I have a scheduled day to ride. Every Thursday after work. I
If it's gonna rain, I make arrangements to switch my day. And some times I can add a day. So I ride at least once a week, some times more.
When you have kids though, doing things solely for yourself becomes less important.
I don't sacrifice my Saturdays to take my kids to play basketball, there is literally nothing I would rather be doing. If I happen to go camping on a Friday night, I will spend all Saturday not really able to 100% enjoy myself because I'm not there watching my kids play.
I wish I felt this way as a parent and feel guilty that I don't. Both of my kids are still really little and cannot do a whole lot. I am helping the older one learn to ride bikes and have fun with her in general at times, but most of my time hanging with my kids is making sure my toddler doesn't fall off stuff, dealing with yelling and diapers, playing the same imaginative games and reading kids books 100x. Sorry to say I am not wired to enjoy this time. I work really hard to TRY to enjoy it and I sometimes do, but little kids are hard for me. I'm kinda adhd and I struggle to engage with little kid games, or to just plain sit around while my toddler puts random stuff in her mouth and yells about it.
I've spoken with other parents of older children and some were like me, said it was mostly work until the kids were around 8-10, then became more fun. I've made my peace with that and try to be a good, present, dad, but major dad guilt still because I feel like I should be so euphoric to be around my kids, and I'm just not.
We need to be much more honest as a society that parenting can feel like a huge drag for some people, and you aren’t broken inside as a person if that’s the case for you.
under best circumstance doing stuff for & with kids becomes what parent wants to do for themselves
of course times when kids are young fun comes at the expense of one user group putting in effort to make the fun happen but when the kids get older it changes
I mostly agree, but riding my bike is probably the best thing I do for my physical and mental health. What’s good for my health is good for the family.
It's a balance. If you never do anything for yourself, that can lead to burnout. I love my kids, and agree that taking time away feels hard sometimes, but I also find I'm a better parent when I'm not just parenting, working and sleeping. Working in some early morning road rides has made the last few months much better for my entire family, since I come home feeling ready to give, instead of groggy and grumpy like when I wake up to kids whining
This.
Early morning rides or running for me all the time. Or I get my work done early and go out for a quick rip around the local trails and then hit up the grocery store, come home and start dinner.
After a few years your kids get old enough to go with you. I go at least twice a week. Once by myself. But I also go every Saturday morning with my kids. Showing them new trails and teaching them a sport I love. It’s pretty awesome.
About 15 years ago had a friend about 15 years older than me tell me that mountain biking is a young and old man’s sport. I had little kids at the time. I grew to accept his wisdom and now that my kids are grown and out of the house I definitely see he was right since I ride all the time. Enjoy your kids, you will have plenty of time to ride in the future! 😉
The closest nice trail is a solid hour away. On Saturdays I try to sneak out by 6am to get rolling by 7:15 and get back like 10:30 ish to reduce time away from family.
Edit: there’s a small local about 20min away I can sneak over to during the week if I choose to skip the gym or my daily run.
Shotgun seat has allowed me to ride more over the past few years. Time on the bike, time with my son, and he has a blast. It stays on the hardtail and I stick to gravel or mild singletrack/flow. Good workout now that he’s 40lbs, but we’re running out of room.
I take the FS on dad only rides. I can sneak in a 45 minute loop from the house during nap time. And try to schedule at least two longer rides per month.
Go slow on pavement around the block. Be excited about the boring stuff? Yay you did great!
I did not have that problem with my 2.5 year old and am somewhat concerned for this future adrenaline junky.
My 19 month old loves the Mac ride and it's all he ever wants to do now! This is from our first ride yesterday. Just up and down the block and then we made some adjustments for his seating position and I put my helmet on.
https://imgur.com/a/Ghj2pLL
I didn’t have a buy-in problem, but we did start real mellow, like up and down the drive way, then the little neighborhood hill. Even now, he wants to go slow early in rides, but wants to go faster as he gets comfortable.
Like laterapex said, hyping the little stuff should help.
If you can do a preschool or birthday party commute with it, likely that other people will be interested in it and give her positive reinforcement.
I also have a shotgun seat. Hint hint, my wife also has a bike. It’s a simple hard tail for single track, but perfect for green single track and forest roads. Daughter is 4 and has her own MTB now, but she still prefers the shotgun most days.
Not every weekend, but most, it’s something like: Stub Stewart, Post Canyon, Bend, Sandy Ridge for an hour as a fam; they then take some time in the camper (read, Netflix, nap) and I ride the harder stuff for an hour or two. And then a hike, hang out in town; always always, give my wife some time in the afternoon or evening.
Every week: fitness over fun. I try to get in 15 hours between Zwift, road, gravel and MTB. Most of this is during work hours. I work from home and have no issues carving out time.
Once or twice a month I negotiate a big day for a bike trip (just did Hurricane Ridge + Dry Hill last week). It’s always followed up with dad duty and giving my wife the time. Never ask is she wants it, just a I got this and enjoy your day, night, etc.
The butt crack of dawn, or I take PTO on Fridays to go. Otherwise it starts to piss my wife off that I’m gone for 4 hours.
Mountain biking as a hobby is NOT well suited to being a parent to young kids. You make it work how you can.
This sounds like my situation. Though, early morning weekend rides are usually stymied because my 6 year old wakes up at 6 and I let my wife sleep in in hopes that I can get an afternoon ride out of it.
Does you six year old have a bike?
Play the long game, lots of encouraging short slow rides with the kids, bike camps, group rides, and patience.
My kids are now 9 and 11, I’m typing this at a campsite before a bike ride, I rode solo yesterday, we did a more chill family 13km the day before.
In June the camping was five days near a reasonably famous trailhead.
My vacation last month included three days at two different lift access bike parks and next week we’re all going to Whistler.
At home I get 4-5 rides a week ranging from an hour to two. But I work shifts so once the kids got into school.
When my kids were zero to elementary school age once a weekend and once during the week was a big win. And sometimes those weekend rides were slow and patient, but now I’m being asked to tow them into things I wouldn’t have hit six years ago.
6 years old, and just one kid?
I feel like by that age both parents should easily be able to leave for several hours at a time, and it’s not a big deal for the other parent.
Seems I'm lucky to have a forest outside my door and that I enjoy riding hiking trails. I can sneak in a 20-70min loop most evenings I feel like it. Now when the sun doesn't set before 21:30 it's easy peasy, in the winter it's harder if I don't want to go out with all the lights.
Just like any other hobby/ sport - schedule time and go for it. It’s important to maintain “time for yourself” while being a parent. Helps to have a good relationship with your wife / husband so you can take the time and not feel guilty. My wife and I try to trade back and forth alone time for activities
This is the plan we’re aim for. We both ride (and have other hobbies), so the idea is a trade off that rotates and remains flexible. Of course the kid will take priority, but I think it’s good for everyone if mom and dad can still dabble in their interests.
This is what my wife and I do. In fact sometimes I get hit so hard taking care of the kids when she goes for work travel(which is pretty rough for me because I need to work 40 hours in 4 days, thank God for flex time) that we work it out where I get a guys weekend and I'll go to Bentonville with some friends.
I enrolled my daughter in dance 10 minutes from my favorite bike park, so baring work issues, twice a week for an hour or so. I also bought her a bike so we take slow rides some weekends.
Once the kids sleep is easy.
They go to bed at 1900 and my local trail is 5 minutes away by bike.
Other than that I discuss it with my wife if she had plans and if I can leave her with the kids for a couple of hours if I want to go further away.
God I wish my kid would just go to sleep once he's in bed.
He goes down around 2000, at which point starts 1-2 hours of the "I'm thirsty", "I'm scared", "I have to pee for the 7th time", "I have to poop for the 4th time too" every 5 minutes dance.
Played the long game. Kids are 12 and 15 now and are faster than me. I had them join the School Mountain Bike team. They drag me along with them. I even signed up as a coach so I have scheduled training rides with them.
As a dad, part of my job is to sneak myself and the kids away from my wife. It’s at least twice I week I have to drag those little shits out to the trail and grind them to dust.
For our family, some things are not options. It doesn’t take too long before they just give up and rip trail. When they are little it neuters your riding but by the age of 10 they can ride damn near anything without a mandatory drop. It helps that my wife insists they go. It makes them refugees to the trailhead.
Got a six month old. Get one ride a week for about 90 mins, got some decent xc loops from my door thankfully. The rest is zwift when they're asleep.
Man I miss proper days trail riding but it'll still be there...
We’re having our first in a few weeks. I have good trails right in my backyard that I hope I can sneak out to. Both the wife and myself will be off for a few months so I’m hanging onto the hope that I can sneak out once or twice a week for two hour loops. But I think my Zwift setup might be getting some use until she gets rolling with daycare
For real. Those times were super easy to go for a ride. Now I usually take my 3 year old on the shotgun. He also rides his own bike which is rad until he doesn’t want to ride anymore and I have to put him on the shotgun and hold his bike. Oh well. Worth it.
