Finding the Balance

I'm really kind of regretting that we've missed so much tandem bicycling this summer and fall. After the Eastern Tandem Rally in July, we put the bikes on the wall and have only had them out a couple of times since. It's hard to find time to fit it all in. The marathon training really sucked up a lot of time this summer and fall. Of course, as part of the training, we had lots of good run-and-rides. We had a few not-so-good ones, too, but that's OK. We had some fun mountain biking trips in the late summer, too.

I think, especially towards the end of summer 2008, one of the reasons I wanted to do more running is that I didn't feel like I was maintaining my desired level of fitness through our tandem bicycling. It's hard to make family tandem cycling into a really serious fitness endeavor without making it an activity that's dreaded by the whole family. Sometimes I think it would be great if would could afford a quad -- a 4-person bicycle, that is. Then each of us could expend the amount of effort we wanted, but we'd all stay together. You've got to have quite a few extra thousands of dollars for one of those. Not happening in this decade.

For now, we'll stick with the tandems. Tandem bicycling with young kids just can't be too grueling, too intense, or too repetitive. It should simply be too fun. It should incorporate a variety of rides -- including group rides and independent rides -- in a variety of locations. That's not to say kids don't enjoy a good challenge, but for the most part they don't appreciate the satisfaction that comes from completing a really tough endurance event. Everyone enjoyed the Apple Cider Century, LMB's MUP tour, and the Eastern Tandem Rally. Those were fun and mostly easy.

I wanted to get into randonneuring -- ultra distance non-competitive bicycling -- but the time commitment for that is much worse than even running a full marathon. It's just not reasonable given my commitment to job and family. Randonneuring isn't something you can do with a six-year-old, either. Towards the randonneuring goal, I rode in the One Day Ride Across Michigan last year, but training for that required at least 6 hours on the bike every weekend, and several hours during the week. An 150 miles in a day is short, by randonneuring standards.

I was able to keep my marathon training somewhat family-oriented by taking the kids along on their bikes. As the distances grew, however, there was more resistance from the kids. Twenty miles on a bicycle at 6 miles per hour is a long time for kid to be in the saddle.

The kids really enjoyed the mountain biking we did this fall. It was a different sort of challenge from long tandem rides, and it was lots of fun. We need to do more of that. The local trails are really fun, but compared to mountain bike trails in the mountains, our trails are more park- or playground-like. Challenging, certainly, but not so much epic or grandiose. We have the pump track, now, too. Haven't been back there since I flipped over and crunched by back. I'm still feeling that one.

So what sort of things are on the table for this spring? Gotta get through winter first, but for 2010, I'd like to find a good balance. Family tandem cycling, mountain biking, and running. Maybe some paddling. Where's the balance? What should we do? The Playmakers race series for Cindy or I? Another marathon? The Trail Marathon? Another tandem rally? Maybe another LMB Shoreline Tour like the MUP? Maybe a Boundary Waters canoe trip? Maybe a mountain biking trip to the southwest and/or western Colorado and Utah? Oh, and here's an idea: I'd really like to try the Great Divide Race.

I'll keep you posted.