Riding with my son - making it worthwhile for me.

fatsmoker
fatsmoker Posts: 585
edited September 2015 in Family & kids cycling forum
I've been out a couple of times with my son on his new bike - 10 and 17 miles. We're averaging just over 10 miles an hour, which leaves me feeling a bit cold as it's such a sedate pace. I spend a lot of time free wheeling. Besides wearing a few more clothes, how can I make these rides more useful for me? Spin or grind for example?

Comments

  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Not much you can do, just dont make him feel bad for slowing you down. These rides are for him and you need to find time outside them for pushing yourself. I have the same issue and concluded that what I get out of it is the enjoyment of seeing him getting into the sport that I love. Bear with him and eventually he will get up to a speed/distance that works better for you.

    The rides with him should still work as recovery rides for you?

    Alternatively, I have on occasion gone out for a ride by myself immediately before or after when I have pushed myself more and the ride with him was a warm up/warm down etc.

    My son has just done a 50 miler sportive with me, so getting there but I am still a little frustrated as his speed is not consistent - he has fast and slow spells rather than a constant pace, but this is getting better.
  • fatsmoker
    fatsmoker Posts: 585
    apreading wrote:
    Not much you can do, just dont make him feel bad for slowing you down. These rides are for him and you need to find time outside them for pushing yourself.

    Very true. It is really nice to see him enjoying it and getting better at his road skills.
    I guess your idea about using it a warm up or warm down will work. Time, as ever, is the factor.
  • andrewc3142
    andrewc3142 Posts: 906
    Not too long you'll be looking back on these rides as you're struggling to hold his wheel.

    In the meantime, maybe ride fixed gear.
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,928
    Keep your brakes on the whole way round
  • luv2ride
    luv2ride Posts: 2,367
    Seriously though :) I ended up buying a cheap single speed. That way I still felt like I was working a little harder when out with the boy, and still enjoyed using it on my own for fun and winter training rides. Now he's the same height as me he borrows it for short jaunts with his mates!
    Titus Silk Road Ti rigid 29er - Scott Solace 10 disc - Kinesis Crosslight Pro6 disc - Scott CR1 SL - Pinnacle Arkose X 650b - Pinnacle Arkose singlespeed - Specialized Singlecross...& an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 4 string...
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    Single speed possibly or get the panniers on full of stuff (drink and food for the trip) to make your ride harder/heavier, add in some big ring climbing for the hills you'll be getting some good miles in
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • othello
    othello Posts: 578
    Enjoy the 1 on 1 time to chat, and focus on his technique/skills. You will soon find the time passes and you won't notice you are riding slower than you would normally.

    Think up small challenges that you can both do, and give you a couple of intervals to spice it up!

    * A short, sharp climb that you both race up.
    * Sprint for a road sign on a quiet road (make the sprint distance really short to begin with and stretch it out as he gets stronger). Handicap it strongly in his favour, giving you a challenge too.

    My 9 year old is pretty quick, and as he weighs next to nothing, and he will drop me on a climb if it is short and steep. He loves handing Dad a whipping on the climbs, and I get a workout trying to hold his wheel! :)
    Blogging about junior road bikes http://junior-road-bikes.tumblr.com
  • andrewc3142
    andrewc3142 Posts: 906
    When I started going out for rides with my then 9 year old I tried to be careful with the hills, to give him the right encouragement. Exaggerating how hard you're finding it is daft because they know better, but equally dissing them as mere blips takes away from his sense of achievement.

    I find descending is where they need the most input/control. I'm by no means a great descender, but if you're not careful kids can go a bit bonkers and come to grief.

    I looked on them as rides focused on him and the benefit for me was enjoying spending time together and seeing him develop, rather than any training for me.

    Now he's 14 and trains for his sprint canoe almost every day I can still beat him up the hills, but not by that much. We still sometimes ride together and had a brilliant ride in May from Applecross, round the coast road and back over the Bealach Na Ba. He found that tough (partly because he had a 52/42), but so did I.

    We also went running together, but I gave that up when he started viewing 5k/20 mins as a gentle pace. I strongly suspect that if his sport was cycling I'd be toast.
  • othello
    othello Posts: 578
    andrewc3142 wrote:
    When I started going out for rides with my then 9 year old I tried to be careful with the hills, to give him the right encouragement. Exaggerating how hard you're finding it is daft because they know better, but equally dissing them as mere blips takes away from his sense of achievement.

    Spot on. When tackling hills I talk quite a bit to my son, usually about gearing (e.g. suggesting he might want to pick a different gear if I can see he is pushing too hard a gear), but also about picking a landmark/rider in front and focusing on that etc. He finds that really useful, and I avoid all talk about climb severity.

    He, on the other hand, has an annoying ability of being able to chat whilst out of the saddle climbing a 15% stretch! :)

    We were in France last week and he bagged his first Col (only 959m). We were on mountain bikes, it was 29 degrees and we spun up in the granny ring and chatted the entire way. Didn't break any records for the climb but instead had the best father-son hour or so. The descent was epic too!
    Blogging about junior road bikes http://junior-road-bikes.tumblr.com
  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    Only time I've been told to shut up by my (then 7) daughter was when I was trying to encourage her up a hill.
    dad wrote:
    Not far to go now
    Nearly there you're doing great
    We can see the top
    daughter wrote:
    Oh dad just stop talking will you
  • othello
    othello Posts: 578
    craker wrote:
    Only time I've been told to shut up by my (then 7) daughter was when I was trying to encourage her up a hill.
    dad wrote:
    Not far to go now
    Nearly there you're doing great
    We can see the top
    daughter wrote:
    Oh dad just stop talking will you

    :)

    My 8 year old daughter does the same. She just wants to climb in total silence and goes ballistic if I say a word! Totally different personality to her brother and might explain why she likes riding individual pursuits on the track -- suffering in her own world!
    Blogging about junior road bikes http://junior-road-bikes.tumblr.com
  • baudman
    baudman Posts: 757
    I agree with the title.