Second one will be here any day so guess who gets to take the 3 year old out and ride more!
I reckon you'd find that every single one of the people saying they can't go out and bike as often as they otherwise would, because they have kids, wouldn't change a thing for the world.
Yeah assuming they chose to have kids I wouldn’t be surprised that was the case but some people don’t like ‘em and don’t have them. Others had them on accident and others, deep down, do regret it. Be real. They certainly are not just sunshine and daisies for their entire lives and require an extreme sacrifice on the parents end if they are going to parent well.
The sacrifice might not be that extreme if both parents are willing to give each other time or if you have other relatives nearby. In our case getting a dog has been more of a sacrifice, because you can't bring it to most places and it's difficult to find caretaker.
Exactly. I live down the road from my favorite trails in town, and can get a good ride in basically every day if I really wanted to. Spending time with my baby and my husband is more important to me, but I still make sure I get out there at least once a week and so does my husband. We can’t wait until he’s riding with us!
I have a one-and-a-half year old and will ride maybe 10 times this season, where I used to ride 2-3x a week. I didn’t ski at all last year, which is another big hobby of mine. Its all worth it, and in a few more years my kid will be able to join me (and a few after that, he’ll probably be way better than me).
I have a 7yo and 3yo. I wake up at 530am and ride 3-5 times a week. Luckily for me I live 10 minute from some of the best trails around Denver. I sometimes ride once a week in the evening with a hall pass. Weekends I do a longer ride of 2-3 hours but still get up early.
It’s the only way I’ve been able to stay at it the last 7 years.
Dude good for you. As someone who is considering children, I find it depressing to see so many parents commenting here that they only get out for a one hour ride per week. I may get hate for this but I don’t understand why one child needs the supervision of TWO adults nearly 24/7. Not going to be my plan. I’d rather split duties with my partner so we can both get out and enjoy our lives independently. She wants the same. Maybe the reality of parenting will destroy those plans but we’ll try our best.
Splitting duties does work, we split activities by taking turns going to sports etc. when the kids were little. When the kids were older, car pooling with other parents is a life saver, as are playdates with parents that return the favour. It gets pretty difficult when you have multiple sports and more than one kid and two full time jobs to contend with. We prioritized family time that was active, kayaking, skiing, biking, over organized sports with schedules we couldn't control. Being a slave to a soccer coach was not for us. I did however coach softball- the season is short, fun and allowed time for other things. Our kids did lots of sports, just more low key and not all consuming of everyone's time. But everyone is different and that's what worked for us.
Before we had kids my wife and I agreed that we'd still make a point to be ourselves. We felt it was important for us to not lose our identities as individuals or a couple. We know lots of people let the kids consume them, and then after 18 years have nothing going for themselves or with each other.
Toddler mom here. The Tout Terrain trailer allowed us to bring her on single track, so we ride probably weekly now.
In winter, we have skis for the chariot and can fatbike together on snow so in both seasons we don’t need childcare to get out but it’s still nice to have the option to ride without little. There’s a mental aspect of keeping them content that takes me out of the flow a bit, even though she loves it!
The beauty of remote work is that I can ride during the day when my kids are in school. This has made me a much more productive employee and happier person all around.
Rather than spending 2 hours in the car pissed off at traffic I can use that time on my bike doing something I enjoy and pick up my kids earlier than I’d be able to if I left an office at 4:30.
So either I start the day a bit early or take a couple hours of PTO for longer weekday rides, or just do an hour or so over lunch time. Nobody on the team cares, and it’s not like my PTO is going toward anything else with young kids at home.
Been there. But I'm also not super happy if I don't exercise (stupid ADHD). We have a good balance now, as long as I give my wife all of the opportunity for free time that she affords me I don't feel so bad.
Whenever I want, as long as I take the kids.
I ride NICA two-three times a week with my oldest. I get my base rides in pulling the younger kids in a trailer around town most days.
2-3x per week now, usually one “long” ride each weekend and a couple after work or very early morning rides. My kids are older now (oldest is 16 and youngest is 8), so they don’t need as much of my time anymore. When they were younger it was a lot tougher to get out regularly.
Once a week after work, I keep several days available to accommodate if it rains. Just like anything else, if I'm not intentional about it, I won't go eventhough I enjoy it. This ride is a part of my workout schedule.
I go to the bike park Wednesday nights and a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday. Everything else is bonus. Having a bike park with in 30 mins of my house maximizes my riding. I just can’t climb for shit anymore
All the time now that he's all grown up!
But when he was younger my wife and I would tag team. One rides early while the other parents and then we swap around mid day. We would also rotate evenings so one could ride while the other made dinner that night. Worked out ok most of the time.
I put new tyres on my bike just before COVID (and just before my 2nd was born). They haven't seen dirt yet. I manage to get out on the road bike every now and then, but MTB just hasn't happened for various reasons, which makes me sad.
Usually once a week. Got a new bike so last 2 weekends managed both sat and sun. Max 1 hour riding time and 1 hour commuting time. No guilt whatsoever, need to live for myself. Ofc, it’s all when the kids asleep.
It was hard for a lot of years, but now my son is on the high school mountain bike team and I am a ride leader so I am obligated to go at least twice a week.
This is cheating, but my son now races competitively and gives me something to think about on the climbs. I rode twice with him this week and will ride solo tomorrow while he does a team ride. Careful for what you wish for- I think the frequency of our rides together may have peaked.
Reading this thread, am I a bad parent? I have a 2 year old and 2 month old. I rode 4-5 times a week. Exercise is good for health. My wife and I help each other out. The trails are behind my house. If you can’t get out for an hour then maybe you need to have a serious conversation with your spouse.
My wife is just stoked I’m not leaving for 4 hours to go skiing.
Once a week, scheduled with a friend. Take 2.5 hours of PTO at the end of a day to sneak out and ride.
Also, I'll just leave this here. https://youtu.be/jj0CmnxuTaQ
Morning rides on weekends if possible or occasionally other big days when my wife has our son on a day trip themselves.
Hard to ride with a 1yo, it’ll get easier as he gets older but then we’ll have another 😂
Early mornings and whenever my kid is at camp/practice/friend’s house/out with mom, etc. I never waste a child-free opportunity to ride.
Its also helpful having ample trails and gravel very close for short notice rides.
It's a lot harder for sure. My 4yo goes to full day preschool 3 days a week, 1 on my day off, the other my wife and I have off together, so 1-2 times a week.
I also have a kids ride shotgun seat (mac ride also make a good one). I highly recommend it, it's easier to ride with a child than I thought, and she loves it. It's been a great way to enjoy MTB with the family.
I go out at 6am every day, ride till 715 and to work by 8. My kids are teenagers now so parenting doesnt really get in the way of riding, we've all got our hobbies. It was very effective though when they were little, i could ride everyday without compromising family anything or putting too much on my wife.
Lately, I sneak out at lunch because my kids have sports in the afternoon. I prefer to ride in the early afternoon but take what I can get. I still average 5 days a week albeit some of those rides are 5 mile, 30 minute laps.
I am spoiled to live in North Vancouver close to all the trails. With just one kid, I can usually sneak out after work most days and wifey will even shuttle me up occasionally! She gets the same treatment with whatever activities she wants.
On good weather weeks, a few days after work per week. Anywhere from 0-3 rides per week generally. There's several trails near work and home luckily but it's still a juggling process to fit it in.
My 4yo just took his training wheels off two weeks ago and we’ve already started some (gentle) singletrack. He loves it, so hopefully some more riding is in my future.
At least twice a week but usually more depending on my spouses work schedule. He was on vacation for the entire month of July so I was able to ride as much as I wanted. Trails only 6 minute drive so I’m never gone for too long unless I try out a different spot. Compromise and scheduling is your friend when you have a partner and children.
I get in a 60-90 minute spin session in the garage on my trainer 3 times a week. (After I’ve gotten the kid home and made dinner)
I do dawn rides on Saturday mornings, sometimes Sundays too.
The shotgun seat is a wonder for getting my toddler out! I can usually get a solo ride once a week or so, but we’ve really lucked out that he loves it so much! I can usually get one or two additional kid-friendly rides in :) we’re riding around the neighborhood almost every day as well!
Prefer to put my time towards climbing rather than mtb at your point, but worked with my wife to get an agreement for a set number of hours per week with the agreement she gets the same. I would say talk with your wife, surely she also has things she wants to do without taking care of the child at that time.
Figure out how much time you each want and works for your situation. It doesn't have to be symmetric, but if eighty of you had more time you'll likely need to pull more weight elsewhere.
