[david8613]

hey guys i have been riding for a few years, i just brought a really nice prophet 1000 this year and rode it alot in the beginning of the summer, i rode it almost everyday around my house, and rode on the weekends at ringwood but then i all of sudden stopped riding her, and its been a good 2 or 3 months since. she is a great bike and deserves to be ridden but when i come home i always look at her and say i am going to ride her tommorrow but i never do... how do i get the motivation to ride again?

 

[damion]

Ride it.

hey guys i have been riding for a few years, i just brought a really nice prophet 1000 this year and rode it alot in the beginning of the summer, i rode it almost everyday around my house, and rode on the weekends at ringwood but then i all of sudden stopped riding her, and its been a good 2 or 3 months since. she is a great bike and deserves to be ridden but when i come home i always look at her and say i am going to ride her tommorrow but i never do... how do i get the motivation to ride again?

I know that sounds easy, but it is real. Try joining a cycling club in your area, and checking out some new trails. Start riding with a shop group ride. Get/borrow some good lights, and see if night trail riding is for you.

 

[GrantB]

What is it you want from the riding experience you aren't getting? Are you just not enjoying exercise at all? Tell us more.

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

hey guys i have been riding for a few years, i just brought a really nice prophet 1000 this year and rode it alot in the beginning of the summer, i rode it almost everyday around my house, and rode on the weekends at ringwood but then i all of sudden stopped riding her, and its been a good 2 or 3 months since. she is a great bike and deserves to be ridden but when i come home i always look at her and say i am going to ride her tommorrow but i never do... how do i get the motivation to ride again?

I'm with Damion, get some lights, and some friends similarly equipped (if possible). I had not ridden in several years, even though I was working in shops during the whole hiatus. A friend got Mike and I hooked up, we both had kids, and only night time worked. Another guy with similar situation glommed on to it, and we are going strong 7 years later, though the additional participants ebb and flow, we ride several nights a week, and that's the only riding my bike sees for the most part. Good luck, keep looking for what you need.

 

[Elzippo]

Another vote for a Night Riding with a decent Light.
Get a HID if you can swing it.

A decent MP3 Player & a pair of Shure In Ear's makes me ride more too.

 

[SpinWheelz]

This seems counter intuitive, but I say you fire up your enthusiasm by varying your rides. That's right - ride something other than your Prophet. Try a used or converted singlespeed bike for cheap. Talk about giving yourself a hell of a workout in the process, too. Ride something else, go back to your Prophet - you're going to LOVE the variety of your rides.

 

[WiLLGT09]

Venture out and try to ride some new trails. Check out the trail reviews on this website and find some new trails in your area. Also try some new trails that challenge your abilities a bit.

-William

 

[TheProphet]

Get a job at a bike shop and post on here. Worked for me. Haha. Find new trails.

 

[ryoninct]

hey guys i have been riding for a few years, i just brought a really nice prophet 1000 this year and rode it alot in the beginning of the summer, i rode it almost everyday around my house, and rode on the weekends at ringwood but then i all of sudden stopped riding her, and its been a good 2 or 3 months since. she is a great bike and deserves to be ridden but when i come home i always look at her and say i am going to ride her tommorrow but i never do... how do i get the motivation to ride again?

I'm with Damion as well. Just ride. Surround yourself with like minded people. My dad rides, all of my friends ride - I have almost no choice. I don't need that motivation though. I love it dearly and crave it badly if a week goes by without good saddle time. When I go to sleep after I ride, I have the greatest thoughts in my head of the trails and nature, etc.

God, I love this sport!!

It's too bad I can't get my wife to ride like most of my friends spouse's.

 

[Dan Gerous]

I have a different approach, but not by choice. I ride almost everyday from April to November then switch to snowboarding because of massive snowfalls. And in the summer, varying the type of riding you do can help as others have suggested. I usually start the year with more road riding (puts me back in shape faster while I wait for the trails to dry out), I commute daily on a SS, I have a BMX I use to jump around when I don't feel like going for a long ride or get to trails and throw in a few long hard rides per week on the Prophet.

So now, my bikes are inside, in my bike room, ready for a good clean-up.

 

[Nigeyy]

I'm sort of the same -but in the warmer months I road ride (geez, I would get way, way too hot in the summer riding off road). In the cooler months I off road ride. The only times I don't ride are when there is alot of ice or snow on the ground (though I did snow ride for a time, I did lose enthusiasm for it).

