Spudmeister

A previous poll (Do you have to be well off?) got me think about this. I'd like to spend loads of time & money on my bike, but I have a wife & two kids to maintain. I'm wondering about the statis of other riders & how it effects there long distance riding and equipment desires. I've attached a poll and appreciate any thoughts or comments.

Tex_Arcana

I didn't marry until my 40's. Hard to find a woman with the mental balance to be sane enough to carry on a serious relationship yet crazy enough to be with me.

jonathanb715

I'm divorced, but with more than some financial responsibility for the kids - I have joint custody - they spend 50% of the time at each of our homes. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Finding time for riding is a challenge, but not impossible.

JB

spokenword

I would have broken out the married w/ children into more categories. Married with newborns requires a very different time commitment than being married with kids in high school or college. While I am still single and child-free, most of the randonneurs that I know who have kids and still ride actively have children who are already teenagers and are generally self-maintaining. I met one guy on a 200k last year who had a son participate in a collegiate cycling team and was basically just riding his son's hand-me-downs. That's not a bad return on 18 years of investment.

spokenword

I should add emphasis that most of the randonneurs that I know who have kids and still ride actively have children who are already teenagers. There are also randonneurs who juggle a newborn with the time commitments of distance riding and it largely seems to be about being creative, realistic and flexible with one's training. Tow your child along in a Burley on training rides. Get up early and get your miles in before your children are awake, etc.

SharpT

I have a 2 month old and a 2 year old and we have been married for 12 years or so. I have an agreement with my wife to ride one brevet/perm per month, which basically leaves her alone on a Saturday to take care of the kids from waking up, till bed (tough job). More so on 400k+.

My current training is 3 days per week, 2 rides/week at lunchtime (18 miles including a 1000' 10% climb), and one early morning 3+hour ride once a week, 5:30AM-8:45AM. Keeps my weekends free for the most part.

These 3 weekly rides, plus the once a month brevets/perms seem to keep me well in shape.

I used to commute for training, but now with the newborn my wife needs me in the morning and early evenings to help. Driving to work takes 15-20 minutes, riding takes 1 hour.

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SharpT

Paul L.

1 4 year old, 2 five year olds, and an 8 year old. All adopted.
when the 3 of them were in diapers it was extremely hard to do the brevets. It did create some tension in our marriage and it is still hard but a bit easier now.

I commute 4 days a week (25 miles one way but get a ride home usually) and use a few of those as hard days for training. Saturdays I try to get in a longish ride but occasionally miss. I will never be a fast distance rider until the kids are older I think due to juggling everything. Whether or not a 1200k is possible who can tell.

bmike

new dad here, and i'll be turning my work into part time consulting and freelance and doing full time daddy day care. still trying to get my head around the whole of it. definitely very different when i was the single guy hiking, climbing, and riding whenever the mood struck of a few years ago.

i have many many hopes that the little one will take to the trailer, and as i work from home i don't get any option to 'commute' - so i have to plan rides - which has been a disaster this past year with health issues and the pregnancy.

wife is planning on a tri in the fall - so i'll pick up some family training time with her.
200k with a trailer?

lubers

Married and have kids and grand kids and foster kids, actually both of my daughters are married and both have two kids each (ages 3 months to four years), my oldest daughter also has had two foster kids for over a year now so they also count as our kids for the time being. The wife and I spend a lot of time helping out as much as possible which means Monday nights I baby sit, Thursday nights we babysit and most weekends we have from two to four grandkids or foster kids spending the weekend. Its great.

bmike

how do you manage your LD training / rides and / or brevets?

Michel Gagnon

Apart from a wife who doesn't cycle – I haven't been able to convince her to try handcycling – I have two daughters that are now 12 and 8.

I don't "train" and I don't do brevets, but I do long day rides and 4-7 day tours every year or two. What do I do? I bring the kids with me! I have been cycling with a single bike + trailercycle + child trailer, then with a tandem + trailercycle (+ cargo trailer on tour), and this Summer should be the first time my oldest daughter tours on her own steam. I agree it's a totally different experience than riding solo, but it's a very interesting one.

bmike

sounds great! i saw a mom, dad, and two youngins crossing lake champlain over to the islands late last summer - all 4 on mtbikes fully loaded. looked like they had been out awhile (or maybe pedaled up from burlington with the kitchen sink ready to camp in style)! thought it was a great way to spend a family vacation - vs. how i did when i was a kid - mom, dad, and the 5 sibs crammed into the back of a van driving across country towing a travel trailer.

lubers

I commute to work every day thats 27 miles a day, Tuesday night is our club ride which is usally 30 miles, and on the weekends either Sat. or Sun I'll do a 50-70 miles ride with my son in law's father, he also commutes to work along with me but he goes another five miles farther down the rode than I do. We both average over two thousand miles a year.

thebulls

Two teenagers. When they were younger, it wouldn't have been possible to do any serious riding. Too much work, and if you leave all the work to your spouse, you may find that you have way more time available to ride , but you have to spend it all earning enough to pay child support. Just not possible to take whole days on Saturdays or Sundays, given that the kids usually have to go different places, so both parents are carting them around.

