General Cycling Discussion - How do you ride so much

How do all of you ride so much?Do you own a house that you have to keep up?Do you work?Do you have kids?Married?Monday -Friday at 3pm is the only riding window i have for about 2 hours.Sat and Sun from 6am for an hour to a few depending on what the rest of my family has planed for me.How do you ride so much.

Lately I have been riding after dark with good light. After I cook dinner for the wife and kid and get other chores done after work. It helps that we have a long bike path that runs along the levee on the river so no car trafic and only a few other walkers or bikers around.

Shokhead,

One of the concepts that we stress in out Weight Watchers group is, that you HAVE to make time in your life for the most important person in your life, you.

Of course you have obligations to your home and family, but you need to nudge them in whatever direction you need to in order to make a little time to satisfy your own needs and wants. It is EXTREMELY important to maintain both your physical and maybe even more importantly, your mental health.

Originally posted by shokhead
Monday -Friday at 3pm is the only riding window i have for about 2 hours.

Man! Even excluding the weekend, that's 10 hours per week. I wish I had that much time to ride...

I've developed a riding/commuting schedule that seems to work. I drive to work on Mon, ride home Mon. night. Ride into work on Tues, drive home. Repeat on Wed/Thur. I take Fri off, b/c I usually do a longer ride first thing Sat. Morn. This works well, my commute is 16 miles one way, so with a longer ride on Sat and sometimes Sun, I can average 100 miles per week.

This works for me, because my office is located in a secure area of town and we have a fenced compound. I don't leave anything in my vehicle that would be tempting to thieves. Also, there are numerous maintenance vehicles that contain tools and equip, so my truck is the least attractive.

L8R

You pretty much have time for whatever you make time for (I hope that makes sense ?).

You can overlap some things to become more efficient, like running small errands on the bike, or commuting.

You can carve out time from a part of the day used for something else. At least one person I know of here gets up at 4:30am to go riding. Another variation is to just turn off the TV and devote those hours to riding, for most folks these would be evening hours.

You can reduce the amount of time spent driving by making a conscious effort to avoid traveling more than a short distance from home to purchase things. This means opting for the local shops vs. the *.mart at the edge of town. This turns these errands into bikeable trips.

If you have kids that are old enough, stop doing the job of chauffer. Put the kids on bikes or tell them to walk. Make them responsible for their own transportation.

Examine your schedule to see what is really necessary. Most people IMHO lead overscheduled lives. Dump some of those activities that are less important to you. This creates free time to be used for more important tasks.

Dan

How do all of you ride so much?
It's all about prioritizing

Do you own a house that you have to keep up?Do you work?Do you have kids?Married?
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes

I log 15-18 hours a week on the bike along with a full time job that very often takes more than 40 hours out of my week. A couple of things that work to my advantage are:
- I live 1.5 miles from work so I have virtually no commute time. I start work around 6:30 and I'm usually out the door by 3:30. Plenty of time to do a few things around the house before I ride.
- My family has never had an issue with time on the bike. They also don't mind traveling to races at all hours of the morning on weekends or staying in hotels if the race is farther than a couple of hours away.
- When I ride on non-racing weekends, I do it early and I'm usually home by 10. Again not a problem for the wife or kids.

When you have that much flexibility at home, you need to make the time you spend with your family really count. When I'm home, I'm 100% available to them. I don't also go out with the boys, hang out at bars or bowl or any of that crap. It's pretty much family and cycling year round (they're all ready for spring after the winters we have in MN).

i ride roughly 5-8 hours a day when things are slow at my office (i design websites)
cause basically it's always slow! :-P
anyway, make time and get a riding buddy

whenever my buddy comes over i quit what i'm doing and go for a ride

I own a house, 3 cars, a boat, run a bike shop and hold a full time job. I ride to work, to the store, run errands and any free minutes I have are spent on the bike. I ride an occasional organized ride on the weekend. I slee[ very little, my wife is a professional and has a great job, she needs little attention from me, that helps.

