We are retired and in our late sixties. I've read this advice from a woman:
Riding With Your Wife | CyclingTips . The advice is great, but I'd like to hear from more people on this subject.
We are both reasonably fit and active. She plays tennis every week. I don't like tennis and probably couldn't learn to like it much (her doubles partners would never put up with me). Now flip this around and substitute "biking" for "tennis," and you have our situation. I am interested in all things bicycle-related, but I'm only a casual cyclist: 20-40 miles once a week, on roads (road bike or fixie) and easy trails (mtb). She could easily live without biking.
She still rides the Dunelt 3-speed step-through frame her parents gave her when she was 17. With her permission, I have modified it to make it lighter and more comfortable by swapping out steel components for alloy ones. It now has 3-speed Shimano IGH, alloy rims and handlebars (upright touring style), and a Brooks B-17 women's saddle. Wheels are 700c with 1-3/8 tires. The weight is down to 25lbs from 28lbs. I will be replacing the cottered steel crank with cotterless alloy in the near future, which should save another pound.
I would gladly go $1,000+ on a new bike for her, but she wouldn't hear of it. She loves the Dunelt, mostly because of the sentimental value and the candy-apple red paint. I've tried to address all of her preferences of seat height, hand position, gearing, etc. Her ideal biking scenario is riding on the seaside boardwalk on a warm, sunny day with the Dunelt in its original 28lb glory and 26" whitewalls. In that configuration, the bike was unsuitable on even moderate hills, and she has no interest in improving her endurance. Since we live 50 miles from the ocean, and the weather isn't always warm and sunny, her ideal conditions for biking are hard to achieve. (Winter cycling? You must be kidding.)
So now, with the revised bike, I can coax her out once in a while, but she is clearly not enthusiastic, even on easy rides of 5-10 miles on moderate terrain. On longer rides, her favorite part, aside from the lunch stop, is returning to the car. She is willing to ride in LIGHT traffic but is very uncomfortable with it. Yet, she refuses to use a mirror, which I'm sure would boost her confidence. We sometimes ride on a local MUP (10 mile round trip through woods, very pleasant scenery), which she prefers to street riding but doesn't enjoy a whole lot.
When we ride together, we are the slowest things on the road when starting out, which is okay with me - I'm just happy she's out there with me. She speeds up dramatically on the return leg.
Here's the paradox: If she rode more, she would gain skill and stamina and like it more, but she doesn't ride enough to achieve those improvements.
Does anyone have suggestions, or is this as good as it gets? Thanks for your patience reading this.