Big rides, but not for me :(

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Rooster1

I was right about that saddle
Everyone I know is posting long rides at the moment on that certain Strava site, which is great, but it is winding me up - because I wan't to do some long rides too - I think.

I decided, quite rightly, that my family must come first this year, so my weekend riding is taking a hit as a result.

Usually, I would do a few hours on a Sunday morning, with Saturday being wiped out by the kids activities.

I am lucky to get around 100-140 miles in a week, by commuting in, and with lunch rides.
I'm not doing the Ride 100 this year, but I do have a 60 miler in Sept, which is no big deal for me.

On Saturday, I took my young son to Dorney Lake, Berkshire, and we cycled up and down the tow path for 8 miles. I could have instead gone out on my own and put some serious miles in but he really enjoyed it and it was a great day for it.

I guess it is all down to personal situations, people with no kids might be able to go out the whole weekend, or do some crazy 200 miler in a day, for others, their kids might have grown up and do their own thing.

I can't complain, and I am not, I am happy that my cycling (which I love) has to be balanced with other things, such as my wife and family.

But I do need to have goals, distances, and big rides scheduled in, or I will go cwazy.

Maybe next weekend??
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
There are times when you want to cycle and you can't as you need/want to put other things first. I don't bother comparing myself to how other riders are doing, and if you want to compare to someone just use the couch potato and think you are doing more miles than them.

And what's the problem with cycling with your kids.... the miles still count and gradually they will be able to do more! I must cycle around Dorney Lake sometime, it's close to my parents, walked bits of it, but never taken a bike down there when I visit them.
 

bpsmith

Veteran
As above, who cares what others are doing? I have to balance it, just like you, and that means I don't get to commute at all, outside of the Summer holidays. I really want to be commuting, but the School Run means that it's not possible. If I get out one evening and once over the weekend, that means 80 to 100 miles for me, so still a substantial amount lower than you @Rooster1.

Your glass is surely not half full or half empty with 140 miles a week AND family time. I would say that it's Full. :smile:
 

iamRayRay

Quads of Steel
Location
Hertfordshire
140 miles a week is pretty decent. You total that over the year, it should be around the 5,000 mark which is a conservative guess.

I always look on Strava and posted a 61 miler this weekend which I enjoyed. The key work is enjoyed. I think you should look to enjoy cycling more and not forget that it's not all about the massive miles everyone else is doing.

Leaving at 6am in the morning was a bit of a struggle, but when I get cruising, there is nothing more I enjoy than beating a massive hill/climb and freewheeling to some of the views around my county.
 

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
It can be a pain when life gets in the way. I'm on call every 4 weeks or so which wipes a weekend out. Other weekends, if there's family stuff I just get up early and go out at 6am. I can be back from a 65 miler, showered and ready for 11am.

P.S. I don't get all this competitiveness on strava. Not only has my KOM stood since 2012, no one has even logged an attempt against it.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
P.S. I don't get all this competitiveness on strava. Not only has my KOM stood since 2012, no one has even logged an attempt against it.
Is it in your back garden:giggle: there is one I've seen that no one has done which loops around and takes a weird route that nobody other than the creator is ever going to bother trying for, and it also exploits a height anomaly so looks like a massive climb when it's virtually flat!
 

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Is it in your back garden:giggle: there is one I've seen that no one has done which loops around and takes a weird route that nobody other than the creator is ever going to bother trying for, and it also exploits a height anomaly so looks like a massive climb when it's virtually flat!
No it's on open roads. It is around 230km long though with a few hills.
 
3 hours in the saddle and I am bored stiff, so tend to find a 25 to 35 mile ride is sufficient for me
That is pretty much me. Even touring, I'd had enough after 4 or 5 hours. Occasionally I do a longer ride but I determined a while ago if I could stay fit enough to do the odd 50 miles, whilst typically doing 25 or 30, than I was happy with that. Sometimes I just don't do any riding. May has gone by with me only going on the bike a few times. I need variety too. I get fed up with doing the same routes and as I'm on a peninsula, that's a problem.
 
I'm in a similar boat to the OP. I'm lucky that I can commute around 90miles a week Mon-Fri but the most i can manage on a weekend is a quick blast out either Sat / Sun morning for a couple of hrs. To be fair i'm quite happy with that at the moment with two young children taking the majority of my weekend time. You do sometimes wish on the odd occasion you could have a few hrs more though...
 

bikeman66

Senior Member
Location
Isle of Wight
Everyone I know is posting long rides at the moment on that certain Strava site, which is great, but it is winding me up - because I wan't to do some long rides too - I think.

I decided, quite rightly, that my family must come first this year, so my weekend riding is taking a hit as a result.

Usually, I would do a few hours on a Sunday morning, with Saturday being wiped out by the kids activities.

I am lucky to get around 100-140 miles in a week, by commuting in, and with lunch rides.
I'm not doing the Ride 100 this year, but I do have a 60 miler in Sept, which is no big deal for me.

On Saturday, I took my young son to Dorney Lake, Berkshire, and we cycled up and down the tow path for 8 miles. I could have instead gone out on my own and put some serious miles in but he really enjoyed it and it was a great day for it.

I guess it is all down to personal situations, people with no kids might be able to go out the whole weekend, or do some crazy 200 miler in a day, for others, their kids might have grown up and do their own thing.

I can't complain, and I am not, I am happy that my cycling (which I love) has to be balanced with other things, such as my wife and family.

But I do need to have goals, distances, and big rides scheduled in, or I will go cwazy.

Maybe next weekend??
Well at least if you cycled to Dorney on Saturday, you had the spectacle of watching the Metropolitan Regatta too. Cycling and rowing..........what's not to love?

I know what you mean though. I have had to really balance my time between family, work, cycling and rowing for some years now, but it certainly makes me appreciate every second and every kilometre of big ride when I manage to get one in.
 

thetribe

Über Member
I sat and planned my cycling at the beginning of the year. 10 & 20 milers after work through the week, 50-100miles a week, working up to a 100 miler on my day off in either May or June. With family commitments, holidays and working my days off I'm lucky to have just cracked 100 miles per month, I'm nowhere near ready to do 100 miles in one journey so that will be pushed back to the end of the year. I'm a little bit disappointed as I'm way down on my miles I'd done by this point last year but when I think of what I would have missed by making sure I got in the miles I'd planned I'm happy I'm at the stage I am. :smile:

I don't do big miles at the weekend, by choice, as the weekend is mine and my wife's time together. She suffers from asthma and cannot cycle in the wind which, as the wind has hardly let up this year, has pretty much buggered up all of our cycling plans for this year. :thumbsdown:
 
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