Cycling and your relationship.

[Eden]

cycling me and my hubby have quite a long twisty relationship.
I was the instigator. I had done a fair amount of distance riding when I was in middle/high school. He had a hand me down 10 speed that used to be his mom's. It was really small for him. I convinced him to but a new and much bigger bike.
We did some touring and a fair amount of weekend riding together while we were in college, but when we bought our house, home renovations took over for a while. Meanwhile I was working for a hospital and they were sending a team of disabled riders on the STP (Seattle to Portland). We started riding a lot again training to do the ride with them.
Fast forward a few years. After some more touring and another STP the hubby decides he wants to go to the next level and buys a racing bike, starts racing, joins a team. I start having trouble keeping up....
Now its his turn, he convinces me that I need a lighter and better fitting bike. New bike - I stop having trouble keeping up He convinces me that I should try a race, and I do well, I join a team and start racing!
We're starting to diverge a little bit. I've been doing quite well at road races, he still comes out and does them, but he's been doing track and finding it suits him better. I go and watch his track races, but I've never done it.
We still ride together, but often we are either both racing, or doing team rides, so we probably ride together less than before.

[colby]

When he was younger, my husband used to ride everywhere -- he was one of those teenagers that didn't have a car. In college, we walked everywhere. Once we left, we got lazy, and a couple of years later bought a couple of cheap mountain bikes to play around on. We ended up biking to work a few times a week. A couple of years ago, I started doing triathlons, and we bought new bikes that were a lot lighter and a lot more road friendly.

Now, we ride together sometimes on the weekends (max 20 miles) and 2-3 times a week to work (12 miles round trip), but my training schedule, speed, and endurance makes non-commute riding together hard. I treat rides with my husband as "quality time" and totally aerobic "bonus" exercise for me, while they are more difficult efforts for him. He pretty much hibernates in the winter and comes out once the weather gets nice to bike to work, but he's improved a lot in the last 2 months. I'm not sure what will happen when we can both go the same speed other than less chit-chat.

When I ride without him on weekends or for non-commutes, he is usually occupied with video games or (software) projects, so it works out okay. I would love to build him up to a cycling or multisport (kayak/bike/hike) vacation, though, I think it'd be fun.

[sbctwin]

My DH and I used to ride our mtn bikes together alot, but then he was diagnosed with pancerabellum syndrome. This has caused him to slowly loose his coordination, caused some speech impediment and has affected his periphial vision some. Needless to say, we don't ride together much. When he rides these days, his main objective is to stay upright on the bike. He falls quite easily, whether on a bike, walking or just standing and really gets down on himself. There is a ride out to the Great Salt Lake that we enjoyed last year, but there has been construction on the road and he is very hesitant to ride. He will take his bike for a short spin around a park when it is very early and not too many people are about. Riding in a group is out. Hopefully when the weather cools and the construction is completed, we will be able to hit the marina road. I have been trying to get him to consider an adult trike, but he doesn't like the image. Maybe one day... He is very supportive of my biking efforts and encourages me in my riding endeavors.

[HillSlugger]

DP supports my riding and my triathlon training but there's still some friction. She hints that I should cut back after my second triathlon August 22, says my daughter wants to see more of me.

[Starfish]

I am no longer married. Before we got married, my BF introduced me to cycling, for which I will be eternally grateful. In hindsight, I can see that the whole cycling experience with him, from bike-buying to how mechanicals got handled, from attitudes toward me and others on training rides to tours, etc, was a little thumbnail sketch reflection of our approaches to people and situations in life.

Hindsight is 20/20. Wish I had known how to pay attention back then to the things that made me uncomfortable in those situations.

As I said, however, we are semi-friends, and I will always be grateful that because of him I got into cycling.

[sundial]

Well, I got back into cycling again after a 4 year hiatus and my hubby enjoyed seeing my enthusiasm for the sport that he just bought a Trek 1600 SLR to ride with me.

[KnottedYet]

It was our passion for bikes and cycling that got me and my sweetie to meet. Otherwise, I'm sure we'd never have met.

