[Closed] Other Interests

hmmm... presumably before you became a new dad you also liked shagging but that ain't on the list now 😉

I am untterly uncompetetive and think it is one of the saddest human traits. I also love lying in bed and watching TV. I couldn't give a toss whether I am good at something or not.

my other interests include eating, breathing and sleeping. so no not really 😉

other interests

😯 i don't understand the concept

nice to be good at stuff.

healthy to allow yourself to do stuff for other reasons.

healthy to have ore than one interest.

competitive bird watching,that must be thrilling. 😯

um....

I have been consumed by cycling in the past, to the extent that it dictated when I got up, when I went to bed, what I ate, how much I ate, when I ate and generally dictated my entire life.

I didn't drink, I ate a tiny amount of food, I went to bed at 9.30, I got up at 5.15, rode for an hour and a half, worked all day, met the boys from the bike shop three times a week, did the chain gang, raced at weekends and repeat.... My holidays were bike trips to Belgium and Holland, my legs were like wood, my wardrobe was bike t-shirts and jeans that never really fitted over my thighs.

i was obsessed.

i also enjoy pre-ride banter and post-ride drinks....... 8)

i seem to have three vintage cars which i compete in hill climbs driving tests etc,

i have a baby on the way in a couple of weeks,

i design the "odd" mountain bike

it's a good job i work in a school so get 13 weeks off a year

I'm now just as happy to be out on the bike or out in the wilds on foot.

Whilst on foot i can see more and ask more questions about the world we live in, the places, the creatures.

I take photos for the memories, to research and fuel my knowledge and to share.

I take ok photo's, though others think different.
I can ride a bike about average.

I'm delving into the art of writing, just trying to make it creative, don't care too much how it reads grammatically. That's not my point.

Cycling opened up a way to the wild outdoors.
Now i'd rather ride in a group and have a laugh or walk alone and open my senses to more.

The trouble is I am ultra competitive and just cant do anything for fun, there has to be an end goal! The trouble is I want to do well in all my fav hobbies/ sports.

just cant do anything for fun

Relax, enjoy, your time will come around again.
Been there done that and thought I had got away from it all.
Now a grand father to 4 🙄

sharki

I'm delving into the art of writing

good post i think!!
i have way to many interest so my mrs says!!
before i started mtbing i lived breathed and slept rugby and golf. i played rugby at a high level so i had to train every day of the week twice some days i also play off 4 in golf so i have to practise a lot!!since i had to stop playing rugby 6 yrs ago i have coached for the last few seasons which i didnt think it would take up so much time plus i had another big op on my knee last yr so i had to knock golf on the head and i havent swung a club in 17 months!!but with my mrs and the little one im choosing to keep cycling and knock rugby coaching on the head just so i can keep fit.
sorry if my grammer is all to **** im no school teacher!!

Really time to grow the **** up sunshine...

my daughter is seventeen months now and between having a job and looking after her theres not much "me time" left over. I'm sure there are dads with lots of other interests but I doubt they're particularly good Daddys.

enjoy the time you have left your life as you know it is over once the sprog arrives. your new life will be rewarding and challenging and probably leave you no time to fanny about bird watching.... enjoy.

In no specific order

Hillwalking
Traction kiting
Freediving
Fishing
Kayaking
Motorhoming to facilitate all of the above.
Oh, & downloading porn 😀

Another thing about parenthood is that as one door/chapter in your life closes another opens as cubemeup is finding.

As a motor mechanic and then a factory fitter I never thought I would end up becoming a swimming teacher, member of the school PTA and then dep Chair of the new school board system in the kids school.
I had always played badminton and a bit of swimming(for FUN)before starting with squash which did take over my life!!! Luckily I worked shifts when my kids were young(still do)so could play as much as I liked during school hours.
Then biking started to take over due to the squash causing too many aches & pains. Do one, could`nt do the other. Squash got binned 3yrs ago so that I could concentrate on biking. Still got the aches, that is just old age.
Just wait till that hits you deep_river, even more frustration 👿

crikey - Member

um....

