Every solo ride is a time trial :-(

[MOBB]

Anyone else like this?

Group rides or with the missus, relaxed affairs.

On my own - FLAT OUT.

This morning e-biking to work, tired from running and other training so I should take it easy.

NOPE, as soon as I pedal, must beat PB...............I did by 6 seconds today.

The serious issue for me is I've only ever had 2 cycling accidents, both were caused by me taking risks to get that PB.

Any hints on how to change my mindset?

[lizardbrain]

Don't time it?

Personally I only time myself on saturdays. Rest of the week i do wear my watch but have it set to heart rate only and don't look at the time or speed at all

Much more relaxing and enjoyable

[TheDrownedApe]

Did it all the time for years - why go out solo if not for maximum fitness??

Had heart attack in Jan (not tributed to anything).

Now i go out and try and keep my HR below 140. It's weird as i look at my average speed and want to go faster and i feel much better when i speed up but then my HR rises. I slow down, reduce HR and enjoy the ride in different ways.

[jonathan_roberts]

Just stop timing it. Go out for a ride and that's it.

[KobayashiMaru86]

Comparison is the thief of joy. Ignore the timer until you get home.

[Robertb]

As long as you aren't overdoing it, then if you're enjoying it carry on! I love a fast bike ride. Obviously don't crash.

Training hard when you are already fatigued is unlikely to be doing much good.

You may get greater training benefit if you keep track of the sort of sessions you're doing...typically people end up doing lots of sessions hard-ish, when they'd get better performance gains from doing a combination of easier and very hard sessions. This may stop you TTing every solo ride. Why not think of some other things to train on your commute... low or high cadence work, pedal stroke smoothness etc.

[Kawasicki]

EmailAddress said:

MOBB said:

Any hints on how to change my mindset?

Get old, after a lifetime of injuries and broken bones.

That'll knock the spunk out of you.

Just looking at my reflection in the mirror after solo rides was enough to make me ride slower.

[oddman]

MOBB said:

Any hints on how to change my mindset?

How about actually doing a time trial or something else that involves pinning on a number?

If you had an event coming up you might plan your training in a more structured way and consider what commutes contribute to the overall plan. I generally follow an 80/20 approach when training for something so smashing it on every commute would be counter productive.

[Castrol for a knave]

No such thing as over training

There is such a thing as under resting however.....

Stick the Garmin in the back pocket and enjoy the ride. A zone 2 ride is just as important as a stem chewing Z4 TT or through and off session.

[Fluffsri]

Pick a day(s)! I commute to work 3 times a week, MTB ride Tuesday evenings and the weekend (if I have time). Mondays are balls out try to PB everything, Tuesday nights are the same (now my fitness is improving). The rest of the week is a steady bimbling commute with a long steady bimble of a Friday afternoon. I've stopped looking at Strava and started looking at the countryside I'm riding in. I have to say I'm enjoying the commute more this way.

[lufbramatt]

If you have a HRM or power meter set your head unit to beep/flash annoyingly at you if you go out of zone while pushing too hard

[LRDefender]

Ditch Strava (or whatever app you use). I used Strava on every ride I did and it reduced my cycling enjoyment massively after a period of time, so much so that I stopped riding for a few years.

[smn159]

Enter an event and train properly for it, using a structured training plan. You'll soon find that you won't be able to complete the quality sessions if you're pushing the easier ones too much.

[dave123456]

I’m the same.. I must say I reckon it’s the publishing on Strava that does it..

It’s the same phenomena that stops me taking my gravel bike out more, my stats will be ste. It’s a slightly irrational thing to be honest.

[trails]

What I think whilst leaving the house...

"I will not try and overtake everyone I see riding to the station, I've got to spend the whole day in the office"

Invariably arrive at the station looking (and feeling) like I've just finished TT.

Ejit.

[IroningMan]

If all else fails then stop and take some pictures.

[McMoose]

I am guilty of this as well on rides back home from work. If you want to stop yourself competing then change your route in ever so slightly then the time will be non applicable to your existing record. This does rely on you not setting a new target record for route B.

[jasonrobertson86]

Castrol for a knave said:

No such thing as over training
.

This is completely wrong. I have experienced it myself. One day I went out and I could only put out half the power and HR was super high.

[Castrol for a knave]

jasonrobertson86 said:

Castrol for a knave said:

No such thing as over training
.

This is completely wrong. I have experienced it myself. One day I went out and I could only put out half the power and HR was super high.

I think you need the second sentence to complete what I said.

If you are not resting, then you are training, and not resting enough, is over training.

[troc]

Like they say, commuting by bike never gets easier but it does get faster!