How can I train with my husband???

[Zen]

I thought it said 'how can I train my husband?" and I thought, 'you can't, men are untrainable'

[lauraelmore1033]

There's a mis-matched (apparently) couple who ride together on local training rides who even out the differences by having him ride on a single speed townie cruiser (while the rest of us poke along on our fancy little road bikes). He must be strong as an ox! Usually rides up in the front near the leader, and doesn't seem to be slowed in the slightest by his big ol balloon tires. Usually. I think he was actually hurting on the century ride this weekend, but for shorter distances, it is an effective means of "handicapping".

[han-grrl]

I think that hubby and wife should ride together, but not necessarily train - also set some "ground rules" like do you want him to comment on your technique? cuz he's gonna, and if he isn't a trainer "teacher" he will just say whats on his mind, and you may end up on the defensive and end up arguing (not that i have ANY experience with this, really... hahaha)

So when riding with my husband, i tell him this is a) ride - not teaching or b) please help me, i want to session some things or c) start together, but we're doing intervals, we'll meet up on recovery.

its hard to ride with someone who is fitter/faster/more experienced - because they want to feel they are getting some "workout" too. So its important to agree on what you both want to work on during the ride.

[KnottedYet]

I'm looking at the same situation.

I'm thinking "tandem." Ping-ponging is groovy sometimes, but I'd like to ride with my sweetie sometimes, too.

Due to height differences and strength differences between stoker and captain, we're considering a Rans Screamer recumbent tandem. (about $4,000-5,000)

(besides, I kind of miss my BikeE recumbent, and want another 'bent!)

[mayanorange]

This is a helpful thread. My last ride I decided DH and I should ride together- a bit of company is nice, right? He's inherently stronger than me and has been able to ride more- he's on sabbatical and I was having issues finding a saddle I could stand. He's been doing 30 mile rides (and when he exercises, he's insanely driven) and I'm about to keel over at about 10-12 miles. So this last ride was probably the least relaxing bike ride I've ever been on- either watching him power away from me with ease (and never look back) or when he wants to let me set the (snaily) pace, all I hear behind me is the ratchet of him coasting whilst I'm pedaling my tush off. I guess I just need to go out alone since he can't just spin and enjoy it.

[indigoiis]

I can't ride with my husband on anything under 50 miles, because otherwise he is off like a shot. But on longer rides he likes my steady slower pace because it keeps him pacing himself and then he doesn't "blow up."

So for those together rides, plan on longer ones and work together to practice things like pace line training and stopping at antique shops and bakeries.

For the actual training rides, do group rides. Husband can go blow up with the leaders, and you (and I) can find other riders more our pace.

If you do want to do a fun trainer with your fast guy, do something really really short and play "chase the rabbit." We do this occasionally. We'll do like, eleven miles and I chase him over hill and dale. It hurts like hell but it really is good for training - you'll see improvement.

[Cyclo Kitty]

Wow, I guess I'm really lucky. We are pretty evenly matched, though we do use different-bike handicapping.

I ride my cross bike, he rides SS on longer, hilly rides and we're pretty evenly matched, though he was consistently pulling ahead on descents until I got new rims. They were totally worth it to pass him .

We also take turns in front, so there are no excess drafting accusations. Over the course of several rides, it all seems to average out. I really appreciate DH's patience, though admittedly, I think of it as training and he thinks of it as riding. (He's non-competitive.) So attitude is as much a factor as fitness (or sweet new rims!) in happy co-riding.

[Natural Beauty]

That's funny that I read this thread today as we are having a marriage challenge day....He could ride into the lake and it would be all good. HAHA

Tandem would be nice – no competitive streaks coming out…not that any of us have that problem.

[shootingstar]

And tandem...we rented once, tried it for about 20 kms. That was enough....about 14 yrs. ago.

I sat behind-- I'm 5'1", he's 5'10".

We've been together long enough..that competing each other in anything we do, doesn't work. I don't recall an activity where we even compete one another for fun or any...probably a sign that our different strengths are significantly noticeable and presumably complementary. Encouraging one another works though.

If I want his opinion / help related to cycling, I ask for it. But even unsolicited, he knows when to nicely drop a casual comment on the odd occasion. And just leave it alone with me to ponder over.

He knows my weakest point is my weak geo-spatial , wayfinding capabilities. ..which really isn't solely cycling-related.

[TrekTheKaty]

I just got a new bike--trying to stay somewhere close to DH. Our family rides easy on Saturdays--a stroll to the farmer's market and stop for coffee. Sunday is long--we pack food and designate a meeting point (my husband can get in a 30 min nap waiting for us to arrive with the food!) Tuesdays are my hill days on the road--this is an easy ride for him, but I don't think he likes me to ride on the roads alone, so he goes along. Wed he meets my brother-in-law for a MAJOR hill workout, while my sis and I meet at our usual 4 mile loop. Thurs and Fri is the group 4-mile loop, where the guys try to lap us--if we're in the mood, we kick it up and try to make it harder on them.

[Fletchinator]

So I'm new...what is DH?

Hubby and I have learned to "ride" and not "train" together. It was frustrating for me to get "training" from him and frustrating for him that I didn't want his help. The deal breaker happened when he destroyed his frame out of anger (chucked the bike against a hillside) and had to buy a new one. We are doing much better now. Each of us train by ourselves; maybe one day we'll figure out some things to do together. For now, we just ride together for the fun of it. This is training in disguise Logging miles together for endurance!

[Smilie]

On a good day DH is Dear Husband.

On others, well you can decide what the D stands for.

[Jiffer]

TANDEM, TANDEM, TANDEM!!!!!!!!!

The tandem is the best way for you to ride "with" each other and not worry about either one of you being left behind or not getting the workout they really want. You can each push as little or as hard as you want.

My husband and I ride both singles and a tandem. Most of the time we ride separately on our singles, but when we want to be "together", we ride the tandem. It's also a great way for me to get to hang with his faster riding buddies. We have friends who ride tandem as well, so we do rides together, all four of us, which would be completely different if we were all on our singles. The guys wouldn't be getting as much of a work out and the girls would be huffing and puffing to keep up. The guys have said over and over again that it's like a dream to be able to ride "with" their wives like that.

As for riding together on singles, my husband does ride with me from time to time. He will usually stay on his big ring and do a different sort of work out. Climb a hill slowly on his big ring, with the goal of keeping his heart rate as low as possible (while I'm dying, of course!). Sometimes he'll get ahead and then turn around and come back.

I've been training for a century with a friend lately, who is stronger than me. Sometimes she stays with me, maybe on a harder gear, and sometimes she'll just stop at some point and wait for me to catch up.

However, I often just ride alone. No worries about holding anyone back. Don't have to feel bad about myself that I'm not going faster. I like the variety of doing all three. Sometimes the tandem, sometimes on my single with someone or a group, and sometimes all by myself.

[sundial]

I thought it said 'how can I train my husband?" and I thought, 'you can't, men are untrainable'

LOL! I read the same thing too. Mr. Silver might disagree, however.