Moms-How do you do it??

[susiej]

Hi ladies,
I have a 3 yr old and #2 due in Feb. HOW do you maintain a good ride/training schedule and balance your work and family?

I commute to the train station (1 to 3.5 miles one way, depending on the station) each day. We are trying to find a route from our son's daycare back to our house that doesn't involve high traffic roads. :/ I'll also ride to the produce markets on weekends, and am trying to bike to anything within three miles. It's easier for me to squeeze riding into everyday chores than to set aside time a few days a week.

Our son is 2 1/2, and two weeks ago all three of us did the half-metric at the Lancaster (Pa) Bike Club's Covered Bridge Metric Century (30.9 miles, 4 1/2 hours including an hour of breaks). We saw a handful of kids on bikes, trail-a-bikes and in trailers (and one dog in a trailer!) on the quarter and half metric rides! The few training rides we did as a family lasted no more than an hour, mostly because we were riding unpaved trails, which were very uncomfortable for him.

We trade childcare duties as needed, either a morning-afternoon split, or a Saturday-Sunday split, or a Thursday night - Saturday morning split. You could each take a child on a ride, either together or separately.

My boss's husband biked up and down the quarter-mile hill in front of their house while their nine-year-old son sat on the porch, played, and acted as "rider support" for his dad. (My boss was here, bossing.) He said he was in fantastic shape for the next group ride he did.

Like you said, you can always get a babysitter.

Congratulations and good luck!