Getting the most out of casual family rides

So today I got home from work half an hour early, and decided to get a wee bit of fresh air, and force my kids to do the same. I threw their bikes in the car, dropped them off at their respective day care (4 year old; with training wheels) and after school (6 year old, no training wheels) facilities, went home and parked my car, and then rode my bike to pick them up. :) It's only, it turns out, a half mile loop, but it was fun for them.

For me, it was fun to ride with them, but frustrating too. I bought a Trek 7.3 instead of a road bike specifically so that I can do family-type rides. But oh, so slooooow! I think I maxed at 5mph, as I had to hang back with the little one. Not exactly a work out.

So my question is, how do I make the most out of that kind of ride? I cranked myself up to the biggest, hardest gear to at least give those muscles some work, but my cadence was sooo slow in order to hang with them. Would I have been better off dialing back to really light resistance and spinning faster/upping the cadence?

By way of background, I am training for my first sprint triathlon (11 mile bike portion; May 9th) and haven't really ridden a bike regularly since I was a kid. This bike is fairly new to me and I haven't started riding it for training in earnest just yet, but I have been doing hour long spin classes during the winter to build some bike endurance and strength.

Yes, definitely work on your spin. You'll get great cardio and improve your pedal stroke! If you can spare enough attention to do intervals, you can do cadence intervals.

I think just fully enjoy your kids for these kind of rides! Don't get frustrated, just let yourself do it for fun.

I spin in similar situations (with casual cyclist roommates) and work on a smooth round stroke, "wiping gum off my shoe", unweighting/pulling on the upstroke.

I also do one-legged drills (you need to have clipless or clips for that though).

I didn't enjoy riding with my daughter much until she could finally ride an adult-size bike. Then we were both suddenly amazed at how much fun it was.

I didn't push her to go faster or anything. I tried to be very patient. It just wasn't fun.

This is why I love the tag-a-long bikes. Last summer DD was almost 4 and it was her first year on a tag-a-long. We did bike rides as far as 10 miles. She mostly coasted and let me do all the work. But I imagine as she gets older she'll help pedal more. Usually we stopped at a playground mid-ride.

When the weather is nice, I like to pick the kids up from daycare on the bikes too. We have the "train" now with my bike towing the tag-a-long and that towing the burley solo. It is also only about 1/2 mile loop for us. I usually coax DD into a longer ride by suggesting we bike past the High School to see if the cheerleaders are practicing :)

Sometimes we go on rides and DD rides her own bike. It's stop and go, very slow and frustrating. But it's good for her. We've even tried letting her ride her bike while we run. That's been so-so, but it will get better.

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Originally Posted by Ritamarie

I think just fully enjoy your kids for these kind of rides! Don't get frustrated, just let yourself do it for fun.

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Exactly what I was going to write.

Could you go out with the family, then sneak back out for a few? Maybe climb a hill? That's a good workout in a hurry!

Oh, I just remembered one thing I got that worked really well: http://www.x2cycle.com/. I don't think it would work with your younger child but maybe the older one. It's just a bar that hooks her stem to your seat post (or vice versa). It come off really easily so there's no worry about one of you making the other one fall. And you can either pull or push the kid. So you could be pushing one kid with the x2cycle, and pulling the other one on a trail-a-bike, or something.

My husband & I used it some too. It works great for equalizing unequal riders, but there were some control issues and he never liked it.

Take the long way there, working out hard. Recover on the easy spin on the way home with them.

I have a 12 year old who rides and have found it impossible to get any kind of workout when riding with him. I ride with him becuase I want to spend time with him. I workout without him. It keeps both of us happy.

I have a sweet new 9-yr old...I say new cause she is new to me, I am marrying her dad. Her mom died of cancer a few years ago. She has ridden the Livestrong challenge two years in a row (10 miles). She has an itty bitty road bike. She likes to ride with us, her dad rides on a race team and I am a pretty aggressive rider. We take turns riding with her, the other will ride ahead, sprint a bit, stretch our legs, then circle back. I spend more time riding with her than he does (nature of the beast)...I make myself take a hill in my hardest gear and keep pace with her (going so slowly is hard!).
If we need to get a longer ride in, we are able to leave her for an hour or so...then we pick her up and spin another 10 with her.

Wait, wait, wait KC, did I miss the part where you're getting married? :D Congratulations!

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Wait, wait, wait KC, did I miss the part where you're getting married? :D Congratulations!

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LOL!!!! Thank you! I haven't "announced it" quite yet....the ring is sitting in a little blue bag on a shelf (he is teasing me) because his (our) daughter has some big plans for Valentine's day for the two of us. Can't disappoint her. But we have decided to do it...I am very, very, lucky!

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Originally Posted by kenyonchris

LOL!!!! Thank you! I haven't "announced it" quite yet....the ring is sitting in a little blue bag on a shelf (he is teasing me) because his (our) daughter has some big plans for Valentine's day for the two of us. Can't disappoint her. But we have decided to do it...I am very, very, lucky!

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Whoa! Not to digress, but Chris, that's fabulous! I am really happy for you.

+1 on taking the long, hard workout route on the way to pick up the kiddos, and taking the scenic route home.

And ++++++1, KC on your upcoming engagement. Woohooo!

roxy