Bike Mojo: Reclaim it if you've lost it

Chicks Who Ride Bikes·February 24, 2023

Bike Mojo (n): The childlike excitement experienced when you ride, or think about riding, your bike.

It's a term that, even if you're hearing it for the first time, you can guess what it means. It’s the willingness to get up at 5am for a ride. It’s the excitement of seeing your friends out on the trail, it’s the dedication and perseverance to keep going, to improve and to practice.

When you lose it, however, it’s a completely different story. Whether you were training for an event, got struck down with the flu or just minding your own business, if the joy has been sucked out of your bike rides and you just can’t seem to get out of bed you, my friend, have lost your bike mojo.

An elusive beast, Bike Mojo can be lost at any point in time. No-one is safe from it. The good news is, it's only a temporary affliction and there are some known cures you can try.

Here are 14 ways to keep (or get back) a healthy bike mojo:

1) Learn something new every week about your bike

By pursuing more knowledge, you will stay engaged. Whether it’s checking out some videos in the CWRB App, listening to a podcast, watching some cycling shows or race re-runs or instructional YouTube videos, try to learn something new each week.

The bike industry is constantly evolving, and there are tons of resources out there to help you learn something new and respark that interest in your freedom machine.

Great podcasts we love include:

2) Bew Kind To Yourself

As natural nurturers, women can tend to focus more on others than ourselves. Once this seesaw gets out of balance, you need to invest in yourself before you can be of help to others. Have you heard of the phrase: "You can't pour from an empty cup"?

Your lack of bike mojo may stem from not having practiced enough self-care of late. It's important you get on top of this one quickly. Do a yoga class, spend time on your own, go on a road trip, have coffee with friends… whatever helps to restore the internal you and make you remember why you used to venture out on your bike in the first place.

3) Create your own happy place on your bike

Our environments have a huge impact on the decisions we make, and we can also be very visual creatures. Imagine if you had to design your dream home office. Would you just plonk a laptop down on an ugly old table and feel really inspired?? Probably not.

You don't need to to decorate your bike with flowers or anything (unless you want to!), but think about creating an inspiring space on and around your bike. Give her a clean and shine. Buy some decals, clean up the area you store your bike and add some inspiring quotes and posters...

Think she-cave!

4) Don’t forget about your diet

We all know it to be true. If you eat great, nutritious food, you feel good… Reflect on your diet and indulgences in the weeks or months leading up to your lost bike mojo... do your meal plans need a tweak or two?

Although serotonin is well known as a brain neurotransmitter, it is estimated that 90 percent of the body's serotonin is made in the digestive tract.

Think fresh food, water and even head to the doctor for a check-up of your vitamin, mineral and hormone levels if you’re just feeling really off.

5) Have a bedtime routine

To get up early, which most cyclists do, you need to get proper rest.

Start a new bedtime routine and commit to following it for a week to see what difference it makes to your mojo levels. Avoid screen time for 30-60 minutes before bed… what to do instead?

Try reading a book, using a meditation app, having a massage or taking a scented essential oil bath. Or you can try one of our meditations in the MindBodyBike app!

6) Identify your progress stepping stones

Sometimes we lose bike mojo simply because we can't figure out how to progress or get further along with our riding, so we lose motivation.

If you've been feeling stuck in a rut in lots of different areas of your life, this one may help.

No matter what level of rider you are, we all have something we fear. Whether it’s an alpine descent on your road bike, rock gardens on the mountain bike or a challenging climb in your local area, now's the time to pick a challenge and identify steps to conquer it.

Maybe it's some specific coaching, maybe it's some extra Zwift sessions to build the fitness up. Identify a goal, break it down into manageable chunks and you'll get your bike mojo back in true fighting style. If you don’t change the status quo, nothing will change!

7) Make extra time for yourself earlier in the morning

Even if you don’t think you’re a morning person, we all have the potential for morning to be our calmest time of day. Before the work day hits, before school drop offs and making lunches and organising appointments and errands there is a magical time which you can claim all for yourself.

Try setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier than usual and incrementally start moving towards an earlier rise time. Once you have an extra 45-60 minutes, you might even be able to fit a ride in before you would normally even be awake!

8) Change your routine from time to time

We are all creatures of habit. You may have lost a little bit of your bike mojo because deep down - you’re bored of doing the same thing, at the same pace, with the same people ever single week.

By changing your routine – whether it’s the starting point, route or even where you meet afterwards for a beverage, changing your outline can change your entire perception for the rest of the day!

9) Set exciting (yet achievable goals)

As a follow on to #9, sometimes you need an excting goal to get your ass on the saddle. Whether it's an everesting attempt, one of the long routes on Zwift or an overnight gravel bike packing adventure, set a goal that makes you excited (and that you have enough time to prepare for without overdoing it).

Do epic shit. Today.

10) Restore your confidence

This is a big one for bike mojo… if you have been in a crash or even a traffic accident, you may well have reduced confidence which is impacting your desire to ride.

"It's been 6 months since my accident and I'm only just now working up the courage to ride again. Restoring confidence is a slow game, but it's important to just start - no matter how small."

~Jordana Blackman

Acknowledging this is the best first step in addressing it and there are plenty of paths to take from here. Try getting a coaching session from a qualified instructor, contact your friends for a super slow and cruisy ride that won’t stress you out and give your bike a good once over to build that trust up again between woman and machine.

11) Get accountable

There are those of you out there who may be super self-reliant... you don't need any external motivation to achieve your goals... but since you're reading this, you've probably lost your bike mojo which is impacting your ability to listen to yourself.

In these early days of getting one's mojo back, you're probably far more likely to show up to an event if you know people are there depending on you. Try committing to showing your friends a new route, trail or climb and let Mr Accountability do the rest.

12) Practice gratitude

You have probably heard this one before, but gratitude is one of the most powerfully positive feelings you can have. We all lead busy lives full of highs, lows, drama, elation and disappointment - especially 2020.

Start a habit of taking 60 seconds before you get on your bike to pause and be grateful for having enough money for a bike, the health and fitness to ride it and the friends and family to ride it with.

Generating these positive feelings will have you warm and fuzzy inside which will help you recapture the magic of bike riding.

13) Find a Bike Mentor

The comfort zone is a pretty sweet place which is why a lot of us spend so much time there… but once in a while, stepping outside the comfort zone and trying something new and different is the key to growth.

Find a bike mentor – someone whose confidence, experience and positivity you admire – to contact for a ride once every few months. Get them to take you on new trails, up new hills or just teach you a little nifty trick you didn’t know before.

Also, follow these awesome female cyclists on instagram to get even more inspo:

14) Strategically plan the week ahead

If you are a 9 to 5er, use Sunday evening as a fun way to plan out your week. Instead of getting depressed about the weekend ending, grab a glass of wine or a G&T and take the time to plan out the rides you want to do, cafes you want to go to and people you want to see… as well as any ideas of exciting new things to do the following weekend.

What a great way to start a new week!