Hey Steve.
Yep its me.
Definitely, let’s go for a ride ASAP. I’m missing just riding my bike purely for the pleasure of it. Always having a race looming tends to lead to choosing the less fun options.
Kpedal.
Thanks so much for the calendar. Indeed there are a lot of races out there!
Wyfbs2.
Thanks for the clarification.
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There are some longer courses in the UK - Deadwater 100 for example (a 31 mile circuit). I was looking at doing the 100 mile, no expectations of finishing anywhere though 
I know there are lots of 12/24hr circuit races though, and they’re a bit repetitive.
There was a thread about this before, seems to come from the fact it’s illegal to race on bridleways so it’s very hard to make a very long race route work here as you inevitably need to link sections together.
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The Deadwater does look good, but it’s a long drive from the SE. I’m hoping to ride through the Kielder forest this spring as part of a long trip anyway.
I quit mtb racing for ages after doing a 12hr at Minley. Lost the will to live 
. Turned to road racing for 2 years 
Was that the day it poured with rain? If so I was suppose to race it but sacked it off in favour of staying clean and dry at home 
Thanks for the heads up. I always enjoyed that track and it was great to see the venue continuing to get used after 2012. It will be a great shame if racing doesn’t continue there and the track just slowly gets swallowed by nature.
No, the weather was fine. It was just the riding in circles that killed me.
I’m coming up on 55. I’ve been racing in some form (running, tri’s, bike) since the mid 80s. I’ve had tremendous highs (like qualifying for Kona) and unbelievable lows (10 years of chronic fatigue/gulf war illness, multiple knee surgeries, setbacks from injury etc). I stopped factoring into races ~2006 (when I became ill). I thought I’d never race again (or get better), but I did, and I slowly clawed my way back to fitness and finally back to racing. I’m still trying things new, like Aquabike (swim/bike), gravel, CX. I’m nowhere near what I once was, but I’m grateful for every workout or race I complete, because I never know if another setback or implosion is around the corner. Point being, if you’re fit and able to compete at ANY level, seize the chance. It would be really sad to stop completely for 2 or 3 years, then have something happen that prevents you from ever competing again. You would look back on those 2 or 3 years and think “Man, I wish I had kept racing, because now I can’t”. Trust me, I’ve walked that path. Life is short, seize it by the balls and squeeze for all you’re worth.
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Appreciate that sentiment. However if I stop focusing on racing then I’ll have the mental energy to put towards what I actually want to do which is bikepacking trips, hiking trips or expeditions to somewhere new.
Racing keeps you on a treadmill, and I do love the routine of training and racing, but it’s time I was brave and took more time to chill and dream, before gearing up to the next challenge.
See, now I’m voicing what I actually want to do. It all started in the first lockdown when I just rode to new places to alleviate the loss of racing.
When restrictions eased I started doing overnighters and bought a fancy tent. My absolute fondest memories on the bike these last two years have been from bikepacking trips. I just love the constant motion.
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I used to love racing but now at age 53 with a full time job, a wife, 3 kids, and 3 grand kids there are sometimes more important things in life…like watching my son or my grandson’s soccer games on the weekends or spending time with my family. Just race when you want to and don’t race when you feel stressed. You can stay fit without racing. Enjoy life.
I’m going to take the plunge and strip the components off my cx race bike in order to rebuild my Genesis CDF. I’ve got rack and panniers for this bike, plus mudguards of course.
I’ve still got a singlespeed cx bike for training evenings and for if an enticingly muddy race comes up.
The thought of my CDF with Ortlieb panniers parked next to my singlespeed mtb with Revelate bags, is the stuff of dreams. I’m very lucky to be in this position. I’ve been slowly assembling these setups for years now, so it’s time to be strong and step off the path I’ve been travelling and take a new one.
Thanks again for all your words of advice. I’m a person who needs to talk things through to come to conclusions. You’ve been magnificent.
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I’m the same age as the OP, or close enough (46). One of the things that’s kept me racing a fair amount on the road is chasing that elusive cat 2 upgrade. I really think if I got that I could relax a bit.
I burned out on racing (not bikes) after years of chasing marathon PRs and triathlons PRs. Went through a period of some over training. I got rid of my triathlon coach and had to take a long time away from structured training. Two years ago I decided I was going to do challenging “fun” type of events with no goal time whatsoever. With 2020 cancelled I used 2021 to run a 54 mile ultramaathon (it broke my spirit and nearly my body) and than finished it off in August with the Triple Bypass. I have my eyes on LOTOJA and another ultra (if I can get my IT band fixed, uggghh). So I say train and do cool destination events.
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Severn crossing! Nice!
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I’ve switched to 100-200 mile races where I still get to pin up, but where I finish is irrelevant. Helps me train with purpose but not train to a podium placement goal.
Maybe look into randonneuring
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I endorse your biscuit choice 
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Every bike should have a biscuit shelf
Severn crossing is truly magestic isn’t it.
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I spent up through high school in a super competitive swimming environment (20+hrs/wk) then just burned out hard and quit and haven’t been in a pool more than ~10 times in the last 8 years. I competed in Olympic weightlifting for ~4 years and eventually just found that to be too similar to swimming (individual, always in the same gym, etc). Then switched to cycling and have been training and racing since.
Looking back I sometimes think “man I could be so much further along if I had been cycling this whole time”. But honestly if I started cycling as a teenager I probably would have just gotten into cycling just as much as swimming and burned out just the same. Training and ‘failing’ at those sports taught me a bit better how to balance the fun with the training. And I think swimming helped with weightlifting and both of those have helped my cycling. But if you aren’t getting paid for it then just do what you think is fun or interests you.
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