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Anybody recover from burnout?
 

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

10/12/18 6:30 PM

Anybody recover from burnout?

I've been burned out on cycling for a couple years now. I still ride outside and ride the trainer but honestly my heart is no longer in it. No interest in buying anything and i often find I'm anxious for the ride or training session to end.

I honestly feel that with type 1 diabetes and a strong family history of cardiac disease it has probably kept me alive. I'm 66 and afraid to stop, but I wish the enjoyment was still there. I bought a couple of wonderful frames last year but even that didn't relight the fire.

I'm down to 1 bike I ride and when I see an interesting frame I say meh.


People I know that have quit and tried to comeback have been unsuccessful, so I'm afraid to stop, but at this point its just health maintenance for me.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

10/12/18 6:54 PM

Maybe a different direction. Adventure and woods jaunts are getting more and more attractive to me. Riding road among the blunt skulls who can't put down the GUI devices a huge deterrent.

If not for all the MUTs and rail trails here I wonder how much paved riding I'd actually do. I seldom ride along the side of the roads cars travel on, just sometimes at perfectly picked times of the day only.

I went out earlier, and came back. Just went out of my subdivision and the first controlled intersection I cross to get to a pretty nice sub-division of freshly paved streets I like to ride, 1-1/2mile from my house. Asshole going right across the cross walk I had the 'walk' light to cross got a bit to close to me for my liking. Friday afternoons seem the worst to me here.

Harrumph..

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dddd
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3345
Location: NorCal

10/12/18 7:21 PM

I know people a little older than myself who ride shorter distances, two times per day.
They'll even start club rides mid-ride, or peel off half-way through a ride.

Without knowing your local, I can't make any recommendations. I do many rides in lieu of using my truck, to a nearby store or out of town to a doctor's visit. It helps to have an "urban" sort of bike that is more theft-deterrent for this kind of thing, I just use old bikes from Goodwill and such, and their different riding character only makes riding more interesting.

One thing I kept telling people on a Polymyalgia Rheumatica sub-forum was to get out and get their exercise right after breakfast while their energy level was at peak! I was severely adrenal-deficient from PMR and this really worked for me.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

10/13/18 4:31 AM

Some things that have helped me when I start to feel a bit down on riding are:

- Go out in the woods on the gravel bike, MTB or fat bike. The change of scenery and forest air work wonders.

- Go for road rides with no planned route; just go out and explore new roads. I tend to be a creature of habit and get into a rut of riding the same roads endlessly. Randomly riding around has helped me find cool new roads and invigorate my riding.

- Slow down (this goes with the above somewhat). It's easy to get into the habit of going hard - or worse yet, medium-hard - all the time. It just wears on you and you need to give your body a break.

- Ride events. We've had a blast doing organized gravel rides, which are a lot of fun, attract a really diverse crowd and generally have a really laid-back atmosphere. They also take you to places you've never been.

- Take bike vacations. We've been doing this every year for a while now. They give you a goal to work toward (I hesitate to use the word "train") and like other events, take you to new places. We typically plan a week of riding and another week of other activities around the ride.


It's all about a change of pace and scenery. [/list]

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RCoapman
Joined: 09 Feb 2005
Posts: 5137
Location: Back in the snowy homeland

10/13/18 8:36 AM

$0.02

It sounds like you need a total break. If you're burned out even doing the thing at a lower intensity can keep you in that state of burnout and not allow you to begin moving forward. I might suggest moving to some other form of exercise if you're worried about keeping fit for your health. Walking/running, hiking, swimming...something. My guess would be that any time on the bike is going to be not fun for you for some time so stay off it.

Why are you afraid to stop? It's ok to not cycle. I understand your health concerns but there are other options. If cycling has run its course for you so be it. All things end. Maybe you will come back and maybe you won't, it's ok either way.

And the trainer is the worst if you're burned out. For me it was always torture. I still think about my 4-5hr basement workouts from long ago and I get a bit of a shudder, LOL If you can't find joy in it, there's no point. See if you can and if you can't, time to fall back, regroup, and make a new plan.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

10/13/18 10:12 AM

"Go for road rides with no planned route; just go out and explore new roads. I tend to be a creature of habit and get into a rut of riding the same roads endlessly. Randomly riding around has helped me find cool new roads and invigorate my riding. "

Agreed with Brian on this one before, and said this before when the subject comes up.