    Riding with your son DOES make it worthwhile for you. ;)
    Commute - MASI Souville3 | Road/CX - MASI Speciale CX | Family - 80s ugly | Utility - Cargobike
  • tangled_metal
    tangled_metal Posts: 4,021
    Well my lad is only 20 months old but he rides on a child seat on his mother's bike. She is slower than any 9 year old would be. We tend to do 7 to 8 mph because she likes going slow. I just treat it as family time. I get my best memories ever on those rides from the sheer joy he shows being on the ride. We get off and he's trying to climb back up!!!

    Obviously he's too young for a bike but a balance bike will be his Xmas present. I know from our other activities he's going to be strong at whatever activity he chooses. He's a keen walker and can go for over 2 miles in the Lakes. He rarely walks anywhere when running can be done. He loves bikes and being out with us. I'm seriously expecting him to reach a time when he leaves me behind. Hope it's on a bike and not running.
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    edited September 2014
    We should sticky this and wait a couple of years for fatsmoker_junior to come onto the forums asking what do do about riding with his dad because he's fed up of him wheelsucking all the time and being dropped on climbs. :mrgreen:
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • poah
    poah Posts: 3,369
    fatsmoker wrote:
    I've been out a couple of times with my son on his new bike - 10 and 17 miles. We're averaging just over 10 miles an hour, which leaves me feeling a bit cold as it's such a sedate pace. I spend a lot of time free wheeling. Besides wearing a few more clothes, how can I make these rides more useful for me? Spin or grind for example?

    put on warmer clothing - I go out with my son off road and he is slow but I get fun from knowing he is having fun. It makes a refreshing change not to be shattered after a ride :lol:

    Give it 10 years and he'll be the one telling you to speed up
    CCDB IL coil CS first impressions

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  • fatsmoker
    fatsmoker Posts: 585
    Daz555 wrote:
    We should sticky this and wait a couple of years for fatsmoker_junior to come onto the forums asking what do do about riding with his dad because he's fed up of him wheelsucking all the time and being dropped on climbs. :mrgreen:

    LOL
  • JackPozzi
    JackPozzi Posts: 1,191
    monkimark wrote:
    Keep your brakes on the whole way round

    I do know a very long term cyclist who does adjust his rear caliper so it's permanently rubbing on the wheel so that he can ride at his wife's speed and still get a decent workout!
  • simon_e
    simon_e Posts: 1,707
    Buy a tandem.

    He can sit on the back and enjoy the ride while you haul it up the hills.
    Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
  • fatsmoker
    fatsmoker Posts: 585
    Why do so many suggestions involve spending even more money. oh yeah, it's cycling! :)
  • andrewc3142
    andrewc3142 Posts: 906
    But the best suggestions above cost zippo ...
  • Levi_501
    Levi_501 Posts: 1,105
    Get a trailer and chuck some bags of cement in there.

    A trailer with two children in it over 10 miles is enough to knacker out even a good cyclist!
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    I am now redundant - within the last few weeks, my son has started going out cycling every sunday with his mates and doesnt need me anymore...

    Enjoy it while it lasts!
  • baudman
    baudman Posts: 757
    Levi_501 wrote:
    Get a trailer and chuck some bags of cement in there.
    And perhaps also a mug? ;)
    Commute - MASI Souville3 | Road/CX - MASI Speciale CX | Family - 80s ugly | Utility - Cargobike
  • fatsmoker
    fatsmoker Posts: 585
    Sorry to resurrect this old thread. This summer I've been on my old mountain bike while he's on his road bike. Much better workout for me. And he's up from about 10mph to 12mph on a 20 miler.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    My son did his first metric century on an Audax this year. For many years he was only interested in trail centres but he loves long distance road cycling now. Hoping to go for imperial century next year.

    He told me a while back that he wants to do LEJOG with me but "we will have to do it soon or you will be too old Dad...!"

    He is loving it now that 4/5 of his mates have suddenly got into cycling and they all start going out on rides together - he is teaching them how to do stuff better and feeling really proud of how good he is comparitively but they are a good bunch and its not like he is being annoyingly smug or anything.

    At 15, his time has to compete with the Xbox now though, but cycling hasnt been the thing to suffer too much. Helped by the fact he is doing it as the physical for his Duke of Edinburgh now.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    I go out with my son - I use either the 29er or my cross bike .... he just sits in his car seat in the trailer and usually goes to sleep - lazy git ... ;)

    Not trying to wish his life away, but I can't wait to take him out on a ride properly - with any luck by the age of 15 he'll be beating me on TTs ... but for now we'll just stick to slow & short rides (20-30mins each way max) to a local cafe and back ... :) it's still a good ride for me as the sprung trailer hitch encourages me to pedal in circles and hitting a rise with an extra 25-30Kg on the back is "interesting" ...

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