Scootcore

an 8 year old and another on the way. i commute so that 25 miles a day. then longer weekend rides...it all boils down to either getting up early so im back at a human hour as well as having a VERY supportive wife!

Jawbone

I commute for training rides. I also get up really early in the morning for longer rides so that I'm back by 9:00 in the morning.

Rick@OCRR

I am married, but both of my kids have moved out and are on their own so no obligations there. My wife is also a long-distance cyclist, so no worries there either.

The mother of my kids was supportive of my riding when I was in my 30's and 40's but we're divorced (over 10 years ago) and my new wife has never had any kids, nor does she want any.

I didn't see that as an option in the poll (unless it was "other") so I picked "Married with kids."

Rick / OCRR

InTheRain

Married, 9 yr old daughter. My wife is a stay at home mom. I commute to work and back on the bike - short ride: 7 miles each way. However, as there begins to be more daylight, I'll start taking longer rides before work. Maybe 20-30 miles before the commute into work. I'll try to do club rides once or twice a week during the week after work - these are 25-40 mile rides. I'm training specifically for a one-day Seattle-to-Portland ride that takes place in mid-July.

My daughter looks forward to the day when she can do the STP with me. We are shooting for age 14 and would like to do it on a tandem.

Mr. Beanz

I've managed to stay active the last 20 years raising 4 kids. Finally they are gone so I have the time to ride.

What kills me is that it seems organized are for the rich man. Now with 6 grandkids and our kids, it gets expensive helping with the pizza parties and such. We have 3 birthdays within a week of Christmas, and one a week after New Years. I had planned to do an organized ride but missed the registration as it sold out within a couple of days.....I don't think that wold have happened if I had been able to pull a hundred bucks outta my...,errr hat!...Darn Christmas, pizza parties,birthday cakes, Bah Humbug!

Rick@OCRR

Enough with the excuses already Beanz,

There's still time to sign up for the Solvang Double, Davis Double and Grand Tour. There you go, there's your Triple Crown and that cool jersey (well yeah, you have to buy it, but still . . . ).

Butterfield was fun, and now we have the Solvang Double coming up. One of the "easy" ones, and a good starter double for you. Enough with the excuses; sign up and ride!

Rick / OCRR

Mr. Beanz

Hey watch it man, this is my way of saying I'm too old and weak!

Rick@OCRR

Lies Beanzer, Nothing but lies!

I've seen you ride up some mightly big climbs and you go just fine. Age-wise, I'm 15 years older than you are (I think . . . if I did the math right ), so that "excuse" is not acceptable either. If I can do it, your finish times will be (at least) two hours faster!

No more excuses; just do it .

Rick / OCRR

Burnt Sienna

I'm married, no kids, but my husband and I live the "starving artist" lifestyle. We've gotten pretty good at scouting Craigslist and ebay, and making use of a local bike coop to get the outdoor stuff we want/need (we're into cycling, kayaking, backpacking, biking, winter camping, all the expensive stuff). So, while we never get the latest and greatest, I think we end up with most of the stuff we *need* to make it happen.

u1st

Divorced w/ a 15yr old son; Remarried w/ a 5yr old daughter.

Most training comes from commuting to/from work (~30mi RT). Longer rides, I try to start really early in the morning, so I'm available should a game of chutes n' ladders breaks out.

The absolute BEST way to get a day pass for riding is to GIVE a day pass by volunteering to take the kids to the park, to the movies, to the anywhere to get them out of your S.O.'s hair so they can spend sometime on their hobby/interests. Extra credit is usually given for picking up after yourself, load/unload dishes in the dishwasher without being asked, folding clean clothes, take turns making dinner, etc., etc. Don't get caught in the trap of thinking that both parents have to be present 24/7 to raise kids. It may fray the nerves a bit more to deal with them by yourselves for an afternoon or the day, but it's worth it to be able to take some selfish 'downtime' for yourselves now and then.

Also: As far as equipment goes, I've learned to appreciate the practicality of classic, steel bikes and 7/8 spd components.