Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

This will apply to any dads on here. What tips/advice can you give on getting more bike time with a baby in the house? Ours is 10months now, hardly ride now as we're more time poor, doesn't help that I'm also a shift worker. With the good weather it's killing me seeing people out for their ride!

Been there, done that mate, it's bloody hard at times. All I can suggest is go for as many short intens-o-blasts as you can fit in. For the first two years I doubt I got more than 25kms at a time.

Is it possible for you to ride to work.

I was in a similar situation earlier this year and the only time I got on the bike was riding to work.

Maybe that is a choice for you.

cheers
Glenn

I have 3 kids - 8, 6 and 2.

School is about 20km away (no riding opportunity there) and work is 35k in another direction and I pick up from school about twice a week.

My current schedule us to drive most of the way to work and ride either nothing, 7.5k, 11k or 18k depending on commitments.

I also go for a 60-80km group ride most Saturday mornings. This works particularly well for me as the finish for the ride us just down the road from the kids swimming lessons. I finish the ride, have a coffee, ride 2km and meet up with my family, watch swimming lessons then have a shower at the pool. It's the lowest impact on my wife I can come up with and it works ok.

My average ride is probably about 15km long but I've done nearly 6000km this way this year.

Forgot to mention... As my work is flexible, I can get out for a 30-60min ride most lunch times. I probably go about once/twice a week though not always the full 60min ride.

The short answer is you're basically stuffed at the moment, but a 10 month old is pretty fun and you will gradually get more time back over the years...

I took our little boy in a trailer from 12 months & my profile pic is of him in a cargo bike.

It means I get to go on guilt free rides, with added weight training, the little boy loves it, I try to stop at a kiddy park which helps. SWMBO now encourages me to go for a ride

I could go on and on about it, so if you want more, feel free to ask.

get up early.

I get up and am out the door around 5AM on weekdays, get back in after 7AM shower change go to work.

Weekends out the door usually around 6AM and back in by 9AM. Then have all day to play.

Find Bruce, what sort of trailer did you use. We are looking at a chariot with the baby sling. He is only 4 and half months at the moment, so won't be out and about till the 6 month mark.

If you can, bike commute to work. A win, win, win for all.

+1 on skulls advice. Get up early. Tues and thurs I am up at 4.50am and on the trainer in the garage for an hours intervals session. Leaves time to cool down, shower and then brekkie with the family before the run to childcare and work. Sat & sun I try to get in 90 mins or more of endurance miles. I aim to be out at 5am and back before anyone is up (usually back by 7am). I have a 3 year old and another due in march. When the baby arrives I'll try to stick to the same but am prepared to vary/skip rides as needed. And that's the last bit of advice - be prepared to compromise. I put family before my cycling but my wife knows cycling is important to me so we try to make it work - sometimes I have to forgo rides for family and other times I get given the opportunities to get bigger rides in - its a two way street.

I commute about 2-3 times per week when I'm working a morning shift, but it's only a 16km round trip. After work I go straight home to see the little bloke before bed and cook dinner. Before work is walking dogs to keep them from driving my mrs nuts. She knows I love to ride but I do get the guilts if I head out for a 'me time' ride while she's at home taking care of our boy. Trailer is a good idea, but that would mean another bike, my carbon bikes wouldn't take a trailer too well. I'm happy to get another bike, but the mrs would have other ideas!

I have a 2nd hand "explorer" trailer, which had an awful attachment via 2 plates clamping in the rear triangle. Best thing i did was modify it by fitting a burley hitch.

If you have the cash, I would recommend a chariot- a bit $$$ but resale is good.

You might be surprised re your carbon bike- the advantage of the burley or chariot hitches is that you fit a small bracket on the rear skewer & the hitch connects quickly & securely to that, so shouldn't damage your bike.

Skull has it.
Get out of bed and get on the road.
You can easily get in a 30km ride before breakfast.
And start riding quality not quantity.
I see so many guys who think that long distance is all they need for training.
A few short but tough rides (sprints and efforts) along with a couple of longer rides is better IMO than lots of long slow rides
That being said I have to wonder how many people have intolerant wives.
Mine must just be an angel.
I have never had a problem getting in the time i need to head out for a long ride on the weekend.

Finally go and buy a decent wind/mag trainer so that you can do sprint and effort sessions when you just cannot get out.

booge wrote:This will apply to any dads on here. What tips/advice can you give on getting more bike time with a baby in the house? Ours is 10months now, hardly ride now as we're more time poor, doesn't help that I'm also a shift worker. With the good weather it's killing me seeing people out for their ride!

ride to work. That is how I do 98% of my riding. two boys under 4 at home!

