Keys to being a cyclist for a long time

Unlike other sports, cycling is a sport that can be practiced until a very advanced age. Being a low-injury activity and the possibility of facing new challenges almost every day make cycling one of the most rewarding sports that can be practiced. Here are some tips to keep your motivation high and continue enjoying cycling every day.

How to be a cyclist forever

In the world of sports, there are some that transcend the barrier of mere physical activity and become a way of life for those who fully immerse themselves in them. Of course, cycling is part of this type of sports, often influencing the friendships, vacations, or means of transportation of those who practice it.

However, it is not always easy to maintain the motivation to continue cycling, whether due to the physical demands when facing certain challenges or stagnation in the activity. Fortunately, these are perfectly solvable issues that will allow us to continue cycling as long as our bodies can handle it.

Physical fitness

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Although cycling is a very adaptable activity for a large number of people of very diverse conditions, one thing is certain: the better physical shape we are in, the more we enjoy pedaling. Precisely because when we have a good level, we decide the pace and not the road or the path we ride on.

Obviously, being in good shape involves a certain discipline when cycling. Pedaling only on weekends may be enough to enjoy short and quiet routes, but it is not enough to set challenges, participate in events, or venture into hard tracks.

We should reserve a small space, at least a couple of days during the week to dedicate to cycling. It doesn't have to be too much time, the really important thing is to maintain consistency. Nowadays, interactive rollers offer an excellent option to continue cycling when work obligations or weather prevent it.

If not, we can also look for alternative sports that allow us to maintain acceptable physical fitness. Running, going to the gym, or any other modality that keeps us active can be a good complement to cycling, even turning our bike into our means of transportation to go to the movies, shopping, or work.

Motivation

Why do we ride a bike? Many times we ask ourselves that after a day when we come home completely destroyed, we have been cold, we have gotten wet, or we have had all kinds of breakdowns, falls... However, despite being a question that does not have a logical answer, even less when you try to explain it to someone outside the world of cycling, we all usually agree that it gives us more than it demands.

Staying vital, discovering new places, reaching where we didn't think we could, sharing time with friends, moving sustainably... each one finds their own attractions in cycling that make us keep pedaling against all odds.

As in all aspects of life, sometimes that magic breaks and we become disenchanted with cycling. Obviously, there are moments in life for everything and circumstances can take us away from two wheels at times. But something about the bike is that, whoever is a cyclist, ends up returning sooner or later to it. It doesn't hurt to remember those things that motivated us and made us feel alive on the bike so that the desire to pedal and experience everything that the bicycle can offer us returns.

Diversify

Falling into a routine can be very demotivating, also in the world of cycling. When we always do the same routes, with the same companions, the same days at the same hours, cycling can become something mechanical that stops giving us those sensations that made it a satisfying activity.

A good trick to avoid this boredom is to try to do new and different things. Those who only compete can find a release from strict training sessions with a cycling trip, those who only ride on the road can try mountain biking or gravel to discover new challenges, or simply exploring our environment can lead us to discover paths and roads we have never pedaled before. It's about losing the fear of trying new ways of cycling.

Rest

Considering cycling as a kind of obligation can sometimes become overwhelming. Also, if we are those who only think about cycling, who when they get off it continue hooked to the TV watching cycling, reading about cycling, talking about cycling...

It's good to know how to disconnect from the world of cycling, as much as we love it, to avoid saturation. Having other hobbies, a vacation without a bike, or a circle of friends that goes beyond two wheels are essential to avoid overwhelming ourselves.

Take care of yourself

In addition to physical fitness, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to continue pedaling with guarantees as the years go by. We know people over 70 who are fully fit and who are even hard to drop from the wheel, while others, with just over 40, are overweight and suffer with each pedal stroke.

Maintaining a good diet and an ideal weight, something generally recommended, becomes essential to continue feeling like cyclists for a long time. Something that, as we get older, becomes increasingly difficult unless we enjoy privileged genetics as metabolism slows down over time.

We also have to take into account that as we get older, the body does not recover the same and requires more care. We must adapt the workouts to our capabilities, paying attention to the signals that our body sends us.

In addition, it is important to bear in mind that flexibility and muscle tone decrease so it will be important to do complementary work with activities such as core work, elasticity, or mobility to continue being able to spend hours on the bike without suffering, even adapting the position on the bike to our physical abilities.

Enjoy

It seems obvious, but if every time we get on the bike we consider it as a special moment, our time to have fun, to escape from the impositions of day-to-day life, pedaling becomes a desired moment and not a torture to which we voluntarily submit.

Even when we are suffering on the bike we can find positive readings by being aware of the challenge we are facing or how we do not let ourselves be defeated by the difficulties that arise.

However, enjoying can be something as simple as trying to be more precise on that trail we do every day, stopping at the top of a port to observe a breathtaking landscape, or simply the beer while we tell stories with friends once the route is finished. The point is that cycling is that activity that fills us and makes us feel alive.