Grampy™

Mine does. Every Sunday is "our day" to ride. I let her pick where and how long and how fast (she knows I like the fast days best )
Well today was a fast day. It didn't start out that way though.......
Me and Wifey were just riding along visiting about vacations, house repairs, etc.... we were way out in the boonies and hadn't seen anyone else at all. (It was pretty hot out) We were riding side by side probably about 13-14 mph just having a good time. This other couple comes up behind us and we didn't hear them or know they were there...... The guy yells out "On yer Left" loud enough to be heard a half mile away.... then he starts berating us about how "you slower riders need to keep to the right". I apologized for getting in their way and they rode off in a huff.... You can see where this is going, can't ya?
Wifey was a bit peeved at what she perceived as the guys rudeness. She steamed on it for the next mile or so..... then looked over to me and asked, "feelin' fast today?" .... yes dear.
Well for the next 2 miles it was all I could do to keep up with her.... she only rides on Sundays, but she does ride the trainer an hour each night, so she does have some legs. Needless to say when we caught the couple, they were riding side by side... I took the lead and said rather loud, " On yer left puleeese".... and we smoked 'em. Wifey didn't let up for the rest of the ride either...... That's my Girl!

Olebiker

Ya gotta love a girl like that!

jppe

One of the best stories I've heard in a long time!! I sure hope it turned a disappointing event into a terrific ride!!

Carusoswi

I would ride with my wife at any speed, but she will have none of it. We've been out a time or two - I didn't press her, and it seemed as though she had a good time - each day was perfect - no mishaps. But, alas, it seems she just isn't turned on by the mechanics or the scenery - not much you can do about that. She has other redeeming qualities, so this "flaw" is truly minor.

Caruso

SemperFi

Tried to interest my wife in cycling but she really wasn't the least bit interested. I guess I was a little disappointed at first but I've come to really enjoy the solitariness of my evening rides. I can ride at my own pace, on the route of my choosing, and just concentrate on the ride...no conversation of the days events, work, the kids (thankfully all over 21) or anything else.
It's a mind cleansing experience that I look forward to each day.

2372ighost

I started riding Oct 05, three times a week. Wife said she would try it (hybrid) so we could do something together. Our riding styles and abilities are so far apart that it became a problem together. I got us a tandem road bike, and it is the best thing that brings us together in riding. She only rides her 1/2 bike when I am out of town. Do a tandem and let the stoker call the shots. Worked for me!!!!

Wildwood 

Same with me. I've tried the tandem route as well, but no joy.
She encourages me to ride so no problems. On the tandem the kids stoke at times and I may soon be my son's stoker...

Bud Bent

I'd look awfully funny on my tandem if my wife didn't ride....

ken cummings

Well done. The only time my wife is ahead of me is on the dance floor. We may ride two or 3 times a year on out semi-recumbent tandem. She is very willing to help at brevets and other ultra events. Now is RAAM would only start in SF again.

NOS88

Glad you all "smoked 'em". I'd love to ride with my wife, but two operations to remove tumors from her spine and one leaky heart valve make riding an impossibility for her. She tolerates, no encourages, my riding. She says I'm always a nicer person after I return. I do regret not being able to share something I really enjoy with her, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. Every now and again, I'll read a post and see the photos from the rides some of you do with your spouse and get a little depressed. Then I think, no, I should feel this way. Now if I didn't have my wife, or if I couldn't ride, then that would be a reason to be depressed. So, Grampy, you and your Mrs. keep on doing them fast rides and teaching those rude folks a thing or two.

NOS88

Glad you all "smoked 'em". I'd love to ride with my wife, but two operations to remove tumors from her spine and one leaky heart valve make riding an impossibility for her. She tolerates, no encourages, my riding. She says I'm always a nicer person after I return. I do regret not being able to share something I really enjoy with her, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. Every now and again, I'll read a post and see the photos from the rides some of you do with your spouse and get a little depressed. Then I think, no, I shouldn't feel this way. Now if I didn't have my wife, or if I couldn't ride, then that would be a reason to be depressed. So, Grampy, you and your Mrs. keep on doing them fast rides and teaching those rude folks a thing or two.

DnvrFox

Yes, my wife and I ride together.

She LOVES, absolutely LOVES bicycling.

When we ride together I go at her speed - at times I get ahead, but then I wait for her or circle back to pick her up again.

With her bum knee, she can no longer take long hikes or even long walks. But she can bicycle.

She can not stand the heat very long, so our rides have to be planned around the cool parts of the day.

She knows I need to go on longer rides and faster rides, so often we will ride together aways and then she will turn back and I will go on.

HopedaleHills

It was my wife who got me riding this year. At this point she is a stronger rider than I am so I don't have to worry about slowing for her, only keeping up. In fact, Saturday we did the Nashua River Trail (25 miles round trip) and at one point she was hammering at 19-20mph for about 6 miles and I thought I was going to freakin die before she slowed down because of a crossroads.

Recycle

Smoked 'em, eh? Way to go for the two of you!

My wife and I resumed riding last year after 25 years off bikes. We bought hybrids for our 42nd wedding anniversary last June and have thoroughly enjoyed riding together a couple times a week ever since. It doesn't matter if it's an hour on a trainer during the winter, a 5 mile spin around the neighborhood, a 10 mile ride to a breakfast spot, or a 40 mile day trip (long for us) on a canal tow path.

For our anniversary this year, we took the weekend to ride the last 40 miles of the Hennepin Canal Trail, and take in a music festival and craft fair in Geneseo, IL, a town along the canal ... even took a very short ride on the Great River Trail on the Mississippi River.

