Bike vs Family vs Job

secretsam

How do you solve this conundrum? I love riding my bike, it makes me a happier SecretSam - even the missus agrees

But fitting it in around young kids, new (old) house and a demanding job - how the hell do you manage to do that?

Any tips???

juanerasmoe

Get your family into cycling. That way you can cycle AND have quality family time simultaneously

macleod113

most of my cycling is commuting. its only a 16 mile round trip (although its regularly a 40 mile day going the long way). I find that cycling relieves the stress of work and makes me happier and chilled out when I get home for the kids.
on the days I have to take the car I would see if I can take the bike with me for a lunch time ride. its also a possibility if the commute is too far for you or simply not possible.
I do have the 'luxury' of having my first born only visiting every other weekend and my partners daughter goes to her dads on the same weekend so its a game of you can go swimming love then I will go for a bike ride on the sunday.
it works for us.

Bozman

It's easy. I found a missus with a good job and I "retired" to look after our young lads, the eldest is now at primary school and the youngest starts preschool in September, this will give me 5 free mornings a week plus the usual wknd ride. That's a good balance.

secretsam

Bozman wrote:

It's easy. I found a missus with a good job and I "retired" to look after our young lads, the eldest is now at primary school and the youngest starts preschool in September, this will give me 5 free mornings a week plus the usual wknd ride. That's a good balance.

If there was a jealousy emoticon, I'd use it

arran77

SecretSam wrote:

Bozman wrote:

It's easy. I found a missus with a good job and I "retired" to look after our young lads, the eldest is now at primary school and the youngest starts preschool in September, this will give me 5 free mornings a week plus the usual wknd ride. That's a good balance.

If there was a jealousy emoticon, I'd use it

Except he has to do all the washing, ironing, cleaning, cooking, shopping etc etc as well :P

Bozman

SecretSam wrote:

Bozman wrote:

It's easy. I found a missus with a good job and I "retired" to look after our young lads, the eldest is now at primary school and the youngest starts preschool in September, this will give me 5 free mornings a week plus the usual wknd ride. That's a good balance.

If there was a jealousy emoticon, I'd use it

To be honest I'd rather be back at work......it was easier.

Mikey23

Missus with good job and semi retired here so generally 5 days a week to do rides. Kids grown up as well but no less problematic...

Captain Slackbladder

MacLeod113 wrote:

most of my cycling is commuting. its only a 16 mile round trip (although its regularly a 40 mile day going the long way). I find that cycling relieves the stress of work and makes me happier and chilled out when I get home for the kids.
on the days I have to take the car I would see if I can take the bike with me for a lunch time ride. its also a possibility if the commute is too far for you or simply not possible.
I do have the 'luxury' of having my first born only visiting every other weekend and my partners daughter goes to her dads on the same weekend so its a game of you can go swimming love then I will go for a bike ride on the sunday.
it works for us.

Commuting for me as well. If i get the chance i'll get up that little bit earlier and extend the ride into work. Depending on the time its between 100 and 180km a week. Our second daughter is 7 months old so weekend riding and stuff with friends has gone for a burton this year. Looking forward to next Summer when i can take baby out on a trailer or similar.

johngti

Commuting 16-20 miles at least 3 times a week. I try to get one longer commute in every week but don't stress if I can't. And I get out for about 2 hours early on a Sunday morning (start at 7.30 and home by 9.30-10). Once every four to five weeks, I negotiate a bit more time for a long ride and try to have one Sunday off every four to five weeks too.

In return for Sunday mornings, I baby sit and my wife gets to go dancing one evening every week. Works ok at the moment.

cookeeemonster

yup...it's all about the commute...with the odd longer ride on a weekend when possible.

Option for you SecretSam?

Sussed out

I'm quitting my job to cycle more.

Easy decision.

BrandonA

juanerasmoe wrote:

Get your family into cycling. That way you can cycle AND have quality family time simultaneously

That would be the worst solution as you'd end up having to go out with them and the rides would be so slow that they would verge on pointless.

