The best times I’ve had riding over the years where when I was riding with a good club or racing on a team. The regular Saturday group is more fun than most races!
I put in maybe 8 or 9 years racing. I raced a little as a junior and later as a senior. At some point I just got burned out from the grind and I quit. It wasn’t even the training grind, it was the driving to races grind.
I just quit 100% for many years. I wish I had transitioned to purely social club riding with some dedicated training for like 3-5 non-sanctioned events per year. Just something to do with your riding buddies.
I made life long friends when I was racing and cycling in my 20s (59 years old now).
The social aspect is the best part of the sport because, 99.99% of us aren’t going to the Olympics or getting a contract with a World Tour team.
It’s ok to quit the racing part if it’s not fun. It is just a hobby after all.
It’s also ok to do something different if it sounds fun. I’m thinking about doing a 1 mile race next year. We have a big 1 miler in my town in the summer. My kid usually does it as he runs. I haven’t run since high school. I thought, maybe I’ll train for a year for the 1 mile.