Partner sharing an interest in cycling

Frank the tank

Mrs Tank has no interest in cycling and the con of this is I'd quite like her to ride a bike and go on rides together. The pro is she doesn't really know how much bike stuff really is, not that it matters.

How do you lot whose partner has a shared interest in cycling find it, is it sometimes a bit of an inconvenience for whatever reason.

fish156

It meant everything cost twice as much. If I could justify a new pair of wheels, well so could she.

random man

Frank the tank wrote:

Mrs Tank has no interest in cycling and the con of this is I'd quite like her to ride a bike and go on rides together. The pro is she doesn't really know how much bike stuff really is, not that it matters.

How do you lot whose partner has a shared interest in cycling find it, is it sometimes a bit of an inconvenience for whatever reason.

Don't do it Frank, you know she'd tear your legs off!

Drumlin

Lots of plusses - happy days pottering around the countryside visiting tea rooms and enjoying the views. And an excuse to get one of these

wishitwasallflat

My missus doesn't ride a bike, doesn't want to ride a bike but loves me riding mine, is happy for me to buy stuff, loves watching cycling on telly, reads the mags I buy, reades cycling books = perfect I think.

GiantMike

If I want to go for a blast round Dalby Forest it can sometimes be a bit of a drag waiting for Ms GM. On the other hand I got to have 2 great weeks in Morzine with a stunning roading and MTBing wife sharing great times and putting it all into perspective.

tim_wand

Biggest mistake I ever made was leaving cycling related literature next to the toilet for relaxed reading,

Now Mrs W knows the correct price of everything.

On to the plus side she cycles to work everyday, and the kiddy seat will only fit on her hybrid and none of my frames.

Frank the tank

tim wand wrote:

Biggest mistake I ever made was leaving cycling related literature next to the toilet for relaxed reading,

Now Mrs W knows the correct price of everything.

On to the plus side she cycles to work everyday, and the kiddy seat will only fit on her hybrid and none of my frames.

Tell her the mag was old and stuff is a lot more expensive now.

team47b

Frank the tank wrote:

is it sometimes a bit of an inconvenience for whatever reason.

It is a bit of a problem, Mrs T just keeps on at me until I give in in and we have to go out on the bikes :roll:

ToeKnee

You had me interested with the title until I read ".. an interest in cycling".

thegreatdivide

My girlfriend bought a bike last summer so we could go cycling together...she bought a Pashley Poppy! :-(

[Edit] Saying that, I told her to get on Strava for a laugh – she then proceeded to take two QOM’s on said 60 tonne monster! :shock:

cougie

Sounds like a nightmare to me ! You need your space ! And what if she's faster than you ?!?!?!

Mike67

cougie wrote:

Sounds like a nightmare to me ! You need your space ! And what if she's faster than you ?!?!?!

Surely if she's faster than him then he'll have plenty of space as she disappears into the distance

pinno

Be careful: Women can get a bit obsessive. Soon she'll be wanting that Pinarello and a pair of carbon hoops and a whole shed (wardrobe) of Assos threads, the winter trainer plus a set of rollers linked up to a Garmin thingy with a 500 inch widescreen TV as well as arranging 'holidays' to see the Paris Roubaix and watch all the mountain stages of the TdF. This time next year, it will be bread and water for christmas.
Don't do it mate - we don't want to have scrape you and your ego off the floor when Mrs Franky Tanky is off on the clubrun in a howling blizzard (whilst you're still in bed) and telling everybody that "He's a lazy basket - i've no idea why he spent all those thousands of pounds on bike bits, he weighs 17 stone and still (despite 40 years of lycra, Brylcreem and Chamois paste) pedals like a frog on a matchbox..." etc

greasedscotsman

random man wrote:

Don't do it Frank, you know she'd tear your legs off!

Too right. It's great until she beats you!

On_What

Don't do it!

Mrs What created havoc by announcing she wanted "a bike" - so I went off and found her a suitable hybrid that was about £300 tops, perfection I thought! WRONG, after trapsing around numerous bike shops (3 Evans, Spesh concept stores, Bike something and finally Pearsons) and Ebay for a sensible secondhand option, she convinced me she needed a race bike to "keep up with me." I was fooled by all this and after a long day of looking at Womens bikes I caved in.

The result is, she now has a fairly high spec Dolce, knocking on the door of a grand. First time we went out she found the bars really narrow and the bike to hard to control, the gears are a nightmare to change and the saddle is of course uncomfortable This is of course - all my fault as I know bikes inside out etc. More worringly for me, any time I get on the bike I use as training time so killing a Sunday tootling around Richmond park in just about double figures isnt helping.

Don't do it chaps because you will end up with an expensive race bike in your garage thats nearly new, a load of aggro and the best part of grand down money wise - money you could and should have spent on your bike. :evil:

jibberjim

On_What wrote:

More worringly for me, any time I get on the bike I use as training time so killing a Sunday tootling around Richmond park in just about double figures isnt helping.