Grampy™

Normally Wifey would just let 'em go, but this guy's mouth and the fact that they started riding side by side after they passed us was just to much for her.

Last fall on the same section of trail she just started hammering for no apparent reason. After a mile or so I noticed on the road that runs parallel to the trail about 200yds. away, a farmer was pulling a wagon load of grain. She kept lookin' over at him and I realized she was "racing" this tractor. Now keep in mind the Farmer had no idea he was in a race, but that didn't mean anything to my Wife.... I even asked her if she wanted me to take a pull... she said no, it was between her and the Farmer.... LOL
She did win the town line Sprint by the way....

p8rider

You definitely have a keeper Grampy! My wife is not a rider. She will use a treadmill and so in the middle of this winter on bad days I would go with her and use a stationary bike while she did the treadmill. That was nice to do together.
However for biking, she could ride slowly through some local neighborhoods, but has fear of traffic etc. that one encounters out on the country roads. She has been great at encouraging me to ride and for that matter, the Trek 5200 I got for Christmas was a gift from her.

LynnH

I laughed! I want to be just like her! I ride by myself, husband is just not interested.

wobblyoldgeezer

and we have had a couple of decades worth of social riding in California, Surrey UK, France, and now here in Bahrain where we take the occasional ride out past the gas flares and the camels in the mornings when it's only 38 degrees C, before it warms up! (picture in the rogues gallery).
We're currently planning the Russian 'Golden Ring' fund raising tour - (link attached) https://www.childrensfireandburntrust.org.uk/
I'll tell you all how that goes
Best,
Richard

RVrider

The wife and I just purchased a Cannondale road tandem and we are really enjoying it. Communication is easy and good and she is quickly learning cadence and a good riding style. She shunned the idea of clippless pedals, so I purchsed a convertible Shimmano pedal that is platform on one side and clipless on the other. I adjusted the release to light and showed her how they worked. She imediately adapted to them and realized their benifits riding hills etc. Tandems are great, next year a road bike for her, then we'll have the option of the tandem or seperate bikes. Life is good!

BubbaDog

My bride of nineteen years has recently joined me, we purchased her a Trek 7300 hybrid that she has been enjoying. I try to make Saturday my solo day and Sunday 'our' day. I ride at her pace, and am seeing her slowly improve her average speed. We had her riding local MUPs for about two months to get used to handling the bike and shifting, she'd never really rode much at all when she was younger. She has just graduated to local country roads with wide shoulders two weeks ago, and actually likes them better than the paved trails she had been riding. I'm very happy that she is interested, it's a great way for us to spend time together in a pleasant outdoor setting .

B'Dog

Hwy 40 Blue

Wow, so far I'm the only wife writing about the husband! C'mon gals, where are ya? My husband rides a bike trainer a couple of days a week in the winter, but getting him out on the bike is tough because what he likes is to cut and haul wood on weekends. (Yes, he loves that, though it just looks like backbreaking work to me!) Plus we play golf together. That's our weekend/and/or/vacation time together, and it's great. I mostly ride solo. He just doesn't have the bike bug like I do.

jazzy_cyclist

My wife got me into biking; she is a triathelete (formerly a mostly runner).

I ride more than her because she also swims and runs, so at this point in the season I am stronger than her on the bike most of the time. My opinion is that this is partly because she overtrains. So I'll get way ahead of her sometimes (this is hard not to do on a significant downhill because of our weight difference), and sometimes this bothers her and sometimes not, but she is always happy to ride with me (and me with her). We typically do maybe 2-3 rides/week together when the weather is good.

She's a little frustrated at the end of a ride that she doesn't have a higher average speed, although I know that I've had to do a lot of miles and try a lot of things before I saw a noticeable increase, so I try to encourage her as best I can.

Based on a canoeing trip that we took many years ago (where we each accused the other of not paddling), I'm not sure that a tandem would work for us.

Hats off to you, Grampy -- that is a great story with a happy ending.

jazzy_cyclist

My wife got me into biking; she is a triathelete (formerly a mostly runner).

I ride more than her because she also swims and runs, so at this point in the season I am stronger than her on the bike most of the time. My opinion is that this is partly because she overtrains. So I'll get way ahead of her sometimes (this is hard not to do on a significant downhill because of our weight difference), and sometimes this bothers her and sometimes not, but she is always happy to ride with me (and me with her). We typically do maybe 2-3 rides/week together when the weather is good.

She's a little frustrated at the end of a ride that she doesn't have a higher average speed, although I know that I've had to do a lot of miles and try a lot of things before I saw a noticeable increase, so I try to encourage her as best I can.

Based on a canoeing trip that we took many years ago (where we each accused the other of not paddling), I'm not sure that a tandem would work for us.

Hats off to you, Grampy -- that is a great story with a happy ending.

nmichell

Great story, Grampy. I bought my wife an electric bike a few years ago to get her cycling. Then she wanted a "real" bike, so we went out and got a Trek comfort bike (very upright, easy to shift). Lately, she's suggested she might want a road bike, so progress is being made. We've done a few weekend brunch rides: wife on her comfort bike, me on my hybrid, and my daughter on the tagalong. Longest ride was ~15 miles. It's been a lot of fun.

Thrifty1

My wife and I always (100%) ride together...fun rides, unsupported tours, and supported tours. Just returned from riding....56.7 great (76 degrees and 6 MPH winds) miles on her computer.