Well I still can’t quite do that because I have animals but I definitely livw on my own schedule
3 Likes
i think this is a really important topic that doesn’t get discussed enough! great thoughts here Frank.
Rest days are great times to catch up on life things, like chores and extra Dad stuff, but also for these hobbies. This is a big driver for me to take two full days off the bike per week. Forget the recovery ride, use the time for all things LIFE!!
another option could be to hit some weeks at 12 hours leaving another week at 9, more hours that week to hyper focus on other activities, while not sacrificing your volume.
as long as we’re having FUN in this process, those good feelings will bleed over into other aspects of life…being the BEST dad and great person to be around.
keep crushing it!
brendan
6 Likes
For a number of reasons I’ve found it difficult to maintain any training consistency in the last 2 years, Covid sent me off the rails and I haven’t found my old routine since. I’m kinda thinking it’s the universe talking to me and explaining that it might be time to branch out. I’m also a big music fan and used to DJ a lot, part of me would like to explore that again (old life before bikes). And I’m focusing on some home projects and restarting my a life with a new partner and my son. That’s taken a good amount of energy. Still, I look at my trainer set up and do miss it. I’m just so all or nothing that I’ve hung it up for now. I’m still riding for pleasure but I certainly miss my old fitness. My hope is that life will settle again and that I can regain some interest in training again. Until then I’m content riding for enjoyment and socializing. As we all know to be good at riding requires such a time commitment that you need to be willing to focus on it, I’ve given up a lot of socializing in favor of personal fitness, it is very hard balancing the two, or adding an additional hobby. Bottom line, I go through phases where I’ll focus on training for a specific event then just ride for fun and find more balance with other interests.
3 Likes
As well as doing triathlon, I play in a Brass Band here in the UK. I studied music at university so that was really the time that I spent practicing and now I am just as good as I am and if I practice its in maintenance mode. I honestly couldnt imagine picking up an instrument now (he says having just bought a piano, which I also used to play when I was a kid, and feel like I want my children to have the chance to learn) as the time it takes to get to anywhere near proficient is immense. The hardest thing that I find is when extra rehearsals and concerts get in the way of my normal routine.
3 Likes
I’m very much the same way, just all in 110% or nothing. I do feel like I should figure out a way to balance things more but to date, it’s not something I’ve learned to very well at all.
3 Likes
You change which hobby you focus on from time to time. You can’t be doing them all concurrently with the same focus. At times cycling may be your main hobby, at other times it’s a secondary hobby or on pause.
1 Like
I would rather the animals any day
I have quite a few hobbies, and I’ve found over the years that I have a pattern of diving deep into one or two at a time, then scaling back (all organically) and moving on to another. Time away from the hobby actually seems to be a good thing because when I’m inspired to get back into it, I feel refreshed and often seem to have “breakthroughs”. At first it stressed me out, but eventually I learned that it’s just something I do naturally and it seems to work out well for me.
Trying to do too many things would stress me out - hobbies (for me at least) involve deep dives and significant mental and time commitment, and I can only imagine how hard it would be if children were in the mix as well.
The last year or so was pretty heavily focused on music production, and while I maintain time playing in a band, I’ve scaled back the home recording aspects (again, not a conscious choice, just naturally gravitating away from it) and have dug out the old film cameras again. I’m sure in a year or so, it’ll sway the other way again.
TL;DR - Engage in the things that you feel inspired / excited to do, and when it no longer does that or you’re presented with a challenge that makes the hobby feel like a chore, don’t feel bad about letting it drop off for something that does excite you. There’s nothing wrong with coming back to it later, and often that time away from it will allow you to approach it with a fresh perspective. I think of it the same way as a “recovery week” in TR plans.
4 Likes
One of my hobbies is eating.
Quantity over quality.
13 Likes
Take it from a person who keeps switching hobbies. Could not stick to one for more than a few years. Started with gaming, moved on to photography. Realized that photography takes a hell lot of time and you need to travel a lot with your heavy gear! Moved on. Tried my hand at guitar. Realized that for a beginner it needs lot of practice to get to a decent level. Gave up! (Started again this year and try to put in 30 mins - 1 hour, 4 - 5 times a week now).
But my light bulb moment came when I started to run and bike since the pandemic started. I was a competitive swimmer in my school days. Not disclosing my age here, but let’s says I am not in my 20s anymore 
But I have been hooked ever since.
Well, I will not put sports in a ‘hobby’ category, because I realized that daily sports is an essential activity and not just a hobby! I try to balance out my training between running, biking and swimming.
You NEED to take time out for sports, make it a habit. Whenever I feel I am not getting productive at work I go out for a run, be it for 30 mins or 1 hour.
I am not a milestone person but did my half marathon last year and will do my first marathon this month.
Broke my collar bone last year, so could not bike for almost the entire summer, but this year its redemption time!! 