I have been consumed by cycling in the past, to the extent that it dictated when I got up, when I went to bed, what I ate, how much I ate, when I ate and generally dictated my entire life.

I didn't drink, I ate a tiny amount of food, I went to bed at 9.30, I got up at 5.15, rode for an hour and a half, worked all day, met the boys from the bike shop three times a week, did the chain gang, raced at weekends and repeat.... My holidays were bike trips to Belgium and Holland, my legs were like wood, my wardrobe was bike t-shirts and jeans that never really fitted over my thighs.

i was obsessed.

Did that from the age of 15 till 25, had a really bad crash that messed me up good style. Now just feel happy to get out on bike or on foot to look at the world.

Having a wife who now has a degenerative illness makes me realise how lucky I am to be able to do the normal things we take for granted. As she says "it makes her angry that those that can don't" but please make sure its fun as doing it to the point of obsession is not healthy.

Trekster, i've never written like that, not even when asked to at skool.

Have now managed to ramble several thousand or more words of literal nonsense.
Not sure if i enjoy it yet, some of the comments have been rewarding and
have kept me typing.

I think in a perfect world, that's what i'd like to end up doing.
Writing a narrative to put along side my photographs, for people to read whilst on the bog. If there's a arket for that sort of thing.

"it makes her angry that those that can don't"

Sensible and undoubtedly wonderful woman.. The best advice I was given was [b]do it[/b], because if you don't, you'll be 40 odd and be wondering why you didn't.

Cookeaa - well said squire, couldn't agree more.

I am into so much stuff. I'm clearly obsessive about stuff, I've been called faddy in the past but none of it's a fad as it doesn't go away. I like hifi, musical instruments (bass, guitar, drums, harmonica), Road racing, Cyclocross, MTB, radio control anything, guns, the game of Go, web design, motorcycles (sports and custom), fishing and cars.

Couple all this with being a dad and I have little time left to sleep 🙂

crikey - Member

"it makes her angry that those that can don't"

Sensible and undoubtedly wonderful woman.. The best advice I was given was do it, because if you don't, you'll be 40 odd and be wondering why you didn't.

Really time to grow the **** up sunshine...

my daughter is seventeen months now and between having a job and looking after her theres not much "me time" left over. I'm sure there are dads with lots of other interests but I doubt they're particularly good Daddys.

enjoy the time you have left your life as you know it is over once the sprog arrives. your new life will be rewarding and challenging and probably leave you no time to fanny about bird watching.... enjoy.

Guitar/music, photography, video, 3d graphics/animation and that sort of thing. Biking has only really quite recently taken over as the "number one" hobby, though it used to be quite big years ago when me and all my mates rode bmx/skated. None of the others give me the same thrill as bikes do, guitar and playing live almost does but its lost its magic for me.

I like having more than one interest but at the same time I feel almost guilty if I spend too much time on one over the others.

i design the "odd" mountain bike

with your grasp of physics it would be mate 😉

climbing, running, snowboarding, writing and performing electronic music, none of which I have any time for since i started my own business. sigh.

I'm on paternity leave at the moment and I'm musing on how much I'll be able to get out on my bike.
I also play the saxophone - as does mrs Ed, and the gigs I do are payers so should still be doing them as we need the cash - but the bike will be relegated to commuting and creative rides dependant on timing with child care duties

no regrets though

took me six months to get back to being able to do night rides. even those were sporadic... your free time really does become valuable and rare....

while I'm sure there are super men/women who fire out kids work fifty hour weeks and scale etna on the weekends most if not all of those people are a heartbeat shy of a breakdown... if your having a kid your number one focus or "passion" for the next few years should be pretty self evident.... if not well leave it all to the missus I'm sure she'll understand...

