Not Fun... :-( Trying to be positive about my trip out today

[Ivor Tingting]

Brings the tortoise and the hare to mind . So how do you feel Vicky Pendelton's or Alison Cooke's other halves feel?
Probably better communication is needed - intercom headsets? You could reduce the pressure in the tyres of the faster rider .

[half cog]

I know its been said before on this topic but buy a tandem. We had the same problem the other way round. Good lady wife has never been a strong rider and allthough I am well passed my sell by date it was getting a bit of a bind having to wait at the top and bottom of the hills. Also if I wanted to blast for a bit I kept having to stop and wait.She was on the point of packing in and I was on the point of letting her when I thought we would give it a last try on a tandem. We bought a lightweight road machine and its the one bike I would never part with. She is now happy to set off distances she would not have dared try on a solo because she knows I will only go as far as I can get her home if she has had enough. I get a first class work out at the front. We arrive everywhere together and the whole thing is a load of fun. Its amazing the reaction of other people to a tandem. You get waves from people ( even car drivers ) and there is an air of friendliness that you never get on a solo. In case you think that tandems are all steady away with a touch of Daisy Daisy we reckon on averaging ten miles in half an hour once we have got it rolling and thats not thrashing it. There was a report I once read about a triathlon in New Zealand when one of the riders suddenly found a tandem pulled along side him with a less than young couple on board. A cheery hello and they carried on their way. They are quick and sometimes downright scary but beware they are also addictive. You also need to give it time to get used to as the first time you get on one it can be a bit chaotic. See if you can borrow one and give it a try. Brilliant

[[XAP]Bob]

Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my time on a rented tandem in the states. No way that my wife (who used to have ME) could have kept up on her own bike, but a tandem is great.

[mrs doubtfire]

Do what i have done.I have invited an older but faster cyclist into out group.He is really enjoying cycling out with us.

But on our own just the two of us.I tell him to go on and i will catch him up.I ride a Galaxy and he rides a Dawes giro 300 or 400.And can really move.
But we have made this arrangement and it works perfectly.

We are even going on a little tour in June around the Yorkshire coast line.

[john_roberts]

I think probably the best thing I can do is let her go and do her own thing at her own pace, then meet up later for a cuppa. At the moment I'm still trying to build up my levels of fitness and I can do this reasonably well at my own pace without the need for someone faster to push me. If I try and keep up with her I just get wasted, as happened to our friend who came with us although I kept urging him to slow down, but after 8 miles he had nothing left.

I think though ultimately she wants different things from her cycling, hers is purely a 'keep fit' excercise, whereas mine is some fresh air, burn off some calories and enjoy the scenery in peace and quiet

[Romeo Whisky]

More secret training is needed, and splash some cash on upgrading bikes. You will find in time that going fast is fun, as long as you are ging a wee bit faster than your companion. In the meantime try letting her tyres down a bit before you go out, and adjust her brakes so the rub on the rims. Sorted.

[Speshact]

my 11 (and three quarters) year old daughter suggested you tie a tow rope between your wife's seat post and your handlebars and let her pull you along! It'll slow her down and speed you up.

[Romeo Whisky]

On second thoughts thank your lucky stars that you have a wife who is in to cycling, that you are not wildy different in pace and that you will be getting closer. Cherish her!

R

[john_roberts]

my 11 (and three quarters) year old daughter suggested you tie a tow rope between your wife's seat post and your handlebars and let her pull you along! It'll slow her down and speed you up.

[Speshact]

In the meantime try letting her tyres down a bit before you go out, and adjust her brakes so the rub on the rims. Sorted.

You might also like to check over your bike and make sure your wife hasn't applied these measures to yours already!

[661-Pete-oldversion]

A tandem is the obvious answer if you want to be sure of staying together, but if you're not already initiated into tandem cycling beware! It brings in a whole raft of difficulties, and new skills required, of itself. Quite aside from the little detail that tandems are costly! Once you've mastered it however and achieved a well-matched cadence it might be the ideal answer to all mismatched couples' problems.

