Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Riding with my fiancee

As most of you know I've been doing triathlons for a few months, and it pushed me to be on the bike more, and now my love for riding is just behind my fiancee and hockey.

Anyways, my fiance is the antithesis of a clyde. 5'4" 122 lbs, and in terrific shape. She's done a couple of half marathons, and full marathon, and she's seen how much fun I have with triathlons, and she's dying to join me. Of course, with her level of fitness, she wanted to jump into a full out half IM. (Shes the type who wants to fly before she can crawl, walk, or run LOL). She has a mountain bike, but says that riding doesnt come natural to her, and she enjoys the swimming and running aspects of triathlon training but not the bike.

But she loves riding with me. She says she would have a lot of trouble training on the bike, just getting miles in, and moving a little faster, if I wasn't there to ride with. She said she probably wouldn't get on the bike at all most days if I wasn't there to ride with.

I made the mistake of oiling up her bike, getting her tire pressure right, and putting slicks on so she wasnt rolling on off-road tires, and now she can pretty much keep up with me when I'm taking it easy. I can still drop into 10th or 12th gear and pull away pretty easily but in 6th or 8th, she keeps up pretty good now. In fact, I caught her wheel sucking last night, and told her she needed to come up next to me or back off, I'm not a professional ! LOL

So, for those of you needing motivation to get out and ride: get your SO on their bike, or a friend, a nieghbor or anyone else! 2 people is all it takes for a group ride, and for us clydes, no better motivation to work out than having our sexy better (or worse, for you athenas) halves out there with us, pushing us to be as good as we can, and having fun doing it. Even if it's just to ride and not to train.

That's great!

I agree, it's a hoot and a half to ride with the Mrs.!!!

Having a wife that rides can be a double-edged sword. While I love riding with Cheri, when doing so I have to ride much differently than when riding solo...much easier, slower, less aggressive, less intensive. When my commutes were 15-25 miles each way, I was able to use those for 'training' for racing and fast group rides with friends. But now that my commute is only 4 miles, she often wants to ride with me after work, as well as accompany me on group rides...so hard rides are few and far in between.

Nowadays in a given month, I'm lucky to get 2 solo rides or group rides without her and haven't entered a single race. Don't get me wrong, I love riding with her, but I do miss the occasional hard solo ride, fast group ride or race.

My wife hasn't riden a bike in MANY years. She is 64. She didn't learn to ride until she was in her 30's. I am trying to get her on a bike. I don't live very far from the Creeper Trail in Damascus, VA. I will be trying to get her to go with and rent her a bike to ride this. Of course I have my older sister thinking about doing this too. I know that with my wife in tow she will not want me to go at my normal pace, which is slow to most standards. But, she would never want me to hold back from riding the way I want either. I have to seperate out time for myself, without her. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

You can work as hard as you want on a tandem (maybe harder). My wife has always been athletic, but more speed and coordination sports than endurance (think field hockey). In our 60's we've started to bicycle again - longer rides together create so many compromises in terms of average pace, climbing, etc., that the tandem has proven an ideal solution. Just something to ponder.

My fiancee actually is working towards triathlons herself and on a road bike she'll mostly be able to keep up. We're built very different from an athletic standpoint. I'm having to build endurance, while she can ride for ever, just not very fast. I popped up to 20.1 MPH last night in a sprint, she can't come close to approaching that.

A couple of things:
1) With respect to drafting. It is a skill all should have, just a couple of simple things to observe:
a) Make sure both parties know you are going to be doing this.
b) As the lead=out, do NOT change your pace, keep the same pressure on the pedals, do NOT stand up, you need to be consistent.
c) As the wheel suck, you want to get to an inch (yes 1") behind the lead outs back wheel. You want to be directly in line (you can be offset if you want but do NOT overlap your front wheel with their rear wheel).
d) If you are going downhill, the person in back needs to be ready with brakes or, what I do, swing out and let the wind slow you down before popping back in.
e) You should take turns even if you do a 60 second pull and the other person only does a 5 second pull.

2) Ah yes Tandems. I'd love to have someone to ride a Tandem with. In my case, my wife is what you'd call a super Athena and while I can get her on a bike a couple of times a year it is pretty slow.

3) You are fast and your SO isn't. Get a heavy clunker to ride on, you'll have to work twice as hard. And, if you have kids, you get to tow them while she sails by.

4) And for a budding triathelete, attempting to ride with a Mountain Bike will surely put them off. They need at least a decent light road bike with clip on handlebars or a tri bike. It makes a GIGANTIC difference.


Good luck to all.

HELL YEAH!! I love when the better half rides with me!

I wish I could get my wife more interested in riding with me again. She did for a while then once she hits the 5 mile mark, calls it a day. Congrats.

I love my wife to no end, we have tons of time off together two great sons whom both ride but I ride to get away from my wife. Like I said I love her but it's good to get some time away and not just at work. I thought of getting her a bike and we talked about it but lo and behold she loves it when I'm riding as she gets her alone time. Whohoo works for us, on same hand if you enjoy it knock yourselves out.

I love my wife to no end, we have tons of time off together two great sons whom both ride but I ride to get away from my wife. Like I said I love her but it's good to get some time away and not just at work. I thought of getting her a bike and we talked about it but lo and behold she loves it when I'm riding as she gets her alone time. Whohoo works for us, on same hand if you enjoy it knock yourselves out.

This is one of the reasons for your wife to have a bicycle, there are days you want to ride together, there are days you want to ride alone. If you like to ride with a group, then riding with your wife in the group, can be a huge advantage, you hear about 4 times the group gossip that way:D. Especially if you like to be out front and she likes to bring up the rear ;)

Usually my bike club splits into slow, med, fast groups that ride different routes. Not everyone rides in the same group with their spouse (except on the first few times) if they are different speeds. Another club I ride with has several couples on tandems.

My brother's wife with a severe lung chronic condition. They have a tandem with a rear rack so she can carry an oxygen tank while he does most of the work pedaling. It lets them do an outdoors activity together - she has trouble walking even on a very slow stroll. (BTW she is slender, vegetarian, always health-conscious and never smoked -- just bad genes).