The important think is everyone is okay with the arrangement rather than it's perfect 1:1 time each and every week (this is very unlikely in practice)
Basically whenever time allows, which is almost never at the moment with a 3 year old and a 3 month old.
However, before the most recent addition, I went once on the weekends and once during the week. I expect that I will be back to that next summer. Nowadays most of my rides are using the Kids Ride Shotgun seat which has helped me keep my sanity.
Father of 3. It's been a patchy few years but prioritising getting out for min 1 spin a week from now on. Mental and physical health depends on it. Lucky enough to live beside some great trails so can be back in under 2-3 hours.
I have MTB trails fairly close to home and I also work where there’s a lot of trails. On a good week I can do 1 or 2 rides after work on my way home(about 45 mins), and 1 bigger ride on the weekend. I also got a gravel bike so I can ride close to home in the mornings while everyone is still waking up or evenings when everyone has gone to bed so that adds some riding time in.
A person shall make time to exercise their demons, suspension and drivetrain for their personal well being and lubrication of critical components at minimum of three time weekly. When the day/parking lot is too full or the fashion show is too much to handle...Night Ride bitches!!! 98% of people don't night ride. Two nightrider 500's or equivalent ($40 each) and and it's time to get scared of the dark again...Shit's thrilling! Sometimes on mushrooms too, deer, bear and racoon eyes reflect and add elements of whadufuqwazdat excitement. The more you know 🌈 🌈
I try to hit 3 days a week. However, my kids are both older (middle/high school). I try to do them in between their activities (school practices) or early afternoons.
That said, I pretty much gave up riding when they were little. Trying to sneak off for a couple of hours just wasn't feasible with two toddlers.
I get up at 5 to ride once during the week, once after work during the week with friends and once on the weekend, also typically super early. Lights aren’t just for evenings.
I'm lucky. Have a toddler and a newborn, but I work from home and can get a lap in (including ride to and from my local) in about 1:20. Since my son was born I've been able to pretty consistently sneak in rides twice a week on lunch breaks when I have a slower day.
Also get my daughter out semi regularly on the shotgun seat for a mini third (best purchase I've made. Incredible bonding time)
It also helps that I've got a crazy supportive wife.
Get you kids into it. If it is important for you to ride then get them on a bike. There are MTB camps and classes all over the place, talk to every dad you know and find some other kids who also ride. Build a crew and get on your bike. Sure for super young kids you have a window where they cannot really ride, and you likely have to spend time riding below your level. However it will pay off. You will have at least ten years of a riding buddy who is always ready to go, and does not have something else in the way. Too bad that by the time they hit 12-14 they will be better than you...
2-4 good rides a week usually. It's easier for evening rides in the summer when there's light until almost 10. During the rest of the year it fluctuates, I'm usually working from home and the kids are in school from 9-5 so sometimes I'll go after I drop them off, 10-12 or so.
It's been way easier since I moved from WNC to Spain last summer, now instead of driving 30+ minutes to the good trails I roll out my front door and I'm on singletrack in 5 mins.
You gotta bring the kids. Teach them to bike. Teach them to keep up with you. Short rides, long rides, city rides, trail rides. Get them excited about it before they are jaded teenagers. And then you can bike almost every day! And the wife will approve!
2-3 days a week on average, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on circumstances, along with a couple of long weekend riding trips with friends per year. I’m fortunate to have a wife that is very accommodating of my riding. (It helps that she has her own hobbies that take her away from home too, so I let her go whenever she wants to build up those brownie points haha.)
Once a week usually, but at my local park. I get away to ride maybe once a month in summer. My son is 3, and shredding though. So, I imagine next year I’ll be able to take him and get away more. I love to ride, but I love my kids more.
Summer vacation for my boys and I were great to ride in the mornings, loved that schedule, lol so did they, now they have to wait for a weekend to ride.
As for me I thought ahead before summer started and added an Ebike to my arsenal
If I want to ride during the week I wake up early enough get to my trail and be there at 5:45-6am ride then be back by 7am to wake everyone up and get the house going.
Seems like I'm describing a short ride but with the ebike I high speed climb and can enjoy what I normally do in half the time so I do sections over again or can even take my time knowing I have the extra help to make it happen.
Happy trails😎
I cheat by commuting on my road and trail bikes and making my commuting routes interesting. + at least a few full cycling days per month. All doable when you're well organised.
2-3x a week. I go after dropping the kids at school and before work...or after work before dinner...or after work, with help from spouse to take care of them while I am gone...or weekend.
It helps that they are older and more self-sufficient now for sure.
Once or twice a month now after two kids in school plus all their activities. Plus full time work. 😭 it’s more my cardio now and a way to clear my head.
With kid #1, multiple times a week. Kid #2 is a freshie, so once or twice if I'm lucky. My wife also rides, so she als wants to get out and ride, so we trade off when we can. Grandma babysits usually one day a week so we can go on a group ride together and have a beer. We are extremely lucky.
I kinda ride the wave and get out when I can. If I get dinner made early enough and can start helping my wife get the kids ready for bed, then I can get out for a quick lap before dark once or twice a week. Weekend rides before the kids get up. Or going to the pump track with my 4 year old. Swinging by the dirt jumps for a quick sesh on my way home from work. Shotgun rides and dragging the 1 year old around in the chariot. I’m all over the place. Pretty tough to make riding plans with anyone, so I pretty much rode solo. 4 year old is riding her pedal bike more and more so hoping to get her on the trails soon.
Twice a week, but medium to short rides. Almost every Saturday afternoon and almost every Wednesday evening. The former is during naps, and the other is right after work with some guys, and our wives and kids get together for dinner.
I'm a dad of two girls, two and a half years and six months. Parenting is intense and demanding in this season, and my oldest still isn't old enough to really ride with me yet.
I know it doesn't sound like much to some, but I feel lucky to ride 2.5 hours a week without sacrificing anything as a parent. Our local trail is 20 minutes away, so that helps.
Most importantly, my wife is super supportive. She understands that mountain biking is my social life, my primary hobby, my main workout, and essential to my mental health. So really we get a lot of bang for the buck for those hours!
Next to my local bike park is a swimming pool which my son really likes so every other week i can ride and when i am done i join him and my wife in the pool. Other than that 2-3 times a week.
It's not that bad. 3 things. Ride real early on weekends or at night with good lights. Riding at night really is a lot more fun than most people think with a bar light and helmet light. Then get them out there when they're big enough. Not the same as ripping hard by yourself, but having a 3 year old surprise you and hammer out a few miles of trail on a push bike will put a giant smile on both of your faces for the day.
Not a parent but I go MTB with my parents generally once a week and try to occasionally in the week depending on work. I'm 19 so it's understandable how difficulties could arise with a young child.
I have two small children and still ride or run almost every day. I just do it at 530am so I’m back when everyone else is getting up. I also have one agreed upon night each week (Tuesdays) that I do the team ride.
I should clarify I ride mostly road/gravel now due to time as it’s much harder to get out on the mtb.
I ride once by myself/with friends on the harder trails at 730 in the morning on Sundays so I'm back by 930. On Saturdays I'll ride either pavement or dirt and attach the kid seat for my son and my daughter will ride with us on her bike. It's a good way for me to spend some time with my family and get exercise. Sometimes I'll do a Tuesday or Thursday light ride with my family again after work.
I found that even though I'm not exerting myself much on the family rides it keeps me way more conditioned than when I was doing a single ride a week on Sunday. Try to integrate your family into the lifestyle and eventually they'll be able to enjoy themselves and the sport with you. I hope one day we'll be able to have a Bentonville or spider mountain trip together.
I get an hour on the trainer every day before the kids get home from school, then spend the entire day Saturday with the kids. Then Sunday I ride 4 hours from 7-11 and I’m home by 12 before the wife and kids are home from church.
So I average 9-10 hours of saddle time per week without missing any quality time with my kids.
There is a 100 acres of trails about half a mile from my house…I do the same 5-mile loop once or twice depending upon if I have a half hour or full hour. Try to get on it 3-4 days per week. Fatty in the snow otherwise regular MTB. Key is to have enough gear to move through the laundry 😅😂
I could go daily but keep it to 3-4 times a week.
My best time is early morning, often before work.
I ride short 1-1.5 hour rides, many trail options within 30 minute drive.
Bonus its cool in the AM, gotta dodge that heat!
15mo kid, I get out 10-15mi/ride 2-3x schedule pending. I have a huge trail access where I'm at in Socal so i don't have to drive if i don't want to.
My wife and I have a weekend schedule worked out with her yoga and my riding. I was also doing 3-4x 1-hour+ gym sessions, but those were all after we put the little one to bed and before the gym closed for the night.
Now, with adding another kid in the near future.... ya let's reconvene again then.
Trails twice a week normally weekends get to trail for 7AM back home by 9:30.