I'd be looking to complete jobs in the week so that I can get out at the weekend. I'd then look to go out as early as possible at the weekend so you can get home and then have most of the day with the family.

Commuting also seems to be a good solution to lots of people for getting rides in. This is not always possible though depending on where you work and the facilities there.

fatsmoker

Extended commutes for me and the odd weekend evening in summer. We all go mtb'ing sometimes.

johntheboy84

I don't have kids but do have a demanding job and busy weekends. I tend to get up before anyone else during the week so I'm usually out about 6:00 for an hour and cover 12 miles or so.

markiegrim

Out of bed before 7 on a Sunday and back before lunch? Only way I get a free pass

Dippydog2

What is your lifestyle.
What sort of riding do you want to do.

If you are young and are bringing up a family 2then ditch the bike. Later in life you might say "I spent too little time with the kids" but you won't say "I spent too little time on my bike".

If you have time and money as you are older then you can justifiably accuse them of preventing you from riding.

curto80

Yeah it's not easy. I live in Hampsire but work full time in canary wharf and have two pre-school aged girls. I often commute Waterloo to Docklands on the single speed but otherwise it's just a case of being up at 5am every morning to get an hour in before I get the train to work. Same at weekends, only I can do 3 hours or so before I start to be missed. Other option is I tend to cycle to the places we take them whilst the Doris drives them in the car and I met them there. That always works well.

redvee

#11 http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

johnny25

Always a tricky conundrum.

I try to commute twice a week (work shifts) using my mtb, taking a rucksack full of work clothes etc and a D lock to add a bit of resistance. Generally I take an off road route for a bit of variety.

I don't have the time to vanish for 5 hours on my road bike though. I'm not that bothered about high mileage runs. I much prefer 1 hour blasts / workouts (15 to 20 miles) coupled with a 2 to 3 hour road ride (40 to 50 miles) when I can. This fits well with collecting kids from school / clubs / friends houses / parks and interacting with my family.

Being a member of the local cycle club adds to the fun. When I'm not working weekends I can get out with the club at least once. They do a Saturday 40 mile + ride and a Sunday 20 - 25mile road race style ride. Both start at 8am, so I'm not generally missed at home.

saprkzz

I have exactly the same,

I work 50-55 hours a week, have two young kids and a wife to please, but still manage to find the balance well. I suppose my missus is very understanding, and would never stop me from doing something I love. I get very stressed at work in my position, and find I am much happier when I get out on the bike.

I ride early (6pm) on a Tues / Thurs for an hour and then Mon / Wed from 7pm for two hours, and I will then do one 3-4 hour ride at the weekend, so I still get plenty of riding in, and see my family loads. Just a matter of finding the balance that everybody is happy with.

opus25

I changed careers and country. Better job, more rewarding, less stress and time needed at the office and a 3-hour 'lunch' break which is perfect for 50km-60km rides, three times a week. I live across the road so no commuting and I can get be on the bike within 5 minutes of lunch starting.

That and a wife and young son who like to sleep in Sundays means I can leave at 5am, do a good 100-160km and get back for between 9 and 11 with plenty of time for them.

The missus is supportive that I like to keep healthy after seeing a few family members either side not look after themselves and suffer because of it.

jgsi

Some of the replies are #lessthanhelpful for the OP methinks... personally if the bike is causing potential or might cause ..conflict, I'd ditch it... as someone mentioned wise words.. you will miss time spent with your kids as they grow up.... you will never miss time on a bloody bike.... you can have all the fun of the fair when you get to my gnarled, sarky age.
FYI commuting is not cycling it is just getting to place where you wish you wernt going to and usually getting pis5 wet thru and cold at the same time.

alistaird

Only way I can find the time is to get up at 5am and be on the bike before 6 to do 20 miles (if I'm working from home.) If not then limited to 5am start at the weekends...

No other way to fit everything else in.

A

norvernrob

arran77 wrote:

SecretSam wrote:

Bozman wrote:

It's easy. I found a missus with a good job and I "retired" to look after our young lads, the eldest is now at primary school and the youngest starts preschool in September, this will give me 5 free mornings a week plus the usual wknd ride. That's a good balance.