I've always been 'multisports', motorbike trail riding, walking, windsurfing, surfing, kiting, canoeing, dinghy sailing, mountain biking, floorball, fotball, tennis, badmington etc etc. Not all at the same time and lots have now expired but overlapping and some have lasted years. I've decided there are disadvantages (and advantages) to this, playing both tennis and badmington has made me crap at both, whilst having windsurfed quite a lot meant that picking up dinghy sailing was easy (and understanding wind helped with kiting). From a mountain biking perspective I'd say it was 'bad', mainly as my sole foray into a formal club didn't work out - I just wasn't as fit/skilled as everybody else who did it as what appeared to be an only hobby.

Do what you enjoy, and if you hook up with like minded/equalish abilities that'll probably make it even better.

Other interests? I should be so lucky!

Apart from biking it's just work, family and the very occasional night out.

Even the veggie gardening, which I love, has fallen by the wayside.

🙁

Although people keep asking me if I want to take up skiing/snowboarding and my standard response is "are you mad? I've spent too much on my bikes to even think about it!"

I'm sure there are dads with lots of other interests but I doubt they're particularly good Daddys.

that's hilarious. you obviously sleep too much.

"I'm sure there are dads with lots of other interests but I doubt they're particularly good Daddys."

Slightly judgemental comment based on what?
You have to be more creative in how you carry out your interests, train early am or when kids in bed, or ride/run to wherever your going and meet rest of family. And train smarter,(using heart rate) so no wasted sessions.

I play euphonium in a brass band, and to a fairly high standard as well if I do say so myself. Not as high as when I was a yoot, when I performed at the Youth Proms @ Albert Hall, but I get by. Think Brassed Off but with more beer and not as many sexy Flugelhorn players.

I also tinker with cars when I have the money, snowboard/ski, and golf on occasion.

Dabbled in many outdoor pursuits over the years but probably what I enjoy best is trekking - multiday walks across the wild bits of Scotland and Europe

Been heavily into my motorbikes in the past

Used to play hockey fairly seriously and I never found another outlet for the competitive stuff since retiring

I'm sure there are dads with lots of other interests but I doubt they're particularly good Daddys.

That's a bit strong. I'm a Dad to two girls under two and still manage to get out on the bike, tinker with my Lambretta's, go to scooter rallies and make music. Granted, not as often as before and i can't be as spontanious...but i can still have some "me" time.

Also, i spend a hell of a lot more time with my girls than mates/colleagues who have no interests of their own. Maybe i'm the exeption to your rule!

I'm sure there are dads with lots of other interests but I doubt they're particularly good Daddys.

Read the last bit of my post again! Both people are wonderful fathers and their kids adore them, they are probably just better at manageing their time I guess. Oh and neither them or their wife's are stressed or burnt out.

I love mountain biking, road riding, bmxing, unicycling, boxing and badminton, and do them all to a decent standard. But recently I've just had to let the bmxing and badminton slide a bit. I think you've got to decide which of your interests are the most important, and focus on them. You can't do everything.

Having a wife who now has a degenerative illness makes me realise how lucky I am to be able to do the normal things we take for granted. As she says "it makes her angry that those that can don't" but please make sure its fun as doing it to the point of obsession is not healthy.

+1 my wife has FSH MD and uses a wheelchair most of the time now, really OP just be happy that you can do your activities. I have been guilty of being obsessed with cycling i even won a race once 😉 but now i just chill and if i run/cycle its a bonus.

It all changed for me when my son was born, he's 8 now and believe me it'll change your life beyond measure.

just biking 🙂

backcountry snowboarding. I only got into biking looking for abit of summer fun..
sometimes I am not sure what I love the most now!

Art, music, food, the outdoors, photography, girls.