If road bike, just going and getting lost/exploring for me looses the time element. I find that nowhere time/place feels therapeutic.

Wood is always like this for me. I just lack riding lackeys for that. ;)


" I still think about my 4-5hr basement workouts from long ago and I get a bit of a shudder"

I used to shudder when I read about that back then. I am good for an hour to 1-1/2 max myself. And I got videos of coast MC runs and good music going as well as the stats screen....

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

10/13/18 10:33 AM

Reverse burnout?

I'm not burned out, but maybe the reverse. After recovering from my various stuff, and having some nagging stuff, I haven't done hard, extended rides in a while, and I'm having some hesitation getting back into it. I still love to ride, happily commute and do errands, and have been riding about an hour with punching it a couple times. That's all fine, but I haven't felt much like going harder, faster. My arthritic knee is a little sketchy still and I can use that as an excuse, though it's fine on the shorter rides. I think it's probably more mental - it takes some fortitude to ride hard, and when you get away from it, perhaps it's hard to get back into it.

So I just think I have to try some longer rides and see how it goes, both physically and mentally.

For Dan C I'd agree with about everything that has been said, try other forms of exercise, and different types of riding. And feel free to forget data (I know you do some datacentric trainer stuff). I also enjoy commuting/errands on the bike, you're riding but also doing something else. I also feel better if I've taken a couple hard efforts, even on a short ride. Gets the endorphins churning, maybe.

And in the middle of a ride or a season, you can be feeling crappy and then feel great. There's always light ahead.


Last edited by dan emery on 10/13/18 10:47 AM; edited 1 time in total

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

10/13/18 10:37 AM

Bike as a gym?

I was one of those who see my bike as my outdoor gym, afraid to stop for fear of the negative impact on my health. (See my thread a few weeks back http://cyclingforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=161717&highlight=quitting#161717 )

Only my root cause wasn’t burnout from cycling per se, but just getting bored of riding the same old same old route over and over again. So I did a bunch of change to where and how I ride (like in Brian’s list, #2 & 5 worked particularly well for me)

You didn’t mention if you’re riding alone or have s group to ride with. That helped me for several years in staving off the burnout/boredom. Or I would’ve probably quit cycling by now without the group.

Now I do half my ride with group, often on boring same old same old route when I don’t have time to go some place new/“fresh”. The company makes that more tolerable than if I were to ride it by myself. Though eventually even that gets unbearably boring.

The other half of my rides I do exploring new routes, sometime getting seriously lost being the most fun part. I’ve found myself on roads that are seriously eroded or overgrown, or too steep I can barely turn the crank. The unexpected nature makes it more exciting. Even some of my group ride buddies now wants to come to my “get lost” rides! So I (or you) are not alone in getting a little, or a lot, bored with riding (and in need of a bit of change)!!!

Nevertheless, my quest for a fun (for me) and good exercise continues. I just started with s group that does rowing on the Hudson river on weekday evenings, perfect for after work. Talk about a good (HARD) full body workout and cardio benefits!


Last edited by April on 10/13/18 11:08 AM; edited 2 times in total

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

10/13/18 10:52 AM

"I haven't done hard, extended rides in a while, and I'm having some hesitation getting back into it."

My follow up with the cardiologist is 11/13, the best ones unless you are in serious health situations are backup up apparently.

The reason I quoted the above is, I want to hear him say I can do it. Plus the General Practitioner's diagnoses of Benign PVCs is good, but I need the second opinion from above, so to speak... [above=Gods/cardiologists/etc]

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

10/13/18 3:57 PM

My favorite riding used to be winter mtbing. Nothing like riding on 3-4 inches of fresh snow. Alas, I have vision damage from diabetes and I just don’t see well enough to mtb anymore. I stopped about 5 years ago as I was crashing too much. In a similar vein, descending on a road bike is scary without good vision. I go pretty slow downhill because I just can’t see far enough ahead.

Walking is not an option for me as I have a bad ankle from a fall from a ladder, so I walk as little as possible. Can’t swim and hate the water...

My fear is cardiovascular disease.

I saw a frame that interests me so I may get that and go exploring on it.

I’ve also bought some keyboards so I am going to jam with some guys and see if I can enjoy that.