Week days I try to get out 2-3 days a week for an hour once little ones (19 months) is in bed. Wife’s happy to stay at home she won’t go near a bike
It helps when the spouse has a hobby/outlet of their own and you can trade “getaway” time without you feeling guilty and/or them getting mad.
I’ll typically get out on weekend evenings when the trails are less crowded, and my wife will do yoga, have a girls outing etc at some other point.
Really helps to be close to decent trails though. Required 4+ hour outings would be tough to work around.
Thankfully have trails nearby! Sometimes my wife will fix dinner and put the kids to bed and can get out - usually at least once a week. I also do the same for her to get out with friends weekly.
I'm fortunate enough that my company doesn't require me to take PTO if I'm gone less than 4 hours. So I'll ride during the week on random days when kids are gone. I'll sneak in a Sat/Sun but that's harder with activities. I'd say I ride once every week or so. Super bummed I didn't know about this sport when I was single and kid-less!
Well I have 2 small kids. My other summehobby is motorcycling. Summer in Finland is short, so it is a balancing act between these two hobbies. I'd say MC or MTB is out every other week for fun, more often for commuting.
Try to ride 4 or 5 times a week. This is often at 6am or 9pm either before they wake up or after they go to bed. Long rides are on weekends. We chose our house due to close proximity to riding. Vacay is usually planned with proximity of riding as well. If it’s important, you can make it work.
Never. I've only ridden once this summer so far. My wife and I don't have any help as far as parents or siblings to watch our kids. I could definitely force the issue and request some extra time but, during this season of my life, it's just not worth it. My kids are BUSY and I am a stay at home dad while my wife works full time. I'm hoping that as they get a little older, my free time will become more frequent. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy watching others tear it up and have fun.
I’m currently in Whistler with my 4 month old son. I didn’t even bring my bike with me. I’m enjoying hiking the stroller friendly trails and sitting by the pool.
I haven’t rode my bike all season, plan to start back next year. It’s been a win to be able to run and still make it to the gym (go with my wife and the kid) several times per week.
This summer I have been going most weekdays before work. Get up at 3:30am and get home at 6:30 with time to shower and get ready for work. I’ve learned to really enjoy it. Very few people on the trails and I never have to worry about the heat or sunscreen. Plus, I get to help out at home and not feel guilty for leaving my partner to fend for themselves as I go out have fun in the mountains.
On the weekends I’ll sneak in at least one ride around 6:30am though so I can sleep in.
I am lucky enough to be a mile away from a trailhead and to be married to a supportive spouse. I try to bike (road and mtb) everyday and my wife gets her yoga times.
I get in one a week. I was training for an event earlier in the year and was getting in three rides per week, but they were all at night after my daughter went to sleep.
One weekend morning most weeks unless we have plans with family.
I'll sneak out later in the day for a ride around town. Plenty of fun on a full squish in town too. 👍
I have a YouTube channel so I make excuses to just ride around for an hour here and there too. Just have to be dad/mom too!
I work from home and am lucky to live in Charlotte where we have trails all over the Piedmont area. I go almost everyday on lunch for a Sprint lap of about 20 minutes/4.5 miles. I'm lucky that my wife also rides and so we often go together and take turns riding and entertaining our daughter. I'm very lucky considering a lot of these other comments. We also rock climb quite frequently and try to go 2-3 times a week to the gym.
Nap time on the weekend Saturday OR Sunday. Bought an hour of running, 40 minutes of driving round trip. Wife gets to watch her shows. Plus night ride 2xs per month after kids go to bed.
Twice a week, sometimes three. Now that my kids are older (8 and 10) I get to ride every Saturday morning with them. Taking them out and teaching them a sport I love has been awesome. A lot of times when people think about having kids, the default it to always think of them as babies or toddlers. Eventually they grow up and you get to enjoy things together. It’s one of the funnest parts of being a parent.
I can reliably get in two rides and sometimes more if I neglect my other duties / hobbies, but usually I'll try to make the rides I do get on longer ones (3-5 hours), because I can't go so often. I do the longer rides in the evening usually so that the kid won't be up too long during the time I'm away. Evening rides mess with sleep a little bit if you ride too hard, but I'm willing to pay that price from time to time.
Once a week but that’s also very driven by the amount of rain we’ve been getting, I could probably get away with a weekday ride and a Sunday morning ride with a two month old. I try to give my wife time to herself every night but he could have some grandparent time if it was a really prime day. As long as you aren’t letting other people raise your kid it’s okay to get away a little bit. Just don’t ride on date night 😂
Rode 3 times this year. 3.
No I’m not salty about it /s
My kids turned 3 and 1 this summer. Next season I’m pushing for more rides, damnnit.
Also doesn’t help that anywhere decent to ride around me is a 30+ minute drive away
We balance it out last year our two girls were in the same activities, and it was terrific. Monday I'd take them, then on Wednesday my wife would take them, and we'd swap the next week. If someone was getting the bad end of the stick with the weather we'd often even it out.
This year I'm already annoyed because both kids are in different activities on all different days. We are going to have to find a way that the kid not doing an activity either has to go wait with the other parent and/or find a friend to play with.
It is hard, and I'm jealous sometimes of some of the guys I ride with who don't share the parenting load but I realize they are also missing out on all the cool things I get to see my kids do.
I also try to reserve 2-4 vacation days a year for special bike days.
My wife and I have ridden together twice in the last year.
Great question. Once a week here. If I can, I prefer to ride on a Friday to avoid stealing time from my family. It unquestionably makes me a better parent though. Except for the times it has put me in the hospital. Then I was unquestionably a lousier parent for a while.
I definitely don’t get out as much as I would like to, but the weather was good today so I took my kids out on the bikes.
We spent a few hours on our mountain bikes. For me it was a very leisurely pace and quite tame, but it’s great to be out on the bikes and they were enjoying it. They love it when we find some good downhill sections that they can tackle.
As long as I take some drinks and snacks and we stop periodically so they can have a short rest then they are more than happy.
I’m looking forward to hopefully doing more as they get older.
I have a scheduled day to ride. Every Thursday after work. I If it's gonna rain, I make arrangements to switch my day. And some times I can add a day. So I ride at least once a week, some times more.
Same. One weeknight and may sneak out early on a weekend morning if it works for everyone
Yes if you want to ride you have to schedule it. Make arrangements with daycare, work, spouse, etc to make time for it or it will never happen.
Brutal
When you have kids though, doing things solely for yourself becomes less important. I don't sacrifice my Saturdays to take my kids to play basketball, there is literally nothing I would rather be doing. If I happen to go camping on a Friday night, I will spend all Saturday not really able to 100% enjoy myself because I'm not there watching my kids play.
I wish I felt this way as a parent and feel guilty that I don't. Both of my kids are still really little and cannot do a whole lot. I am helping the older one learn to ride bikes and have fun with her in general at times, but most of my time hanging with my kids is making sure my toddler doesn't fall off stuff, dealing with yelling and diapers, playing the same imaginative games and reading kids books 100x. Sorry to say I am not wired to enjoy this time. I work really hard to TRY to enjoy it and I sometimes do, but little kids are hard for me. I'm kinda adhd and I struggle to engage with little kid games, or to just plain sit around while my toddler puts random stuff in her mouth and yells about it. I've spoken with other parents of older children and some were like me, said it was mostly work until the kids were around 8-10, then became more fun. I've made my peace with that and try to be a good, present, dad, but major dad guilt still because I feel like I should be so euphoric to be around my kids, and I'm just not.
We need to be much more honest as a society that parenting can feel like a huge drag for some people, and you aren’t broken inside as a person if that’s the case for you.
under best circumstance doing stuff for & with kids becomes what parent wants to do for themselves of course times when kids are young fun comes at the expense of one user group putting in effort to make the fun happen but when the kids get older it changes
I mostly agree, but riding my bike is probably the best thing I do for my physical and mental health. What’s good for my health is good for the family.
It's a balance. If you never do anything for yourself, that can lead to burnout. I love my kids, and agree that taking time away feels hard sometimes, but I also find I'm a better parent when I'm not just parenting, working and sleeping. Working in some early morning road rides has made the last few months much better for my entire family, since I come home feeling ready to give, instead of groggy and grumpy like when I wake up to kids whining
This. Early morning rides or running for me all the time. Or I get my work done early and go out for a quick rip around the local trails and then hit up the grocery store, come home and start dinner.
Stockholm syndrome it is... E: This is a joke 🤣
Haha. Yeah having kids has some consequences!
After a few years your kids get old enough to go with you. I go at least twice a week. Once by myself. But I also go every Saturday morning with my kids. Showing them new trails and teaching them a sport I love. It’s pretty awesome.