I go out with my wife fairly often (on solo bikes: mine a roadie, hers a hybrid) - and I suppose I have the slight edge on pace: but not much, and as I get older we seem to be getting more evenly matched. There are a few cardinal rules when riding with a slower companion, surely every tenet of cycling etiquette demands that you observe these! The faster rider must stop or slow down at intervals to allow the other to catch up. He/she must be prepared to turn back if the other has been out of sight for a while (think: p*nct*re). Both carrying mobile phones is a Good Idea. And never take a turning out of sight of your partner unless you both know and have agreed upon the route at the outset.

Commonsense, surely?

[jan19]

There are a few cardinal rules when riding with a slower companion, surely every tenet of cycling etiquette demands that you observe these! The faster rider must stop or slow down at intervals to allow the other to catch up. He/she must be prepared to turn back if the other has been out of sight for a while (think: p*nct*re). Both carrying mobile phones is a Good Idea. And never take a turning out of sight of your partner unless you both know and have agreed upon the route at the outset.

Absolutely. As the slower rider I wouldn't consider going out with my other half unless he was prepared to observe these "rules". Fortunately he doesn't seem to mind a bit that I'm slower than him - he just comes out with me for a leisurely day out.

Funnily enough, She Who Cannot Be Named seems to visit him rather than me so the stopping tends to be that way round

Jan

(he's off on an Audax today, I'm just going for a trundle round the lanes...)

[john_roberts]

Yes I agree with that, and she 'half observed' them. She did stop at intervals to let me catch up, but immediately set off again once I had reached her, so she had rests but I didn't. I didn't 'need' any though because I had had some 'secret' training rides and didn't find this trip out too bad, I would've stopped for a slower rider to get their breath back or chat about the ride or see if they were OK, but maybe she thought "well, he's not too bad I'll crack on!"

The times when she shot off onto a different route I had to slow down or stop and wait for the slowest rider to catch me up, he apparently knew where she was going (he told me through snatches of breath and the waterfall of sweat pouring down his face) because they had been on these trails before. I really felt for the guy and realised it can't be much fun for him.

We all had mobile phones with us (I won't go out without mine) so any disasters could've been avoided, but it's curious for me to sit here and realise that I haven't been out on my bike since...

PS: Did we 'lose' a post from this thread somewhere or did I just imagine it?

[661-Pete-oldversion]

If you have widely different approaches to leisure cycling, don't see it as a disaster or a risk to your marriage/partnership, if you choose to go out separately, from time to time, and make that request of your partner! I do so often enough: sometimes I announce on a Sunday morning that I fancy going a bit further, or a bit quicker, and can I go out alone? This doesn't put any strain on our relationship: it's completely understood. OK so it may not work out for every couple...

but immediately set off again once I had reached her, so she had rests but I didn't.

I should have added that, allowing your cycling companion the rest he/she requires, at 'catch-up' stops, should have also been one of the aforementioned 'cardinal rules'.

to sit here and realise that I haven't been out on my bike since...

Hope you are able to get back on the bike soon John!

PS: Did we 'lose' a post from this thread somewhere or did I just imagine it?

errr... that could have been me . I read through my earlier post on this thread, decided that one of the paragraphs was a bit confrontational, so deleted it.

What I was trying to say was, I hope all the stuff about - er - 'adjusting' one's companion's brakes was meant to be taken as flippant! Rubbing brakes will wear down both rim and blocks quicker than they ought to, and may also overheat. And overheated brakes may fail when you most need them! Don't do it! (as an aside, I recall a nasty descent of a 1-in-4 that I did a year or two ago. Although my brakes were holding fine at first, they were rapidly getting scorchingly hot - I'm a fairly heavy guy - and I was fearful, not only of losing braking power, but of damage to the tyres. I got off and walked - downhill ).

[Romeo Whisky]

My Brother in law and I were doing a short triathlon today. Sadly he noticed the 20' chain and yacht anchor that I had tied to his seat post. and at no point did he stop and wait for me to catch up.