If there was a jealousy emoticon, I'd use it

Except he has to do all the washing, ironing, cleaning, cooking, shopping etc etc as well :P

It's still a hell of a lot easier than going to work. I had 2 months off when my wife went back to work after having our son and it was fantastic. If I could give up work and stay at home to look after him i'd jump at the chance!

We both work full time so I go out early on a Sunday morning, usually a 7am start. This way I can get 50/60 miles in plus a coffee stop and still be home before lunchtime. If I've got plans with the family I'll do 20-30 miles and be home for 8-9am. Then I go out once or twice in the week in the evenings for a 20/30 mile training run, this is just done as quickly as I can and takes between 1hr and 1hr 45. I do this after dinner and get home in time for the lads bedtime.

When it's dark in the evenings I go on the turbo for an hour instead.

saprkzz

JGSI wrote:

Some of the replies are #lessthanhelpful for the OP methinks... personally if the bike is causing potential or might cause ..conflict, I'd ditch it... as someone mentioned wise words.. you will miss time spent with your kids as they grow up.... you will never miss time on a bloody bike.... you can have all the fun of the fair when you get to my gnarled, sarky age.
FYI commuting is not cycling it is just getting to place where you wish you wernt going to and usually getting pis5 wet thru and cold at the same time.

disagree, its finding the balance that works is more important... I have already got to my age and really regret not taking up cycling 10 years ago.. your a long time dead and here for a very short blip.. you have to do what you want to do.. Some will disagree with me, but then I live in perfect harmony with the people around me, as we have the balance.... plus I am a miserable sod if I don't ride, so my missus would rather me out anyway?!

mpatts

i have a very understanding wife, but I also like to spend time with her and our 8 year old.

So, most of what I do is condensed into 60-90 mins for training, with usually a TT or a Race once a week, and often a really early start on a sunday if I fancy a longer ride.

apreading

I used to do alot of my cycling atfer 9pm as the kids were then in bed, so didnt miss any family time. Trouble is that they are getting older now and not in bed by then. Have been trying to commute more and extend these commutes to fit in my training earlier and not need to go out again later. Weekends are also getting more difficult as I seem to just run a taxi service these days. I have found that by booking a bunch of Sportives through the year, at the beginning of the year, we then plan family activity around them and I make sure to get some decent rides, dont miss stuff I really want to do and we dont have to compromise family days out etc because we know when to book them from the start.

markhewitt1978

markiegrim wrote:

Out of bed before 7 on a Sunday and back before lunch? Only way I get a free pass

Same. If I'm doing a solo ride I'm usually up at 6am, out of the house by 7am and then back by 12. That gives a good 5 hours of cycling, which ain't bad, enough for 100km at least, including rest stops. Plus it has the advantage that the roads are really quiet when setting out so I can use stretches I wouldn't normally think about even a few hours later. Drawback is if it's raining Sunday morning and I don't want to brave it; that's the weeks riding gone.

But with a job and family I think myself lucky to get that 'pass' as it is.

Without the opportunity to commute I'm never going to have all the time I want to get my fitness to where I would like it to be, but it is what it is.

Schoie81

Same problem here and as others have said, I commute to solve it. Shortest route to work is 8miles but I tend to extend it so its around 15-20miles in a morning and anything up to 40miles on the way home. I can also get a 15mile ride in my lunch hour at a push. Longer ride at weekend when I can but they don't happen too often - although hopefully, tomorrow is going to be one day when it does!!

My 8yr old son loves cycling too, but I'm not happy taking him on busy roads so its lanes and trails when I'm out with him and as others have said, it knocks my speed down a fair bit, but its just nice to be out on the bike.

chopchopchop

I'm in the same situation. Ride back and too to work. My work is a 55 mile round trip so I drive there witht he bike in the book and ride home. I them ride in the next day. I am covering between 70 and 100 miles a week at the moment and saving a fortune on fuel.

I have a rest at the weekends with the occasional early sunday morning 40 miles and back by 10am. time to give up a few hours in bed in a morning for cycling instead of time away from family/work.