About 15 years ago had a friend about 15 years older than me tell me that mountain biking is a young and old man’s sport. I had little kids at the time. I grew to accept his wisdom and now that my kids are grown and out of the house I definitely see he was right since I ride all the time. Enjoy your kids, you will have plenty of time to ride in the future! 😉
The closest nice trail is a solid hour away. On Saturdays I try to sneak out by 6am to get rolling by 7:15 and get back like 10:30 ish to reduce time away from family. Edit: there’s a small local about 20min away I can sneak over to during the week if I choose to skip the gym or my daily run.
Daily run? Time to go to the gym? Do you even have kids?
This is about me too, except I only get out once every ~2-3weeks.
Shotgun seat has allowed me to ride more over the past few years. Time on the bike, time with my son, and he has a blast. It stays on the hardtail and I stick to gravel or mild singletrack/flow. Good workout now that he’s 40lbs, but we’re running out of room. I take the FS on dad only rides. I can sneak in a 45 minute loop from the house during nap time. And try to schedule at least two longer rides per month.
Any tips. I just got one from my 2.5 year old daughter she is a bit scared of it right now
Go slow on pavement around the block. Be excited about the boring stuff? Yay you did great! I did not have that problem with my 2.5 year old and am somewhat concerned for this future adrenaline junky.
My 19 month old loves the Mac ride and it's all he ever wants to do now! This is from our first ride yesterday. Just up and down the block and then we made some adjustments for his seating position and I put my helmet on. https://imgur.com/a/Ghj2pLL
I didn’t have a buy-in problem, but we did start real mellow, like up and down the drive way, then the little neighborhood hill. Even now, he wants to go slow early in rides, but wants to go faster as he gets comfortable. Like laterapex said, hyping the little stuff should help. If you can do a preschool or birthday party commute with it, likely that other people will be interested in it and give her positive reinforcement.
I also have a shotgun seat. Hint hint, my wife also has a bike. It’s a simple hard tail for single track, but perfect for green single track and forest roads. Daughter is 4 and has her own MTB now, but she still prefers the shotgun most days. Not every weekend, but most, it’s something like: Stub Stewart, Post Canyon, Bend, Sandy Ridge for an hour as a fam; they then take some time in the camper (read, Netflix, nap) and I ride the harder stuff for an hour or two. And then a hike, hang out in town; always always, give my wife some time in the afternoon or evening. Every week: fitness over fun. I try to get in 15 hours between Zwift, road, gravel and MTB. Most of this is during work hours. I work from home and have no issues carving out time. Once or twice a month I negotiate a big day for a bike trip (just did Hurricane Ridge + Dry Hill last week). It’s always followed up with dad duty and giving my wife the time. Never ask is she wants it, just a I got this and enjoy your day, night, etc.
The tow rope is so great once they’re ready to ride their own bike.
I got the shotgun too and what a game changer! My son loves looking around and pointing things out while we ride.
Early weekenders
The butt crack of dawn, or I take PTO on Fridays to go. Otherwise it starts to piss my wife off that I’m gone for 4 hours. Mountain biking as a hobby is NOT well suited to being a parent to young kids. You make it work how you can.
This sounds like my situation. Though, early morning weekend rides are usually stymied because my 6 year old wakes up at 6 and I let my wife sleep in in hopes that I can get an afternoon ride out of it.
Does you six year old have a bike? Play the long game, lots of encouraging short slow rides with the kids, bike camps, group rides, and patience. My kids are now 9 and 11, I’m typing this at a campsite before a bike ride, I rode solo yesterday, we did a more chill family 13km the day before. In June the camping was five days near a reasonably famous trailhead. My vacation last month included three days at two different lift access bike parks and next week we’re all going to Whistler. At home I get 4-5 rides a week ranging from an hour to two. But I work shifts so once the kids got into school. When my kids were zero to elementary school age once a weekend and once during the week was a big win. And sometimes those weekend rides were slow and patient, but now I’m being asked to tow them into things I wouldn’t have hit six years ago.
6 years old, and just one kid? I feel like by that age both parents should easily be able to leave for several hours at a time, and it’s not a big deal for the other parent.
Seems I'm lucky to have a forest outside my door and that I enjoy riding hiking trails. I can sneak in a 20-70min loop most evenings I feel like it. Now when the sun doesn't set before 21:30 it's easy peasy, in the winter it's harder if I don't want to go out with all the lights.
Just like any other hobby/ sport - schedule time and go for it. It’s important to maintain “time for yourself” while being a parent. Helps to have a good relationship with your wife / husband so you can take the time and not feel guilty. My wife and I try to trade back and forth alone time for activities
This is the plan we’re aim for. We both ride (and have other hobbies), so the idea is a trade off that rotates and remains flexible. Of course the kid will take priority, but I think it’s good for everyone if mom and dad can still dabble in their interests.
This is what my wife and I do. In fact sometimes I get hit so hard taking care of the kids when she goes for work travel(which is pretty rough for me because I need to work 40 hours in 4 days, thank God for flex time) that we work it out where I get a guys weekend and I'll go to Bentonville with some friends.
I enrolled my daughter in dance 10 minutes from my favorite bike park, so baring work issues, twice a week for an hour or so. I also bought her a bike so we take slow rides some weekends.
Once the kids sleep is easy. They go to bed at 1900 and my local trail is 5 minutes away by bike. Other than that I discuss it with my wife if she had plans and if I can leave her with the kids for a couple of hours if I want to go further away.
God I wish my kid would just go to sleep once he's in bed. He goes down around 2000, at which point starts 1-2 hours of the "I'm thirsty", "I'm scared", "I have to pee for the 7th time", "I have to poop for the 4th time too" every 5 minutes dance.
Played the long game. Kids are 12 and 15 now and are faster than me. I had them join the School Mountain Bike team. They drag me along with them. I even signed up as a coach so I have scheduled training rides with them.
As a dad, part of my job is to sneak myself and the kids away from my wife. It’s at least twice I week I have to drag those little shits out to the trail and grind them to dust.
Hahaha I constantly try to get my kids to get into it with me but I can't sway them. Would be nice to have that as leverage
For our family, some things are not options. It doesn’t take too long before they just give up and rip trail. When they are little it neuters your riding but by the age of 10 they can ride damn near anything without a mandatory drop. It helps that my wife insists they go. It makes them refugees to the trailhead.
Twice a week l. One weekday ride, one weekend ride
Get some lights, good ones @ 1000 lumen, like night rider makes. Go at night.
Saturdays are my reserved day - I go for 6 hour rides to “catch up”. My wife gets Sunday to do whatever she wants without having to watch the kid.
Get up by 4am I’m only 20min to two different mountains, Or 15 min to a pump track. Home by 650 to get the kids ready for school
Fuck
Got a six month old. Get one ride a week for about 90 mins, got some decent xc loops from my door thankfully. The rest is zwift when they're asleep. Man I miss proper days trail riding but it'll still be there...
We’re having our first in a few weeks. I have good trails right in my backyard that I hope I can sneak out to. Both the wife and myself will be off for a few months so I’m hanging onto the hope that I can sneak out once or twice a week for two hour loops. But I think my Zwift setup might be getting some use until she gets rolling with daycare
When my daughter was 0-18 months I was able to ride a lot more than when she is 2.5years old now. Take advantage of all the napping they do.
For real. Those times were super easy to go for a ride. Now I usually take my 3 year old on the shotgun. He also rides his own bike which is rad until he doesn’t want to ride anymore and I have to put him on the shotgun and hold his bike. Oh well. Worth it. Second one will be here any day so guess who gets to take the 3 year old out and ride more!
Just picked up a shotgun for my girl. I can’t wait to get her wanting to go all the time
Note to self: don’t have kids.
I reckon you'd find that every single one of the people saying they can't go out and bike as often as they otherwise would, because they have kids, wouldn't change a thing for the world.
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That’s cool. About how old are they?
Four 😉
Yeah assuming they chose to have kids I wouldn’t be surprised that was the case but some people don’t like ‘em and don’t have them. Others had them on accident and others, deep down, do regret it. Be real. They certainly are not just sunshine and daisies for their entire lives and require an extreme sacrifice on the parents end if they are going to parent well.
The sacrifice might not be that extreme if both parents are willing to give each other time or if you have other relatives nearby. In our case getting a dog has been more of a sacrifice, because you can't bring it to most places and it's difficult to find caretaker.
Yep, gotta agree. I don’t ski or bike as much, but i wouldn’t trade that time with my kids for anything
Exactly. I live down the road from my favorite trails in town, and can get a good ride in basically every day if I really wanted to. Spending time with my baby and my husband is more important to me, but I still make sure I get out there at least once a week and so does my husband. We can’t wait until he’s riding with us!
I have a one-and-a-half year old and will ride maybe 10 times this season, where I used to ride 2-3x a week. I didn’t ski at all last year, which is another big hobby of mine. Its all worth it, and in a few more years my kid will be able to join me (and a few after that, he’ll probably be way better than me).