To summarize, this has worked for me:

(i) variety -don't ride off road all year, that way when you do, you are *really* looking forward to it.
(ii) if you like cycling, try road riding to get your cycling fix, but also to keep you keen on off road when the weather is right for it
(iii) do a completely different activity to keep a fresh approach (e.g. XC skiiing, snowshoeing if you get snow, running or hiking otherwise).
(iv) when you do ride, try doing your usual circuit backwards. Sounds obvious, but it really can be very different.
(v) vow to cover every single trail in an mtb area.
(vi) try night riding
(v) attempt to cover at least one completely new ride every 2-3 months or time permitting.

By a sort of trial and error, I found the above really work for me. By September I'm really raring to go on the mtb, and by March, I'm dying to get out on the road bike. Don't force yourself to ride, you'll just burn yourself out doing it. I've been doing this for the past 15 years and still look forward to getting out!

I have a different approach, but not by choice. I ride almost everyday from April to November then switch to snowboarding because of massive snowfalls. And in the summer, varying the type of riding you do can help as others have suggested. I usually start the year with more road riding (puts me back in shape faster while I wait for the trails to dry out), I commute daily on a SS, I have a BMX I use to jump around when I don't feel like going for a long ride or get to trails and throw in a few long hard rides per week on the Prophet.

So now, my bikes are inside, in my bike room, ready for a good clean-up.

 

[MTB1986]

Just try some new trails, or try hitting differnt lines in the trails you know. You gotta keep switching it up otherwise you'll bored, it happens with every hobby/sport from time to time.

 

[Dan Gerous]

Go ride with different people.

 

[bpnic]

Good mtb DVD's.....

like "Kranked 5". Always seem to light a much needed fire under my ass. Good luck.
Brian

 

[Phil]

hey guys i have been riding for a few years, i just brought a really nice prophet 1000 this year and rode it alot in the beginning of the summer, i rode it almost everyday around my house, and rode on the weekends at ringwood but then i all of sudden stopped riding her, and its been a good 2 or 3 months since. she is a great bike and deserves to be ridden but when i come home i always look at her and say i am going to ride her tommorrow but i never do... how do i get the motivation to ride again?

Why did you stop?

 

[david8613]

i am not sure why i stopped, but its not the first time this happened to me, a few years ago when i had a super v i didnt ride it for awhile and i sold it, boy did i regret it....anyway i like all the advise everyone has given, i am going to give some of them a try....

 

[caizu]

If possible, go on vacation to a beautiful place where are good trails. Take your best riding buddy with you.

 

[Phil]

I guess i was really wondering if you stopped because of other competing interests (skiing, weight lifting, basket weaving, whatever), because of family constraints (wife and kids need attention), work (most of us work way more than we should), or other problems that can be hard to nail down (like depression for instance).

Sometimes, when I get into a rut and don't seem to want to ride and find no difficulty rationalizing why I can't ride, I still force myself to go out and ride anyway. Most of the time, when I force myself to go, I really end up enjoying the ride.

Plan ahead, set a date/time, and force yourself to go for a short ride. See what happens.

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

Sometimes, when I get into a rut and don't seem to want to ride and find no difficulty rationalizing why I can't ride, I still force myself to go out and ride anyway. Most of the time, when I force myself to go, I really end up enjoying the ride.

This struck a chord, I already weighed in, but it's worth noting. I have a group of friends that I ride with several nights a week. There are many nights that come, where it's cold, or I'm a bit down, or I have a cold etc etc etc, I get a call as to where, and when, get a little friendly pressure, then finally buckle and go. To a time, I am always glad I went, If I was sick, I feel better having gotten my blood moving, and lungs working, otherwise, all other worries just seem to fade. Gotta love having a support network, boy that sounds fruity, but it's true, get out, even when you don't really feel like it, but do it with a pal, misery loves company=

 

[Big K]

Look in the mirror..

I find a side view of my gut to be the best motivation.. legs/butt/arms are relatively resistant to change but, 2 weeks off the bike, I can see the difference in my gut. This is probably due to my well-developed appetite for food & Belgian beer.. which is no problem with a regular riding.

It's not for everybody, but I find motivation in statistics.. 2 years ago, started keeping track of milage, ride time, weight, average speed. For me, it became a challenge to beat the previous month/year total and some of the statistics are fairly interesting (e.g. total distance/ride time/average speed for the year, difference in average speed in summer vs. winter, weight fluctuations in relationship to amount of riding).