Wifey wants to come play!
 

It is with great joy and excitement that I post this question to the all-knowing bikeforum.

After a discussion last night where I said again to my beloved wife that the only thing I don't like about bicycling is that she doesn't do it, and so I can't really share it with her, (she thought I wanted her to ride because I wanted her to get into shape - which actually never really entered my mind) she then said that she really wants to start riding with me, but is afraid of being able to keep up - (which really won't be an issue becasue I want to ride with her more than ride fast) but anyway, I digress.

She emailed me today asking for articles to help her begin riding. She bought a Trek 2200 a few years ago, but only rode it a few times but has always wanted to ride bikes through Yellowstone NP etc... (she's an amazingly talented high-performance motorcyclist and can school many a guy on race-tracks).

http://canyonchasers.net/albums/z100...0412.sized.jpg

But the question is, do you guys know of any online articles I could email her, that will be geared towards a new rider getting into the sport? Encouraging, basic kinda stuff? I dunno..

Thanks!
dp

team estrogen

woman's cycling forum! has a newbie's section.. plus lots of informed ladies! best place out there to get info for and from women cyclists!!!!!!!!!!!

Try Greg LeMonds book 'Complete Book of Cycling' Used for $0.34 on Amazon.com....

To heck with online stuff, have her read a book. I just got Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100 for my wife.

Nice pic, despite the motorcycle. :D

You are a lucky man. Count your blessings.


edit: make that a VERY lucky man!

Effective cycling by John Forester, excellent book.

really what you should do is just go out and ride with her.
If she can handle a motorcycle on the track, a bicycle should be
no problem.
just be patient and remember it's not a hammerfest (yet), that's what
worked for me.

marty

I can only hope that maybe someday.

SS

Thanks for the tips on books!

And yeah, i'm not that worried about her handling the bike - motocycling and cycling seem to translate quite fine (other than the front brake being in the wrong place on bicycles ;)

She's worried about getting her fitness level up and being able to keep up. She has a lot of insecurities about fitness and "pacing".

dp

My wife felt the same way because it was hard for me when we'd run together, at first, to comfortably run slowly enough to stick together. Patience and encouragement... she did her first century last year and now we run side-by-side (riding still has a way to go but see my "wife wants a road bike" thread for progress :D). I honestly think she has more aerobic talent than I do.

I got back into biking because my wife (formerly an avid runner) decided to become a triathlete and didn't know much about road bikes and wanted me to help. I am so happy that she did -- I am so sorry that I didn't rediscover road biking many years ago. I don't consider myself that strong of a rider, but I've become addicted to it, and so has my wife. It's become a focal point for us - many weekend rides together, done a little touring together, etc.

I know that she has expressed the same fear - that she is "holding me back", but we're not very far apart. I have a great advantage going downhill because I outweigh her by 50 pounds, but she keeps up on the uphills. And this winter, she has been working out like a crazy person - doing 3 hour sessions on the trainer ("Tough Love" spinervals DVD) -- she will probably drop me like a hot potato in the spring!
Introduce her to all things cycling, but most of all, reassure her that there's a lot more to cycling than racing and going fast

We have friends who are *very strong* riders and have asked us to ride with them. I sometimes have the same trepidation because I know they are out of our league, but being a cyclist, I also know that it's not about the competition - it's about having fun, sharing the experience, and getting into shape in the process.

But be careful - you might have created a monster :eek:

what he said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a wonderful problem! My wife isn't interested.

If she takes to the single bike, I suggest checking out a tandem. Tandems are great fun and the only true way that two cyclists with dissimilar abilities can ride at the same pace and both get a workout. They are not prohibitively expensive.

My girlfriend can't ride a bike without complaining so I gave up.

You put them on the back of the tandem and they don't have to do anything except pedal. They will still complain about their arse hurting and bugs and stuff...but at least you don't have to put the chain back on their bike half way up every hill.....

My wife is into salsa. I can't dance, therefore, I don't dance.

" said again to my beloved wife that the only thing I don't like about bicycling is that she doesn't do it, and so I can't really share it with her..."

If you replace the word "bicycling" with "sex", you'd have a conversation that I once had with my (ex) wife.

When I used to ride with my ex-boyfriend, he was always trying to compete with me, seeing who could go faster, racing to the corner, etc. It got old really fast, and I stopped riding with him. That's why he's my ex.

Definitely reassure her that you want to be with HER, riding at her pace. If she likes it, she will want to learn more on her own. Have her check out teamestrogen.com - they're a supportive bunch over there.

$0.00/gal - what's your girl complaining about? All women complain, it's in our nature. Don't give up on her.

"my knees hurt, you're going too fast, this is taking too long"

all on a 3 mile ride.

wanna go on a date? haha

You can re-cable the brakes so that they work the same wheels as a motorcycle. It's commonly done.

Al

Make sure she LOVES her saddle.

sure! :D

I recommend switching the brakes so that the front brake is the right lever, rear on the left. That's how I've run mine since I started riding. Some call it "euro", others call it "moto" style.

edit: Al beat me to it. Stinker.

I have a friend from Scotland who says that European bikes have the front brake on the right side (as opposed to left). Is that true? I've already switched out her front brakes actually - I ended up swapping the entire lever/hood mechanism. But can I switch mine? I imagine I can't switch the entire contraption... How hard is it to do? I have Shimano Dura-Ace 10 STI Dual Contol levers, ST-7800's?

dp

This is very, very important.