Long rides are not for everyone. While some of you may love long rides, others find it difficult to keep up the motivation as their boredom levels start to soar. 

So, how do you keep yourself from losing interest and taking the shorter route home? 

These 6 tips will help cure your boredom while out on a long solo jaunt. 

1. Plan a new route 

After a while, your usual training locations can get a bit monotonous. The same scenery stops being interesting, and you may no longer feel challenged by the route. 

It’s even worse if you have no set route or destination, as it can be all too tempting to pick the shortest way home once the boredom has set in. 

Next time, make sure you’ve planned a proper route that you’ve never done before. You’re far less likely to get bored if you’re busy exploring new trails and taking in the new surroundings.  

2. Choose an interesting destination 

If you need a bit more of an incentive, why not find somewhere fun to ride to? By choosing an interesting place to go, you can put the focus on the destination and use that as your motivation to keep going. 

Try choosing a scenic spot you’ve never been to before or arrange to meet a friend somewhere for a refreshing drink. That way, you won’t have an excuse to head back early! 

3. Ride with others 

This one may seem a bit obvious but riding in a group can make a huge difference to your riding experience. Try to find a local cycling group to join so you have a bit of company on those long rides. 

Not only are cycling groups a great way to gain motivation when you’re not up for heading out, like when the weather is less than ideal, but you may even find yourself working harder than you would if you were riding solo.   

4. Listen to a podcast

Whether you’re used to silence or typically enjoy listening to music, you may want to try switching things up by listening to a podcast instead. There are plenty of fantastic podcasts available to suit any type of listener, so take the time to download a few episodes that catch your eye. 

You would be surprised at how many addictive series are out there, which are great for keeping you entertained over long periods of time. Of course, you always want to be safe and stay alert, so keep the volume at a safe level or try riding with just one headphone in.  

5. Add in some drills 

Adding in some drills to your long rides not only helps to make them more interesting, but they can also help to further improve your fitness and give you the chance to work on some useful exercises.  

Consider cadence drills to increase your speed, one-leg drills to build strength, or a seated acceleration workout to work on your acceleration.  

6. Turn your long ride into loops 

An easy way to stay focused on your ride when you’re training in familiar territory is to turn your normal route into a series of loops. That way, instead of getting bored of doing the same familiar route, you’ll be focused on how many loops you have done, and you will feel a sense of achievement with each loop you complete.