I’m going to be a dad very soon and I was wondering if other mums and dads have been able to squeeze any riding time in during the first year.

Tell me your experiences….

Plenty but I did a lot of early morning and late night rides, rarely out for more than a couple of hours though but I’ve got great mtb and road from the door .

Used to load up Teen1 on the bike seat, then head out into the country to see the animals.

This was at about 6AM to let Mrs Tired have a lie in! I used to commute to the nursery with a Baby Bjorn on the front too.

Then when they grew a little bigger, I bought a kiddyback tandem.

Congratulations!

Very little, thus put on weight & got f all sleep 👿

Wee man is now 3.5 & came to Glentress with me at the weekend tho 🙂

Didn’t have any issues getting out riding when we had the first.
Its when we had the 2nd that things got trickier.

Not really, early am and late PM when I could, generally shorter than normal but everything counts and I am a. Iced person when I ride my bike.

Didn’t have any issues getting out riding when we had the first.
Its when we had the 2nd that things got trickier.

^^^^THIS ^^^^

But they now enjoy being carted about in a trailer by me, not so much singletrack action at the moment but bike time is bike time!

First year of fatherhood here. I’ve probably ridden as many times as previous years, just shorter rides. It’ll help if you can make riding part of your commute….

After the 1st I stopped riding for a full year. The memory of how painful it was getting back to riding after a year off meant I was determined not to let it happen again with the 2nd. It’s kinda worked, still the odd rides here and there and prebooked days away but my main mileage ATM is commuting. I must admit there have been other opportunities to get out but don’t underestimate the effect tiredness will have on your motivation!

Depends on your child and what you and partner do for jobs. Jnr FD didn’t sleep well. Mrs FD worked silly hours, I commuted 1hr 30 mins to work each way.

Biking was not really possible, sleep was all i cared about

No, she went right off it, what with sore nipples & all that, said last thing she wanted was a shag.

Congratulations. In our case first year and first baby the answer was very little but all house holds will vary in how they apportion baby duties. Gd1’s arrival coincided with an insanely busy year at work.

I got into night riding on a regular basis when he was about 1 and from that point on that has been my primary riding.

Gd2 was much easier and I probably had 3 weeks off riding before resuming usual weekly night rides.

Weekend rides are still at a premium now but that’s partly through choice because due to working hours and commute I see so little of my boys (now 5 & 2.5) during the week that I feel the weekends belong to them first. Having said that I have had three hours out today!

In short night riding is (ime) your friend.

I’ve got four little Sterns (the youngest 3). As you may have gathered there is plenty of time to get some riding in but it is the unsociable hours category when the get a bit older. Get yourself a kiddie trailer and you can kill three birds with one stone i) you get to ride your bike ii) you get to rock the little cherub to sleep in the process iii) you give your other half some quality ‘me’ time. Win win win!

sweajnr1 is 5 months old. Sweamrs is also a keen mountain biker and so we’ve both been making a real effort to still go riding.. tag team / night riding is your friend. We’re fortunate in that we have a nice community of male and female cyclists in roughly the same situation and so plenty of understanding that 7am on a Saturday is a perfectly reasonable time to want to go for a few hours.

All day epics few and far between (one) but still managing couple of times a week. However does depend how much you value sleep compared to riding and the like….

I managed to coincide my most serious biking injury to date with the birth of our daughter. Smashed up and gashed elbow a fortnight before she was born, necessitating six weeks off the bike. So I didn’t go riding at all for the first month. Strangely this didn’t get me any brownie points with the missus.

Ahhhhh, happy days trying to decorate a nursery with only one arm with a glowering spouse at the bottom of the ladder! I made a bloody good job of putting that coving up, all things considered.

So there you have it. Throw yourself off your bike soon. You won’t feel like you’re missing out if you can’t ride anyway…..

1st one no real problem but be ready not to go until you’ve actually gone.
2nd one start commuting to work well beforehand to keep the miles up to make the other rides you do worth it.
Painfully slow 3 years for me now doing half the hours I was turned around in 2 years back up to “normal” hours due to plenty of commuting (once a week averageish) + some lunchtime riding + towing children and it’s easier now to get out on an evening although keeping the commuting going as it’s a bloody good base and I enjoy being smug ;0)

10 months in here. I probably get out once a fortnight, usually a night ride, but work has been very busy too and our boy isn’t a big sleeper. Biggest trouble for me really is giving his mum the sense that I’m out having fun when she can’t. I think that’ll change soon when he’s off the boob and I can give her more freedom. Plus I’ve just acquired a trailer so he and I should be rolling round the woods soon.

One thing is certain – the abbreviation YMMV applies here in spades.

Congratulations. It is a vast change but it is an amazing experience.

Thanks for all the comments and congratulations. I’m nervous but looking forward to the whole adventure.

dannyh- If i hurt myself to the point of not being very helpful the fall out wouldn’t bear thinking about.

