bobthib

I'm very blessed to have a wife so beautiful and talented. While she can beat me very handily by 40 or more pins on average at bowling ( 150 vs 190) my skill and passion is cycling.

We really enjoy the meetup rides on the So Flat area on tuesday and wednesday nights but since she doesnt' ride as much as I do, she tends to fall behind. This was not a big probelem when we ride the tandem as I can usually keep us in the B group.

Lately, however, she was not able to ride and it showed. She would always be at the back of the pack struggling to hang on. I tried pulling her, but it's very difficult to judge when I'm going too fast.

Last night I tried the simple "hand on the back" techique, I was surprised how easy it was to push her along at 3 or 4 mph faster even w/o a draft. This enabled her to enjoy a ride much more than she otherwise would have. I enjoyed it more because I" was working" a little rather than seeing how slow I could go. I used to ride my roadie on these rides, but it was frustrating. I had a hard time keeping my moto at speed, and I was not feeling like I was "earning the ride."

I started riding my mtg on the rides and it was a huge improvement. The added weight and rolling resistance from the fat tires slowed me but gave a sense of accomplishment. But the real satisfaction came when I got the ideal to gently "push" my wife along. Both of us got a real workout and a lot more enjoyment from the ride.

Now I now that it is far more enjoyable for both of us if I give her a "gentile nudge" as we go on the more demanding rides than if I try to play the hero and pull. Our future rides will be more enjoyable for both of us!

It was a real "win - win" for both of us.

What puzzles me is why we can't seem to do this well on the tandem.

Cadillac

My solution to a similar problem was to buy a tandem. That way she is behind me, but only by inches.

stapfam

Problem is if she overtakes you on the hills.

digibud

Buy her a good all carbon fiber bike if she doesn't already have one. I think regularly pushing her is an accident waiting to happen.

bkj

and hard to do in single file

bobthib

We have a tandem, but sometimes she likes riding solo.

stapfam

I sometimes take out "New" riders and I always have a few routes planned and always an Escape route if the course is hilly. If I find that my planned route is too much for the rider- I can always adapt it to an easier ride. I also find that they either carry on riding or give up fairly quickly but one of my neighbours daughters I took on some easy rides last year. She never got past that stage and I thought she had given up riding. She hasn't but has an old heavy bike that is difficult for hilly rides. Few weeks ago she asked if she could borrow a bike for her friend to ride. Out came the MTB and she picked it up and remarked how light it was in comparison to her own bike. For that ride she used my MTB and let her friend use hers. Enthusiasm is right back and she has asked if I can set up the OCR for her and take her on a few road rides.