How do I convince my girl to start riding?

last carress

the whole point of cycle training and why i put that thread up is that it is not dorky at all

i tend to cycle 100-250 miles a week

of all the ways of describing me (difficult, aggressive, cunt, idiot etc etc ) i dont think dorky really applies

you could of course start a poll, is dancing james a dork, and then show that to her

generally the best way to address fears is education and confronting the fear, cycle training will do both

am now really bored of this

must resist urge to look at this thread again or to post here again

If she thinks cycle training is dorky - offer to do it with her. I"m considering doing it just cause dancing james said he got a lot out of it. I figure anything any of us can do to minimise the chance of an accident has to be good.
No to fixed straight up.
Get her something with a gear or two and cycle with her in DAYLIGHT to start... its not the inspirational season... plus take her to some forum events and she can see just how cool everyone is - then she'll beg for a bike.

take her to some forum events and she can see just how cool everyone is - then she'll beg for a bike.

Are you suggesting that being in the presence of a bunch of sweaty sweary drunkards is a motivation to ride a bicycle?

But Dancing James gets into more rucks than anyone else on this forum! How can that be a recommendation for cycle training?

say: "its riding or anal, your call".

So it's always me cycling ahead and meeting her, or I take the train and leave the bike at home. And you know what? I think it's better that way, in some aspects. Ask yourself: Do you really wanna give up the only "me" time that you can get without being suspected to cheat on her?

Holy shit, that's a great point. What if the years erode all the happiness and youthful joy that comes with being truly in love with somebody beautiful, outside and in, and I'm left a resentful and bitter husk of my former ebullient and spritely character; the long and arduous grey commute become my only time of solace and I take progressively longer and more diverse routes home, rather than spend a single minute more with the sour ghost of what was once my effigy of adoration, until one day I just disappear under the blackwall tunnel and decided to keep riding, keep riding away from the disappointment and smashed dreams and hopes, the faded memory of my past ambitions and fantasy spurring me on until I arrive, dazed in a distant Mediterranean shore and spend the rest of my wasted life selling dangerously bad beach massages to fat tourists.

I hate having to work out logistics of where I'm going to leave my bike and when to take it and when to leave it, taking it on trains that never fucking work in an attempt to travel with her, and standing shivering at stations and bus stops waiting for her to catch up when I'm riding.

Do I buy her a bike so that she's forced to take it up, or will she resent being coerced into it? The commute wouldn't be far, from Fulham to Marble Arch.

She's a bit scared of traffic but otherwise healthy and athletic - how do I make her see it's not so bad out there and a lot easier than taking public shitting transport everywhere?

I suppose it would be better to arrange a dutch city bike or something less intimidatingly masculine as a racer?

Stop waiting for her?

Might provide the motivation.

But Dancing James gets into more rucks than everyone else on this forum put together! How can that be a recommendation for cycle training?

Fixed that for you.

Merci

D'accord.

I won my girlfriend (also based in Fulham) over by riding together to the park a few times just recreationally. After 1-2 times riding, she twigged how great it is and now does 100 miles a month at least.

Not the best time of year of course.

You'll need a bike of course. We inherited an old Raleigh MTB, she would have objected to me buying one I think, but hell, if it's free, why not use it. Maybe pick up a cheap eBay beater with a half-decent frame and, if she enjoys riding, upgrade it slowly.

A plus tard

If she doesn't want to leave her.

Harsh but fair.

^ Ah, now I saw this as "if she doesn't want to, leave her alone"- you see it as "give her the elbow" - that sums up the difference between you and me, Clive, you're just ruthless, hard-arse lawyer.

I'm not sure about the 'hard-arsed' bit. :p

Holy shit, that's a great point. What if the years erode all the happiness and youthful joy that comes with being truly in love with somebody beautiful, outside and in, and I'm left a resentful and bitter husk of my former ebullient and spritely character; the long and arduous grey commute become my only time of solace and I take progressively longer and more diverse routes home, rather than spend a single minute more with the sour ghost of what was once my effigy of adoration, until one day I just disappear under the blackwall tunnel and decided to keep riding, keep riding away from the disappointment and smashed dreams and hopes, the faded memory of my past ambitions and fantasy spurring me on until I arrive, dazed in a distant Mediterranean shore and spend the rest of my wasted life selling dangerously bad beach massages to fat tourists.

LOL It was meant slightly tongue in cheek ...

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore her.
Still, I do need time to myself, and I like riding a bike because does give me that as well. Constantly being stuck together like a barnacle and a rock has never been a good thing in any relationship I have been in.

I'm not sure about the 'hard-arsed' bit. :p

Typo, the "L" is only 3 keys away

I would suggest you use two brakes (what about a hub brake on the back?) on any kind of drivetrain, particularly for a new rider.

Yeah buy her a bike. Don't expect her to ride it. Treat it as a bonus if she does. On no account keep mentioning it to her.

Be sure to mention some of the amazing boys and girls you meet out on the road and place like here.. and see what happens.

Have fun.

Tell her she's fat and needs some exercise. Cycling is the perfect answer for her.

Another idea - jump on the euro* to paris for a weekend (she'll love that), then hire a couple of the 'free' bikes - pootle about town (the traffic in Paris ain't that bad) admiring the lovely sights. She'll come back more besotted with you than ever and hopefully be convinced that cycling in London might not be so scary after all.

Tell her it will make her arse smaller and you wont be able to stop her cycling. *
(also works for sex)

Tell her about all the hot girls you go cycling with

of course she will realise this is a lie when she starts joining you but will then dump you for one of your hot friends

Buy her a dildo bike.

Tell her about all the hot girls you go cycling with

of course she will realise this is a lie when she starts joining you but will then dump you for one of your hot friends

Taking a look in the names and faces to bike thread suggests that last caress has little to worry about here.

If she doesn't want to leave her alone.
This is the only really sensible comment in this post.

People have, to a large extent, the ability to exercise freewill. If you're girlfirend wanted to ride a bike I'm sure she would be capable of communicating this fact to you, or whoever else she may feel comfortable discussing it with.

Asking, "How do I make someone do......" demonstrates just how little you think of them.

As for this:

I suppose it would be better to arrange a dutch city bike or something less intimidatingly masculine as a racer?
Grow up and fuck off.