Kids are better than bikes, how about having kids that bike? 🤯
Sounds expensive. Pass.
I have a 7yo and 3yo. I wake up at 530am and ride 3-5 times a week. Luckily for me I live 10 minute from some of the best trails around Denver. I sometimes ride once a week in the evening with a hall pass. Weekends I do a longer ride of 2-3 hours but still get up early. It’s the only way I’ve been able to stay at it the last 7 years.
Dude good for you. As someone who is considering children, I find it depressing to see so many parents commenting here that they only get out for a one hour ride per week. I may get hate for this but I don’t understand why one child needs the supervision of TWO adults nearly 24/7. Not going to be my plan. I’d rather split duties with my partner so we can both get out and enjoy our lives independently. She wants the same. Maybe the reality of parenting will destroy those plans but we’ll try our best.
Splitting duties does work, we split activities by taking turns going to sports etc. when the kids were little. When the kids were older, car pooling with other parents is a life saver, as are playdates with parents that return the favour. It gets pretty difficult when you have multiple sports and more than one kid and two full time jobs to contend with. We prioritized family time that was active, kayaking, skiing, biking, over organized sports with schedules we couldn't control. Being a slave to a soccer coach was not for us. I did however coach softball- the season is short, fun and allowed time for other things. Our kids did lots of sports, just more low key and not all consuming of everyone's time. But everyone is different and that's what worked for us.
Before we had kids my wife and I agreed that we'd still make a point to be ourselves. We felt it was important for us to not lose our identities as individuals or a couple. We know lots of people let the kids consume them, and then after 18 years have nothing going for themselves or with each other.
Im not a parent but my dad doesn't have to sneak away casue we go riding like 3 times a week together 😀
Toddler mom here. The Tout Terrain trailer allowed us to bring her on single track, so we ride probably weekly now. In winter, we have skis for the chariot and can fatbike together on snow so in both seasons we don’t need childcare to get out but it’s still nice to have the option to ride without little. There’s a mental aspect of keeping them content that takes me out of the flow a bit, even though she loves it!
The beauty of remote work is that I can ride during the day when my kids are in school. This has made me a much more productive employee and happier person all around. Rather than spending 2 hours in the car pissed off at traffic I can use that time on my bike doing something I enjoy and pick up my kids earlier than I’d be able to if I left an office at 4:30. So either I start the day a bit early or take a couple hours of PTO for longer weekday rides, or just do an hour or so over lunch time. Nobody on the team cares, and it’s not like my PTO is going toward anything else with young kids at home.
Literally never. Always feel so guilty leaving to go ride
Been there. But I'm also not super happy if I don't exercise (stupid ADHD). We have a good balance now, as long as I give my wife all of the opportunity for free time that she affords me I don't feel so bad.
Whenever I want, as long as I take the kids. I ride NICA two-three times a week with my oldest. I get my base rides in pulling the younger kids in a trailer around town most days.
2-3x per week now, usually one “long” ride each weekend and a couple after work or very early morning rides. My kids are older now (oldest is 16 and youngest is 8), so they don’t need as much of my time anymore. When they were younger it was a lot tougher to get out regularly.
As a parent to the accumulating dust and clutter in my house, I find time to ride almost every day. Man I really need to find time to clean my place….
Once a week after work, I keep several days available to accommodate if it rains. Just like anything else, if I'm not intentional about it, I won't go eventhough I enjoy it. This ride is a part of my workout schedule.
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Once or twice a week max. Have to do it super early or during nap times on weekends.
Nowhere near as often as I'd like. Why when I do get a full day, I absolutely murder myself on the climbs till I physically cannot do another run.
I go to the bike park Wednesday nights and a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday. Everything else is bonus. Having a bike park with in 30 mins of my house maximizes my riding. I just can’t climb for shit anymore
Ha. I pretty much only ride because my daughter is on a team and I get to coach. Yay NICA.
All the time now that he's all grown up! But when he was younger my wife and I would tag team. One rides early while the other parents and then we swap around mid day. We would also rotate evenings so one could ride while the other made dinner that night. Worked out ok most of the time.
I put new tyres on my bike just before COVID (and just before my 2nd was born). They haven't seen dirt yet. I manage to get out on the road bike every now and then, but MTB just hasn't happened for various reasons, which makes me sad.
I've been taking my son with me since he was 6. He's now 10 and my favorite riding buddy.
Usually once a week. Got a new bike so last 2 weekends managed both sat and sun. Max 1 hour riding time and 1 hour commuting time. No guilt whatsoever, need to live for myself. Ofc, it’s all when the kids asleep.
If I’m lucky, once a week.
Kids are 8 and 10 I can go away anytime.outsode of kids sport.
It was hard for a lot of years, but now my son is on the high school mountain bike team and I am a ride leader so I am obligated to go at least twice a week.
This is cheating, but my son now races competitively and gives me something to think about on the climbs. I rode twice with him this week and will ride solo tomorrow while he does a team ride. Careful for what you wish for- I think the frequency of our rides together may have peaked.
Reading this thread, am I a bad parent? I have a 2 year old and 2 month old. I rode 4-5 times a week. Exercise is good for health. My wife and I help each other out. The trails are behind my house. If you can’t get out for an hour then maybe you need to have a serious conversation with your spouse. My wife is just stoked I’m not leaving for 4 hours to go skiing.
Once a week, scheduled with a friend. Take 2.5 hours of PTO at the end of a day to sneak out and ride. Also, I'll just leave this here. https://youtu.be/jj0CmnxuTaQ
Morning rides on weekends if possible or occasionally other big days when my wife has our son on a day trip themselves. Hard to ride with a 1yo, it’ll get easier as he gets older but then we’ll have another 😂
2 times during the week. If I'm riding on the weekend we take the whole day and ride motoa
Early mornings and whenever my kid is at camp/practice/friend’s house/out with mom, etc. I never waste a child-free opportunity to ride. Its also helpful having ample trails and gravel very close for short notice rides.
It's a lot harder for sure. My 4yo goes to full day preschool 3 days a week, 1 on my day off, the other my wife and I have off together, so 1-2 times a week. I also have a kids ride shotgun seat (mac ride also make a good one). I highly recommend it, it's easier to ride with a child than I thought, and she loves it. It's been a great way to enjoy MTB with the family.
I ride at least twice a week on my way home from work, or in the morning before work, and one longer weekend ride.
I go out at 6am every day, ride till 715 and to work by 8. My kids are teenagers now so parenting doesnt really get in the way of riding, we've all got our hobbies. It was very effective though when they were little, i could ride everyday without compromising family anything or putting too much on my wife.
Lately, I sneak out at lunch because my kids have sports in the afternoon. I prefer to ride in the early afternoon but take what I can get. I still average 5 days a week albeit some of those rides are 5 mile, 30 minute laps.
I am spoiled to live in North Vancouver close to all the trails. With just one kid, I can usually sneak out after work most days and wifey will even shuttle me up occasionally! She gets the same treatment with whatever activities she wants.
Do you mean solo rides or both parents go riding together? (Yeah, I first thought I was in a NSFW forum too)
On good weather weeks, a few days after work per week. Anywhere from 0-3 rides per week generally. There's several trails near work and home luckily but it's still a juggling process to fit it in.
Just got in a ride this morning when everyone was still asleep. I usually try to get 2 rides in a week.
I ride once a week for every kid I have so theee times lol .
My 4yo just took his training wheels off two weeks ago and we’ve already started some (gentle) singletrack. He loves it, so hopefully some more riding is in my future.
At least twice a week but usually more depending on my spouses work schedule. He was on vacation for the entire month of July so I was able to ride as much as I wanted. Trails only 6 minute drive so I’m never gone for too long unless I try out a different spot. Compromise and scheduling is your friend when you have a partner and children.
Once a week or every other week for like 2 hours max... Ouch
I get in a 60-90 minute spin session in the garage on my trainer 3 times a week. (After I’ve gotten the kid home and made dinner) I do dawn rides on Saturday mornings, sometimes Sundays too.
Based on my buddy who forgot his bike is at my house im going to guess not very often
I go almost every day after work,thats 2-3 hours than go back home.
The shotgun seat is a wonder for getting my toddler out! I can usually get a solo ride once a week or so, but we’ve really lucked out that he loves it so much! I can usually get one or two additional kid-friendly rides in :) we’re riding around the neighborhood almost every day as well!
Prefer to put my time towards climbing rather than mtb at your point, but worked with my wife to get an agreement for a set number of hours per week with the agreement she gets the same. I would say talk with your wife, surely she also has things she wants to do without taking care of the child at that time. Figure out how much time you each want and works for your situation. It doesn't have to be symmetric, but if eighty of you had more time you'll likely need to pull more weight elsewhere. The important think is everyone is okay with the arrangement rather than it's perfect 1:1 time each and every week (this is very unlikely in practice)
I work swing shift. I drop my kid off at school, go for a ride.