As many of you have reccomended child carrying duties, I have a Salsa Vaya that I have used on one 4 day tour and not much else in the nearly three years I’ve had it. I’m thinking of using it as primary miniplatz carrying pleasure bike. What are the opinions on child carrying? I like the idea of miniplatz being up front so she will be able to see and we can interact more, by far the most common seem to be rear pannier rack jobs and tow along jobs look good too.

What’s the consensus?

When they are very young the trailer is by far the safer option IMO. I’ve taken my four out when they were a few months old all be it strapped into a car baby bucket type seat tied into the trailer. Baby seats front and rear to affect the handling and just a few months ago I saw the consequences of crashing with a handlebar seat and it wasn’t very pretty! 😯

I rode a reasonable amount in the first year, but expect to do more night riding and one – two hour blasts.

WeeRide and LOCT here. Both children have now done the Les Gets 4x on a LOCT. (Did I mention the 8 year old did his first week on his own bike in Les Gets last week? Must have slipped my mind.)

I do like the front (mid really) mounted seats (better balance, more interaction), but to be honest it’s been 12 months and older before I’ve really had them on the bike.

If you do go for a mid-mount seat, dropper seat posts are a good investment.

PS Trailers are the only real option when they are very young, but beware your typical two wheeled trailer can (can, not will) flip if you hit something on one side only eg cut a corner and clip the kerb. Plenty of people do not have this problem because they are sensible riders of course.

Obviously I’ve now real experience on this yet based on previous post but I think patience is a bit of a virtue in this area. Trailer first as they can be much more secure and then I’m thinking Weeride/Loct mid-mounted. I saw a ~9month old being taken around a pumptrack on a mid-mounted seat and to my eyes his head was lolling all over the place. I personally think they should be walking before you start taking them on the bike in anything other than a trailer or on tarmac.. but this is a subject that can quickly cause controversy with every opinion from “never” to “as soon as they can sit up” being voiced.

It also depends what you’re doing. For commuting to / from nursery for example I’m thinking trailer… loads of storage; fully weather proof and with two adapters it doesn’t matter who is doing the collecting / dropping off. But for actually riding somewhere off road then an on the bike seat makes more sense.

Congrats Vonplatz. I used to ride loads in first 8months when mrskuman was on maternity leave. Now she is back at work full time, junior is 21months old already and I manage to get out once a week (twice some weeks) for 1-2 hour blasts.

Its hard, especially when working full time and getting a lot of disturbed sleep. Best thing to do IMO is agree with your misses a day and time every week for a bit of ‘you’ time getting out on your bike and obviously give her the same thing for whatever she wants to get up to.

Congratulations. Welcome to the bleary!eyed club. Mini_fiat is 1 on Thursday. Shame, as it’s my riding night 😆

Seriously though, while it is difficult, it’s more than doable. I’d recommend that you and your partner make every effort you can to have time out for yourselves once a week. If you don’t you’ll suffer in many ways: fitness and general mental well-being among them.

The first month is probably a no, but you’ll be so knackered that you won’t want to contemplate anything other than eating or sleeping anyway. The task of Sisyphus is easier than keeping on top of the washing pile during those early days. After that month though you should both be looking to escape for a while, even if it’s just for an hour. I think I got back to my full weekly night ride after about 8 weeks. Mrs fiat started to head off to football again after about 10 weeks. Even then it took constant update texts from me to convince her that all was well while she was out – she was most put out with the picture messages of him snoozing soundly at an hour before his usual bed time

Very early morning rides are also good. I often headed out after changing him & putting him down for food at about 5am. Reading and posting on here at 2:30 or 3 was not so much fun. Looking for replies at 4 after posting, less so.

I escaped for two nights to antur stiniog back in March, so he would have been 7months. I only dared propose that idea after she’d been away for a football girls night on the town (my how she was unimpressed riled with the fact he’d slept all night through from 8pm for me on just 6oz of expressed milk.)

He was riding with me on smooth tracks from about 9months in his weeride. I had him in his trailer from about 6 or 7mths, which if I’m honest, was too young, even though he could sit up by himself. We were out yesterday on the fatty along the beach. He loved that, especially when we stopped for ice cream. Proper off-road stuff is a definite no as they get flung about way too much (you try being strapped down to your top tube by your waist and shoulders as you ride off a kerb when your head weighs >30% of your total mass.)

I have noticed that our trailer is a complete pile of Chinese tat (second hand, suspiciously lacking in logos, suspect tesco own brand) compared to a burley or chariot – the safety harness being the worst bit of design. My sister’s burley is definitely a far better place to be and I’m now on the lookout for a replacement for ours. Weerides are great for a few miles, but they can be darned cold on longer rides.

Sure there’s lots more to say, but I’m exhausted!

