Anyone else's DH having an affair with their bike?

[Cucci]

Oh dear,

Just had an awful week, 6 days in hospital with DS 18mths due to infected chicken pox - verrrry nasty.

Got home yesterday and we are still a bit house bound because he is contageous.

The kids are now fast asleep so what does DH do? He goes for a mountain bike ride in the woods at 8pm (with a headlamp of course) and says he will see me in a few hours.

Taking into account that we have just played relay races to and fro from the hospital for nearly a week I thought he might be up for spending some kind of normal evening together.

Instead he has been preening his bike at 10 minute intervals today, I would really like to wrap it aroud his neck.

I know it could be worse but I do feel a little sad that the first thing he can think of is his bloody bike!

Be interested to know if there are any other ladies who have lost their husbands to cycling.

A fellow cycling/triathlon and mountain marathon wife here.

Our summer holiday has been booked to coincide with the tour. DH is already planning how to track down his idol (Bradley Wiggins) for a beer after one of the stages

Haylstones, in an attempt to remind DH I also had a life I booked a weekend away with my sister. We missed the train as I had to rescue him from a another town 20 miles away with a puncture.

I find that he always finds a way to blame such incidents on the bike though, its never his fault!

well I'm also a member of this little group

Dh has had 4 bikes and sold 1 leaving him 3, yes you do actually need a bike for summer, a bike for winter, and a bike for this and that.

He has bought a shed for the stuff from the garage to go into so he can then get the bikes and all the other stuff in the garage.

I was reading this out to dh as it fits him to a tee. I got to the bit about putting the bike on the bathroom scales and he said "funny you should say that, I was looking for some today to weigh one of my bikes but I couldn't find any... so I tried to dangle it from the kitchen scales - didn;t work very well though".

You have all made me feel better!!

I now realise that his case of bike addiction in comparison is quite mild.

He has dismantled my bike and nicked anything useful, such as wheels and brakes!

He pretty much owns all the garage space.

He does watch cycling, read about cycling, work in the cycling industry, talk about cycling and probably dream about cycling.

He does go off into the woods of a Thursday night with other men.

But honestly, I can cope with it, it could be worse and I hope it inspires my two boys to be really into cycling too! (4 and 18 mths) Just imagine the 3 of them in the future - it will be 24/7!!!

I have regained perspective and have even suggested that we invest in a camper van that he will be able to do mini trips in with his bike buddies.

Cucci We have just got a Camper Van - it is fab! I am worried whetehr it will make it back in one piece from DHs cross-Britain epic, though.

I agree that not drinking is another good side effect to a cycling husband.

screamingabdab, what campervan did you get?

We had a Ford transit auto sleeper conversion, 1991 model. It made it from Britain, to Poland and back, on a 6 week european adventure. We stopped and did some essential repairs and additions underway. Like, adding a tow bar at a garage outside Warsaw, lol, they also installed the neck supports we had picked up from a car breaker. A small second hand campervan outlet outside Ludz fixed the central heating. We sold it for £1k more than we bought it for..
I hope you enjoy your campervan, 'tis good fun!

It's a 1986 VW Westfalia Conversion, and looks a bit like a bus. It has a few minor rust issues, so we are shoring it up and then we'll need a panel replaced in the Autumn. DH will have a go at welding (he's pretty handy ..) We have done a few overnighters in it and are planning to take it down to France in July.

The kids love it, and I have to say, it's really cosy - reminds me of being a child again myself

well done Emma Coook!
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/5550817/Help-Im-a-cycling-widow.html

oh fuck off cucci.

Have I missed something here?

I'm presuming you think cucci is Emma Cook but why? other than coincidence, timing-wise?

I am not Emma Cook!

For goodness sake I started this post because i felt a bit pissed off.

Nevergoogledragonbutter - telling someone to Fuck off on here - that is just nasty.

So cynical.

Screamingabdab/Quintessentialshadow - got some questions about the campervan if you don't mind sharing?
How old are your kids? How has it worked out with them? I have a boy of 4 and 18th mths so this is really in preparation for next summer.

How far did you go with researching make/model/year etc?

Any general advice or tips to look for or anything to avoid would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

Cucci Hi. My DSs are 6 and 8. The Campervan has a pop-top, and they sleep on the top deck, we sleep down below.
It's plenty big enough for us 4. I'd say, your 2 will be a good age to do it next year.

DH did extensive, exhaustive research, and I just said "that looks great" every now and again . My only proviso was that we didn't get anything smelly.

If you like I will try and get him on here to give you a few pointers - I know there are also good websites and fora out there to help.

Sorry you got told to f off. Not sure what THAT was all about

hello - i have asked my wife screamingabdab to make me a cup of coffee whilst i bore you with campervan stuff. if you go for an old vw they are a hobby in themselves as there is always a list of things to do on them. the 1960's and 70's ones were prone to rust underneath and if you can see any then it is sure to be at least 5x worse than it originally looked

however we managed to find a 1980's one which had just had its engine replaced and it seems pretty reliable. these are also less sought after as they are not the cute shape of the older ones. We got ours on Gumtree although you have to be careful as there were phishers on there who had vans which "would be shipped once you paid the money". Always see before you buy.

the two best sites for advice are:

www.club80-90.co.uk/8090index_dummy.html
www.brick-yard.co.uk/home/home.html

if all the above sounds scary - dont be put off! we are having a great time with ours - you just have to shop around and buy from someone who you think has looked after it. Ah, the coffee's arrived....

Screamingabdab and DH - Thank you

yes..it used to be garden sheds...now it's bikes (hiding from wife and kids)..some have even been known to have both...and tinker with the bikes in the sheds for a couple of hours...

Well I spent part of the weekend in the company of 1000s of mountain bike obsessive freaks enthusiasts so I've done my supportive partner duties for this year

Actually it made DPs interest and involvement look pretty mild as there were guys there riding solo for 24hrs . Lord knows how much training they do.

Lord, please tell me I'm not the only one whose DH has beautifully shaven legs?

Please.

lol!

I must admit DP hasn't taken it that far but I did notice a lot of men at the weekend with beautifully smooth legs (in fact they were probably smoother than mine. I did wonder about asking them for tips about which method to use )

It can be quiet annoying when you see all these gorgeous legs, in much better condition that mine, and they're all MALE.

It's just wrong

Haloooo!! I'm one of you too! I was the one who sort of introduced dh to cycling, and we used to cycle together. I cycled as much as possible when pregnant but there's a timw you have to stop, when your bump reach the handlebars.
I actuallt love Dh's cycling, see it as a healthy obsession hobby. He has 4 or 5 bikes (summer, winter this that, fixed gear, single gear, mountain, road..). and he's currently depressed because none of his bikes 'are working properly...'. And we have a v smart excercise bike. I can't keep up with bits and bobs althoigh I try, honest. Just not exciting currently as the state of 4 month old lo's poo!

After much debate and research, we've bought a kiddie cycle trailer and shoved a baby car seat in there and started cycling with lo, who luuuurvs it! And now dh can take him out for long trips, leaving me with some much- needed me time.

Btw, he can't stand Lance Armstrong- he only won the TDF!