Shokhead -
It is a difficult balancing act for me as well. I've got a house, job, wife and a 1.5 year old....so it is a challange. My wife does support my riding, but even so it can be tough to find enough time to ride during the week. It is easier for me to get out on my road bike than mt. bike, since I don't need to drive to any trails for the road bike. Although I don't always get as much time in the saddle as I would like, I can usually get at least 4-6 hours a week.

It's really just a matter of priorities. I've made the decision to ride, and I'm going to do it regardless of what else is on my plate. I do this for my pleasure, and sanity. If I did not cycle, I don't know how I would get throught all the other crap in my life!

Like I said, 10 hours per week is a lot if, like me, you are married, have children , own your home, and work 58 hours per week. I get about 6 hours of ride time per week. Besides my wife, these kids keep me busy. It's all good though, I've got three potential riding buddies...:)

Kids walk.Most things are to far away for them.Small errands on bike.Dont have any small errands.Food shopping,soccer pratice and weekend games.Cant ride in the morning,i leave for work at 5:20.I get off of work at 2:30,go to school to pick up kids.3:15 when i get home for cleaning,cooking,pratice.My wife can care less if i ride.She works and comes home and goes to church and is at church on her off days.Any other time she has is taking her dad to doctors app.She also spends a lot of time with her brothers so i do the washing,cleaning,shopping,cooking.If i could just keep the same sch.

Originally posted by shokhead
Monday -Friday at 3pm is the only riding window i have for about 2 hours.


Sounds like you should be grateful that you have this time, use every bit of it to ride, and guard it jealously. Good luck.

I commute so that gives me 20 minutes a day. 2-3 times a week I get about 1.5 hours during lunch with co-workers. 2-3 times a week I get a easy ride with my wife for about 1.25 hours. On the weekend my wife and I ride for about 2-3 hours. Every once in a while I get a long 4-7 hour ride in.

This means my average is 11.5 hours, less then yours.
/Duncan

I dont have a problem with the time i have.I was just wondering how so of you ride 150-200 a week and do a century on the weekend.That takes time.

I'm in the same boat as you on that one. I don't know either...(scratching head in befuddlement)

Originally posted by shokhead
Kids walk.Most things are to far away for them.Small errands on bike.Dont have any small errands.Food shopping,soccer pratice and weekend games.Cant ride in the morning,i leave for work at 5:20.I get off of work at 2:30,go to school to pick up kids.3:15 when i get home for cleaning,cooking,pratice.My wife can care less if i ride.She works and comes home and goes to church and is at church on her off days.Any other time she has is taking her dad to doctors app.She also spends a lot of time with her brothers so i do the washing,cleaning,shopping,cooking.If i could just keep the same sch.

It sounds like you and your wife need to have a bit of a discussion about your various priorities. I don't mean to pry into your marriage, but it does sound like she gets to do what she wants while you have to pick up the slack. From what you state going to chuch and spending time with her brothers is important to her, while riding is important to you. It seems that you understand her priorities can you work with her to get her to understand yours?

Hope you don't take this the wrong way, just a thought....

I guess I have an advantage, no wife or girlfriend and no kids.
One thing that gets me riding a lot is where I live. I have no car and am far enough out of the city that taking buses is a real pain in the ass. I also have trail connections to the Gatineau parc from my back yard. My school also has trail connections to the park right at the school, and I have some pretty big spares. So I have lots of access to the trails and am forced to commute 12 km to school or 25km to work every day. And all my friends are obsessed with riding so that helps alot.

I have learned to function on very little sleep. Sometimes riding when i've had no sleep for over 36 hours. I don't shop. I don't cook. I barely keep the house clean and try to help with the laundry. My husband and I try to rotate our time and schedule so we can both get some riding in while the other watches the baby. My husband does most of the food shopping and errands and keeps the house clean, so I am very lucky. He is a stay at home dad. I pay for a sitter once a week so he can have time off to himself. If I can't ride, I've gotten up at 5 am just to jump rope and try to do a long ride during a weekend day that I'm not on call. I work 85 hours a week (minimum) so it does get dicey, but riding is a priority over shopping, cleaning, social gatherings etc. I don't watch tv, barely have time to read except professional journals. I keep my routine and extracurricular activities to a minimum.

