Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - What is it like having a partner/spouse who rides just as much as you do?

I was always curious about this. Any pros/cons to it? Can it be annoying if they are not as fast or is faster than you? Do you ride as a pair or solo since they like to do their own thing? Do you wish they would stop riding so much? Please contribute any insights and feedback about it. (This pertains to road bikes as well not just fixed)

I slap on a lower gear when I ride with my lady, it's always fun to ride with the person you like. :)
Sometimes when she gets tired, we'd go for lunch or tea or whatever. I try to stay at her pace most of the time and we chit chat on the way, I find it rude when I abandon her.

We picked up a fixed bike for my gf a few months back. She doesn't ride as much as I do but she joins in on the group rides we have here in San Jose. During our group rides we are usually separated. I'm not too worried about her since she can handle her own with the "boys".

When we have lunch we try and ride our bikes. Which is a nice change of pace compared to our group rides.

When I rode by myself I kept pushing her to get a bike. She kept saying no and now she always wants to ride.

I plan on getting her a road bike during the summer so she can flatten some hills with me =)

My gf and I go out for rides around campus. One time we went for a longer 15 mile ride to the lake we row at (support Illini Rowing!! Haha...).

We usually ride at a pretty comfortable pace, and for the most part she can keep up with me. We have similar gearing on our bikes (46-15 and 48-16).

I still always want to ride more than her though...

Can it be annoying if they are not as fast or is faster than you?

What are you, 13?

No, since I'm not gay I'll probably never find a partner that rides as fast as me. Unless Chrissie Willington finally replies to my many e-mails...

My girlfriend has a bike, but she doesn't ride nearly as much as I do. I really wish she would.

Riding with my last girlfriend was really annoying. I don't think I'll be looking for a riding partner next time I feel like finding a rump-riding partner.

I slap on a lower gear when I ride with my lady, it's always fun to ride with the person you like. :)
Sometimes when she gets tired, we'd go for lunch or tea or whatever. I try to stay at her pace most of the time and we chit chat on the way, I find it rude when I abandon her.
Sounds like a happy marriage to me.. Lucky Stiff. I might wish to go solo some, but it would reduce so many tensions when I say; I'm ready for a bike tour. How about you.. Instead of , not again.

neither of us drive, so we bike everywhere. i have the 44x19 girlfriend gear on my townie specifically for this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/del24/1c073501.jpg

Here is part of our stable.
She just ordered some wheels.
I gave her my old Omniums and she runs 48x15 (Dual 650c)

What are you, 13?

what? it's a legit question wiseguy. You know like how if you want to ride fast and they ride slow. The question is universal to both men and women. I'm sure there are women on here who are faster than guys.

We just went on a 30 mile ride the other day. It's all good riding unless we don't know where we're going and there's bad traffic.

Impreza: How does she like the IRO?

Casual rides are fun. Training rides can cause friction.

I guess I'm lucky in this respect. My gf is a former world-class tri-athlete. She spends most of her time swimming and running now and I spend most of my time biking.

I generally like a faster touring pace. She likes taking things a bit slower. When we tour together we usually keep the pace about 30 km/h. If I start getting too fast, I risk awakening her competitive side. When that happens I find her an hour up the road sipping on cold drink while waiting for my sorry ass to show up.

It's all about fear and balance ;)

Enjoy the ride.

Casual rides are fun. Training rides can cause friction.

Friction, you say?

Sounds like a happy marriage to me.. Lucky Stiff. I might wish to go solo some, but it would reduce so many tensions when I say; I'm ready for a bike tour. How about you.. Instead of , not again.
We aren't married yet. :P
But yea, I enjoy the time being with her. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/del24/1c073501.jpg

Here is part of our stable.
She just ordered some wheels.
I gave her my old Omniums and she runs 48x15 (Dual 650c)

Nice stable and bikes... . All looks sort of orderly..Maybe the woman's touch..... Do you keep your bikes in your bedroom..? Red walls.. Always liked the song.. "I wear cheap sunglasses at Night.., " by Corey Hart.

