How do all you Dads find time to ride – need tips!

Morning all. In May this year the little dude arrived and I’ve probably been out 10 – 15 times max on either the road bike or the mountain bike. Where do you cycling Dads find the time?

I leave the house at 7.30am (after giving him breakfast) and get home around 8pm. At the weekends I mainly end up doing household chores and hanging out with the little guy. Using that time to go for a ride feels unfair on my wife who also gets no time to ‘do her own thing’…

Do you do night rides? Or just go for short intense rides on the weekend and send your partners off to do their own thing after? I’m thinking the work might be more of a challenge to my riding than the Dadding but be good to know how you guys manage it all…

Just stop riding & enjoy time with your little dude before he has an opinion!

Can you commute by bike? Seems a long day in work to me!

Expectant dad here but planning on making the most of my commute to maximuse time on bike

Yup night rides all the way. Getting home at 8 is a killer though, can you finish a little earlier on a friday perhaps and then sleep in a little bit on saturday morning? I had a little girl in May also and she goes to sleep, along with my 5yr old at 7pm. I read her a story and then faff about and usually get out the house for 7.45/8ish and will ride till about 10.30/11 and can normally get in about 20 miles or so. I often find I am in no mood to go to bed when I get in though and have to stay up with a few tins and a movie. 😉

Interested to see replies to this as my wife is due next week with our 1st child!

Think I’m likely to have to grab odd days on a weekend when I can. Luckily there is no hockey in a weekend in the summer so will try to do my mtb then. Already said to the wife that if she wants some time to herself some weekends then I’ll have the baby all day whilst she goes out. Hoping that’ll buy me my bike time on other weekends!

In terms of household chores most of that is covered as we’ve now got a cleaner. Saves bickering on weekends about who is going to do the hoovering etc.

You’re relationship will start to suffer if you are nailed down outside of work. You need time to exercise, clear your head and destress. Once a week get up at 6am, straight out and back for 1pm. Then out to a great lunch somewhere etc.

Are you getting out together as a couple? You need this too.

There needs to be balance and downtime from work otherwise you’ll keel over.

I’m thinking the work might be more of a challenge to my riding than the Dadding

Looks that way from here.

Is there no way you can cut your hours a little to squeeze in some riding AND spend more time with your nipper?

My wee one is 9 now, but when she was a baby, I had a ride every week, generally down to Dalbeattie or Ae (about an hour away) and also encouraged the good lady to go have an afternoon with friends/shopping/whatever, and spent the time I had with the wee one doing interesting stuff, parks etc – fun stuff for her.

Having your own time to do stuff you both enjoy is very important for your own health and wellbeing IMO.

I know too many people who settled down into the routine when having kids and never, ever got out of it.

It is entirely possible to have kid and maintain hobbies, in fact I’d say it’s essential.

You don’t need to parent as a team; your missus would probably benefit from some time to unwind too, so just work out a time for her, and a time for you. She can go and do what she wants, you get some miles in.

TBH your work day sounds like the biggest inconvenience.

I found the first year was pretty lean, but it gradually got easier after that. Commuting is the easiest thing to fit in, of course, and then you just do what you can around that: eg if we went the grandparents for the weekend I’d often ride while the others took the car.

If it’s any consolation, if you ever have a second you’ll think back to this time, as you stare mournfully at your shrunken quads, and marvel at all the free time you had 🙂

We had a boy in May too, he’s hard work and a really bad sleeper so we’re pretty much just trying to survive right now, hoping things do get better soon though. If we go to the in laws, I’ll ride there and my other half will drive. I’m lucky in that the ride there is pretty nice though. The in laws also live beside glentress so I can take the bike down for a quick blast while they watch him for an hour or so.

Personally I’m putting all my attention into the wee one, my partner and just trying to get some sleep. Riding is taking a back seat until things settle down here. After Christmas I’m looking forward to strapping him into a bike seat and going for a little ride!

As said above, night rides are your friend. Also swapping some weekend time so you and your wife both get a chance to have some fun. Means you value the time you spend with the little one rather than resenting it.

I ride to work and I often extend it to get some trails in. And I night ride one evening a week probably about 3/4 of the the time. Rarely ride at the weekend and then it’s been planned a long way in advance (and usually a long weekend of it).

I run my own business so that does make things different but if I was on a salary I’d be avoiding working more than my official hours, so if that (rather than a long commute) is why you’re back late, see if you can work quicker and leave sooner!

I’ve probably been out 10 – 15 times max on either the road bike or the mountain bike.

Sounds pretty good going to me!

My life became much happier when I learnt to no longer expect or plan to go out on a ride as I would invariably end up disappointed. Instead, I just enjoy the opportunities when they came up.

The bike, hills and trails are not going anywhere, plenty of time to ride in the future.

Sounds harsh and I don’t want to patronise but the best thing to do is just go. Make the decision and go

You don’t have to spend every waking hour with your children.

