Maybe try something that - if and when you come back to the bike - will benefit your riding, so that you perhaps feel like you’re not stepping away completely, or that you’re pausing to create other benefits: Yoga and/or pilates, for example, where the core strength and flexibility benefits may even improve your riding.
A change of ride type would no doubt help too - if your current roading is road, do you have access to an MTB or gravel bike that you can try? That way you don’t know what your ‘good’ looks like yet and can enjoy the process of learning that whilst enjoying different surroundings - it might offer a new or different challenge that creates a new spark.
Agree with a lot of what’s been said here and that a bit of perspective is probably what’s needed. Either take some time off the bike altoghether or just spend some time doing a different kind of riding. Have a good think about what you get out of riding and what makes you happy.
FWIW, when some health stuff forced me to give up training for a while I just bought some small binoculars and turned every ride into a nature hunt for a while. Eventually I realised that I actually enjoy the process of training but I’m less fussed about competing. I like trying hard and optimising things, but these days I view all my optimisations around making my rides more fun. For example, I definitely feel better when I fuel properly so now I get to eat fistfuls of jelly sweets when I ride. I do hill reps but make a point of turning around to look at the view on the rest sections.
Thanks everyone - really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences.
I’ve been thinking about what’s really going on, and I think it comes down to control. Training was this beautiful constant and something I could shape, optimise, and actually see the results of. But with goalposts shifting at work and two kids under five, that sense of control has quietly slipped away. And I think the idea of rebuilding it all from scratch yet again has just burned me out.
Part of me would love to just throw on my shorts and head out for a casual spin. But where I live, that’s not really an option was there are no bike paths, no shoulders, and relentless hills mean every ride demands something of me. There’s no such thing as an easy pedal.
But maybe that’s okay. Maybe the answer isn’t grinding through intervals alone, maybe it’s like adding something new to the mix like MTB with the five year old , and just going exploring together. Less performance. More adventure
Maybe there’s something to be found in just jumping on a bike, with zero agenda, and just let your thoughts and legs guide you. So none of that zone this or that business, and more about bringing things back to what riding means to you? The freedom without borders, the joy of heading out but going nowhere in particular.
Do you have a mountain bike? I always find the kid-like joy when I am on the trails It also helps that I can’t “train” on the trails, I just ride
It’s also okay to not ride hard, or not at all.
I’ve been riding for almost 15 years, and really hard for 5+, and last year was the first time I needed a real break and felt like you. 2 months later, it all came back to “normal” for me.
Kids under 5 is a super hard period. Sleep, time availability, relationship with your partner, finances all take a hit. Then they go to daycare and get sick every few weeks and so do you.
I remember an actual moment of realising that my riding was going to be different. I’d trained for an event for months then got sick from my kids a few days before the big day. All gone. I’ve only done a handful of events requiring an entry fee and travel since.
MTB is fun. You can’t really do intervals and it’s more of a skill than just fitness. Sound like a good option.
My cure for this is a tshirt and bibs. Ride to a coffee shop, eat a pastry and then keep going or go back home. No judgement on myself. That or a couple weekends of hiking one day instead of riding or literally any other physical activity.
One thing that’s helped me keep it fresh is riding with newer riders. On club rides I sweep for the slowest group, and it’s fun helping them do things for the first time – like riding a pace line – that we oldsters take for granted. Taking newer folks on my favorite routes helps me see the familiar with new eyes. Some riders will apologize for being slow, and I can honestly say “No worries! Riding with you like this I see things I’d never see with my nose pinned to the stem.”
Your five-year old might do the same for you.
You may find that you need an occasional hard ride or hot lap to have the patience to ride slowly. Find the balance that works for you.
I haven’t ridden much in the last few years for a variety of reasons (some legit, some not so much). But, when I was riding more and found myself in that situation, I would often choose a place I was likely to go to anyway via car or walking, and just ride my bike instead. It might be a coffee shop 2 blocks away or a brewery that I might usually drive to. For me, it took the planning aspect off the table because I wasn’t planning a bike ride–I was using a bike for something already planned. And, since I wasn’t on a “real” ride, I could escape the thoughts of which kit, what tire pressure, etc. All of those things are great sometimes, even a lot of the time–but when they’re not, it can be freeing to just let go of them.
Consider signing up at veloviewer.com and start exploring. Work on your maximum cluster instead of your FTP until you feel ready to work on your FTP again.
Hey Yash, yeah, I get tired, we all do. First off, as someone with now grown kids, I look back on the period when they were tiny and I didn’t sleep a full night for a few years. Don’t dismiss the damage this can do. It is brutal. Of course it is a joy having them, but the lack of sleep and huge life changes can lead to depression in both the mother and the father. I don’t presume to know what is going on but I just thought it was worth mentioning.
As for specifically getting tired of cycling, when I get a bit burnt out, I head to the pool. I love riding and raced for years when younger but I always feel beat up after a ride (which I like!). But when I step out of a pool, I always feel refreshed, even after doing sprints. Something about the water buoying you up. It also helps if there is a sauna in the pool. where one can sit quietly and stretch post-workout.
I actually mainly stopped riding outside when my kids were little and just swam or Zwifted as I didn’t have time for 2, 3, 4 hour rides with small kids and work. I have more time (and financial stability) now.
Be kind to yourself. It sounds like you could use a break. Things will get easier.
As any spy and/or spy novelist knows, when your enemy is deadly and nearby but also mind-bogglingly stupid, the best action is to put a towel over your head. Your enemy will assume that if you can’t see him or her, they can’t see you.