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PLee
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3712
Location: Brooklyn, NY

10/14/18 8:17 AM

For cardio health, you just need about 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. Any more is gravy. I'd suggest getting into indoor rowing on something like a Concept2. It's a great workout, but only every other day. Some weighrts on alternative days will keep you fit as a fiddle.

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

10/15/18 10:29 AM

I get there every so often. The above advice is good-change venue. Get a gravel bike and go explore. Ride for the joy of being out on a crisp fall day, and leave the "workout" aspect behind.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

10/15/18 12:41 PM

"Ride for the joy of being out on a crisp fall day, and leave the "workout" aspect behind."

A sound prescription. ;)

Getting lost takes the expectation of how fast you get thru a route or the various sections, recover before this point like last 20 times, etc.

Leave the HRM at home too, no speedo or cadence. Re-frame it to a day our VS a bike workout as said.

I should be careful saying 're-frame' around here probably... ;)

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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3234
Location: Midland, MI

10/16/18 2:11 PM

Motivators

Over the years I've had literally 100 people come and go in riding groups. I find that many people who are riding with "a goal" do not have a sustainable approach to riding. They achieve the goal and then find they have no motivation, or they are unable to achieve the goal and then find they have no motivation.

There's nothing wrong with having goals but if it becomes too much of a driving force, it definitely can lead to burnout.

That said, I have an annual goal that has served me well since I started riding in junior high school: my goal is to ride my bike. With that in mind, every ride is enjoyable and I never feel burnt out. When winter comes, I enjoy skiing but I don't mind riding the rollers. When summer comes I like to get outside every day.

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stan
Joined: 14 Feb 2004
Posts: 467

10/16/18 9:35 PM

Join a gym/health club

Gyms bore me but I get cardio workouts in by doing ten minutes or so on a variety of equipment - stair machines, elliptical, rowing, treadmill, recumbant bike, etc. if the health club has a pool and you don’t like swimming, try water aerobics either in a class or by yourself. Even circuit training with light weights is aerobic.

Good luck. You’ll probably be anxious to get back on riding on the road by Spring.

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Bob Dymond
Joined: 08 Apr 2010
Posts: 15
Location: Columbus Ohio

10/17/18 7:18 AM

Footbikes

My disaffection with all things with cranks and saddles happened over 15 years ago and this is what effectively replaced cycling for me:

http://www.fitbyshaun.com/footbikes/

No more chafing in the saddle area, black greasy fingers, chain tattoos or back muscle spasms. Just a nice combination of bike, running, skiing and skating--all at the same time. There's a gazillion videos to see this done--check em out.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

10/17/18 1:27 PM

That's a definite "no" for me.

Scootering is horribly inefficient compared to riding and climbing hills is basically a walk while lugging a scooter along. While some of their claims have a degree of validity, much of it is BS if you already know how to ride a bike. I get a kick out of their weight claim, I have mountain and fat bikes that weigh about what their "top-end" road scooter does. All of my road and 'cross/gravel bikes are considerably lighter.

I'm glad that this is working for you Bob and I hope you continue to enjoy it, but it's not something that's going to have major appeal to cyclists and it's completely impractical in many areas.

Then again, maybe if they made a sub-10 pound carbon fiber model... ;-)

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

10/17/18 3:16 PM

I am very much with Brian on this one. And having a few bikes of different purposes can help too. After I had a few hassles out on the road bike that had accumulated to my road riding sucking bit. About that same time I had built up the CX Disc Conquest,

For two weeks I did woods riding on that bike and my disc Strong. Since, done a near two week spot of road rides [MUT rides really, with bad crossings]. I will be back to woods jaunts here soon.

Time to get the 29er gone 27.5er and the external bike rack on the CRV for the muddy stuff soon. ;)

We are actually getting an Indian Summer thing going on which is quite nice. Looks like into the weekend will be super.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

10/17/18 6:15 PM

I think the idea of going out and exploring/getting lost can be great.
With Garmins and Phones these days it makes worrying about getting home much more reasonable.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

10/17/18 6:44 PM

I can't say two things after my ride today.

Haven't flatted for a long time, and never flatted Michelin Pro4 Service Course tire.

I am glad I had reading glasses in my jersey pocket. I could not find the long tiny glass shard my tire ate.

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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3234
Location: Midland, MI

10/18/18 7:57 AM

Glasses

I never ride without reading glasses these days. An occupational hazard of getting old.

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