Originally posted by shokhead
How do all of you ride so much?Do you own a house that you have to keep up?Do you work?Do you have kids?Married?Monday -Friday at 3pm is the only riding window i have for about 2 hours.Sat and Sun from 6am for an hour to a few depending on what the rest of my family has planed for me.How do you ride so much.

It's easy once you become a fanatic!

I am married, a teen-age daughter at home, work full time, have a dog that requires lots of maintenance, and, luckily, an almost maintenance free wife! I ride about 90 minutes per day, Monday-Thursday, about 2 hours on Fridays, and up to four hours each on Saturday and Sunday. After my Sunday rides, I do the "man" chores, you know, yard work and vehicle maintenance.

If you want to do something, you find the time.

Like I said earlier in this thread, ride the bike, ride it everywhere. My ride to and from work 38 miles round trip, there's a free 190 miles, three trips to the grocery stop 7 miles round trip, there's another 21 miles, one or two days I take the long way home, 5 to 25 miles and 1 weekend day I do a century, either organized or alone. Add it up, it turns out to be quite a few miles that don't take time away from lifes little duties. What they say is true " life gets in the way of living" but with a little communication and dedication, if you can tollerate the weather, you CAN find time to ride. The world will learn to wait once they get used to the fact that it takes you as long as it takes to get where you're going.

I am married and own a house and work 40 hours per week.

I ride Sat and Sun. 50-100km each day.

I have adjusted my work hours to meet my wifes schedule, hence Tues and Wed I work 12noon to 8pm. I do a 40k loop each day in the morning before I head off to work.

I commute to work 1 day a week as my wife works a weird shift one day per week (8am-12, 4pm-8pm). I drive into town, park my truck and use the bike to ride accross town. 25k round trip.

Any thing after that is gravy.

I feel quilty as I do not think I ride enough.

It IS possible to adjust times, work and family, to fit your riding wants. If it is important try to find a way.

Digger

We cant all ride to work,i cant.We cant all adjust work times,i cant.I guess i'll just ride the best i can.

I'm a stay at home dad with a 18 month old and a one month old. When my wife isn't on maternity leave she's gone from the house at least 12 hours a day. No time to ride during the week since it's dark when she leaves and it's dark by the time I've got the dishes cleaned up and the kids in bed and I don't feel safe riding on the local roads in the dark. The current maternity leave and my resultant free time is actually what got me back on my bike. This is the last week of my fun carefree life. Starting next week I'll only be alble to ride on the weekends. So I talked to my wife and I'll be getting a trainer next week so I can spin and watch TV after the kids go to bed for an hour so I can at least get a bit of pedal time in during the week. When the kids grow up and head off to school (It's going to be a while) I'll figure out how to ride at lunch the same way as my wife runs at lunch. It really helps that she was a collegiate track and cross country runner in college so she understands fitting workouts into your life.
A lot of riding is better than a little, but a little is way way better than none.

I don't get to ride much. During this time of year, I swim instead of ride. I am a sissy when it comes to getting so hot that I feel like I am going to faint. (It has been up to 105 degrees here the last few days.)

There is school till 4:00 each day (sometimes later if I am teaching in an after-school program), papers to grade and lesson plans to write at nite, chores to do, supper to make, lunches to make for the next day, laundry to do, etc., etc. At present I am also teaching my 15 year-old to drive, which is a hair-raising experience...and he wants to go driving every spare moment we have. (I can guarantee than when he officially gets his license, I won't be able to get him to run an errand for me without a grumble!)

When the weather turns a little cooler, and I cannot swim, THEN I get to ride more!

The question might be "Do I want to ride?" Since I'm married and have two young children, there's a limit on "disposable time". So,

- I commute to the office. It's 3 km per way, but I often add errands and if the weather is nice (i.e. not too warm or windy), I'll detour through the mountain. Estimated travel distance: 50-60 km/week.

