I don't even know where to start. 'Is there some equation to hours of training, family time, performance, verbal lashings, and divorce attorneys? How do you all manage it all? what do you get to do? What do you negotiate/compromise?

Never getting married. I don't even have a girlfriend.

Keeps life simple

_________________
http://www.nicksquillari.com.au

you don't know what you're missing....

Actual # of training hours = # of training hours that will lead to divorce - 1

_________________
Whow! That's a pretty damn nice garage door!

Simple really, my wife likes sleep and I tend to be an early riser. So this morning (like most) I was up at 430am and on the road by 5am... Some mornings she doesn't even know if I've been out for a ride!

Good lights and a few like minded people to ride with help.

Sent from my LG-P705 using Tapatalk 4

_________________
My Training & Racing Blog -->http://mountainbikemediocrity.wordpress.com/

ie: husbands too?

_________________
http://www.nicksquillari.com.au

I quit competition bodybuilding for my wife and in return she lets me ride, train, and TT as much as I want, and in return I let her decorate the house her way...

... Came home today and found the sofas hidden under a small country's supply of fancy pillows and some coffee cups which I'm sure I won't be allowed to drink from!

_________________

Through who's choice are you single..yours or theirs...? Lol jks man

_________________

I'll be married 29 years the end of this month. With my children gone, we have been empty nesters for over 7 years now it makes it easier. But still I'm missing my state's tt championship and another race this year because my youngest if finally going back to school to pursue a masters.

For the most part my wife is okay with what I do. She knows its healthy for me, relieves stress and she also knows how important and how much enjoyment I get from training and competing well.

_________________
RESIDENT GRUMPY OLD MAN.

My missus took up cycling after we started dating. Turned out to be quite good at it.

Finishing well inside the top ten when riding against the elites type of good......... (on the road, MTB was too difficult)
She was still at the pointy end of the racing in her current category until last year. (MTB now, road riding is dull, apparently)

Family first, simples.
But I am quite far off the podiums in my races, so it's easy to say that. In any case, being a strong rider at the expense of the people around me would make me more sad than an occasional podium would cheer me up. It's also good to know you're making the best of your time allocated for training, took me a lot of time to figure out what works for me.

_________________
Bikes: Raw Ti, 650b flatbar CX

ditto. although i ride 50% solo because of the early rising.

_________________
- Parlee Z5 SLi + DA9070 + Enve 3.4 Tune/Dash hubs
- Parlee ESX + DA9070 + Enve SES 6.7 CK hubs
- Independent Fabrication Ti FLW + Campy SR11 + Enve 3.4 CK hubs

^ Same. But also being realistic about your goals and the races you're likely to enter. There are only like 3 road races here all year long. The rest are crits, TTs and hill climbs which don't last longer than 2 hours. I train as such and try to maximize my workouts with limited time in mind. She's happy I'm not riding 4+ hours a day (as am I frankly) and I'm happy to get positive results from a more reasonable training schedule.

I agree with the last few posts. The guys I know who find a way to make it work and race at the highest level (e.g., my bud just set the USA 40-44 hour record and a few other buds are 45+ superstars) generally train at o'dark-thirty so they can be home when the kids are getting up. There is a group of about five of them who do it almost every morning. There is also a group of a few who don't race but who go out at that time too. The guys I know who ride when the sun is out (7am or later) have cut some kind of deal with their wives or they got divorced or they have no kids at home. Oh, and they have something weird with their job schedule.

The alternative is to train at a lesser level, and one can still enjoy cycling just fine on 7 hours a week, but at least in So Cal you need to be putting in 15+ hours in the saddle to be a protagonist. There are occasional exceptions in crits, but for little dudes like me who don't thrive making right turns in an industrial park, it means lots of hours of training, and then calling in a lot of chips to do a road race that is a three-hour drive to get there. Pick your battles. Oh, and pick a spouse who is amenable and low-maintenance, and give her something nice at unexpected times to sweeten the deal.

IP knows it.
I'd love to have pre-dawn inclined buddies, but everyone I know around here who is serious about the sport is rather compromising their family and work life.

_________________
Bikes: Raw Ti, 650b flatbar CX