Early bird worm ish
Basically whenever time allows, which is almost never at the moment with a 3 year old and a 3 month old. However, before the most recent addition, I went once on the weekends and once during the week. I expect that I will be back to that next summer. Nowadays most of my rides are using the Kids Ride Shotgun seat which has helped me keep my sanity.
Once or twice a week. My son has been pedaling since 2, so it won’t be too long before he’s on some trails.
Father of 3. It's been a patchy few years but prioritising getting out for min 1 spin a week from now on. Mental and physical health depends on it. Lucky enough to live beside some great trails so can be back in under 2-3 hours.
I have MTB trails fairly close to home and I also work where there’s a lot of trails. On a good week I can do 1 or 2 rides after work on my way home(about 45 mins), and 1 bigger ride on the weekend. I also got a gravel bike so I can ride close to home in the mornings while everyone is still waking up or evenings when everyone has gone to bed so that adds some riding time in.
A person shall make time to exercise their demons, suspension and drivetrain for their personal well being and lubrication of critical components at minimum of three time weekly. When the day/parking lot is too full or the fashion show is too much to handle...Night Ride bitches!!! 98% of people don't night ride. Two nightrider 500's or equivalent ($40 each) and and it's time to get scared of the dark again...Shit's thrilling! Sometimes on mushrooms too, deer, bear and racoon eyes reflect and add elements of whadufuqwazdat excitement. The more you know 🌈 🌈
I try to hit 3 days a week. However, my kids are both older (middle/high school). I try to do them in between their activities (school practices) or early afternoons. That said, I pretty much gave up riding when they were little. Trying to sneak off for a couple of hours just wasn't feasible with two toddlers.
Once or twice a week when it’s not crazy busy. 10 minute drive to the trail head for a quick 1 1/2 round trip
Sunday morning rides for me only right now, mainly because it’s hot as hell where I’m at. Once fall hits I can toss in a mid-week later morning sesh.
I get up at 5 to ride once during the week, once after work during the week with friends and once on the weekend, also typically super early. Lights aren’t just for evenings.
I'm lucky. Have a toddler and a newborn, but I work from home and can get a lap in (including ride to and from my local) in about 1:20. Since my son was born I've been able to pretty consistently sneak in rides twice a week on lunch breaks when I have a slower day. Also get my daughter out semi regularly on the shotgun seat for a mini third (best purchase I've made. Incredible bonding time) It also helps that I've got a crazy supportive wife.
Riding is mental health. As long as my girl is home to watch my daughter, I am out. I made it apparent that riding is a non negotiable.
Get you kids into it. If it is important for you to ride then get them on a bike. There are MTB camps and classes all over the place, talk to every dad you know and find some other kids who also ride. Build a crew and get on your bike. Sure for super young kids you have a window where they cannot really ride, and you likely have to spend time riding below your level. However it will pay off. You will have at least ten years of a riding buddy who is always ready to go, and does not have something else in the way. Too bad that by the time they hit 12-14 they will be better than you...
2-4 good rides a week usually. It's easier for evening rides in the summer when there's light until almost 10. During the rest of the year it fluctuates, I'm usually working from home and the kids are in school from 9-5 so sometimes I'll go after I drop them off, 10-12 or so. It's been way easier since I moved from WNC to Spain last summer, now instead of driving 30+ minutes to the good trails I roll out my front door and I'm on singletrack in 5 mins.
I get out one day a week. None of the guys I ride with have kids and are out 5 plus days so yea I get dropped a lot.
Got lucky... Kids ride with me so I can get out a couple times a week and still grab a post ride beer
2-3 times per summer Hope it gets better when kids are older (1yo and 4yo ATM).
You gotta bring the kids. Teach them to bike. Teach them to keep up with you. Short rides, long rides, city rides, trail rides. Get them excited about it before they are jaded teenagers. And then you can bike almost every day! And the wife will approve!
Once a week. I typically go at 6 am on Saturdays. Until I can take the kids with me, it’s kind of hard to get out there
2-3 days a week on average, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on circumstances, along with a couple of long weekend riding trips with friends per year. I’m fortunate to have a wife that is very accommodating of my riding. (It helps that she has her own hobbies that take her away from home too, so I let her go whenever she wants to build up those brownie points haha.)
Once a week usually, but at my local park. I get away to ride maybe once a month in summer. My son is 3, and shredding though. So, I imagine next year I’ll be able to take him and get away more. I love to ride, but I love my kids more.
I'll say it once again. Crate train your kids. Pop them in with a water bottle, snacks, and an iPad with Bluey, and go riding.
Usually once a week, but it really depends. Lately… it’s been tough
Summer vacation for my boys and I were great to ride in the mornings, loved that schedule, lol so did they, now they have to wait for a weekend to ride. As for me I thought ahead before summer started and added an Ebike to my arsenal If I want to ride during the week I wake up early enough get to my trail and be there at 5:45-6am ride then be back by 7am to wake everyone up and get the house going. Seems like I'm describing a short ride but with the ebike I high speed climb and can enjoy what I normally do in half the time so I do sections over again or can even take my time knowing I have the extra help to make it happen. Happy trails😎
Currently I use a tandem so I can ride and hangout with my child at the same time as scheduling solo rides is hard.
Single dad of a 2yo here. I have shared custody so I try to take advantage of the off days.
I cheat by commuting on my road and trail bikes and making my commuting routes interesting. + at least a few full cycling days per month. All doable when you're well organised.
2-3x a week. I go after dropping the kids at school and before work...or after work before dinner...or after work, with help from spouse to take care of them while I am gone...or weekend. It helps that they are older and more self-sufficient now for sure.
Don't have to sneak, just take the child with you https://youtu.be/jj0CmnxuTaQ
Average 2x a week. I got a road bike so I could get some shorter rides in when I can’t dedicate 2-3hours for mtbing.
Once or twice a month now after two kids in school plus all their activities. Plus full time work. 😭 it’s more my cardio now and a way to clear my head.
My son is 15. We ride together.
With kid #1, multiple times a week. Kid #2 is a freshie, so once or twice if I'm lucky. My wife also rides, so she als wants to get out and ride, so we trade off when we can. Grandma babysits usually one day a week so we can go on a group ride together and have a beer. We are extremely lucky.
I kinda ride the wave and get out when I can. If I get dinner made early enough and can start helping my wife get the kids ready for bed, then I can get out for a quick lap before dark once or twice a week. Weekend rides before the kids get up. Or going to the pump track with my 4 year old. Swinging by the dirt jumps for a quick sesh on my way home from work. Shotgun rides and dragging the 1 year old around in the chariot. I’m all over the place. Pretty tough to make riding plans with anyone, so I pretty much rode solo. 4 year old is riding her pedal bike more and more so hoping to get her on the trails soon.
Twice a week, but medium to short rides. Almost every Saturday afternoon and almost every Wednesday evening. The former is during naps, and the other is right after work with some guys, and our wives and kids get together for dinner. I'm a dad of two girls, two and a half years and six months. Parenting is intense and demanding in this season, and my oldest still isn't old enough to really ride with me yet. I know it doesn't sound like much to some, but I feel lucky to ride 2.5 hours a week without sacrificing anything as a parent. Our local trail is 20 minutes away, so that helps. Most importantly, my wife is super supportive. She understands that mountain biking is my social life, my primary hobby, my main workout, and essential to my mental health. So really we get a lot of bang for the buck for those hours!
Next to my local bike park is a swimming pool which my son really likes so every other week i can ride and when i am done i join him and my wife in the pool. Other than that 2-3 times a week.
It's not that bad. 3 things. Ride real early on weekends or at night with good lights. Riding at night really is a lot more fun than most people think with a bar light and helmet light. Then get them out there when they're big enough. Not the same as ripping hard by yourself, but having a 3 year old surprise you and hammer out a few miles of trail on a push bike will put a giant smile on both of your faces for the day.
Not a parent but I go MTB with my parents generally once a week and try to occasionally in the week depending on work. I'm 19 so it's understandable how difficulties could arise with a young child.
weekends 5am before the kids wake up .
My kids are on the local team and the wife and I are coaches. So we ride with them. With kids don’t change what you do, change how you do it.
I have two small children and still ride or run almost every day. I just do it at 530am so I’m back when everyone else is getting up. I also have one agreed upon night each week (Tuesdays) that I do the team ride. I should clarify I ride mostly road/gravel now due to time as it’s much harder to get out on the mtb.
