Kilroy1988 

A good Sunday afternoon to all of you,

I just wanted to drop in and state what a lovely time I've had over the past few years learning from and sharing with all of you in the C&V community. As the due date for our first child approaches, my wife and I have been re-arranging our priorities in life rather dramatically in order to live life responsibly and to the fullest.

I've decided that the many hours and dollars spent, and risks involved with riding on the roads in the region where we live, just isn't justifiable anymore. So, I will be parting with almost all of the dozen bicycles and frames that I currently have any many parts in the coming months to help fund the purchase of a new automobile (as I currently drive a Fiat 500, which also won't make the cut) and move on to focusing my creative attention to other aspects of life!

Methinks one classic bicycle will remain for lazy Sunday morning rides along the safest of local roads, but which that will be remains to be seen... Again, it's been a wonderful experience but except for setting up a substantial amount of sales threads over the coming weeks I suspect my time here is more or less at an end! Cheers!

-Gregory

Spaghetti Legs 

Gregory, congrats on the upcoming new addition!

Sorry to hear that you won’t be one of the English super collectors we’re used to seeing. I will encourage you, however, whether or not it involves riding a bike, to have a plan on staying fit so that you can be there for the little one for a long, long time.

juvela

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shall miss following along with all of your excellent vintage road machine finds & projects

all best wishes with the new arrival.

Bicycle side-by-side inventor Bob Barrett's comment to me regarding the arrival of he & his wife's first child -

"We have been thus far "husband & wife", from here forward we shall be simply "parents" ."


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repechage

My father drove a Fiat 500 when I arrived from the hospital.
‘in 1962, my Mother got a Buick Skylark coupe.
‘in 1963, my father bought a maroon Cadillac coupe de Ville.
was a string of car payments after that.

a 1966 Corvette stingray coupe was my Mom’s family car till 1986.
dare to be different.

Kilroy1988 

Absolutely. I'm really into hiking, running, free weight training, and yoga. I figure that for the number of hours required cycling probably had the lowest ROI out of my entire fitness regime... It was just my favorite part, but with all of the caveats listed above!

-Gregory

SoccerBallXan

So… it sounds like you’re done collecting bicycles? Maybe my addicted brain can’t process “getting out” of cycling. Some of the best family time I’ve ever spent has been on bicycles. However, I can understand if money needs to be focused elsewhere.

Congratulations, by the way!

Kilroy1988 

No, it's actually not a financial decision at all although it will certainly provide me with a bit of a boon for a new car purchase. I live in an area with lots of rural road accidents and very few cyclists, so few drivers are used to looking out for us on the road. I've been hit by cars before, and I've also had hard objects thrown at me. I'm just done facing that risk on anything like a regular basis. I'll stick to running on sidewalks for the most part from here on out.

-Gregory

SwimmerMike 

When we had our first kid my wife and I needed to adjust priorities and determine what life would look like. We were both triathletes which was a big time sink. I ended up focusing on running since it is the most time efficient aerobic workout I could do. 14 years and 2 kids later my wife and I decided to do a half Ironman again.

Be flexible, do what you enjoy for working out and have fun being a father. Life will continue to change so pivot when it does. Good luck.

DiabloScott

Yeah, I get that metric - and you're right as long as you actually enjoy running or something else... I never could, so quitting cycling would be an end to most any exercise.

And some of my fondest daddy-daughter memories involved cycling; riding to the park, the swimming pool, the library, charity events, etc... be a shame to miss that.

Kilroy1988 

That's definitely not the sort of thing I'm talking about when I say I'm getting out of road cycling. We are keeping bicycles around and we love riding around town and going to cafes and parks and things by bike. I mean I'm getting out of the sporting activity of riding 50-200 miles a week like I am used to doing on dedicated road bicycles. That being the case, it will be really hard to justify keeping around 6-8 vintage road bicycles and continuing to tinker and collect them. That's what I've decided to leave behind.

-Gregory

Retoocs

Look for used Burley trailer in about a year and a half. Throw some toys, a water bottle, and some music in the trailer. Kid will be asleep in about 20 minutes and you'll get a good workout towing an extra 30+ lbs.

stevel610 

Hi Gregory,

I look forward to seeing your post in 2033 "I left biking 10 years ago when I needed to focus on family. I've gained 75 pounds and looking to get back......". 😁

Actually, congrats on the kid and getting rid of the fiat. I hope you hold onto the most irreplaceable bike (the one you'd miss the most) and find time for 50 miles a week or so.

Good luck.

Korina

Congratulations on this new stage of your life; make sure to stop occasionally, take a breath, and appreciate what you have.

gugie 

It's very typical for the C&V forumites to have been very involved in cycling when younger. Marriage cuts into that time, parenthood really does. At some time when the kids get to the point that they don't need us as much, some free time opens up. When they leave the house, even more time.