Look after yourself then you can look after everyone else

Night rides, that can include getting up super early and riding before kids breakfast or grabbing a few hours at the weekend. I have a four year old (he is now riding so massive hope!) and a 9 month old who doesn’t sleep. Acceptance that riding will decrease is an inevitable challenge. As a father found the first 18 months really tough until the child really starts to interact. Once they could hold their heads up strongly it was straight into a chariot for them so I got to ride that way, not so technical but great for the mind and physical fitness.

Get a job with better hours.
Leave home at 7:30am and get back at 8pm ?! There should be a law against that!
Come spring/summer an hour in the morning – 5:45 to 6:45. Ask your wife to sort breakfast out.
Get a 3 hour ride in on the weekend.
Dude you work hard and long hours,you deserve some biking time.
There will always be things that compete with your biking time, sooner you claim your time the better.

I rode in the evenings, and I did more road riding so I could go from the door, although that was helped by only having a 10 minute walk to work.

Try riding to and/or from places to meet the family to do something.

There’s a bunch of families we know so we do days with mums riding in the morning and dad’s in the afternoon swapping parenting duties.

It’s hard, but I was lucky and my wife would get fed up of me being restless around the house, even sent me on a week to the Alps.

How about going straight from work to a night ride somewhere twice a week?

I stopped riding for about 9 months with both my two. Switched to running for a bit, just short 30 minute efforts and unsocial hours. Once the dust had settled it was very early mornings and late night rides.

Get a different job? Can see the difficulty you have of finding time. Each to there own of course but i cant see you ever having time for anything with that schedule…

I hope that’s an amazing job because those are very demanding hours. I sympathise.

I’ve got a 5 & 2yr old and one night a week is night ride night. It’s a fixed night and it’s every week. Like you I’ve found weekends nearly impossible due to ‘stuff’ but an early morning ride is feasible as long as you’re back by a decent time.

I tend to put a big day or two in the calendar at the start of the year, easiest to do this as a race because the dates are fixed and you can’t change it even if Auntie Mabel REALLY wants to come round that weekend.

As above – you both need individual time to yourselves. Take turns for some of the weekend time and get out on your bike. This will likely be your only daytime ride of the week, so make the most of it.

Then, if you can, get a night ride in. To avoid it disappearing in a nappy-haze, arrange it with mates, or get it in the diary, so you stick to it. Same for your wife – she should try and get something planned for a different weekday ev.

Everyone’s different, but you both are still the same people and need to do stuff for yourselves to keep things in balance.

Downsides aside (there are many), I went self employed, which opened up the joy of the lunchtime/sunset/early morning raz. That, and planning a life where we are far more flexible as a family and couple, it sort of works. Plus I get the option of more time with the kids (I have 3 daughters) pre and post school. A 7.30 to 8 day away from the kids would be tough for me now.
Any chance of ‘working’ from home one day week?

rocketman +1

Nobeer +1. 3 juniors here, now 22,14 and 10. Eldest never enjoyed coming out on bikes, younger 2 love it. You need to use a diary and schedule in stuff, like you’d do at work, so both you and the other half have quality time doing your own things and also doing stuff you both like, together.

I stopped riding for about 9 months with both my two.

This, plus once getting back out I do less all day riding and more quick local blasts when I can. Not getting out much at the moment due to other circumstances and it’s driving me a bit (lot) nuts so much so that I sometimes commute on my good bike and ride at lunch. I keep asking on here so I’ll ask again if anyone wants to join me for a lunchtime riding session in Preston then I can normally be persuaded.

Nightrides, early starts and commuting. Out the door riding helps too, big days out and weekends away are alot fewer but they do happen, as nobeer mentioned you need to make time to keep a bit of sanity. I’ve had to reset alot of my old thinking, alot more planning. Got a spare hour, know what to do with it. Not ridden for a while set the alarm early.

Also don’t discount the pleasure of cycling with your kids. Mine all started on the bike seat (weeride FTW) and now at 8,5 and 3 they are all on bikes. Maybe a trailer if the wee one is still quite young, and hour or so on the bike for you and a bit of time for your partner.

We also had our first in May so I am familiar with your dilema.

As Ferrals suggests, commuting is a good option if possible for you. That’s what makes up most of my riding these days.

Wednesdays have always been my evening for an after work MTB ride and my missus thankfully has let that continue in return for me looking after the wee man a couple of nights a week to let her get out.

Over the summer I also did some early rides before work but I guess that only works if you’re lucky enough to be getting enough sleep.

Weekend rides have normally been short pretty short but I’ve been lucky enough to be allowed out for a couple of full day rides recently and have a day off to go riding tomorrow.

We got lucky and have a really good sleeper which makes things much easier to manage. Aside from that we’re making a conscious effort to give each other time off to do our own things.

