Making It All Work - Can raising a family and bicycle racing co-exist?

Getting my training in while holding down a full-time job and being a good husband and good dad is something I struggle with every day.  There are constant demands on my time for doctor appointments, meetings, parent-teacher conferences, the trials and tribulations of dealing with ex’s, and other issues that hit you just when you thought you might have open afternoon. I find myself agonizing over where to spend my precious little free time and I am hoping to get some insight from fellow cyclists on how they are making it work.

Shortly after college I realized that I was out of shape and had some weight to lose. I started working out regularly by going to the gym and cycling maybe once a week or so. I realized I was spending a lot of time indoors on a bike for cardio when I could be getting the same benefits (or better) outside.  Before kids started appearing in the picture I was a pretty consistent cyclist, riding three to four times a week, filling in the other days in the gym. I had no kids so there was plenty of time for me to get in the workouts and rides. Ideally, I would have started my racing career then but for some reason it always got put off.

When kids came into the picture I had to get creative to get my workouts in. I began waking up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the gym and commuting to work via bicycle to get my training in. I would take kids on rides in the trailer while they napped but now that I have decided to train for a racing team, I am riding much longer distances than I used to.  I used to only have the kids in the trailer for 30-45 minutes.  If I were to take them with me now, I would have them strapped in there for 90-120 minutes for a typical training ride. Some folks may be able to manage that with their kids but I can’t imagine doing it with mine, let alone every day in all kinds of weather. Now most of the kids are too big for the trailer anyway.

I am trying to help relieve some of the time pressure by getting the rest of the family into cycling with me.  Now that our baby is a bit older, I am really anxious for my wife to get back on the bike.   I miss our cycling adventures together and she is eager to get back in the saddle once she is strong enough after a tough post-natal recovery period.  In the meantime it has helped a lot that my wife and I have been working together on the blog and doing some of the FHS Cycling team volunteer work together.  This helps us get some more time together while engaging in a cycling related activity. 

My 10 year old daughter is taking up a real interest in cycling and I hope to get her out with me on some of my active recovery rides when the weather clears a little and the days start getting longer again. Her dedication and eagerness to ride with me has been great to see. My oldest son and middle son are another story.  Neither of which has shown much interest in cycling.  I will have to keep working on them.



The Future of GroveTribe Cycling. (Getting properly hydrated.)

My youngest just turned one and is already a fanatic for anything with wheels. He can’t keep his hands off of bicycles (as you can see a little ways back in the “Plus One Factor” blog photo).  He is now of prime age for getting in the Burley.  I can’t take him for an entire training ride, but I can probably do half a ride with him.  I just need to plan the route to take me past home about half way through. I am hopeful that he will enjoy cycling as much as I do. (The GroveTribe cycling tradition must continue.)

Paying for cycling is also a struggle.  With a minivan-load of kids, they always need something.  With riding 8 or more hours a week, I always need something too.  I am finding that I am wearing out equipment a lot faster now that I am putting in so many more hours in the saddle. I am trying to manage with older bicycles that are constantly breaking down and I haven’t even started to pay for race and travel fees yet.  The idea is daunting but my wife knows how important this is to me and so we sit at the kitchen table and shuffle the budget and make sacrifices while doing our best to meet the needs of our kids.

And so here we are. Doing our best with what we have, shuffling schedules and budgets and trying to figure it all out. What do you do to balance everything?  I would be happy to get some input from people who have been racing for a few years while balancing out a family life.  We need all the help we can get!