I guess this is my way of saying you're probably only on a cycling pause/slowdown for a decade or so.

ascherer 

You’ll be back! (We hope)
Godspeed, may the next chapters be rewarding

bikingshearer 

The highlighted part is why I hope you find some time, even if greatly reduced time, to keep riding. Mental health is a good thing, and if cycling is a sanity preservative for you, think long and hard before jettisoning it completely. Having said that, for a while, sleep will be very precious commodity and very high on your free time (hah!) priority list. You might check in with bibliobob about finding time to ride with a young child, as he is in the middle of it right now.

Many congratulations on the upcoming addition to your household. Raising kids is huge amount of work, a huge expense, and 1,000% worth it. Now for some unasked-for advice:

(1) At some point between the birth and the fist night at home, you will have a moment of blind terror of the "Oh my God, what do I do now?" variety. That is perfectly normal, and it will pass. My telling you this will not make the moment any less terrifying, but may help it pass sooner ad reassure you that this is a common experience, not that you are a failure.

(2) You do, in fact, have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. That's okay - truth be told, neither did any of us. We muddled through, you will, too. Much of the time, the muddling through is the best part and almost always makes for the best stories.

(3) The best piece of parenting advice I ever got came from my dad: Just love them and try to be guided by what is best for them - not what they want or what you want, but what is best for them - and you can't go too far wrong.

(4) To the fullest extent possible, do not let other women tell your wife their birthing stories. I don't know why women insist on telling expectant first-time mothers about how they were in labor for 173 hours, the kid had triceratops horns growing out their head and they finally had a caesarian performed with a chainsaw, but something in the second X chromosome seems to compel this particular piece of cruelty. Spoiler alert - it does not help. As far as what to expect during delivery, listen to the obstetrician, the birthing nurse, the Lamaze instructor, and the midwife if there is one. Drown everyone else out, even if you have to be rude about it. There's plenty of time for that kind of note-comparing after the kid is born.

Finally, keep in mind that my advice is worth exactly what you are paying for it.

It is going to be great. Best wishes to all three of you.

OldCoot

Congratulations on the baby to arrive! Nothing anyone says can convey how much your life and perspective will change. As noted in an earlier post, Drink it all in. My only advice is don't forget to take care of yourself. Just like airlines say, put your own oxygen mask on 1st! Otherwise being dead , (physically, spiritually or emotionally) makes you of no use to those you love.

The Golden Boy 

Best wishes to you Gregory! Congratulations on fatherhood!

Don't lose your login!!!

3alarmer 

.
...I did the same thing when I moved up into the foothills past Jackson on 88 for five or six years. Just too dangerous out on the local road shoulders.
I had better luck when I lived in Merced, but I think that was because I had a regular route out to Yosemite lake, and I saw more meadowlarks than cars on that road, because it only went out to the lake.

I didn't own another road bike until I moved back down here to Sacramento. Now I have too many of them.

tgot 

The double-double.

Maybe you just need to point your bike collecting in a different direction? Yes, I'm aware that this probably isn't in line with your safety assessment of riding in your area. But I do love riding with kids.

Congratulations on the new phase of life! Be patient with all the advice you'll get. It's our way of sharing and trying to be helpful, while revisiting our own happy memories.

squirtdad

Maybe you can keep in a bit, within your comfort level by commuting?

as for safety, I assume you ride with Hi-Viv Green/yellow, lots of reflective material, and bright flashing light front and back during the day?

but what ever , good luck, kids are the worlds greatest science experiment (trust your instincts, always talk to the kid as if they understand every word, keep them barefoot as much as possible(neural development) and be aware of postpartum depression)

USAZorro

Congratulations on the imminent arrival!

I think most of us are older and have passed through the life stages that you're entering. I completely get that life will shift... drastically. When I got to that point, it had been a few years since I'd had a bike (I was in the Navy, and my bike had gotten stolen a couple weeks before I joined), but when my son reached riding age (in his case, 12), I regretted not having a good bike to ride. I know collections take up space, but I'll make the suggestion to consider the future when you reach that stage, and consider whether you'd want one or two bikes for that, or for the odd day when you really do want to get a few miles in.

Pompiere

Congratulations! Hopefully, you will be able keep cycling as part of your life and introduce your child to it. They might even inherit the love and voluntarily join you when they get older.

Sedgemop 

Thanks for putting in all the time here, man. Enjoyed your posts and you've got great taste in bikes. They happen to be my size too, so keep posting 'em. Good luck out there in the real world.

AdventureManCO 

I wish you only the best on this next, beautiful and awesome chapter in life!