Night time after work is my time, hopefully I get out once or twice a week into the hills. Also use the end of a weekend day to cram anything in, so once the family outing has taken place, me and Mrs-voodoo race to see who can get our sports kit on first I’m fortunate that my wife runs 4 times a week, so we both let each other have time to get out and about.
Just take time here and there. Make sure your bikes are ready to go, lights charged and all your kit is in one place, then you can take advantage of those hour or two between family activities. Riding from the house is also much less faff and more time riding than driving is always good
This is a great thread. I've got a 3 year old and just turned 2 year old. And I just finished the HT550 last week... It can be done, but it's not easy.
I would say I'm only just getting back to the stage of finding time to train properly. When they were younger than this it just wasn't going to happen.
I agree with all the ideas on involving them, we have a trailer and on-bike seats. It's great and it's fun but it's never going to be the same as going out by yourself.
Personally I struggle with the guilt over the time I give to it. The only way I can justify it is by it being competitive. At the moment I am either training for a race or racing. That's just my view but my wife also respects that. It gives it more value, a goal at the end of the time investment. Putting together some kind of training plan also removes any excuses later on. Unless you genuinely feel unwell then it's time to ride.
We are also both well aware that I am a much better dad and husband when I am cycling regularly. I think that applies to everything and anything that people do for exercise and mental health. It makes you a better person the rest of the time. We shouldn't feel guilty about it but that's easier said than done. Of course I do my best to allow my wife the same time in return.
As for how and when, I am a fan of early mornings. 2 weekday mornings usually. Short and high intensity. The vast majority of my rides are 1 to 1.5 hours. For quite a while my younger one was getting up around 4am something every morning and then going back to bed after a while. I went out to cycle. It was the perfect alarm clock.
And then half a day some weekends and very rarely a full weekend day or race. A couple of overnighters over Friday night and you've still got the whole weekend for the family. Works a treat. I never managed so squeeze in a full 2 day ride.
I also cycle at every opportunity. I often cycle to or back from wherever we go out for the day. A great way of finding new routes.
Calzzak definitely making the rest of us look bad - finishing 2nd in the HT550 with two young kids!
Like most of the rest of you I struggle to get out as much as I would like. I've got an almost 3 year old who was diagnosed with leukaemia last summer and a 5 month old. It's fair to say that the winter just gone was pretty stressful.
@summittopler hope your 15 year old fully recovered from the leukaemia and it hasn't left any lasting effects.
Like Calzzak I think training for events is a good thing to make sure you do take the opportunities to get out. I've entered an MTB event that involves 11,000 m of climbing and has a 36 hour time limit in July. I am very aware that if I don't get some serious training done then the chances of getting round in one piece are slim. My wife is fortunately supportive of this and lets me get out for 4-5 hours on a weekend. In turn I let her go off for wild swimming while I look after the kids.
Commuting by bike is a big thing for me. Fortunately I can do my commute all off road. Even though it's only 10 minutes each way that still adds up to 1h40 every week.
Sorry, didn't mean to make anyone feel bad or sound big headed. I am aware that I'm in a very fortunate position and definitely don't take it for granted. It's taken a while to get here.
I've been cycling way less than I would like for at least the past 5 years, so it's a very relevant topic to me as well. I've only recently managed to readjust the balance and am pursuing it in a way that I am content with. My main point, things can change, it may not always be the way it is now. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll have to scale it back again in the coming years.
I just wanted to share my enthusiasm since recently it's been great.
I hope your 3 year old is ok Tom, sorry to hear that. A 10 minute cycle commute sounds amazing! I keep seeming to land myself an hours drive from work! Working from home has been a game changer.
I went down the Zwift route during the week, kids off to bed (they are 3 and 7) and then abut an hour of riding. Work and the school eat up the early mornings so after bedtime is the only option. Great as it’s done super quick. Saturdays me and the other half swap, I go out in the morning early till 12 and have the kids in the afternoon while she has some time to herself.
The benefit of the Zwift riding is you can either do endurance zone 2 or really hard zone 4/5 and keep or improve your fitness which the means you enjoy your outdoor rides more. I ride about 500km a month doing 3 indoor and 1 outdoor session a week
Great replies! Very impressive ride for the 2nd place at the HT550 Calzzak, and i've seen that part of your training includes towing a kiddie trailer with a singlespeed!
Since asking the question i've managed to get out a fair bit, making the most of the long evenings and trying to keep some momentum going.
If there are any perspectives from women it'd be good to hear those too! Ta
I’m fortunate that my wife runs 4 times a week, so we both let each other have time to get out and about. 