Congratulations, and to answer the question: yes. Not a major problem.

hot_fiat’s answer pretty much covers it – the first month probably not, but past that? Assuming you’re doing (and are seen to do!) your “bit” at home, it’s just a question of negotiation with your other half – for example I’ll get up early on Saturday so you get a lie in, but I’ll sacrifice my lie in on Sunday to go out for a ride. This is a lot easier to negotiate if baby is bottle fed!

I also made a similar mistake to hot_fiat, albeit with a baby carry backpack rather than a trailer: don’t expect to be able to take the kid out with you until at least 9 months or so, they don’t have the neck strength. We got a baby backpack at about 7 months, and while nothing bad came of it my daughter was definitely a bit too young. She didn’t seem to care, but looking back we should have waited another month or two.

10 weeks for me, just found a job that involved a 16 mile commute each way and got a bit more organised!

I found year one easier than this year to be honest. It all just depends on your routine. My riding time was always late afternoon/early evening as I go back to work in the evening. His supper now falls at 17:30 so it makes it harder to do anything longer than 1h30ish as I like to sit down and eat together.

Encourage your wife to carry on breast feeding even when there’s scabs on her nips and the pain is worse than giving birth- not only because of the health benefits but also because it means there’s more time for you 😀

It’s all so personal that every life is different. There’s a fine line between ‘being there’ and being an inspiration to your offspring. We’re on our third type of rucksack now- there’s very little excuse for not incorporating your kid into whatever you and their mum want to do- it will all just be a little different 🙂 (Better 😉 )

Not much here – two close together put the kibosh on it largely. I can sometimes squeeze some riding in on the way home from work, but not managed that the last few months so it has been something of a lost summer.

Hopefully I should be able to schedule my work better from the end of September and start building some time into the working week to fit a couple of rides in!

If you cant ride mtb trails from your door get a cx / road bike… at least you’ll get some riding in. Its so much easier to hop out for an hour or 2 straight from home.

I got loads in during the first year as the Mrs was was on maternity leave, the younger years I got plenty in as they would go to nursery during the day from 8.30 until as late as 18.00. Now due to work being so busy, then me doing school runs and really only seeing the kids on my days off I hardly ride. They’re 7 and 11 now.

This made a huge difference for me. Being able to just get out without having to factor in time to ‘proper’ trails made it so much easier for me to just nip out for an hour every so often. Various medical things with mother and baby meant I think I did about 200km in the first year. Not saying that’s a bad thing, my priorities are absolutely for the family. Just don’t to set your expectations anywhere near doing anything, and I mean anything, as seriously as you did pre-baby.

@igm how was les gets for a 8 yr old? I’d love to take my son to the alps, but he’s more into xc at the mo. He’s 11…

Only got back into riding when I became a dad. Started with a midweek night ride, then a Sunday morning. Met other local blokes who were also dads and became the back bone of my social contacts.

On the downside, I started commuting by bike when i discovered I was so tired I couldn’t remember the drive in to work… 😳

Sambuka – he loved it. It appears you can rent 24″ wheeled full suss bikes (Kona or Comencal) so just get him one for the week to begin with (that said I got a second hand Stinky 24 at a very reasonable price).
We stuck to green and the occasional blue and there were moments of “I can’t do this”, but when he found he could… big grins all round.
Downhill is slightly easier for an eight year old as they don’t have the legs strength and stamina for steep or long climbs – by 11 they might.
And he liked the pump track too.

It really depends so much on your circumstances and how easy a baby you get – some are a doddle (relatively) and the parents get to ride/do all sorts as they’re not knackered and so on. Others, don’t sleep need constant attention and the mother may well not be too chuffed with you sodding off if she’s left holding the baby.

Play it by ear but be prepared to not really have a routine or set schedule just get out when you can.

Or you may be lucky but at least be prepared for the worst 🙂

It gets much easier after around 18 months btw.

@op you’ll be good if the mrs is on your side, the trick to that is do your best to give her some self time too

Didn’t have any issues getting out riding when we had the first.
Its when we had the 2nd that things got trickier.

^^This for sure although we had twins as numbers 2 & 3 and all three were under three at one point…

If you are considerate, can be flexible and especially if you ride on your own it needn’t cause any problems unless you have child or wife health issues.

Congratulations! We have a 10 month old, so much fun. The first few weeks I hardly rode but my partner knows how important it is to me and after that I got out. Shorter rides but it was probably the best few months of riding in my life. Strange times, exploring local trails and short and fast. I rode my shorter travel bike more than normal and my fitness going into this season was higher than its ever been. On top of that I saw my mountains at vey different times. I was pretty much blown away but the experiences I had and I wrote a blog, a bit over excited and full of hyperbole, but I called it Finding Magic in the Margins of the Day!
It’s a fantastic time, good luck!