Edit – as yokaiser says, I can’t wait to get the wee man out on the bike. Planning to get a Weeride for Christmas 🙂

Cutting down on faff time before getting out is a big factor on increasing ride time. Never put your bike away dirty or broken, keep on top of maintenance. Likewise put your clothes straight into wash when you get in and put them on the dryer first thing in the morning. Put your lights on charge in the morning you plan to go out and ask the wife to switch them off when charged.
Inlaws are invaluable for the occasional weekend ride, drop the wife and babby there and hot foot to some trails for the afternoon, take them out for tea when you finish helps smooth things over.

Our daughter was born in Oct 2015 & I reckon I have only ridden perhaps 3-500 miles since then…

It’s one of the things that stresses me out at the moment, to be honest.

I want to spend time with the family, but I also would like to find time to go on the odd ride here or there, take the camera out to do a bit of photography etc. but there never seems to be the time. If there is a bit of ‘space’ to do something, there are so many jobs that need doing around the house/garden/garage that I feel guilty ‘just going out for a ride’…..

I am hoping that it gets better in the next year or two, because I am not sure I can tolerate being this unfit for much longer! I think I am the least fit I have ever been…..

A lot of people seem to manage a lot better with finding snippets of time to go riding; but I never manage it…..

The recent ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for me has been Zwift (see Weeksy’s monster thread)….it’s enabled me to get out into the garage in the evenings (in between rubbish bouts of manflu) and put some decent efforts in. I am hoping to get a ‘smart trainer’ once I get paid this month & then come the new year I will try one of the workout plans on there with an aim to gain back some level of fitness….

I’ve got 4 kleine Sterns and as has already been said I go night riding a lot both on and off road and when the clocks go back I go for long rides at the weekend in the early morning (5am starts) so I am back for a late breakfast at 11am. When they were little I found our kids trailer , Charriot, a real boon as it gave their mother some me time and I could get some riding in and the little ones would sleep the whole time. We are pretty lucky here as there are loads of lakes with bike lanes around them so I could ride with the trailer well away from traffic.

You should soon be able to get one of the child seats for your bike and take your daughter out with you, which you should be able to do on a weekend. Plan a route that visits a couple of little playgrounds along the way!

I didn’t really start riding until my eldest was born so I don’t know what I’m missing to an extent. I see mates of mine off for days out and weekends away but I know I cant and it doesn’t bother me.

I tend not to ride my MTB over the winter, I commute to work by bike to keep the fitness up, and in the summer I get out at first light sometimes up before 5 out the door before half past and get an hour in in the week (then ride 20 miles to work) or a couple of hours at the weekend, back before 8:30

Works for me, but it can be a lonely riding existence.

You are going to ride less, that’s a fact. The upside is spending time with your nipper, the first year is always the hardest. You already know this of course but your list of priorities is, in order of importance:
Nipper
Mrs
Holding the household together
Work
You
It does get better/easier as they get older. Sleepovers at grandparents etc give you a bit of space if they’re local.

But as said above it sounds like your spending too much time either getting to or at work would be well worth looking at your options. Turbo can keep the legs going so when you do get a chance to dart out you can get the most out of it.

I’ve had two kids, but don’t worry; they only knacker up your life for about 15 years. After that you can leave them at home and just go and pedal.

The proper answer is to accept you’re going to get out less, but get a routine going.

Have a chat with the Mrs; she gets to go doing her thing on Saturday while you babysit, but you get to cycle on Sunday. Also she gets a week night off and so do you.

To be honest, that’s about as good as you can do.

I’ve not read any of the other replies, so apols if this has been said.

If you’ve been out 10 or 15 times since May then you’re doing well in my view. I too felt guilty about going out and leaving my wife to it, but time moves on and now the boys are older we both get out in the week and at weekends (she rides horses – other peoples lucklily!). I think when my youngest was 3 I did 600 miles off road that year. Last year went up to 1,000 miles and a little more again this year over about 65 to 70 rides. Plenty good enough for me to keep sane and I’m fortunate that I can ride from the door and be at the top of the first downhill in less than 25 minutes. But in those early years you’ve just got to accept that responsibilities lie with the family until they’re a bit older. My eldest will be 8 this week and I’ve built him up a 24 inch wheel mountain bike for his birthday, so next year I’m expecting that my rides will change tack and become less Gnarrcore, but that’s going to be great too.

It’ll come, just be patient.

One of the people I ride with every now and then has a boy, just turned 9 last week and this is what they get up to. He’s exceptional though, but still…

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/462047/

The bike, hills and trails are not going anywhere, plenty of time to ride in the future.

This. I did very little riding when my two were babies, but it’s getting a bit easier now. No-one ever looks back on their life and thinks “gee, I wish I’d spent less time with the kids”.

On a Commencal too 8)

I ride to the station and and back during the week though it’s only long enough to get barely warmed up but it keeps me ticking over. Once my eldest (nearly 5 now) got to about a year I got a child seat which he took to straight away though initially I think I’d have been better off with one of those small ones that sit in front of you. When the second one was a year old, I got a trailer and my best chance for a ride is to offer to take the kids out to give mum a bit of peace. Beyond that, for a longer solo ride we tend to trade the occasional weekend day off so we can each do our own thing.