My wife is type 1 diabetic, therefore she is exercising all the time to keep her blood sugar levels in check without having to depend so much on insulin. One of her bikes pretty much lives on a trainer in our office and she can outride me any day. We go for rides (separately and together) all the time. Neither of us are "training" for anything so every ride is a casual ride. It's perfect. :love:

My wife is type 1 diabetic, therefore she is exercising all the time to keep her blood sugar levels in check without having to depend so much on insulin. One of her bikes pretty much lives on a trainer in our office and she can outride me any day. We go for rides (separately and together) all the time. Neither of us are "training" for anything so every ride is a casual ride. It's perfect. :love:

A few of the Team Type 1 (http://www.teamtype1.org/)guys race at our track. I'm friends with the team's founder Joe Eldridge. They are doing a lot to further the fight.

http://brandsofcola.com/resources/zevia-cola.jpg

Team Type 1 is awesome.

it sucks to have a girlfriend that used to ride and is now not terribly interested :(

My lady friend refuses to learn to stop. I've never seen somebody that is this uncoordinated. It's like she would rather fall over or get hit by a car than put a foot down, most annoying thing ever. How hard is it to lift up off the seat and put a foot down while applying the brakes? The rides are a blast as long as we don't have to stop or be near any moving objects, including peds. She also has no awareness of how wide the widest part of the bike is, she has run the pedals into poles, fences, etc., and while she didn't go down it could have been ugly. It's fun though.

My gf and I go out for rides around campus. One time we went for a longer 15 mile ride to the lake we row at (support Illini Rowing!! Haha...).

We usually ride at a pretty comfortable pace, and for the most part she can keep up with me. We have similar gearing on our bikes (46-15 and 48-16).

I still always want to ride more than her though...

Fighting Illini!

btw any news on the bike theft?

nobody has a tandem bike. I was hoping for a goofy tandem bike. :lol:

My girlfriend and I both bike everywhere except the grocery store, which is all the way across town.

Neither of us are really athletes, so we go at a leisurely pace most of the time. I commute alone, though, so I can get my fast riding out of my system whenever I feel like it.

Overall, I'd much rather go riding with a partner than either alone or with someone who constantly has something to prove.

Casual rides are fun. Training rides can cause friction.

truth. but even casual can get frustrating when they can't go faster than 10 mph. I'm never that casual....

nobody has a tandem bike. I was hoping for a goofy tandem bike. :lol:


150268

I just have friends that ride but not even as much as i do :(

my gf wants a bike though

No, since I'm not gay I'll probably never find a partner that rides as fast as me. Unless Chrissie Willington finally replies to my many e-mails...

There's this Granny/roadie I see around town all the time. She manages to smoke me everytime. She's faster than me and she's at least as good at navigating traffic as me. She's gotta be in her late 60s. Unless you are really serious and train, women can and will beat you. Ultimately guys tend to be faster than girls, but a well trained woman can be quite the force to be reckoned with on a bike.

My wife is type 1 diabetic, therefore she is exercising all the time to keep her blood sugar levels in check without having to depend so much on insulin. One of her bikes pretty much lives on a trainer in our office and she can outride me any day. We go for rides (separately and together) all the time. Neither of us are "training" for anything so every ride is a casual ride. It's perfect. :love:

Hey Scrod,

Not to hijack but I'm also type 1. Check out this little item for the Mrs. Saved my butt once (yea, of course it's a story). I wear one every ride without fail. People do notice them so they work.
http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx I always wanted to have a T-shirt or something that read "If I'm acting drunk give me lots of sugar. No really - I'm DIABETIC. Trust me on this one."

my partner and i train together. we travel to races together. training can be slightly irritating because we have different strengths and tend to enjoy different training days, but it's good when it's a beautiful day and we both want some long steady rides. interestingly, training also winds up being some valuable time apart, though occasionally it's the other way around - i have to make decisions to sacrifice training hours in favor of valuable facetime.

also, PedallingATX - i've heard people express that opinion of yours before. it makes me laugh, because it can't help but think that you just don't know the right women. i know some total legbreakers who would be only too happy to tear your legs off in a sprint. and my partner is an alleycat winner and former monstertrack women's champion who has a habit of putting me in the gutter in a crosswind and dropping me. and i may not be a total bikestud but i'm no slouch either.

We are both Casual Commuters. What I mean by that is that we commute when it's comfortable (basically when it isn't raining). We don't work in the same part of town so we don't usually commute together.

I may be the stronger rider, but that doesn't matter. In fact I prefer it.

When we go for recreational rides I ride at her pace, it's not terribly slow, and It lets me relax and take in my surroundings. When I ride by myself, there is nothing 'pacing' me so I tend to ride faster and harder. Even when I try to take it easy I always end up riding harder than I'd like.

I find it a lot more enjoyable to ride with her than to ride by myself as a result.

