Stopped riding & can’t get going again? Here’s how Justin got BACK ON HIS BIKE
There was a moment where I realised I wasn’t 21 anymore.
I was away for a weekend. I’d had a couple of whiskies, a couple of beers, and I don’t remember getting from the Jacuzzi to the bedroom.
That was the day I said to myself: My life needs to change. Today.
Maybe you’ve had a version of that moment too.
You’re not riding as much as you used to. You’re not as fit as you want to be. You keep telling yourself you’ll start again next week.
You feel heavier, slower, more tired, less motivated. And once you stop riding, it can be surprisingly hard to start again.
I think that’s why the team asked me to talk about this properly.
After I got back into riding and lost the weight, quite a few customers started asking how I did it. How I got going again. How I changed things.
When the Wheels Came Off
For a few years before that, I had stopped being the version of myself I knew I could be. I was drinking too much. I wasn’t in a good space. And looking back, I can see that a big part of it started in 2020.
You see, Dave and I had entered Cape Epic that year. We were fitter than ever. Our training had gone perfectly. Nutrition was incredible. Neither of us got sick.
Everything was lined up.
I was turning 40 that year, but because of the timing, I could race Masters at 39. I really believed we had a chance to win that category.
Then Epic was cancelled the night before. And honestly, it ripped the carpet out from under me.
When I Stopped Riding, I Stopped Breathing
I know there were bigger things happening in the world at the time.
I know that. But for me personally, something shifted. I stopped riding. Properly stopped. For three or four years, I wasn’t really breathing.
I’ve always said: If I’m not riding, I’m not breathing.
And for those years, I wasn’t.
The Decision To Start Again
After that weekend away, I came into the shop and said to Dave, “We need to do Epic this year.”
Dave, being Dave, just said, “Okay, yeah, of course.” I think he had heard me say something like that before. But this time was different.
I took a road bike off the floor and started training. I stopped drinking. I got back on the bike. I gave myself something to aim at.
By the time we got to the start of Epic, I had gone from around 110 kilograms to 89 kilograms. People often look at that and see a weight-loss story. And yes, the weight came off. But for me, the bigger thing was never really the weight.
The bigger thing was getting my head right again.
Why The Bike Worked
I tried other things. Gym, running, all sorts of things. But all I really had to do was ride my bike. That’s what got me going.
And the thing about riding is this: Riding makes you want to ride. Not riding makes you not want to ride. It sounds simple, but it’s so true.
When you’re riding consistently, the next ride becomes easier to say yes to. You start feeling fitter. You start feeling better. You start sleeping better. You start wanting to make better decisions because you know you’re riding in the morning.
But when you stop, the opposite happens. And before you know it, you’re in the spiral. I know that spiral all too well.
That’s why, when I say “ride your bike,” I don’t say it as a slogan. I say it because I know what happens to me when I don’t.
The Role Of Discipline
I’m not going to pretend that I have discipline with food. I was brought up with the mindset that you finish everything on your plate. If there’s a bag of chips open, I’m going to have one. Or ten.
So for me, stopping drinking was a big part of getting back some discipline.
Because alcohol doesn’t just end with the drink.
You have a couple of whiskies, then you’re eating chips, then you don’t sleep properly, then you don’t ride the next morning.
Then you feel bad about not riding, so that evening you have another drink because the day already feels like it’s gone sideways.
That was the pattern I had to break.
I didn’t tell myself I could never have a drink again. That doesn’t work for me. I had to be realistic. But I did need to stop the cycle I was in.
And having the bike helped.
If I knew I was riding the next morning, it became easier to say no. Easier to go to bed. Easier to make the decision that future me would be grateful for.
Having The Right Person in Your Corner
Another big thing was Dave. Having an accountability partner only works if that person is actually accountable.
Dave does not miss rides.
If we’ve agreed to meet at 5:45, he’ll be there. It doesn’t matter if it’s cold. It doesn’t matter if it’s dark. But I’ve never arrived and had Dave just not come. That makes a huge difference.
We’re business partners, but we’re also partners on the bike. I don’t want to let him down, and I know he won’t let me down.
And it’s not just about us either. At Gear Change, our purpose is to inspire people to ride bikes. That counts for us too.
If I’m not riding, how can I tell my team to ride? How can I tell customers to ride?
I don’t ride because I want the team to sell more bikes. I ride because I LOVE IT! And I want them to see that love and want it for themselves too.
Remove Your Excuses this Winter
Winter is always where people start finding excuses. But the reality is that in Cape Town, if you’re scared of a bit of wind or rain, you’ll never ride your bike.
We have a saying: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit.
The night before, I lay everything out. Kit on the bed. Tyres pumped. Bottles filled. Lights charged. Everything ready. Because if I haven’t done that the night before, I know I’m lying to myself and I’m not riding in the morning.
But if everything is ready, I can wake up, brush my teeth, get dressed, get on the bike and go.
That’s how you remove the excuses.
You Don’t Need To Start Perfectly!
If you’re in a place where you know something needs to change, you don’t need to fix your whole life in one day. You need to make one decision that moves you in the right direction. For me, that was getting back on the bike.
Then the next ride became easier. The next kilogram came off. The next good decision became easier to make.
I love the idea of “Today’s big ride is tomorrow’s training ride”.
What feels impossible now can become normal if you stay consistent. You don’t have to be racing Epic. You don’t have to be chasing a podium. You don’t even have to know exactly what the goal is yet. Just start riding!
Ride around the block. Ride before work. Ride with a friend. Ride badly. Ride slowly. Ride in the cold. Ride when you don’t feel like it.
And sometimes, that’s where everything starts to change.
See you out there,
Justin Tuck
Co-Owner, The Gear Change