Riding Your Bike= Exercise or a Fun ride?

Dont ride everyday, maybe like 3x a week ... smaller rides for 2 of them .. and as a challenge with the 3rd ride pick a route on a map and try to accomplish it within a current amount of time .. It will keep in interesting in your mind and maybe pick an area you haven't been to before (if possible)

very welcome!

Dont ride everyday, maybe like 3x a week ... smaller rides for 2 of them .. and as a challenge with the 3rd ride pick a route on a map and try to accomplish it within a current amount of time .. It will keep in interesting in your mind and maybe pick an area you haven't been to before (if possible)

This is a good idea. I used to get crazy bored with the same route every day. Now that I've cut my biking back significantly and started varying my routes and mileages it's much more fun.

ride new places
in group
set new goal

Maybe it's the new bike?

I used to love cycling until I bought a new bike. Switched from a hybrid (more upright) to a road bike (skinny tires and bent over). That was two years ago and I pretty much stopped riding right after I bought it and gained about a million pounds! I've started taking the road bike out more recently. I'm determined to love it as much as I loved the other one, it just takes getting used to. I started with shorter rides. Now I ride an hour at a time. And when I set out, I decide whether this is going to be a power ride or just a nice leisurely ride. And I stick my earphones in and listen to music. I'm starting to love it again. Just stick with it and I'm sure you will too.

:happy: Question....did you buy an inexpensive bike?

When I had a bike that wasn't categorized as particularly good, I did not enjoy riding it much. If this is the case, and you think its something you really enjoy, you may want to look at gettiing a better quality bike.

I was lucky enough to borrow a higher end mountain bike from a hugely pregnant friend for a couple of weeks to make sure, so if you have an option to try someone else's for comparison, I'd suggest giving that a try. I've had mine for 5 years and over 800 miles and I never get tired of riding it

I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE my bike! But sometimes I overdo it and it becomes the enemy. Here's what I've done to help with that....

There are two types of rides I do...fitness and pleasure.

Fitness rides are just that--I focus on my fitness goals. Sometimes I go long, slow and steady. Other times fast and hard. And there are times where I map out the hills and do those so I can build my strength. These tend to be road rides for me.

Pleasure rides are when I hop on my bike and ride to the beach, or the library, or just tool around on a beautiful evening. I don't wear my "cycling clothes" or even pack water bottles. I often do trail rides here too... but just slow and steady and with lots of breaks for ice cream or a beer (I'm not the best influence on dieters!).

Mixing the two types has worked well for me. When I get out for a fitness ride, I appreciate the speed and distance. When I do a pleasure ride, I appreciate the wind and the scenery. Since cycling is my passion, I log fitness rides as exercise, but don't log pleasure rides.

Another tool that helped me early on was buying a bike computer. Basic ones are like $10 and they show your speed and distance. Now I have a GPS watch that I hook to my bike. Seeing progress (especially early on) really helped keep me motivated.

Happy riding

Find different places to ride.

If you haven't already, check and see if you have "rails to trails" in your state/area. They are train tracks that have been converted to walking/biking paths and are usually pretty fabulous! Most are flat and fairly well maintained and offer miles and miles of interesting rides through landscapes that you would probably not get to see otherwise.

www.railstotrails.org

Understandable! I love my bike, but it could be boring... I go to different trails and parks to make things interesting. I go shopping on my bike and certain places to make a mission of it all. It's better to me riding on a mission or riding with some very good music!

Ride Hard!!

Shake things up a bit. different types of rides for different days. Long and slow one day, hard and fast another. Throw in some lung burning hill work, what else is there?
Maybe if you set a goal for yourself it might become less boring. (Although if you want adrenaline pumping excitement, try riding in a bad neighborhood just after dark :huh: )
Seriously, find an event ride to train and complete. Search Active.com for something near you. I have done a couple and it really adds another facet to cycling's awesomeness.
Good luck, and keep riding!

I love riding my bike - road bike, 5-6 times a week - it's increased recently, but usually between 25 and 50 miles at a time. Over the last 11 months, I've dropped from 397lb to 267lb, and I struggle to get within 500cals of my MFP Ration on riding days.

But best of all, I'm out for a couple of hours, in the fresh air, away from the computer, the phone, the TV and anyone else who wants to place demands on my time. Those 2 hours are mine. MINE DO YOU HEAR!!, and NOBODY is going to stop me :-)

I'm right there with you!!! I dearly love riding my bike, because it's just me and my bike. I change up the routes sometimes and sometimes I like to push for new personal bests on one of my two favorite routes. It helps a lot when you live in Bend Oregon and the views are breathtaking:)