In any order really. The last two are not directly linked 😀

I have time to ride a couple of times week at best. All my spare time is spent with my wife and two young kids. As I mentioned above, what cookeaa said is rightish. Maybe the bad dads is a little strong, but I would certainly put selfish in there. To pursue all there hobbies and pastimes can only be at the detriment of time spent with their kids. I sure don't have time for loads of pursuits and I am pretty sure other dads don't have more hours in the day. And mores to the point, cycling excepted, I can't understand why a dad would want to spend time on that many hobbies instead of doing things with their kids. Since my kids came along I don't even see my mates these days as cycling and family take up ALL my time, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My lad has just turned 2, so im not a brand new dad, I have grasped the fact that children change your life forever. My lad was born with Pyloric Stenosis (look it up) and then had extreme reflux to the point where he had to be tube fed for the first 6 months of his life, and has only just come off the drugs for the condition! Thankfully due to OUR hardwork he is now a normal cheeky little toddler and you would never had known that there was owt wrong with him.

After his pyloric operation when he was 1 month the aneathsetist (spelling bad i know) gave him a dose of Paracetamol that would have hospitalized an adult!, we were told then straight after his op, and he was given the Overdose in the recovary room that he probably would'nt make it through the night!

My point is that without my love of climbing and cycling etc... the whole of the last 2 years would have been much harder. If I had not had manged to get to Stanage edge climbing occasionally or get the odd 2 hours out on my bike I would have been in the nuthouse by now. They have proven to be therapeutic beyond belief. Over the few months he has slowly grown out of his reflux and now eats normally, and my thoughts are turning to maybe doing somehing I love, like training for a 24 hr race, or maybe a climbing holday with mates for a few days to spain.

I think that the comments made about being a rubbish daddy, if you have another interest outside of family life are very harsh, and not well though out!

It is very healthy to want time to yourself to do the things you have grown up loving, especially when in fatherhood, it helps you to remind yourself that their is life outside of parenting and helps me keep my self sane, and postive. Even with a love of more than one thing, and wanting to be good at more than one thing at this time in my life, I think Im a great daddy, and coudnt be any better, and without the cycling etc, I think i would be a worse dad.

Ladyeez

As an aside to those that seem to think a Dad is "bad" for having interests outside of family life...my love of bikes comes from being surrounded by cycling from being a young boy through my Dad's (RIP) love of the sport.
As soon as i was old enough i was out on the bike with him, then in the bike club with him etc etc.

Surely the exposure to seeing a parent involved in a "positive" activity and that rubbing off or having some effect on the child can only be a good thing?

If Dad was disappearing to the pub/bookies etc then i'd agree with some of the comments.

Deep River, that was a really well put post!

Dad to a 20month old boy and during the process of settling down and getting (re) married (this time to the right person!) I've packed in trackdays/my car fixation and sailing and really don't miss them that much - not like a fortnight without a bike ride.

Sometimes things have to give for what really matters and when our little boy is charging through the house yelling 'daddy' with a big grin on his face I don't mind not having time for everything.

Cycling will always be part of my life, it's good exercise, a family thing (456 with rack and kiddy seat does the job for anyone that's interested), a couple thing and my dose of natural high after a tough week at work. The only other interest other than the family and the bike is taking nice photographs of places we go and things we see.

I think I've been miss understood to a certain extent, I never said having outside interests made you a bad Daddy as such, it's simply my opinion that blokes who "somehow" manage to cram in 4 or 5 additional activities and basically spend a good chunk of their free time away from their families are a bit neglectful, sorry but it's my opinion, like most of on here obviously you I've held on to biking (although vastly reduced in frequency), but that's about it and that's had to give way on many occasions to family and I don't resent it...

Like I said my little girl is still young and as many people have already told me I won't get these times back, so night rides when she's asleep, the odd day off to ride, plus having to regularly work away, I can't see why anyone who actually loves their kids would spend anymore time away from them than they absolutely have to...

I'm sure I will get some more time back as she grows up and doesn't want to spend so much time with me, but like others said nothing beats having "Daddy!!!" shouted at you by your daughter before she charges you....