A newer member of my cycling club jumped on our Yahoo group with a question.
Cycling vs. Domesticity
Guest poster Don Blount has some time management issues, and they’re causing trouble with his family life.
In the history of the world a good conversation never began with the words: “We need to talk.”
But that is essentially what my wife said to me recently.
“And it is about your biking,” she added.
Uh oh. I wondered if I had gotten grease on the carpet.
“I don’t want you to stop riding,” she said. “But you’re spending a lot of time away from home on weekends riding. It’s not the days you have club rides. It’s the days that you don’t have club rides,” she said. “And quite frankly, when the kids ask ‘Where’s Daddy?’ I’m tired of telling them, ‘He’s on his bike.’ “
And of course she was right.
The problem was not the time I spent on Saturday club rides, it was the time I spent on solo weekend rides.
But some background first.
At home, I have two daughters, ages 7 and 10. And of course, I work a job that requires more than 40 hours a week.
I ride about four days a week and go to the gym twice a week. During the weekday, I workout or ride before work. On weekends, well that’s where the problem occurs.
Club rides begin at 8 a.m. during this time of the year. Those ride starts are often a good 45-minute drive or longer from my home. So on those days I am out of the house about 7 a.m. And depending on the length of the ride, I am often not home until well after 1 p.m. By the time I get all of my gear put away and myself cleaned up and fed, it could be well past 3 or 4 p.m.
But that’s only two, maybe three times a month if it is a month such as this one with five Saturdays. I usually clear those dates with my wife to ensure they do not conflict with family plans.
However, on weekends when there is no club ride, I still get out to ride. And although I leave from home instead of driving to a starting point I have often been getting out later than 7 a.m. Sometimes I do not get out until after 10 a.m. Three or four hours out during that time of the day when I have been away a long time the previous weekend does not create for good parenting or husbanding.
It is something that empty nesters do not have to contend with but a working man with a wife and kids at home does.
Fortunately, it is a correctable problem. I do not have to stop riding or even cut back my time on the bike. I just have to better manage my time. The easiest solution is to get out earlier on the non-club ride days. I am confident I can do that.
And I am confident that if I do not then I will be sat down for another talk.
An Easy Adjustment
Today I did my monthly thorough bike wash. Good thing, too, since I haven’t done it in about five months.
Besides getting all the grit and grime off my bike, I treated myself to the always relaxing task of replacing the bar tape. The new stuff, an upgrade from the stuff I usually buy, looks good and feels better. I’m anxious to get out tomorrow and see what it feels like during a longish ride.
But I also thought I would give some attention to something that’s been bothering me during the last several rides. The brake pull for the rear brake really had a lot of travel. I had to pull it almost to the handlebar before I could feel the brakes kick in. The brakes are pretty good — I replaced the pads two years ago, and they’re nowhere near worn down yet. But compared to some other bikes I’ve been on, braking didn’t feel sharp. I guess I’d just gotten used to the way they worked, and I made them work for me.
Adjusting the reach of the brake levers is easy. First, loosen the bolt that holds the brake cable.

Then, squeeze both sides of the brake caliper, and hold them at the distance from the wheel rim you’d like. It should be closer than it is now.

That squeeze will move the brake cable through the bolt. Tighten the bolt, while still squeezing the caliper, then let it go.
Check the brake lever travel. If it hasn’t changed enough, you can go through the steps again — the process takes less than three minutes — but I’ll bet it works out fine the first time.
Now, I have to get ready to do the thorough monthly cleaning of my wife’s bike. Let’s see — I think it’s been about a year since I’ve done that one.
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