I am planning to switch priority from running to biking and register for some races, but let’s see if I have the time to train enough for a bike race this year. A possible tri will be on the cards for next year. So, just get there and enjoy yourself. Don’t count the hours and try to mix it up a bit, otherwise it becomes a burden. Happy KOMs!!!
5 Likes
Football is an unhealthy obsession for me, I am not a nice person to be around on matchday which is why I have tried to drive that energy into triathlon, especially as we get to the pointy end of the season and every game is a cup final it becomes all consuming.
3 Likes
Beautiful photos! Definitely don’t give up that hobby!
I have 3 hobbies.
Cycling ,Motorsport and Horsemanship.
It is quite stressful running all 3, but I manage it at the expense of work 
I;m never going to be a Lewis Hamilton, or top horseperson, but I have been competitive at a high level at running and cyclo X and MTB
4 Likes
I feel like I fall into the category of having way too many hobbies. Cycling, motorsports, bee keeping, watching sports, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Typically I focus on one (cycling currently) and the other fall away either due to time or cost (haven’t been on a track in years). Add family ties, house chores, work, etc. and it becomes a bit over-bearing. It did help now that the kids are a bit older (5 and 8). I actually took several years off of cycling once the kids came just because it was hard to bail on a 4 hour ride and leave the wife with them.
I will say going remote during the pandemic, and moving to a role that continues to allow me to do so, did free up a ton of time. If I used it more consciously I’m sure I could fit more time for hobbies in but what’s the fun in that?
2 Likes
Thank you very much! I’ll be spending a week in where the second one was shot in about a month. I’ll be there with my girlfriend & plan to be on the bike minimally so hopefully weather will cooperate & I can come up with some good photos.
2 Likes
If you let it, cycling can become an all consuming activity. I did that for many years while chasing TT PR’s. At some point it was time to step back. Mostly when I stopped getting faster and realized cycling at that intensity and level of focus was not healthy.
Stepping back a bit, giving myself permission to have fun on the bike without focusing on every fraction of a w/kg, has been cathartic. While I do miss that missing 0.5 w/kg at times, I have more fun in the gym and frankly more fun training. Because it is more about the journey and less about the A and B races and year on year improvements.
In terms of hobbies, cycling is one of the more selfish hobbies. The training time is significant, the recovery and sleep time is significant, travel time to rides and events can be significant, planning food is time consuming, Perseverating upon and planning training and gear/kit and all that stuff is time and brain consuming.
Not to mention we all drive our significant others bonkers talking non-stop about bikes and racing bikes.
$0.02 based on experience - give yourself a period of time to go all in on cycling. It’s fun to see how good one can be. After a reasonable time period, take a step back and enjoy cycling as a life time sport but not a life time obsession.
Your sensitive friend,
Darth
8 Likes
We don’t. 
I was at my fastest when my son was still really little. I think I knew it was my last shot at being “fast” - and it probably was. Now that he’s older, my weekends are designed to spend time with him. Luckily, he likes bikes too. But training 15 hours a week aren’t a thing anymore. Maybe again when he’s older and/or if he takes to racing. It’s all good, life has different chapters.
8 Likes
I have a 1 year old and can really only find time in the early mornings to train (and that’s if I have the energy). And maybe a 2 hour outdoor ride on the weekend.
I was my healthiest I’d been in nearly a decade a week before my 1st was born. That’s all gone out the window.
2 Likes
I really don’t know what you all do it 
Excellent topic! Having just turned 37 this week and having a 3 and 4 year old I spent alot of time mulling this over during covid. Im not perfect, but here are some recent thoughts of on the topic.
I used to have an inverse relationship with the bike and work. If work was going well, I didnt bike much, if work was tough then I escaped on the bike. Now Ive matured to approach them both separately and give them their due, but no more.
As a younger man I approached many hobbies and activites for external noteriety, the approval of my peers or superiors, i.e. because they were cool. I think when you become a parent you just dont have energy to care about what others think anymore. Becoming a parent really helped me to let that go.
Cycling and hobbies feed different needs for me…
Cycling-physical well being, constant/consistent forward momentum, large events, seasonality, competition, NATURE, self confidence, social with similar people
Hobbies-a place to experiment, try new things, learn to recover from failure, be artistic, can do at night, can leave for a week or 2 and then come back, cheaper than cycling
Release yourself from guilt about that mtb in the basement that you havent riden for 2 years. You are the only one who feels bad about it. Guilt is largely something we do to ourselves. Release yourself from “hobby guilt” about things you havent been able to do consistnently.
Figure out what you need to feed and keep yourself fed. On the podcast about a month ago Hannah mentioned that you should try to be a complete, happy, and whole person outside of cycling. If cycling is a major piece of your pie, then something else may be out of whack. That mentality has helped me to be happier when Im not on the bike and when I am on the bike.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
6 Likes