- As part of my work, I sometimes have to visit other shops. About half of these can be done by bike, so it's about 50-100 km per month (i.e. per occasion). If I had unlimited time, I could do a few more by bike, but I want to eat home with the kids. And some visits are definitely too far and would work better in a Summer bike tour... not my definition of holidays!

- I shop by bike: 10-15 km per week with a fully loaded trailer

- I do evening rides once in a while. These are fairly unpredictable, as I must not be exhausted, the weather should be decent, etc. I like an evening ride in a snowstorm, but not at 30 C +. Consider that 3-6 times per month at 50-60 km each. BTW, that's why I have a good generator.

- I do ride with the kids. The 7-years-old is either on the trailercycle or on her own bike (depending on distance and road) while the 3-years-old is in her bike trailer. We go to far-away parks, visit locks, go to church. Let's say an average of 100-200 km per weekend.

Seems like the key is to make the bike an integral part of your life, not allowing it to be merely a recreational activity in and of itself.

Originally posted by Buzzbomb
Seems like the key is to make the bike an integral part of your life, not allowing it to be merely a recreational activity in and of itself.

You got it buzzbomb

My ride schedule goes something like this.

Monday - ride with a couple friends for 2 hours right after work.

Tuesday - standing date night with the wife so we get a sitter and ride for a couple hours.

Wedensday - Club race night. Wife and kids race.

Thursday - ride with a couple friends again right after work.

Friday - Family ride night.

Saturday - Early morning ride with friends, every second Saturday we get a sitter and the wife comes along. Saturday afternoon we take the kids out for a ride somewhere.

Sunday - Wife and kids race day.

As you can see, when the whole family loves biking, finding time is rarely an issue. We just discovered mountain biking this year and it has quickly become a huge part of our life.

no house. no kids. i also regularly get up at 5:30-6:00 am for morning training rides.

I ride right after work. Right now I am working 6 days a week. I have a 2 hour window then so I take full advantage of it. On the Sunday my wife likes to sleep in so if I get my lazy carcass outta bed I can go on a nice 3-4 hour ride before she is even up ;)

I have served my time. I'm 46, my kids have graduated from college and live in different states. I cooked and cleaned the first 23 years of marriage. The last 3 years, my husband does it. I do about 30 minutes of housework each week. My husband is a drummer and is in 3 different bands. At least 3 times a week he has band practice at our house. I have to get out. I ride about twice a week with the bike club, about twice a week with my husband, and on my off days, Wed & Thur, I usually do a century or such. Can't wait 'till I retire. I do work 40 hours a week on the midnight shift.

No kids for me either, nor do I plan to change that. I use my bike for transport, which gets a few km in. I also ride to escape on weekends. Another thing I do is simply not watch any TV. It's amazing how much time that frees up.

I didn't consciously do so, but I've made the bike my default transportation option. If it's to work, to the store, to the gym or wherever, my first thought is how long and by which route can I get there on bike.

BTW: I'm married, no kids, 1 dog, 1 old house needing lots of chores, and I work 40-50 hours a week.

one scandalous suggestion: get off the internet, including cycling forums! <gasp!> if time is at a premium, tapping away in front of the computer can be as bad as TV. restrict your web surfing for when you're at work. :)

but like you said shokhead, you're ok with your time allotment, just wondering how other people do more. some people have more time, simple as that. family puts demands on one's time, but also gives rewards one can't get from cycling. and vice versa.

my wife recently got a new job, where she's working full time and getting up extra early. our nine month old son needs prep each morning for daycare, and i'm the one responsible for getting him ready. i wasn't real thrilled with that, until i realized one thing...i've now got an hour and a half after they leave in the morning to do nothing. or, i can go cycling! and when winter comes, and it's dark in the evening, i'd be forced to ride in the morning anyway. so while i'm getting up at an ungawdly hour, i'm making the best of it.