How can I train with my husband???

[shootingstar]

My BF and I live apart, so most of our rides together are while we're on vacation, not training. He's faster, so he'll pull if he wants a workout, or he hangs back if he wants me to set the pace. When we're on vacation, we use the camera a lot -- he hangs back and gets lots of action pictures of me, or he goes to the top of the climb, takes landscape shots, and then get shots of me summiting.

You can do things to even things out. Give the faster rider all the gear to carry -- pump, spares, food, etc. Give him a heavier bike -- he rides a mtb or hybrid while you're on a road bike. Have him do an hour of intervals and then come and ride with you.

yea, the stronger rider, if the person would consider cycling with extra weight, as a form of "training" which it truly can be if you plan to go long-distance touring through mountains...you had better first try grocery-shopping with panniers on a long route with multiple long hills at home..

I think the above reason is that's probably the reason why my partner doesn't get bothered lugging more groceries, but often only if I OFFER initially to carry my share of the weight first. It gives him the option to turn me down. And I have no problems if he turns me down....after all I had to lug all the grocery weight on bike for 16 kms. for several years when he and I lived in different cities.

He is the one is stronger rider , and has done several rides across the continent.

We ride together but he does tend to ride ahead because he is stronger, and on quiet routes, does loops for me to catch up. Each of us also ride solo, so he gets to train at his pace and I ride to please myself or do stuff on my own.

It's truly important for the weaker rider, to become strong, independent rider mentally by not feeling "left behind", particular if the stronger rider already in good-spirit, does reliably wait at different points ahead or slows down abit. The weaker rider should also try riding some long routes at their own pace, at 50-120 kms. solo, to become more indpendent and self-reliant. Then riding with stronger partner still ahead on a different ride, the whole bike ride will be enjoyable for both.

Often I do lose sight temporarily of him..usually on routes that I know already. So no point worrrying nor feeling left out. If you are touring in an area you don't know, it is important that a couple try to stay within sightline of each other somehow. Otherwise, lots of wasted time, backtracking/hunting for each other.

by the way, as a couple, we don't talk much while we are cycling. Yelling and not hearing each other while trying to cycle at a fit speed, is not ideal to loving communication. We have a wonderful unspoken cycling language together!

[aicabsolut]

My BF and I ride together a fair amount, but when we "train" (hammer) together, it's usually a group ride, where he is having fun contesting the county line sprints and I am hanging on for dear life. He's really happy when I can hang with the big boys, though I'm usually suffering. But hey, cycling (well, racing) is all about improving one's ability to suffer, physically and mentally. So I do those rides, because they are good for me, and fun in hindsight . When we ride solo together, I can just get in the draft if he wants to work harder. Or, I'll let him fly up long hills and then we regroup. It can suck always feeling like you're just having to try to keep up, but at the same time, he says that I make him work hard too. For example, I'll want to hammer on descents and some fun, flat sections to reward myself for going uphill to get there. He likes climbing better. So, we're each stronger/faster/more motivated on different parts of the route and can challenge each other that way. If he really wants to train hard, like when he does his big sprints workouts with the area hammerheads, he goes alone, which is fine with me.