{"id":1382,"date":"2025-09-08T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/?p=1382"},"modified":"2025-09-04T20:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:48:07","slug":"finding-motivation-to-ride-going-into-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/finding-motivation-to-ride-going-into-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Motivation to Ride Going Into Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Going into September means it\u2019s officially fall. With fall comes shorter days, colder weather, and school routines, and all of that can make us a little less excited to go ride.
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Fall can be one of the hardest times to stay motivated. Training has felt harder than usual, and some days I just don\u2019t feel like riding at all. But last weekend changed something for me. I raced the first MISCA series race at the Merrell Trail, and it lit a spark I didn\u2019t realize I needed. I pushed as hard as I could and ended up missing the podium by only two seconds. Two seconds! At first, it stung to be so close, but instead of letting it get me down, it actually motivated me. Knowing I gave it my all made me realize I don\u2019t want to miss out again. I want to push harder, train more, and be ready for the next race.
If you\u2019ve been in the same spot, struggling to keep your motivation up, here\u2019s what\u2019s been helping me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u25cf Set a schedule. It\u2019s easy to say you\u2019ll ride \u201cwhen you feel like it,\u201d but honestly, that almost never works. Treat your rides like an appointment you can\u2019t skip. For me, knowing what day and time I\u2019m training keeps me from making excuses.
\u25cf Sign up for races. Having a race on the calendar gives you something to aim for. Even if you\u2019re not chasing the podium, it\u2019s a reason to stay consistent and push yourself. For me, missing the podium at Merrell was what motivated me to train harder for the rest of the season.
\u25cf Find a group to ride with. Some days, the hardest part is just getting out the door. Riding with friends or a team makes it way easier, you push each other, and it keeps things fun. Even on the days you don\u2019t feel like riding, a group will keep you accountable. Wild Card puts on a great ride on Wednesday nights at 6 pm if you are local.
\u25cf Dress for the weather. Thermal arm sleeves are my best friend come fall. They are easy to shed, fit in a jersey pocket, and are the perfect amount of coziness.
\u25cf Suck it up and ride even if you don’t feel like it
Do what you can, even if it\u2019s small. If you\u2019re overwhelmed with school, work, or just life in general, remember that a short ride or even a quick strength workout is still better than doing nothing. Those little efforts add up and keep you moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Motivation comes and goes, but what matters is showing up and putting in the effort. I\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s in those moments when you\u2019re tired or unmotivated that the most progress is made. This fall, I\u2019m setting my schedule, sticking to it, and chasing that next podium spot. If you\u2019re struggling too, just remember, you\u2019re not alone. Find your reason, set your plan, and keep pedaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A HUGE thank you to Kedzie Ruckle @noelkedzie for being our 2025 Junior Iceman Trailblazer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Going into September means it\u2019s officially fall. With fall comes shorter days, colder weather, and school routines, and all of that can make us a little less excited to go ride. Fall can be one of the hardest times to stay motivated. Training has felt harder than usual, and some days I just don\u2019t feel … Continue reading “Finding Motivation to Ride Going Into Fall”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[205],"tags":[69,165,72,206,179,141],"class_list":["post-1382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trailblazer","tag-iceman","tag-iceman-cometh-challenge","tag-kalkaska","tag-trailblazer","tag-training-tips","tag-traverse-city"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1393,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1382\/revisions\/1393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}