Get a faster partner?

When I first started cycling with my wife, she rode up the hill from Kingston to Richmond at her warm up pace, my HR was near max and I was barely holding her wheel, she then rode off and did her hard training, while I did my hard riding around. 4 years later, and I'm much stronger but we can still ride together, there's no reason why your partner should not get closer to your ability. Even if she can't do any work on the front she should be able to hold your wheel unless she's particularly unblessed and you're awesome - Men are at an advantage, but the draft benefits should cancel that out. Of course you may have to adjust how you ride - blasting up every 30second hill will harm a woman with their typically much lower short duration power, but that's a crap way to ride in a group anyway.

Now I don't ride with my wife much - one of us has to babysit - but if we didn't have a baby we would a lot. So just help your wife get fast, it'll save a lot of time standing around waiting for your ride companions to arrive at the meet point - you can just set off from home.

fish156

jibberjim wrote:

On_What wrote:

More worringly for me, any time I get on the bike I use as training time so killing a Sunday tootling around Richmond park in just about double figures isnt helping.

Get a faster partner?

+1

My other half got a 2nd cat licence before me.

oldhairylegs

Got one of these a few years ago Frank:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Pione ... 2ec475925f

Weighs a ton, but it's great fun, nice and stable on crappy or gravel strewn roads and you can really motor along on the flat. Hills are hard work, but it has some twiddling gears to keep you moving; downhills are awesome but had to add an additional drag brake! :shock:

Courage Monsieur

Having dated women with no interest at all in cycling it is definitely better that my current girlfriend likes it.
Makes watching the Tour a lot easier, and has been handy come birthday / Xmas too, and on holidays.
She is a little bit too fast for my liking though.

team47b

Courage Monsieur wrote:

She is a little bit too fast for my liking though.

Don't suppose she minds you coming second

rozzer32

As a single guy I couldn't think of anything worse than having a partner who would want to come cycling with me.

I see cycling as "me" time. A chance to escape, clear my head and get fit. And all my riding time is used for specific training. The last thing I'd want on a ride is her complaining about her saddle, or how her legs hurt, or "how far is home?".

Don't get me wrong I think sharing interests is a good thing and women who keep fit and active is also another plus. But maybe I'd just get a pole put up in the spare room and she could learn dancing to keep fit.

pinno

rozzer32 wrote:

As a single guy...

...dancing to keep fit.

Hmmm... just wait till you get your perfect dancing babe and a couple of sproggs 'cos she's so fit you can't keep your hands off her.
Then life really starts. The point where you have to earn Brownie points in exchange for that 'me' time. "I'll take care of them tonight - you go out honey, here's 30 quid. Tomorrow i'm going out on my bike. Is that ok with you?"
The OH: "How much was that saddle? Thats 3 times what you gave me on my night out... do you pay extra for that hole in the middle of it?..." etc
Good luck.

jibberjim

rozzer32 wrote:

As a single guy I couldn't think of anything worse than having a partner who would want to come cycling with me.

I see cycling as "me" time. A chance to escape, clear my head and get fit. And all my riding time is used for specific training. The last thing I'd want on a ride is her complaining about her saddle, or how her legs hurt, or "how far is home?".

You don't have to ride with them, just because they ride too... I rode ~330hours this year, of which only 50 were with my wife, and it would've been a lot less other than our holiday rides. Strangely enough though she knows how to buy a saddle and doesn't complain about legs hurting, or how far it is home (she has a garmin or a sense of direction...)

rozzer32

jibberjim wrote:

rozzer32 wrote:

As a single guy I couldn't think of anything worse than having a partner who would want to come cycling with me.

I see cycling as "me" time. A chance to escape, clear my head and get fit. And all my riding time is used for specific training. The last thing I'd want on a ride is her complaining about her saddle, or how her legs hurt, or "how far is home?".

You don't have to ride with them, just because they ride too... I rode ~330hours this year, of which only 50 were with my wife, and it would've been a lot less other than our holiday rides. Strangely enough though she knows how to buy a saddle and doesn't complain about legs hurting, or how far it is home (she has a garmin or a sense of direction...)

I'm sure there are some fantastic cycling couples out there who ride together and encourage each other etc etc. But I just don't think I'd like a partner who would want to share my hobby. Like I said I see it as my chance to escape normally daily life. And to be honest I'd want a partner who had their hobby so they could do something without me sticking my oar in. Then when we did make time for each other then it would just be our time. But of course all this is just my opinion. Although someone who was into cycling would make the argument easier for having eurosport on all the time.

brettjmcc

pinarello001 wrote:

Then life really starts. The point where you have to earn Brownie points in exchange for that 'me' time. "I'll take care of them tonight - you go out honey, here's 30 quid. Tomorrow i'm going out on my bike. Is that ok with you?"

Amen to that. The amount of points I have to earn to get bike time and garage time is disproportionate