It feels nice to know that the bike can still be a tool to get from A to B without having to be a workout every time. I feel like it makes it more viable for your everyman when I know that with a little self control, you can ride without exerting a ton of energy. It really makes me enjoy riding, and makes me want to force other people on a bike so they can also get that same joy.

truth. but even casual can get frustrating when they can't go faster than 10 mph. I'm never that casual....
I understand that. Sometimes I hesitate going on long rides with my girl friends just becoz they only ride once a week during summer at best. My computer averages about 8mph when i'm with them. But on some lazy weekends when it's really more about quality time than riding I'll go for a ride around town with them and it's fun.


There's this Granny/roadie I see around town all the time. She manages to smoke me everytime. She's faster than me and she's at least as good at navigating traffic as me. She's gotta be in her late 60s. Unless you are really serious and train, women can and will beat you. Ultimately guys tend to be faster than girls, but a well trained woman can be quite the force to be reckoned with on a bike.
Agree. Generally men have more strength than women coz they are bigger and have leaner muscle mass. But there are other things that women excel at like endurance and flexibility

Fighting Illini!

btw any news on the bike theft?

I-L-L-I-N-I!!

Nope, not yet. I had a call from a guy about a CL ad he saw, but it was a no match. Her new, identical replacement bike came in over the weekend. We're still keeping a lookout for it, though. Seriously, every time I see someone ride past, I double check to make sure it's not her bike. Haha.

nobody has a tandem bike. I was hoping for a goofy tandem bike. :lol:

I usually end up towing my gf when she gets tired.
I ride beside her, reach over and grab her belt or the waistband of her shorts, then start pedaling. I get a better workout, and she gets to come along.
For me the hottest thing is a chick on a bike or a surfboard so I don't get annoyed if she is better or worse than me I just like to see it.
Training rides and centuries I ride alone or find a pickup group to ride with.

Enjoy

I've really wanted a tandem bike for us. Sure, it's goofy, maybe even ridiculous, but It would be a fun thing to tool around on I think.

Basids, all of you ,a POX!!!! Colour me jealous. Ride at all, let alone with me!!!

Its sucks bullballs, but hey to each his/her own, they can't be forced into loving bikes, I know, I tried.

Nice stable and bikes... . All looks sort of orderly..Maybe the woman's touch..... Do you keep your bikes in your bedroom..? Red walls.. Always liked the song.. "I wear cheap sunglasses at Night.., " by Corey Hart.

Thank you. I've been meaning to get wall mounts that hold the top tube. Yes, I keep my nice bikes inside my room. I live in a urban area where bike theft is common. The only bike that's outside is my MTB and I use that for bike polo/rainy days. :lol:

So today while I was riding east I saw a ridiculously hot girl heading south at an intersection. She was fully kitted up and on a pretty nice roadbike. I thought about chasing her down and telling her she's the hottest thing I've seen on two wheels, but I'm sure she gets harassed by us bike dorks all the time. I wouldn't mind riding with her though. Should I have given chase?

My girlfriend rides about 5 mph and is always weaving out into the vehicular lanes at random times. It constantly shifts between tedious frustration and terror that she might get hit. Also, she gets scared sometimes when crossing or turning in heavy, multi-lane intersections and has more than once stopped at the concrete divider in the middle and got stranded there because she was too scared too move. I usually get screamed at when this happens.

We do have a nice time cruising to other nearby town centers for lunch or a latte at Starbucks though.

So today while I was riding east I saw a ridiculously hot girl heading south at an intersection. She was fully kitted up and on a pretty nice roadbike. I thought about chasing her down and telling her she's the hottest thing I've seen on two wheels, but I'm sure she gets harassed by us bike dorks all the time. I wouldn't mind riding with her though. Should I have given chase?
i thought u were battling 40mph winds yesterday. Instead u were chasing girls on bikes :rolleyes:
I think compliments are always nice, just most guys take it too far then it becomes harassment.

if the wife can't keep up, I usually tell her I'll meet her back at the crib and take off.

My wife and I go on death marches all the time. Big wandering mountain bike rides (sometimes hiking with a bike on our shoulders) in the mountain west of the good ol usa. I waited until 40 to marry because all the girls I previously dated said they were into biking, skiing etc. but they didn't have a clue and didn't want to learn bad enough to suffer the path to enlightenment. I think it's realy important to share in fun activities in relationships. Suffering together tells you a lot about a person capabillities and how their mental status reacts to "situations".