New sport/hobby required

[Hudson1984]

Hi all,

so - might be a tricky with all the social distancing going on but i need some suggestions.

life has changed somewhat of late, new child, new job and health issues all in a neat little parcel.

The new job means I work from home, and really don’t see anyone.

with the laddo about it means life is of course worked around kids stuff and the ever important nap time!

with the health, I’ve got a bad hip, it needs an operation but of course with all this Corvus stuff going on I’m not exactly a priority.

My normal cycling is out the window (can’t get off the bike safely) I’m fine on the indoor trainer but it doesn’t really add to the social life which is what I need after working alone.

so, I’m here, throw some suggestions at me

I need:
Something with a social side
Something if sport related, upper body focussed
I’ve done martial arts for years - can’t do it any more, the hip can’t handle it
Ideally not requiring dozens of hours a week - club cycling runs take about 6 hours of a Sunday, which doesn’t really work For me anymore

something I could do in the evenings would be good.
Weekends are fine as long as it’s like an hour or so as I can do it during nap time
Something the lad can join in on in future would be cool

I play piano and fit that around other stuff but again, not really social!

any suggestions? i'm thinking kayaking at the moment, live close to coast and rivers

 

[Hudson1984]

Archery.

Yeah my brother has had a bash at this, I've never tried, certainly one to look at and see where I can do it.

Go to the pub.

Oh believe me I would if I could

Get an allotment? Your exercise can be walking there, and you also get to do some weights and stuff digging, planting, and talking to other people at the same time.

On the waiting list

I was going to suggest kayaking or something similar.

Go Karting is good fun, but expensive, but can be social if you have a close track. All probably closed during covid though

yeah our local track is about a 10 minute walk, so nice and close. It's certainly on the list and is reopening in July. The River is about the same 10 mins and 20 mins gets me to a water sports centre where they do indoor pool training too so it's a possible one for sure.

Online trolling is the ideal sport for you.

It's social - you join a group of likeminded trolls
It exercises your fingers
Martial arts training will be excellent for focusing on the result and not arguments presented to you
Can be done in 5 minutes a day, or multi-hour sessions

Evenings and weekends are good times to practice
And the lad will make the ideal sidekick and save you the confusion of running multiple personas

what are you 5? or just a *****?

In regards to cycling, would a dropper post help?
With a small seat tube frame both your feet will touch the floor with ease, and then flick the post up when you get moving. They are operated with a click of a lever like a gear shifter. Come in at about £100, but are helpful for many reasons.

Warhammer is a good social laugh, just got to find like minded people.

Yeah like a lot of people I'm an ex Warhammer player, sadly the newer rules weren't much fun, the local club stopped going to the pub too!! I mean what's that about. But again, it's an option, the club meets in the evening and the odd bit of painting is a nice thing to do

Get an indoor trainer and use Zwift. Keep your fitness up and once your son is older you’ll be able to get back to it (post surgery). Having a new baby can feel like your world has turned upside down. It has, but the world hasn’t ended. Similarly, Covid lockdown is probably not the time to take up a new hobby as most social activities are on hold and face significant upheaval.

Good luck with whatever you choose, try to stay positive. Head to the OcUK dads thread if you need to vent (or some advice). I should have posted a lot more in there when my daughter was very small.

Will certainly look at the thread.....I've I hear "ta" one more time I certainly think I need to vent about it haha.

Airsoft

not really thought about it before, have to have a look, the kart track has an airsoft section too so it could work for sure.

every city should have a social cycling group they are usually like this
start at a pub/cafe
Ride for one hour at avg of 12mph
end up at a pub/cafe
Ride back to the start pub/cafe

often they won't have a set route and will ride in to the wind and hope for a tail wind on the way back

if you can do an indoor trainer surely you can manage social cycling? they will ride at the pace of the slowest member of the group and in my experience it's not really about the cycling.

sadly I'm not in a city, and our local cycling clubs café runs are all on a sunday and are 40 miles. I don't mind the ride at all (well didn't when I could get off) but it's a bit unfair on the wife to wipe out a day of the weekend. It's not the riding that's really the problem, it's getting on and off, I simply can't do either easily, I'll be fine after an operation but of course I'm not really a priority which is fair enough.

Kayaking is great. I'd probably advise trying a sit on kayak as it will be less difficult getting in and out.

But if its just for an hour, not sure if it's suitable

Yeah that's my only concern really, that and what to do in winter,

I've got and indoor cycling trainer which I do use, as I've got a step so it's easier to get off, plus being bolted into the trainer means I can't fall off, but on the road I can't get my leg over the bike unless it's completely stopped and pretty much laying down.... i.e. I've fallen off already. But even with an online side of things, it's not really social

 

[Hudson1984]

If you just want something easy then maybe just one of those Step Through bikes? Suppose not ideal if you wanted the social cycling aspect though as it wouldn't be well suited to the type of riding they'd do.

Also don't discount water sports for winter, some decent clothing and you're golden. Especially on flat water as you're unlikely to fall in.

that's exactly the trouble sadly, you do really need the right type of bike.. I'm no racing snake so keeping up is tough as it is, and whilst the sentiment is "ride to the slowest rider" it aint no fun being that guy. You always want at least one person saying "slow down" so you can secretly thank them under your breath lol.

Yeah I think I'll email the local club, plus with the river so close (including slip) it's a free hobby after the kayak itself.

 

[Hudson1984]

no shouldn't be an issue as it's getting down which doesn't seem to be a problem, my issue is hooking my leg over anything, i.e. lifting it to step over a bike frame, or putting socks on haha. Other than that it's ok really just odd movements that make certain things tricky, the actual riding of a bike I'm fine with, just last time I went out I needed to stop quickly and any jerk movement seems to hurt like hell. So it's only really the emergency situations that rule me out - that and it takes so bloody long to do anything good on a bike (I like a 50/60 mile ride) otherwise it's just a short ride out and there just aren't any groups locally that seem to want to do that. Which I kinda understand, I mean if you're going to get all dressed up in your finest lycra gimp suit, you may as well make the most of it

Sailing is possible for sure.