CyclingTips - Latest Comments in Riding With Your Wife

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Joanne — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:05:11 -0000

Great tips, however if the wife's good at it, well, it might not go so well in that case.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Eco_veg — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:36:50 -0000

The title for these tips should probably be re-written as "Riding with your spouse if your spouse is not a competitive cyclist". Sorry, but as a femme cyclist that regularly pushes (and is pushed by) my husband, I think it's important to get past the male-centred stereotypes of the cycling world.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Bikedan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:14:40 -0000

Hi Cycling Tips! I just written a blog article about Riding with your Wife :) Took onboard some of your tips and its a great ride we both did with a group in Taiwan through some beautiful scenery. Photos are also on display. View here: http://poweredbyusana.blogs...

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Marijo Lamarche — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:15:26 -0000

Nice but what if the wife is pretty good?! Hmm. Anyway, hubby bying coffee is always a winner...and telling wife that she looks slim in her bibs also!
Love your blog!
Mjo

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Delphine — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:10:10 -0000

I'm sending this to my husband straight away !

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Dim — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:36:06 -0000

So I'm hoping to get my wife out again soon - we've got 2 young kids (2yo boy and 7mo girl) and so whilst poppin' out the kiddies she hasn't been on the bike (its been gathering dust, I've got it out and cleaned it a couple of times). However she's back in shape now, and getting to the gym, and I figure the time is right. My answer to the speed thing... take the SS and tow the kids in the trailer - I honestly suspect _I'll_ struggle to keep up with her!

Re: Riding With Your Wife

yogibair — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:22:09 -0000

Agree with above and from personal experience, I can suggest

1. Buy her a bike as expensive as yours, that's fair and guess what, yours will live inside as well. Same principle with kit and accessories
2, Train together and if shes into the gym buy her cycling spin shoes
3. Do big hill climbs, chances are she'll beat you up Mt Buller as shes probably slimmer as she feeds you too well
4. Maybe I'm lucky shes a climber, I'm a sprinter and it cancels out on a good day

Get that right and she'll insist the bike go on Holidays or at least hire bikes from Hollywood Pro cycles (true story)

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Grace Australia — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:39:54 -0000

Great piece of writing... just loved it... it made me laugh at myself. In fact, I laughed till I had tears flowing down my cheeks! It's so 'on the mark' that I couldn't contain myself. It actually says a lot about me and how I react to certain situations - am I really that touchy??? No wonder hubby acts like he's walking on eggshells around me! I'll share this with him and after we both stop giggling, I think we'll head out with a refreshing sense of humour. Thank you Chris!

Re: Riding With Your Wife

damo — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:07:13 -0000

not to mention strapless clip in pedals

Re: Riding With Your Wife

damo — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:04:25 -0000

Great advice .I took it one step further and bought her a cannondale w campy groupo twice the cred of my entry level 105 equiped raceline. Quite a clever ploy I thought still the arguments happened.Now I'm riding a pake track frame mostly soma equiped and mels got a rebuilt bennett with the groupo off the dale set up as a s/speed and can't keep her off it.I think its got a lot to do with the tech side of 18 gears,brake lever positioning and an uncomfortable riding posi.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Fordy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:11:15 -0000

The tandem was our solution. How many times I'm pounding 170 bpm while my wife comments on the scenery...we are always together. Stoking is not for everyone but it works for us.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Tom — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:08:20 -0000

If you're guilty of going ahead of your partner etc. (which I find nigh-on impossible not to - seriously), then DO ride a slower bike (e.g., a heavy townie with fat under-inflated tyres) when she's on her roadie. DO ensure that the chain drops at least once every 10 km, the gears slip on inclines >3% and that it handles so poorly you have to slow to <10km/hr to take even the slightest bend.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Recessionista Genie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:22:13 -0000

Nice! My husband has committed a couple of these offenses, but it's still fun riding together. He's lucky he looks good in Spandex.

We go grocery shopping together on bikes. I ride a light road bike, and he takes a heavy steel fixie with the grocery trailer on the back. That evens things out pretty well.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Ginette — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:02:32 -0000

Do not take your wife off road her first day on clip pedals. Not very nice.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Lachy — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:00:26 -0000

Crikey! I read:

1) don't get married

2) don't go bike-riding with your partner

Re: Riding With Your Wife

NB — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:32:53 -0000

Monsieur Turner came out of the closet a while back....

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:29:04 -0000

SOLID

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Felicity Marsland — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:35:41 -0000

Great commentary Christine
Can I add
*Allowing us sufficient time to warm up. which means riding at our pace for the first 10 minutes - not taking off and waiting for us to catch up at the traffic lights.

*If you would like your wife or partner to ride with you more than once (or ever again) do not plan the first experience to be a mini Audax! Do not ride out to Yarra Glen; a combination of challenges - hills, semi trailers, 100km zones and in the pouring rain! She who is usually composed and not easily defeated is most likely to suggest you ride back home and come and pick her up and the bike is going back on EBAY, or will at least give you an honest appraisal regarding your ability to plan a fun morning.

*Accept that all rides must be towards a coffee shop and ALWAYS have enough coin on you to at least buy her a coffee - offering her a swig of your endura just doesn't cut it.

*Finally, never comment that the donut she is ordering is putting back on all the calories she just burnt off ,and why doesn't she have a dried fig instead?
It really spoils the moment.

Thankfully, these past and potential hinderances have been discussed and ironed out and riding together is great!

Felicity Marsland. :)

Re: Riding With Your Wife

shane@racedayrush.com — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:48:13 -0000

Brilliant post. My wife and I read it together and had a few laughs of discomfort. We both know you're soooo right in some of your points.

As my wife and I reflect on your post, all of a sudden we are at point #9. She's asking me how painful she is to ride with. I'm doing what the post says and telling her how hot she looks right now.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Marc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:39:35 -0000

Great post.
Number 9 is a MUST. Leave coaching to friends, it should never come from a partner (this goes for any sport).

If your partner wants you to go in the front so she can draft, never go onto the drops not matter how much head wind there is, in fact sit up as tall as possible. You need to be careful with being in the front to make sure you dont accidentally leave her behind, especially on any rises/hills.

If there is a long hill and she says, "i'll see you at the top", just tell her that you are hurting as well and prefer to stay at 'this' pace and start talk about the next coffee stop :)

Re: Riding With Your Wife

JB — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:04:28 -0000

Sadly I stand with the truth on this one. Riding with your partner is shite - always. It is sad seeing emasculated men pedaling meekly along with their partners, whilst studiously avoiding eye contact with their peers... Find some girls to ride with girls (and ditto boys) - the longest ride you should ever do with your partner is to the nearest brunch stop. Otherwise it will ALWAYS eventually end in tears. And yes, this even applies to the fit ones and those that look hot in their lycra....

Re: Riding With Your Wife

erik — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:13:39 -0000

I look like a greek god in my spandex! :p

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Marko — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:04:28 -0000

Is Dave Ollie out there? Send us a copy of the tale of the climb up Lake Mountain with your partner, true or fiction? from Freewheel Magazine? of years ago.

Re: Riding With Your Wife

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:21:05 -0000

i get told i look strong a lot!!!

Re: Riding With Your Wife

the truth — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:38:56 -0000

Riding is a man's quality time, either alone or spent with friends. He doesn't want his 'missus' along.

Girls, you're man is being a pain in the ar$e to discourage your ideas of riding together. C'mon guys stand up for yourselves. Just say "No!".