    I have to get to work to pay the mortgage

    Motivation Out:

    I want to get home to be with the kids

    In other news, bad weather does not bother me, high wind is the only killer – drains energy.

    November 16, 2012 at 6:11 am #706583
    0
    racefaceec90

    thanks a lot for all the
    thanks a lot for all the advice đŸ˜€ i just won’t be able to help myself when the bike turns up (i just want to start riding it đŸ™‚

    will post up some videos of it’s first outing next week đŸ˜‰

    i will firstly be walking (i know/it’s just that the bus fare is so expensive/every spare penny will be going to pay off the bike) from devizes to melksham.then if i’m not dead đŸ˜‰ will try and do a ride that i have planned for it’s first outing.

    from melksham to lacock.up the steep hill to the main chippenham/devizes road.
    cross over to calne.
    turn right at the main road (as if going to beckhampton roundabout) but climb back up hill where north wilts golf course is).
    cross over the main road at junction (devizes/beckhampton) and head to horton then to pewsey vale. (sorry for the long write up :”>

    continue onto marlbrough (stop and have a coffee).then return back to devizes via pewsey vale (by this point i will be feeling like this :&

    i know it’s a big ride for me (as i really am not very fit),but i really wanted to give my new bike a decent first outing (will really test my legs on the hills also :”(
    if you’ve read this far award yourself a piece of cake from me for reading all that đŸ˜€

    November 15, 2012 at 11:49 pm #706581
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    Edgeley

    Great stuff above. More
    Great stuff above. More prosaically, you will get wet, but overshoes definitely make it less vile. Enjoy. The road in the wet is better than inside in the wet.

    November 15, 2012 at 11:22 pm #706579
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    notfastenough

    I don’t suffer from
    I don’t suffer from depression (I don’t think) but I do have times when I’m almost inert, like a feeling that I just can’t move to do anything. I’ve learnt that I have to apply real mental focus (actually learnt in martial arts classes) to do what I need to do (e.g. get ready) but then once I’m out, such feelings disappear.

    When the weather looks grotty, I console myself with two things: if few(er) others are out training, then I’m catching them up fitness-wise, and that I get the chance to use the posh Rapha rain jacket that I got in a sale. Perhaps treat yourself to something fancy that makes the poor weather a positive?

    The other thing is that I try to use familiar routes, but each one infrequently so that almost every ride I can secure a couple of personal records on Strava.

    Good luck and stay positive.

    November 15, 2012 at 9:19 pm #706577
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    SideBurn

    Would agree with everything
    Would agree with everything above especially Rule 9 and arrange to ride in a group; rides in poor weather are very memorable occasionally for the wrong reasons. I will never forget a ride in a group where we had a snowball fight whilst riding (we were able to reach down and gather snow) and finding myself riding down hill on sheet ice, there were gaps of dry tarmac but none wide enough to stop, so I was able to almost stop and then had to release the brake and pray. I got to what I thought was the end of the ice, found the ‘wet’ road was black ice and went down like a sack of spuds without a scratch! Mudguards are also a necessary evil. But where cycling and bad weather are concerned the rule that there is no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothes is worth remembering. Was thinking this all the way round the 100 mile Exmoor Beast this year, I would have paid a lot of money for a pair of overshoes! It was bitter weather but I still finished B-)

    November 15, 2012 at 9:05 pm #706575
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    Jasonnz1

    When you bike in the rubbish
    When you bike in the rubbish weather, it makes you realise how much funriding in great weather is.

    November 15, 2012 at 9:03 pm #706573
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    trikeman

    Apparently, the excersise you
    Apparently, the excersise you get from regular cycling (whatever the weather) encourages you body to release some sort of ‘happy hormones’ – I always feel great after riding. I commute in all weathers and find (as eluded to above – the tube) I don’t get the nasty bugs that inhabit trains, tubes and places where hundreds of people gather – a second class ride beats a first class train every time.

    A close buddie was actually recommended to start cycling to reduce stress/anxiety which he suffered bad with, he was a different person a few weeks into riding to work. I find a great relief when I ride in the rain – some call me mad but I genuinely love it in the rain.

    I do s***t myself (regularly) in the icy weather though. :O

    Go for it but don’t wreck your new (excellent) bike – good luck with it and get some decent kit to keep you dry (ish) and warm.

    Regards

    Trikeman. đŸ˜‰

    November 15, 2012 at 8:55 pm #706571
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    Gkam84

    One other thing, treat your
    One other thing, treat your bike as another member of the family, so when you’ve thrashed it around, come home and give it a nice clean bath and dry it off thoroughly, it will love you back for longer that way.

    Take care of it and you shall have a longer life with it. đŸ˜€

    November 15, 2012 at 8:22 pm #706569
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    bikecellar

    externilise the distractions,
    externilise the distractions, weather, crap roads, life,s problems and focus on the ride and how good it is to be doing what you enjoy.

    November 15, 2012 at 8:09 pm #706567
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    matt_fantastic

    Even in the worst weather, my
    Even in the worst weather, my bike commute is better than being on the Tube… B-)

    November 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm #706565
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    TheSpaniard

    Rule 9.
    That’s a good
    Rule 9.

    That’s a good feeling.

    November 15, 2012 at 8:00 pm #706563
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    Raleigh

    Team up with a mate.
    Also:
    #9
    Team up with a mate.

    Also:

    #9

    đŸ˜€

    November 15, 2012 at 7:54 pm #706561
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    Gennysis

    After a couple of years of
    After a couple of years of (almost) daily commuting in all weathers in west central Scotland I’d say that if you can persist enough for a couple of months it will just become habit, and the weather really won’t bother you. Also I have noticed a big upturn in my mood since I made regular cycling the norm; things just don’t bother me as much and I feel confident to take on what life throws at me.
    Do it enough to make it habit and you will start to enjoy all the benefits. Mudguards aren’t a bad idea too!

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