New year, new me. New year, new goals. Sure, it’s a new year, but the same situations or issues plaguing you last year don’t just get wiped away clean. I wish!
Sometimes it’s hard to get your groove back. It could be that you’re struggling with weight loss, with the loss of a loved one or a relationship, with family obligations, or illness of any kind.
I personally am dealing with several of those things – and the fact that it turned the clock to a new year didn’t wipe my slate clean. I have been thinking about ideas to help me be kind to myself in this transition, but to be careful not to let cycling leave my life completely. I hope these help you, too.
Buy fun accessories
Getting new things makes us feel so good. Upgrading to something new has the potential to feel motivated to revamp your routine, too. New cycling sunglasses or a new helmet can serve as a reminder that you should get moving, and show it off to all your friends on a ride.
Take a break from social media
Let’s be honest, Instagram always make us feel like our lives are boring and everyone else is always on some beautiful ride every.single.day. Amiright? Combing through your social feeds can quickly stir up feelings of envy and inadequacy, which can promote things from negative body image to outright anxiety. It’s OK to take a break, hit pause, and just focus on happily leading your own life. Views of the local neighborhood ride may not be ‘gram-worthy but it’s not any less important.
Small goals
If you’ve been off the bike for a few weeks or months, chances are you aren’t as ready for that epic bike ride your friends want to do next Saturday. While you want to jump on their bandwagon, it’s better to pass this time and instead set some small goals. Tiny improvements, small victories, little levels – all ways to say take those goals and shrink them to manageable size. You used to do a 40 mile base ride on Sunday? Try 20 on the bike path. You use to climb your biggest local hill with the girls on Saturday? Try a few repeats of some rollers nearby. If a few hours on the bike seems impossible to carve out of your day, then just plan on 30 minutes. It’s better to do something than nothing at all. And you’d be surprised how quickly your fitness comes back to you one bite at a time.
Micro-habits
January 1 is a common time to make resolutions to change your life. It’s a lot harder to change ingrained habits than simply writing them down on a list at the beginning of a year. Sometimes we set our goals too high, causing us to get down on ourselves as soon as one slip-up happens. Small, consistent actions are more reliable. It’s hard to make excuses not to do them. Pick something you want to do – ride your bike – and incorporate it into a current routine – ride to work one day a week. Or when you want to ride the trainer, but find it hard to stick to your guns, on laundry day set out some knicks and bra on the bike to make it easier to get started.
WomensKit 
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