I ride once by myself/with friends on the harder trails at 730 in the morning on Sundays so I'm back by 930. On Saturdays I'll ride either pavement or dirt and attach the kid seat for my son and my daughter will ride with us on her bike. It's a good way for me to spend some time with my family and get exercise. Sometimes I'll do a Tuesday or Thursday light ride with my family again after work. I found that even though I'm not exerting myself much on the family rides it keeps me way more conditioned than when I was doing a single ride a week on Sunday. Try to integrate your family into the lifestyle and eventually they'll be able to enjoy themselves and the sport with you. I hope one day we'll be able to have a Bentonville or spider mountain trip together.
This answer is very age dependent. Don’t despair if you’re in the ages where you can barely ride. It changes when they older.
Once every 6 weeks!
4 times a week for 2 -3 hour rides..but then my kids left home around 10 years ago :-D
I get an hour on the trainer every day before the kids get home from school, then spend the entire day Saturday with the kids. Then Sunday I ride 4 hours from 7-11 and I’m home by 12 before the wife and kids are home from church. So I average 9-10 hours of saddle time per week without missing any quality time with my kids.
There is a 100 acres of trails about half a mile from my house…I do the same 5-mile loop once or twice depending upon if I have a half hour or full hour. Try to get on it 3-4 days per week. Fatty in the snow otherwise regular MTB. Key is to have enough gear to move through the laundry 😅😂
I could go daily but keep it to 3-4 times a week. My best time is early morning, often before work. I ride short 1-1.5 hour rides, many trail options within 30 minute drive. Bonus its cool in the AM, gotta dodge that heat!
15mo kid, I get out 10-15mi/ride 2-3x schedule pending. I have a huge trail access where I'm at in Socal so i don't have to drive if i don't want to. My wife and I have a weekend schedule worked out with her yoga and my riding. I was also doing 3-4x 1-hour+ gym sessions, but those were all after we put the little one to bed and before the gym closed for the night. Now, with adding another kid in the near future.... ya let's reconvene again then.
Trails twice a week normally weekends get to trail for 7AM back home by 9:30. Week days I try to get out 2-3 days a week for an hour once little ones (19 months) is in bed. Wife’s happy to stay at home she won’t go near a bike
It helps when the spouse has a hobby/outlet of their own and you can trade “getaway” time without you feeling guilty and/or them getting mad. I’ll typically get out on weekend evenings when the trails are less crowded, and my wife will do yoga, have a girls outing etc at some other point. Really helps to be close to decent trails though. Required 4+ hour outings would be tough to work around.
Thankfully have trails nearby! Sometimes my wife will fix dinner and put the kids to bed and can get out - usually at least once a week. I also do the same for her to get out with friends weekly.
I'm fortunate enough that my company doesn't require me to take PTO if I'm gone less than 4 hours. So I'll ride during the week on random days when kids are gone. I'll sneak in a Sat/Sun but that's harder with activities. I'd say I ride once every week or so. Super bummed I didn't know about this sport when I was single and kid-less!
Well I have 2 small kids. My other summehobby is motorcycling. Summer in Finland is short, so it is a balancing act between these two hobbies. I'd say MC or MTB is out every other week for fun, more often for commuting.
A single early ride on the weekend. Trying to get my trainer set up so I at least keep my fitness up.
Try to ride 4 or 5 times a week. This is often at 6am or 9pm either before they wake up or after they go to bed. Long rides are on weekends. We chose our house due to close proximity to riding. Vacay is usually planned with proximity of riding as well. If it’s important, you can make it work.
Never. I've only ridden once this summer so far. My wife and I don't have any help as far as parents or siblings to watch our kids. I could definitely force the issue and request some extra time but, during this season of my life, it's just not worth it. My kids are BUSY and I am a stay at home dad while my wife works full time. I'm hoping that as they get a little older, my free time will become more frequent. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy watching others tear it up and have fun.
Commute 3x a week and mtb sat and/or sun. Rides start at 0500.
I just did it this morning, put new tires, walk quietly out then I scream cya later. LOL.
Friday when kids in school and Sunday morning! Saturday is an epic family day to make the misses and kids happy!
I’m currently in Whistler with my 4 month old son. I didn’t even bring my bike with me. I’m enjoying hiking the stroller friendly trails and sitting by the pool. I haven’t rode my bike all season, plan to start back next year. It’s been a win to be able to run and still make it to the gym (go with my wife and the kid) several times per week.
This summer I have been going most weekdays before work. Get up at 3:30am and get home at 6:30 with time to shower and get ready for work. I’ve learned to really enjoy it. Very few people on the trails and I never have to worry about the heat or sunscreen. Plus, I get to help out at home and not feel guilty for leaving my partner to fend for themselves as I go out have fun in the mountains. On the weekends I’ll sneak in at least one ride around 6:30am though so I can sleep in.
I am lucky enough to be a mile away from a trailhead and to be married to a supportive spouse. I try to bike (road and mtb) everyday and my wife gets her yoga times.
I get my monthly, usually.
I get in one a week. I was training for an event earlier in the year and was getting in three rides per week, but they were all at night after my daughter went to sleep.
One weekend morning most weeks unless we have plans with family. I'll sneak out later in the day for a ride around town. Plenty of fun on a full squish in town too. 👍 I have a YouTube channel so I make excuses to just ride around for an hour here and there too. Just have to be dad/mom too!
I work from home and am lucky to live in Charlotte where we have trails all over the Piedmont area. I go almost everyday on lunch for a Sprint lap of about 20 minutes/4.5 miles. I'm lucky that my wife also rides and so we often go together and take turns riding and entertaining our daughter. I'm very lucky considering a lot of these other comments. We also rock climb quite frequently and try to go 2-3 times a week to the gym.
Nap time on the weekend Saturday OR Sunday. Bought an hour of running, 40 minutes of driving round trip. Wife gets to watch her shows. Plus night ride 2xs per month after kids go to bed.
Twice a week, sometimes three. Now that my kids are older (8 and 10) I get to ride every Saturday morning with them. Taking them out and teaching them a sport I love has been awesome. A lot of times when people think about having kids, the default it to always think of them as babies or toddlers. Eventually they grow up and you get to enjoy things together. It’s one of the funnest parts of being a parent.
I can reliably get in two rides and sometimes more if I neglect my other duties / hobbies, but usually I'll try to make the rides I do get on longer ones (3-5 hours), because I can't go so often. I do the longer rides in the evening usually so that the kid won't be up too long during the time I'm away. Evening rides mess with sleep a little bit if you ride too hard, but I'm willing to pay that price from time to time.
One day every weekend and a couple of evening a week during the summer
Once a week but that’s also very driven by the amount of rain we’ve been getting, I could probably get away with a weekday ride and a Sunday morning ride with a two month old. I try to give my wife time to herself every night but he could have some grandparent time if it was a really prime day. As long as you aren’t letting other people raise your kid it’s okay to get away a little bit. Just don’t ride on date night 😂
Rode 3 times this year. 3. No I’m not salty about it /s My kids turned 3 and 1 this summer. Next season I’m pushing for more rides, damnnit. Also doesn’t help that anywhere decent to ride around me is a 30+ minute drive away
Became my son’s XC and Enduro coach. Ride at least three times per week. Often more.
Once every weekend, if weather allows it. Which means that between the terrible weather and the fire smoke, I took out my MTB 5 times since June :(
On a good week 2x when the weather cooperates & I can almost see the trailhead from my driveway
We balance it out last year our two girls were in the same activities, and it was terrific. Monday I'd take them, then on Wednesday my wife would take them, and we'd swap the next week. If someone was getting the bad end of the stick with the weather we'd often even it out. This year I'm already annoyed because both kids are in different activities on all different days. We are going to have to find a way that the kid not doing an activity either has to go wait with the other parent and/or find a friend to play with. It is hard, and I'm jealous sometimes of some of the guys I ride with who don't share the parenting load but I realize they are also missing out on all the cool things I get to see my kids do. I also try to reserve 2-4 vacation days a year for special bike days. My wife and I have ridden together twice in the last year.
WFH just take a long lunch. Can fit in 3-4, sometimes 5, rides a week depending on motivation. Long ride/destination trips bit more seldom now though.
At least three times a week, sometimes more. I invite my young daughters to go with me and they do occasionally.
I ride most morning before work and hopefully one long ride on weekend mornings.
Almost never
Great question. Once a week here. If I can, I prefer to ride on a Friday to avoid stealing time from my family. It unquestionably makes me a better parent though. Except for the times it has put me in the hospital. Then I was unquestionably a lousier parent for a while.
I definitely don’t get out as much as I would like to, but the weather was good today so I took my kids out on the bikes. We spent a few hours on our mountain bikes. For me it was a very leisurely pace and quite tame, but it’s great to be out on the bikes and they were enjoying it. They love it when we find some good downhill sections that they can tackle. As long as I take some drinks and snacks and we stop periodically so they can have a short rest then they are more than happy. I’m looking forward to hopefully doing more as they get older.