[Trek420]

Yep I'm sure there are tons of examples of great couples where one rides, the other doesn't.

In fact one of my favorite examples is right here on TE. AG cycles, hubby rides motorcycles and check out how they combine the two

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...arrived+flames


But back in the day when I was dating I found it difficult not to have an active lifestyle in common.

Lots of comments like "You do what? You ride how far? You're doing what next weekend?" and the classic "You spend that much on what? ".

One gal said "You have to have a screw loose to ride that far"

There was no second date or u-haul

It's sooooo nice to have this in common as well as other things of course, like love of wool and chocolate.

[East Hill]

I have been trying to get him to consider an adult trike, but he doesn't like the image.

Have you looked at recumbent trikes?

East Hill

[Trek420]

Have you looked at recumbent trikes?

East Hill

Or a tandem with you as captain?

[nomummytummy]

DH & I are happily into different sports. We toyed with the idea of riding together, but I like going fast & feeling the wind on me, he trundles along arrives ages behind me and then asks "Did you see this & that? Oh what a pity you missed it." We were going to train together for a century & it was all looking good. We even got a nanny for Saturday mornings. Then reality set in for DH. If he's going to spend 4 hours out doing sport, he'd rather be on a golf course. I'd love him to ride b/c then someone would change my flats for me, but that wasn't a big enough incentive. Can't work out why not??? So he golfs, I ride and all is well.

[quint41]

I didn't have an SO when I started riding for real last year, and I still don't. But I've learned that cycling is a great way to meet guys! At our first metric, my friend and I looked around and said, "WOW! We've been doing the wrong events!" LOL

[Kimmyt]

Cycling is just one more thing we can share.

We met rock climbing, ski/board together, and cycle together. When I met him he had a road bike and I was thinking of getting one. He rarely rode his, maybe once a year or so. I got into it much more, I seem to always go into things gung-ho. I ride alot more than him, but not so much more that our skill level is unequal. He's lucky in that he can ride a bike for the first time in a year and do a century at 17 mph. He doesn't care to push his limits, though, and is perfectly happy keeping at that moderate pace, so we ride well together. Even better, he likes looking at maps and plotting routes, he says it's 'fun'. Hah. I'm so directionally challenged. I love that we can go on rides and he'll plot the whole thing out and all I need to do is enjoy the ride.

Our pattern for hobbies is generally: we're both into it, but Boy doesn't try very hard/have much knowledge of the sport. Met me, I have knowledge but not as much natural skill. I give Boy knowledge. He surpasses me at sport.

At least with triathlon there's a good chance he'll never surpass me on the swim! (and that is one thing he really doesn't care to get into, which is nice for me to have something of my own... i told him some day he can be my jockstrap for when/if I do a HIM or IM!)

k.

[Trek420]

I didn't have an SO when I started riding for real last year, and I still don't. But I've learned that cycling is a great way to meet guys! At our first metric, my friend and I looked around and said, "WOW! We've been doing the wrong events!" LOL

Oh yes, I remember this thread on the advantages of cycling single:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...=praise+single

My club even has a Single Cyclists ride, I don't know the successful date results ratio but it is fun.

[chort]

sbctwin - I have this recumbent: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001013.php I got it shortly after I was dxed with MS. I was having some balance issues and now had an excuse to buy a recumbent. It's super fun to tool around on.. but this model is also super heavy! 65 lbs. When I got better, I bough a road bike and never looked back at the recumbent. I'm trying to sell it.. But what I wanted to tell you is that there are a whole lot of people on the trails around here who ride recumbents (men and women). They do make lighter ones - I rode one that was 25 lbs and it was speedy! It also cost $1300----I would suggest that he just go rent one for a day (if you have any shops who do that) and see how he likes it. There are lots of different models and he might be able to find one he likes.

I have been trying to get him to consider an adult trike, but he doesn't like the image.

DH was into mountain biking before we hooked up, biking together has just made us closer