What?!?! I’m back! Did you miss me? What happened?
Well, it’s a long(ish) story! Let’s rewind twelve months. Last year in January and February I was having an incredible time on the bike. I was at a peak all-time cycling fitness, crushing personal bests up all my local climbs, having a blast at the Tour Down Under, generally riding at the top of my game. Then one day in early March I finished a ride, looked back at my bike, and then didn’t touch it for months.
I think perhaps I burnt out. I still don’t know. From March onwards there was simply no part of me that wanted to ride my bike. It was probably a combination of training hard with a single focus, what went on around the FulGaz sell-off and my work situation, and other life events. No part of me wanted to ride or have anything to do with riding.
For around four months I rarely touched the bike. I just couldn’t face it. I could feel my cycling fitness fading from the legs and lungs, but I had zero motivation or even any care to chase it.
That’s not to say I did nothing. I started going to the (home) gym and got into a routine of strength training. I walked a lot more. Spent more time with the wife. I started heading out with the motorcycle club more often. Other interests kept me occupied. My life and my “identity” was no longer built around being a cyclist. And you know what? It felt pretty good.
Sometime around August or September – after winter subsided – I started to ride again. Not for fitness and not for any goal or target, simply to try and find the love. I spent a lot of time riding the gravel bike on my own away from traffic and away from the world.
Bit by bit, day by day, I started to rediscover the joy that brought me to cycling in the first place. I wasn’t chasing numbers, I wasn’t trying to hit power targets in a training plan, I was simply out there enjoying the fresh air and building myself up again, one pedal stroke at a time. It wasn’t easy and it took a lot of forcing myself out the door at times, but I kept at it through the last few months of 2025.
Slowly, the love started to return… (TO BE CONTINUED)
Two Wheels with TC 
Welcome back.
I can relate to this. Covid shutdowns were the inflection point for me.
Pre-Covid my rides were all about accumulating kilometres. at least 12,000 kms annually.
Today my cycling is more relaxed. I ride for the physical and social stimulation. And the café stops 😆
One thing I have noticed is that the older I get, the faster I remember I used to be 😂
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Thanks! I’m definitely trying to focus more on the enjoyment of the ride, and less on how fat and slow I am now… 🤣
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Good to see you back. I’ve had many spells off the bike. I regularly used to race a season then take the next one off. Just lost the love but it always came back. I’m always thinking of giving racing one last shot but deep down I know I’m done with it. Keep pedalling!
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I don’t have the inclination to race this year (or at least, I don’t have the inclination to put in the training to be fit enough to justify it). Maybe next year, who knows! Right now I need to ensure I enjoy my time on the bike and keep it sustainable. Hope all is well for you over your side of the world. 🙂
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I wondered where you’d been. Glad to hear you rediscovered BFUs (Big Fun Units – impossible to measure, can’t be compared to anyone else’s, essential if you want to keep riding when you’re as old as I am). Time to wake up and smell the coffee, the eucalyptus, the lilacs, the pines, the cow manure, or whatever there is to smell where you ride.
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Thanks. Yeah I’m definitely making a point of hitting those BFU numbers right now! 😁
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I can SO relate to this!
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