Plus a few to the above. Quality/intense shorter rides when you can and add some commuting, even if it's partial commutes. Have patience you will get plenty more time as the kids grow. My commuting really got me riding and getting up earlier to add distance to the commute makes a big difference.

+lots on avoiding junk miles. I use a combination of trainerroad, a kurt kinetic trainer and chris carmichaels time crunched training plan. The majority of my time is interval based on the trainer. I just finished 8 weeks which raised my FTP 11%. It's very early days for me but I'm seeing decent gains on about 6 hrs a week which also fits with my family commitments. My aim is to push and pull my FTP up to improve my average cruising speed and ensure I don't get dropped when I do get the opportunity for a spirited group ride ! Long rambling way of saying make every session count

I have a three year old (with cerebral palsy) and a 15 month old that keeps both of us quite busy.

Things are a bit different for me as i only work mondays and fridays.On the days i work i will jump on the indoor trainer for an hour, or i have a day off the bike.
I am sure both our kids decide the night before who's turn it is to wake up at 5
So breakfast for every one which is finished by about 6 then we sit down to watch Carl and Lisa for an hour, then shower for me and the kids i chuck on the bibs and jersey sit down and watch playschool with the kids while its Mums turn for a shower then she puts some washing on and so fourth then she walks back into the lounge i get up jump on my bike and go for two hours, come back, kids go for a sleep then mum goes to the gym for an hour.

Ride and Gym for us is our time out from our busy lives as we dont do much else as life becomes very challenging with a child who has CP.

Make your ride a time wise routine (as much as you can with a young Bub in the house) or is there something else you can sacrafice so you have time for a ride and also give mum a break where she can maybe go for a quiet coffee with out bub or something that she likes to do (this will give you good brownie points) so you can both have a break.

I have a 12month yr old and still get to head out on rides 3-4 hrs every Friday and usually 2hrs on a Monday.

I get abit of wife aggro most times, but I usually try and help out before I go and usually on Daddy duties when I get back.

My advice to you is just tell your partner that you want at least 3hrs to go for a ride and come to some arrangement

Gettin' up at 0500 when you didn't get home from work until 0020 isn't an option for more than a week before your body starts to rebel.

Lots of good advice but also don't stress about having to cut back your cycling if it means a happy family

I found that booking a time slot with my wife on a Sat morning helps. I cycle and be home by 930. So depending when I get up depends on how long I ride. Don't ride Sunday and let my wife sleep in.

During the week I'm up early to either ride before coming home for breakfast or riding to work. If I have a bad nights sleep due to the kids then ill take the bike on the train and ride home.

And consider running a couple of times a week. I my opinion much more time efficient and you keep the weight off etc.

Mulger bill wrote:Gettin' up at 0500 when you didn't get home from work until 0020 isn't an option for more than a week before your body starts to rebel.

probably why I am so knackered right now. I get to bed around midnight most nights and I am up at 5am to go to work (7am start). need to get bed earlier, but not easy when dinner is 8:30pm most nights!

Mulger bill wrote:Gettin' up at 0500 when you didn't get home from work until 0020 isn't an option for more than a week before your body starts to rebel.

No problem.
Your 5am is just a different time than others.

booge wrote:This will apply to any dads on here. What tips/advice can you give on getting more bike time with a baby in the house? Ours is 10months now,

Get a Chariot or similar.

My son began in a Winchester Originals trailer when he was ~10 months. Now 21 and he still loves his cycling. Towing the trailer is sensational load-training for Dad. I was the strongest I'd ever been when I had two of them in the trailer aged 3 and 4.

I must admit I cringe when I see young children being towed in those carriages. No matter how careful you are as a cyclist, there's just too many idiot motorists out there.

Venus62 wrote:I must admit I cringe when I see young children being towed in those carriages. No matter how careful you are as a cyclist, there's just too many idiot motorists out there.

I'm the same, I'd use one of those on a bike path only. People have way too much faith in drivers.

Classic knee-jerk reaction. Riding a bicycle on the roads is sooooo dangerous

Crikey, you transport your kid in a motor vehicle - children die in those things!!

We had this comment tossed at us by non-cyclists frequently, cyclists usually at least asked us what we thought about their safety. I would happily ride the bike with trailer along almost any road. Traffic always gave us metres more space when overtaking - the jolly trailer was after all a very obvious vehicle. At 1m wide and being coloured bright yellow and pink, it kinda stood out. We had far more room given by traffic with the trailer than if we were riding just our single bikes.

booge wrote:I'm the same, I'd use one of those on a bike path only

Ah, the irony. The one place where I had a disturbing incident with the trailer was..... on a local bike path

I'd love to see the statistics on the numbers of children killed or seriously injured when travelling in bicycle child-trailers. My guess is it'd be..... zip. Because if any such collisions or injuries had occurred it'd be all over the crass meeja.